Malaysian's Ringgit shrinking

Oh no! How could this happen?

When we look at the latest maps, we can see that Singapore has become larger, so are Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and other South-East Asian countries. But Malaysia is the only country that is shrinking.

I am not referring to the physical geographical maps here. Geographically, Malaysia’s total landmass of 329,845 sq km will remain constant.

I am talking about the investors' maps. They are a kind of economic map, which is much more important than the physical geographical maps.

According to current thinking, the size of a country should be proportional to its economic status.

For example, Ethiopia has an area of 1,100,000 sq km, but no foreign investor bothers about it because of its poor economy. As for Singapore, it occupies only a dot in the physical geographical maps, but it is one of the superior countries in the economic maps.

For investors, the more competitive the economy of a country is, the greater economic growth potential it has, and the greater proportion it will have.

According to the United Nations World Investment Report 2010, the foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia has plunged 81% from US$7.32 billion in 2008 to just US$1.38 billion last year.

In other words, Malaysia has shrunken in the eyes of investors.

As for Singapore, its FDI for last year was US$16 billion.

Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines receive more foreign investments compared to Malaysia.

Malaysia is a country relying on exports and trade and its economic growth has largely been driven by foreign investments, especially in the 80s and early 90s.

Why are investors avoiding Malaysia today?

It is because the country lacks competitiveness and is less attractive, causing the investors to have less confidence and interests.

They cannot see Malaysia in investment maps, and they just bypass Malaysia when they come to Asia.

Less foreign investments lead to less inflow of capital and technology, less economic activities and fewer job opportunities. Also, the target of 6% economic growth and the goal of transforming the country into a high-income economy may also be unable to achieve.

Even worse, the capital outflow from Malaysia in the same period was US$8 billion. In other words, existing domestic and foreign investors have also transferred their capital abroad.

Therefore, we can no longer expect domestic capital to drive domestic demand and growth.

What have been done by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority?

Let's see how foreign investors view Malaysia:

•the lack of creativity and bureaucracy is serious in the country
•the government is not open enough and there are complicated and lengthy procedures
•corruption problem is serious and there is a great deal of red tapes
•there is a shortage in general labour, and a lack of professional manpower
•it has many strong slogans but lacks competitive advantage
Are the government, political parties and politicians really aware that Malaysia has reached a crucial point in which we will have to either wake up and reform or sink and disappear from the world economic map?

Sin Chew Daily

Anne Rice leaves Christianity

NEW YORK - AUTHOR Anne Rice has had a religious conversion: She's no longer a Christian.

'In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control,' the author wrote on Wednesday on her Facebook page. 'In the name of... Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.' Ms Rice, 68, is best known for 'Interview With a Vampire' and other gothic novels. Raised as a Catholic, she had rejected the church early in her life but renewed her faith in recent years and in 2008 released the memoir 'Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession.'

In a telephone interview on Thursday, Ms Rice said she had been having doubts for the past two to three years. She was troubled by the child abuse scandals in the church, and the church's defensive reaction, and by the ex-communication of Sister Margaret McBride, a nun and hospital administrator who had approved an abortion for a woman whose life was in danger.

'I believed for a long time that the differences, the quarrels among Christians didn't matter a lot for the individual, that you live your life and stay out of it. But then I began to realize that it wasn't an easy thing to do,' said Ms Rice, speaking from her home near Palm Springs, California. 'I came to the conclusion that if I didn't make this declaration, I was going to lose my mind.' Ms Rice said she is a Democrat who supports the historic health care legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama and believes gay marriage inevitably will be permitted throughout the country.

Although no longer part of any denomination, she remains a believer and continues to read theology and post Biblical passages on her Facebook page. She has no immediate plans to write about her leaving the church and will continue with her metaphysical fiction series, 'Songs of the Seraphim.' Ms Rice will not be taking up vampires again, but she said she is a big fan of the HBO series 'True Blood,' enjoyed the first two 'Twilight' movies (she has yet to read any of the Stephenie Meyer novels) and is interested in seeing her most famous character, the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, return to the screen.

