Book: Jackson told daughter he was dying

Unmasked cover.componentThe star had become skeletal, and some thought he was anorexic"Unmasked" by Ian Halperin is a sympathetic portrait of Michael Jackson that explores Jackson’s prescription drug use, ties to Scientology, multiple plastic surgeries, skin bleaching, sexual identity and the lineage of his three children. In this excerpt, Halperin writes about Jackson's waning health in the months leading up to his death.Before long, however, 10 concerts had turned into 50 and the potential revenues had skyrocketed. But those who knew Jackson best knew he was in no shape to perform 10 shows, let alone 50. “We knew it was a disaster waiting to...

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Michael Jackson's father: Singer couldn't have done 50 concerts

Telegraph.co.ukJoe Jackson is stoking controversy again. The father of late pop icon Michael Jackson, who died of undetermined causes June 25 at age 50, told ABC News today that his son was not physically capable of performing the 50 shows slated for his This Is It comeback concerts in London. "I was worried about his health because all the shows that I'm seeing—no artist can do those many shows you know, back to back like that," said he elder Jackson, who's been criticized for comments he's made in the wake of his son's shocking death. "I knew Michael couldn't do all those shows." Joe Jackson asserts that the singer initially agreed to do only...

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U.S. to spend another $1 billion on flu vaccine

ABC NewsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will spend another $1 billion on ingredients for an H1N1 vaccine, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said on Sunday."There'll be another $1 billion worth of orders placed to get the bulk ingredients for an H1N1 vaccination. Congress has agreed with the president that this is the number one priority, keeping Americans safe and secure," Sebelius said on CNN.Sebelius has said plans were on track for a mid-October vaccination program, although it was not certain Americans would be offered the vaccine for the so-called swine flu."We are aggressively working on, first of all,...

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Obama Prods Top Democrats to Pass Health-Care as Momentum Slows

Sky NewsBy Laura Litvanuly 14 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama is pressing top Democratic lawmakers to move forward on overhauling the U.S. health-care system amid signs momentum for the legislation is slowing.Obama summoned Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to the White House yesterday to push for action before Congress takes its August break.“We are going to do health care before we leave,” Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said at the Capitol following the meeting.Congressional...

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Turkish PM told to take back Xinjiang genocide remark

Straits TimesBEIJING (Reuters) - An official Chinese newspaper urged Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday to take back remarks that genocide was being committed in China's Muslim region of Xinjiang, where rioting left at least 184 dead.In Xinjiang's worst ethnic violence in decades, Uighurs attacked Han Chinese, the country's predominant ethnic group, in regional capital Urumqi on July 5 after police tried to break up a protest against fatal attacks on Uighur workers at a factory in south China.Han Chinese launched revenge attacks two days later.In an editorial headlined "Don't twist facts," the English-language China Daily said the...

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Beyond Angkor Wat

style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03shjCnU9qYeUNDy6mOb9MeCT-NiVkWdz0FRBacQiol_ot7KZlTxeNxtzABalrmEK47nRfZ6GvV8hIMMp7KgNzo57nfgIbhbfSSv6-5VGwE-bJ8NjnUliJVyQSU1KrGJtw2EMKgPBQBE/s400/090706_20.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358060945637365442" /> Photo by: LOS ANGELES TIMESOvergrown with vegetation, a stone dharmasala, or rest house, lies outside one of the entrances to the Banteay Chhmar temple, one of the largest temples outside Angkor Wat.Some of Khmer culture’s most exquisite sites lie outside the famed...

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How 'Song' is leading style a merry dance

A view of Song Design’s Phnom Penh boutique (above); and Cameron Diaz wears Song for Vogue (left). Store Photo By Holly PhamAn eco-friendly emerging Vietnamese fashion label is making waves on the local and international style scenes, with a bump by Vogue and Cameron DiazIn June, Vogue magazine's Green Issue introduced the world's fashion circuit to a new name - Song, an eco-conscious high-end clothing line owned by French-born designer Valerie Gregori McKenzie.Song, literally means "to live" or "life" in Vietnamese, was inspired by the founder's desire to create fashion beyond collections - one that could link to a way of life."A brand that...