--REUTERS

Life of the rich and famous

How do you make a celebrity shindig better? Add water and bikinis.

Pool It TogetherIt doesn't get much better than an afternoon by the pool with a bunch of bikini-clad celebs. And, when you're a star, it seems like all you have to do to get a pool party started is make a few phone calls. Then, you've instantly got the perfect Las Vegas venue, tons of friends and fans to make it merry, and plenty of drinks. Then it's just another day in the life of the rich and famous.




Actress AnnaLynne McCord (L) and her sister Angel McCord appear at the Wet Republic pool at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino August 30, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.



Music artist Sean "Diddy" Combs hosts a party at the Wet Republic pool at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino September 19, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.



Model and television personality Holly Madison appears at the pool at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino after participating in a Guinness World Record event staging the world's largest bikini parade on the Las Vegas Strip.

More pics here

19 Killed in Love Parade Stampede

At least 19 people were killed when panic broke out at a ‘Love Parade’ music festival in Germany. Some were trampled to death, some crushed against the walls of a tunnel, Germany mourned the deaths during a huge open air music festival.

Another 340 people were injured in the mass panic to get to the Love Parade dance party in the western city of Duisburg that drew about 1.4 million partygoers from across the world, according to a new mounting toll given by police.

Authorities have not yet given any indication as to what set off the sudden fright. But questions were immediately raised about the safety of the 200 metre (650 feet) long and 30 metre (100 feet) wide tunnel that was the main access to the giant rave being held in a former railway freight yard.

In the direct aftermath, ambulances rushed to pick up victims and police set up an emergency first aid station near the entrance, where thousands of revelers seen streaming out of the festival towards the main train station as rescue helicopters circled overhead.

The annual event with a backdrop of electronic dance music such as House, Trance and Techno, flamboyant outfits and energetic dance moves, was first held in Berlin in 1989 as an event to promote peace through music.

Internationally, similar Love Parades have taken place in Zurich, San Francisco, Mexico City, Acapulco, Vienna, Cape Town, Tel Aviv, Sydney, Santiago, Rio de Janeiro, Oslo and Budapest.

Record 10,000 women at run

Wearing the lime-green Nike Shape Run t-shirt, the women were flagged off at 7am for the 10km category, and at 7.30am for the 5km category, by Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports & Ministry of Transport. -- PHOTO: SPH MAGAZINES

A RECORD 10,000 women turned up for this year's Shape Run, taking part in both the 5km and 10km races.

Wearing the lime-green Nike Shape Run t-shirt, the women were flagged off at 7am for the 10km category, and at 7.30am for the 5km category, by Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of Community Development, Youth and Sports & Ministry of Transport, the guest of honour.

Completing the 10km event in 39 min 57 seconds, Vivian Tang, 39, defended her title successfully. The three-time Singapore Marathon champion, won $1,000 in cash and other prizes. 'The Shape Run is one of my key races of the year. I like the new route this year, because it didn't clash with the 5km category,' she said. 'I'm happy to have won again.'

Second place went to Raffles Institution (Junior College) student Mok Ying Rong, 16, who finished her first Shape Run in 40 min 42 seconds. 'I felt very slow today, with very heavy legs. I was targeting to break 40 minutes,' she said.

The majority of the field run the 5km route, with 44 per cent taking on the 10km. Elaine Lim, 28, won the 5km with 19 min 37 seconds, receiving $500 and other prizes. Yvonne Lin, 19, came second in 19 min 49 seconds. The winning Corporate team came from TRF.

'It's a great family affair. At the Shape Run, family members can come support their mom, their sister, their girlfriends,' said Mr Teo. He and his two children were there to cheer on his wife in the 5km event. 'The women came, ran and conquered - be it their competition or their personal limitations. Each and every participant of Shape Run 2010 should give themselves a huge pat on their backs for their effort,' said Jeanette Wang, Associate Editor, Shape.

US economy 'getting better'

WASHINGTON - TREASURY Secretary Tim Geithner says the economy is 'gradually getting better' and 'that's very encouraging.'

This comes after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress earlier this week that the outlook for the country is 'unusually uncertain.'

Mr Geithner says he's seeing 'private investment expand again, job growth starting to come back. And that's very encouraging.'

The Treasury secretary also said private forecasters say the economy will strengthen 'moderately' over the next 18 months.

He says the general view from businesses around the country is that they're seeing 'an economy that's gradually getting better.'

The comments came in an interview to be aired on Sunday on NBC News' 'Meet the Press'. -- AP

3 quakes rattle Philippines

MANILA - THREE major quakes measuring between magnitude 7.3 and 7.4 hit the southern Philippines early on Saturday, seismologists said, but there were no reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued.

The underwater quakes struck at a depth of between 575 and 605km, just over 100km south-west of Cotabato, in Mindanao, said the US Geological Survey.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no destructive tsunami was generated by the quakes, the first of which hit at 6.08am (2208 GMT on Friday).

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands with many people living in communities close to the sea.

The country sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. -- AFP

6.0 quake hits Indonesia

JAKARTA - A 6.0-MAGNITUDE quake hit Indonesia's North Sumatra province on Saturday, the local Meteorological and Geophysics agency said, but there were no reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami alert.

The quake struck at a depth of 10km, 18km north-west of Panyabungan at 9.11am (0211 GMT, 10.11am), according to the agency.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude of the quake at 5.4.

'The quake was felt quite strongly. Many people panicked,' Mandailing Natal district police chief Hirbak Wahyu said.

'The situation has returned to normal now. There are no reports of victims or damage,' he said.

Indonesia sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', where the meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity. -- AFP

Bieber to guest star on 'CSI'

LOS ANGELES - CANADIAN teen idol Justin Bieber is turning his sights on acting, winning a guest role in the hit TV crime series 'CSI', CBS television said on Thursday.

Bieber, 16, will play a troubled teen who is faced with a difficult decision regarding his only brother. The pop singer will appear in the season premiere of 'CSI' in September, and then make other appearances later in the year as his storyline concludes.

'CSI' is one of the most-watched drama series on US television and is widely syndicated around the world.

'CSI' producers called Bieber - whose music video for 'Baby' has a record 250 million views on YouTube - a world phenomenon.

'We'd like to believe that the phenomenon of 'CSI' has had the same impact on popular culture. The opportunity to bring them together in the premiere is a great treat for our audience and all of its new viewers. This will be true event television,' executive producers Carol Mendelsohn, Don McGill and Anthony Zuiker said in a statement.

Bieber signed a record deal at age 14 after posting home videos on YouTube and now causes mob scenes of hysterical girls wherever he goes. He is currently on tour promoting his No.1 album 'My World 2.0'. -- REUTERS

French footballer in xxx probe

PARIS - A FRENCH judge issued preliminary charges on Tuesday against footballer Franck Ribery for soliciting an underage prostitute - the latest blow for a national team that returned from the World Cup in disgrace and disarray.

Ribery and another top French footballer, Karim Benzema, were questioned on Tuesday as part of a probe into a suspected network of prostitutes that operated out of a nightclub on Paris' Champs-Elysees, a judicial official told The Associated Press. She was not authorised to be publicly named according to office policy. Benzema was still answering questions.

The scandal, which broke before the World Cup, includes allegations by a self-described escort girl who says Ribery flew her to visit him as a birthday present to himself when she was still under 18. Ribery is married with two children.

Zahia Dehar,(pic above) now 18, has told French media that several football players on France's national team paid to have xxx with her when she was a minor. She has said the players were not aware she was underage at the time. Preliminary charges in France allow investigators further time to probe. Two other people - a player agent and a member of Ribery's family - were also detained for questioning on Tuesday, a judicial official said on condition of anonymity.