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Recarving an art niche in Cambodian culture

Photo by: Stephanie MeeKhmer woodcarving is heavily influenced by Indian styles and Hinduisim, as well as Buddhism.Master wood-carver Chan Sim survived the Khmer Rouge purging of artists and now passes on the tradition of Khmer woodcarving to the next generationPROFESSOR Chan Sim watches keenly as his students delicately chip away at blocks of wood, using metal tools to shape it into figures, scenes and decorative lintels based on designs and motifs passed down for centuries.The small gallery and workshop on Street 178 are Chan Sim's, as are the students who are among hundreds who study under the master wood-carver to learn the ancient practice...

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Cambodia's old temples - without the crowds

John BurgessThe Washington PostIt's early on a Sunday morning in Cambodia, and I'm standing at a 12th-century moat. Traces of mist hover above the lotus leaves that dapple the water. Across a causeway, through a tumbled-down gate, lies Banteay Chhmar, one of the largest temples ever built by the ancient Khmer Empire. My friends and I will have the place all to ourselves.We walk in. It turns out that we do end up sharing it, with a local man who brings his cows onto the grounds to graze. And with an affable mason who leads us across acres of fallen stone to see a message from the past, an inscription chiseled into the door jamb of a holy tower....

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Officials meet in Siem Reap for golf and informal talks

Photo by: TRACEY SHELTONCambodian soldiers walk down the mountain near the Preah Vihear temple complex last week. Cambodian military officers said Sunday that Thailand had brought in reinforcements to the border area.Meeting between Thai, Cambodian military brass seeks to further dialogue between front-line commanders, defence official says.HIGH-ranking Cambodian and Thai authorities held an informal meeting Thursday in Siem Reap to encourage their regional commanders to set up additional meetings in an effort to reduce tension along the border near Preah Vihear temple, a defence official said.Chhum Sucheat, the spokesman and undersecretary...

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Cambodia marks anniversary of temple's world heritage listing

Cambodian students mark the 1st Anniversary of the northern Preah Vihear temple's world heritage listingPHNOM PENH (AFP) — Cambodians on Tuesday noisily celebrated the first anniversary of the UN's world heritage listing of an ancient temple which has stoked nationalist tensions with neighbouring Thailand.Posters of the 11th century Preah Vihear temple were plastered in pagodas, schools and prominent locations around the capital Phnom Penh while celebrators screamed, "Long Live Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site!""As Cambodian people, we are very proud of Preah Vihear temple. We must celebrate this day, it is historic for us," Phnom...

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Key Sectors Challenged by Downturn: UNDP

The world economic crisis is having a direct impact on four of Cambodia’s key economic drivers, which will need to become more competitive, according to a report released by UNDP this month By Ros Sothea, VOA KhmerOriginal report from Phnom PenhThe world economic crisis is having a direct impact on four of Cambodia’s key economic drivers, which will need to become more competitive, according to a report released by UNDP this month.Agriculture, construction, garments and tourism each face challenges from the economic downturn, and “Cambodia now needs to consolidate its progress, nurture its potential and sustain its growth,” the UNDP said in its...

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Storms Threaten Monday Launch of Space Shuttle

Space shuttle Endeavour sits on Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, By Brian WagnerMiamipace shuttle Endeavour is set to launch on a mission to the International Space Station, after a series of weather delays.The seven-member crew of Endeavour is hoping the weather will clear at Kennedy Space Center for the latest launch attempt Tuesday evening.NASA officials called off the last attempt late Sunday, only minutes before they had hoped to send the shuttle on its way to the International Space Station. A series of lightning strikes near the launch pad forced officials to delay the launch attempt on Saturday.Shuttle weather...