Prostitution is legal in France, but prostitutes must be over 18 years old, and clients are liable if they are not. The case is in the investigation stage and four people were issued with preliminary charges and put in detention in April before being freed. Real Madrid striker Benzema and Bayern Munich forward Ribery could face up to three years in prison and a 45,000 euros (S$79,700) fine if found guilty of paying to have xxx with a minor. They are among the most famous footballers in France. Both players have denied any wrongdoing.

Ribery's lawyer Sophie Bottai said that for the player to be convicted he 'would have had to know her age, which wasn't the case.' 'She would have had to look like a minor, which wasn't the case, she would have to have told him she was a minor, which wasn't the case,' Ms Bottai said. Benzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. -- AP

US sending aircraft carrier

WASHINGTON - THE US is sending the massive aircraft carrier the USS George Washington to South Korea this week, the military announced on Monday.

The deployment is considered a show of force in the wake of the sinking of a South Korean warship last March that killed 46 sailors. South Korea and an international team of investigators have blamed North Korea for the attack.

The carrier was expected to be in South Korea's port of Busan by Wednesday and could participate in an upcoming military exercise. The nuclear powered carrier, one of the world's largest warships, will be accompanied by three destroyers - the McCampbell, the John S. McCain and the Lassen.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were expected to announce more details this week about the upcoming joint military exercise. Mr Gates and Mrs Clinton were visiting Seoul to meet with their South Korean counterparts.

The military exercise and deployment of the George Washington has been under discussion since shortly after the March attack on the South Korean navy vessel, the Cheonan. The Cheonan's sinking was considered South Korea's worst military disaster since the Korean War, which ended in a cease-fire in 1953.

No formal peace treaty was ever signed, and more than 28,000 US troops remain stationed in the south with a vow to protect its critical ally. The deployment of the aircraft carrier could be seen by North Korea as a particularly aggressive move by the United States because of the ship's sheer size. According to a Navy website, the George Washington is 74 metres high from keel to mast and can accommodate some 6,250 crew members. -- AP

China crude pipelines blast

Firefighters work at the oil pipeline blast site in Dalian. -- PHOTO: AP

BEIJING - FIREFIGHTERS have extinguished a fire that raged for more than 15 hours after two oil pipelines exploded in the port of Dalian in north-east China, the Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

An explosion at a pipe transporting crude oil from a ship to a storage tank blew up on Friday evening, causing a second, nearby pipeline to also explode.

No one was injured.

Both pipelines belonged to state-owned China National Petroleum Corp., China's largest oil company and parent of Petrochina.

State television showed dramatic footage of flames shooting into the sky as hundreds of firefighters battled to contain the fire.

The blaze at the larger, 0.9 meter-diameter pipeline was put out around midnight, but firefighters were unable to turn off the pump on the smaller line, Xinhua said.

The ship, a Very Large Crude Carrier, left the port undamaged, Xinhua said. -- REUTERS

No oil flowing into Gulf

Workers continue to construct a berm system on the northern end of the Chandeleur Islands. A tightly fitted cap was successfully keeping oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in three months. -- PHOTO: AP

WASHINGTON - BP ENGINEERS on Thursday stopped oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since April as they shut all valves on a new cap placed on top of a fractured wellhead, a BP official said.

'It is good to see no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico,' said senior vice-president Kent Wells, but he cautioned: 'We are just starting the test.' He said the oil flow stopped as the last of three valves on a huge capping stack was shut at around 2.25pm (1925 GMT, 3.25am Singapore time) on Thursday, but engineers were keeping a close eye on the operation to see whether any oil began leaking again.

It was the biggest step forward in halting the worst oil spill in US history which has been flowing into the sea since a BP-leased rig sank on April 22, two days after a major explosion on the deepwater drilling platform.

Experts have estimated some 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day have been flowing into the Gulf for some 13 weeks, leaving millions of gallons sloshing around in the waters, threatening vulnerable wildlife and fouling the shores of five Gulf states. BP's chief operating officer Doug Suttles warned however it was not yet time to celebrate, saying more time was needed as a 48-hour test is completed.

'I think it's an encouraging sign. In a couple of more days it may even be more encouraging, but no celebrations,' Mr Suttles told reporters. 'If you go talk to these people that live here, celebration is the wrong word.' Mr Wells reminded reporters the aim of the pressure tests was to 'assess the integrity of the well' as it is not known whether the wellbore which stretches deep below the seabed was damaged in the April 20 explosion.

US President Barack Obama, whose administration has led pressure on BP to stop the oil flow, welcomed the news as 'a positive sign,' but cautioned: 'We're still in the testing phase.' Over the next 48 hours, engineers will be closely monitoring the pressures inside the giant 10m cap placed on the well earlier this week. -- AFP

A mega-star is born

This image was obtained by Nasa's orbital Spitzer Space Telescope and ground-based European telescope. -- PHOTO: AFP

PARIS - USING powerful telescopes peering into deep space, astronomers have confirmed a key theory about the formative of massive stars, the journal Nature reported on Wednesday.

Images obtained by Nasa's orbital Spitzer Space Telescope and from a ground-based European telescope showed a dusty disc closely encircling a newly-born but huge star.

It is the first direct evidence that very large stars - those with masses at least 10 times that of the Sun - are born in the same way as smaller brethren, from a disk-shaped cloud of dust and gas.

A competing theory was that massive stars were formed from smaller stars that merged.

'This is the first time we could image the inner regions of the disc around a massive young star,' said Stefan Kraus of the European Southern Observatory. 'Our observations show that formation works the same for all stars, regardless of mass.'

The astronomers looked at a large star known as IRAS 13481-6124, about 20 times the mass of the Sun, located about 10,000 light years in the constellation of Centaurus. -- AFP

I 'd rather go naked

Brooke ShieldsShe may be 42 years old now, but Brooke Shields can still pass for a thirtysomething, and has got the pokey nipples to prove it.




Christy TurlingtonPerhaps it’s all that yoga that makes 38-year-old hot mom Christy Turlington just as gorgeous as she was during her super modeling heyday.

Google broke privacy law

Several other countries are investigating Google over the data collection, and there are growing concerns from regulators and consumer watchdogs worldwide that Google isn't serious enough about people's privacy. -- PHOTO: AFP

SYDNEY - GOOGLE broke Australia's privacy law when it collected private information from wireless networks, the country's privacy commissioner said on Friday, following an investigation into the Internet giant's 'Street View' mapping service.

Several other countries are investigating Google over the data collection, and there are growing concerns from regulators and consumer watchdogs worldwide that Google isn't serious enough about people's privacy - a charge the company denies.

In May, Google acknowledged it had mistakenly collected fragments of data over public Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries while it was taking pictures of neighborhoods for the Street View feature.

Google said it discovered the problem after German regulators launched an inquiry.

At the time, Australia's Communications Minister Stephen Conroy dubbed it the 'single greatest breach in the history of privacy.' On Friday, Privacy Commissioner Karen Curtis said her investigation was complete and she had determined Google breached the nation's Privacy Act.

She said the company has promised to conduct a privacy impact assessment on any new Street View projects involving personal information and regularly consult with her about personal data collection activities in Australia. Ms Curtis said Google had also agreed to publish an apology to Australians on its official blog - which it did. -- AP

China property 'collapsing'

CHINA'S property market is beginning a 'collapse' that will hit the nation's banking system, said Kenneth Rogoff, the Harvard University professor and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.

As China's economy develops, 'especially at the speed it's growing, it's going to have bumps,' said Mr Rogoff, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Hong Kong. He also said that while recoveries across the global economy are 'very slow,' the danger of a return to recession isn't 'elevated.'