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Soldiers of the Royal Thai Army in the streets of Bangkok on the day after the coup. A country of southeast Asia on the Gulf of Thailand (formerly the Gulf of Siam), an arm of the South China Sea. Various Thai kingdoms were founded from the 13th century on, frequently coming into conflict with neighboring Burmese and Cambodian powers. Siam remained an absolute monarchy until 1932, when the king was compelled to accept a constitution, and the country was renamed Thailand in 1939. Thailand was occupied by the Japanese in World War II, and most of its numerous postwar governments were controlled by the military. Bangkok is the capital and the largest...

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British Government Defends its Strategy and Support in Afghanistan

Telegraph.co.uk By Tom RiversLondonFor the first time since eight British soldiers died in Afghanistan last week, Britain's Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth addressed parliament as he tried to rebut claims British forces are under-equipped for the tough mission they are engaged in. The British government has had to restate to the British public why its forces are in Afghanistan in the first place.As British deaths in Afghanistan have edged past the number killed in Iraq, Gordon Brown's approach to Afghanistan is being attacked on two fronts.With the British soldier death rate escalating in Helmand province, the public is losing faith in the government...

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Thai-Cambodian conflict enters 2nd week

2Image via APPHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Thailand accused Cambodia of eyeing even more of its land and leaflets appeared in the Cambodian capital calling for a boycott of Thai goods, as a military standoff over disputed border territory entered a second week Wednesday.On Tuesday, Cambodia asked the U.N. Security Council to intervene in the dispute over the 1.8 square miles of land near the ancient temple of Preah Vihear, warning that the two sides were at "an imminent state of war."Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said he had no choice but to appeal to the United Nations after discussions with Thailand on Monday failed to produce a breakthrough...

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Thailand shuts tourist spots after fatal clashes

!--Preah Vihear temple / Image via ultimatecambodia.comThai authorities have closed indefinitely tourist spots near the Preah Vihear temple as Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashed twice in the vicinity on Friday, leaving two Thai and two Cambodian soldiers dead, and several injured.Closed are Pha Mor E-Daeng cliff, the Khao Phra Viharn National Park and its gate to the Preah Vihear temple in Si Sa Ket province.According to Maj Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon, deputy chief of the Second Army, the clashes followed a landmine explosion that blew off a Thai soldier's leg in Phu Ma Khua area a few kilometres west of Preah Vihear temple.By bangkokpost.comIt...

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ANALYSIS-China's far-west strife reveals a country in flux

URUMQI, China, July 13 (Reuters) - The potential dark side of China's future was on show last week when crowds of Han Chinese, clutching clubs, axes and mobile phones, sought revenge after a rampage by minority Uighur Muslims.By Chris BuckleyURUMQI, China, July 13 (Reuters) - The potential dark side of China's future was on show last week when crowds of Han Chinese, clutching clubs, axes and mobile phones, sought revenge after a rampage by minority Uighur Muslims.The ethnic violence in Urumqi, capital of the far-west Xinjiang region, was also a product of the new China, with its increasingly mobile and sometimes assertive population.Enmity between...

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PM defends Afghanistan strategy

Gordon Brown: ''We must persist with our operations in Afghanistan''Gordon Brown has insisted Britain has the resources "to do the job" in Afghanistan, amid claims troops serving there are under-equipped.The prime minister told MPs helicopter numbers had increased 60% since 2006 and UK forces were the best equipped they had been in 40 years.Tory leader David Cameron attacked the "scandal" of helicopter shortages.UK forces in Afghanistan will also hold a memorial service later for eight men who died in a single 24-hour period.Tributes will be paid at Camp Bastion, a day after it emerged that three of those killed on Friday were just 18.'Very difficult'Five...

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Iraq military chief predicts years of attacks

By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi military on Sunday predicted that insurgent attacks, though declining, could continue for a few years, raising the prospect of militant violence after the scheduled withdrawal of all U.S. troops by the end of 2011.The comments by Gen. Babaker B. Shawkat Zebari, the army chief of staff, came several hours after gunmen fatally shot a government financial officer in northern Iraq and one day after bombs in Baghdad and a village near Mosul killed 10 people.Violence is sharply down in the war that began with the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, but militants still carry out lethal attacks on a regular basis....

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