Mr Rogoff's concern echoes that of investors, who sent China's benchmark stock index to its worst loss in more than a year last week. China's data have been a focus because the nation has led the global recovery from the worst postwar recession.

Chinese authorities intensified a crackdown on property speculation after announcing the economy expanded at an 11.9 per cent annual pace in the first quarter, the most since 2007. Measures have included raising minimum mortgage rates and down payment ratios for some home purchases. Officials may also start a trial property tax, according to state media.

The efforts have contributed to a slump in real-estate sales, while prices continue to climb. The value of property sales dropped 25 per cent in May from the previous month, said Bloomberg. The increase in prices, at an annual 12.4 per cent in May according to a government survey of 70 cities, was down from a 12.8 per cent advance in April.

'You're starting to see that collapse in property and it's going to hit the banking system,' said Mr Rogoff, 57, who also serves on the Group of 30, a panel of central bankers, finance officials and academics led by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

Nation-wide strike in India

India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party activists shout slogans from inside a bus after being detained during a protest. -- PHOTO: AP

NEW DELHI - POLICE came out in force in cities across India on Monday for an opposition-led national strike over fuel price rises that disrupted flights and train services, and closed schools and businesses.

The strike was called by the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and leftist parties in a concerted show of strength against the Congress-led government's reform programme, disrupting normal life in a large number of states.

In New Delhi, the government said it would not be bullied into reneging on reform promises, and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee insisted there was 'no question' of rolling back on the fuel price hikes.

The government scrapped petrol subsidies last month and announced an across-the-board rise in the price of other fuels as a key part of its strategy to rein in a yawning fiscal deficit. The inflationary knock-on effect of the increases is an issue that India's fractured opposition can unite over, given simmering popular concern over steep rises in the cost of living.

The strike was widely observed in Indian's financial capital, Mumbai, where police had rounded up 1,000 'trouble-makers' on Sunday in a pre-emptive move to prevent any large-scale unrest. Flights to and from Mumbai airport were severely disrupted, with domestic airlines cancelling 45 departures and 39 arrivals.

The city's taxis were mostly off the streets, while most schools, colleges and businesses closed down, with some shopkeepers voicing concerns that the right-wing Shiv Sena party would use violence to enforce the strike call. -- AFP

Ministers quit over 'perks'

PARIS - TWO French ministers resigned on Sunday after rows over the spending of thousands of euros of taxpayers' money on a private jet and cigars at a time when budget cuts are hitting the public.

Development Minister Alain Joyandet and Christian Blanc, a junior minister tasked with overseeing development of a Greater Paris region, both tendered their resignations, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said.

'The president and the prime minister have accepted their resignations,' said the statement from the Elysee palace. The pair had been in office since March 2008. Mr Sarkozy and his prime minister, Fran�ois Fillon, had asked the two ministers to step down on Sunday, government spokesman Luc Chatel told AFP.

In March Mr Joyandet, 56, was criticised for spending 116,500 euros (S$203,576) to hire a private plane to take him to Martinique for an emergency meeting on the earthquake in Haiti. Mr Blanc, 68, came under fire in June after it emerged that he had spent 12,000 euros (S$20,964) of taxpayers' money on Cuban cigars.

The resignations came as Mr Sarkozy's government was struggling to weather a crisis over Labour Minister Eric Woerth's ties to France's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Mr Woerth's name came up in conversations secretly taped by Ms Bettencourt's butler in which she allegedly plotted to evade taxes on her fortune at a time when the minister's wife worked for a firm managing the billionaire's estate.

Mr Sarkozy on Monday ordered his prime minister to crack down on government perks by restricting use of official planes and cars, and scrapping parties. 'At a time when our compatriots are hit by the crisis, the state must more than ever set an example,' Mr Sarkozy wrote in a letter to Mr Fillon. -- AFP

From Russia with love

New York newspapers are on display featuring personal photos of suspected spies Anna Chapman (left) and Richard and Cynthia Murphy. -- PHOTO: AFP

LONDON - THE British ex-husband of Anna Chapman, the flame-haired businesswoman suspected of being part of a Russian spy ring, is a trainee psychiatrist who was married to her for four years, a paper reported on Friday.

Alex Chapman, 30, told the Daily Telegraph that he met his wife-to-be, then called Anna Kushchenko, at a party in London in 2001. Just 21 and 19 at the time, the pair quickly fell in love and married five months later in Moscow.

But in just a few years, the ex-husband told how Anna Chapman changed from being a carefree person who was not materialistic into an 'arrogant and obnoxious' woman who moved in influential circles. By 2006 they had divorced, but have remained in touch since.

The suspected Russian agent worked in London for several years after her marriage, but Alex Chapman said he did not believe she was working as a spy at this point. He suspects she was being 'conditioned' to take just such a path, however.

Anna Chapman is among 11 suspected 'deep-cover' suspects charged with trying to infiltrate US policymaking circles and report back to Moscow in a Cold War-style spy case that threatens to strain thawing ties between the countries. She was remanded into custody without bail at a New York court on Monday.

Enormous media attention has focused on the 28-year-old since the suspected Kremlin spies were snared several days ago, with media portraying her as a green-eyed femme fatale.

Her ex-husband said he was visited by agents of domestic intelligence service MI5 at his home in Bournemouth, southern England, on Wednesday and was questioned about his former wife. The Foreign Office has said it was looking into Anna Chapman's links to Britain. -- AFP

Pakistan blasts kill 37

Pakistan volunteers remove the bodies from a shrine of the Saint Syd Ali bin Osman Al-Hajvery, popularly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh following suicide bomb attacks in Lahore. -- PHOTO: AFP

LAHORE (Pakistan) - TWIN suicide blasts killed at least 37 people on Thursday and injured scores more at a crowded shrine to an Islamic saint in Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital, a city official said.

'At least 37 people were killed and 175 injured' in two suicide attacks at a complex housing the tomb of a Sufi saint, Lahore city police chief Aslam Tareen told AFP.

Another senior city police official, Chaudhry Shafiq also confirmed two suicide attacks and said one bomber blew himself up in the courtyard while the second one detonated his explosive vest in the basement of the shrine. A senior investigating officer told AFP that the bomber in the basement set off his vest after he was intercepted by a group of worshippers.

He said that both the bombers were aged 17-22 years, adding that police were combing the scene for more detailed forensic clues. Thousands of people were at the shrine dedicated to Hazrat Syed Ali bin Usman Hajweri, popularly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh, at the time of the attacks on Thursday night.

'There were at least 2,000 to 2,500 people present in the shrine when the twin attacks took place,' caretaker of the shrine, Mian Mohammad Munir said. He said the blasts occurred within minutes, triggering panic among people, who ran in different directions.

Television channels aired live pictures from the scene of the carnage, showing people crying and beating their chests and heads. Bystanders helped ambulance crews load the wounded into vehicles before they were rushed to hospital. People were seen hugging each other as police cordoned off the area to prevent any further attack. -- AFP

Google search blocked in China

BEIJING - A GOOGLE search feature remained blocked in China on Thursday as the deadline for renewal of the US web giant's operating licence passed with no word from Beijing, amid a fractious row over censorship.

Google said it had yet to receive a response from the government in China - the world's largest Internet market - on its application to renew its Internet Content Provider licence, which expired on Wednesday.

'We are waiting to hear from the government,' Jessica Powell, Google's Tokyo-based spokeswoman, told AFP.

The Xinhua news agency quoted an unnamed official in charge of Internet administration as saying the licence renewal application had been submitted late and government agencies were 'using the time to go through procedures'. 'A quick reply is expected soon,' the official said.

The firm that administers Google.cn pledged in the application letter to 'abide by the Chinese law' and 'provide no law-breaking contents,' the official added, according to Xinhua.

Calls to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the main regulator of China's Internet industry, went unanswered for a second straight day. -- AFP