An Indonesian man has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for the crimes of being an atheist and insulting the Prophet Mohammad.

Since 1922 when the first concerted effort was made to reach the top of Mount Everest, some 219 people have perished in attempts to climb the world’s tallest mountain. During that period the overall mortality rate for those attempting to climb the mountain was 1.6 percent. Over the last 25 years, when attempts to scale Everest became more common, the death rate inched up, reaching as high as 3.4 percent depending on the route utilized.

In Japan, a moment of silence was held at 2:46 p.m. as the nation marked the anniversary of the devastating quake and tsunami that ravaged the nation one year ago, and left the entire country in the grip of an unprecedented nuclear disaster.

The Japanese educational system consists basically of six years of elementary school, three years of junior high school, three years of high school, and four years of university (two years for junior colleges).

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is warning American citizens and other tourists visiting the city to be aware that foreign terrorists may be planning attacks there.

An alert posted to the Embassy’s Website warns:

“This message alerts U.S. citizens in Thailand that foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future.  U.S. citizens are urged to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok.” 

Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and one of the world’s major cities with a population of approximately 12 million people.

Just hours after the warning was issued, Thai authorities arrested one man with suspected ties to Hezbollah.

Until now, the central pillar of the Japanese government’s energy policy has been the nuclear fuel cycle. This fuel cycle entails the extraction of plutonium from reprocessed spent nuclear fuel, and using it to fuel Fast-Breeder Reactors (FBR).

The superior neutron economy of a fast neutron reactor makes it possible to build a reactor that, after its initial fuel charge of plutonium, requires only natural (or even depleted) uranium feedstock as input to its fuel cycle. This fuel cycle has been termed the plutonium economy.

As for the FBR, active development has been pushed forward in United States, France, Russia, U.K., Germany, and Japan until approximately 20 years ago.

Sources in Pakistan are claiming that as many as 28 soldiers have been killed in a NATO helicopter raid on a Pakistani outpost. The attack has prompted Pakistan to respond by shutting down supply routes used by NATO to bring materials north into Afghanistan.

The attack occurred near the village of Salala, near the Afghan border. An unnamed Pakistani military spokesman cited by Voice of America (VOA) News called the incident “unprovoked and indiscriminate.”

According to VOA News, “Top NATO and U.S. commander in Afghanistan General John Allen has offered his condolences to families and loved ones of any members of the Pakistani security forces who may have died or were wounded.”

Islamabad — More worries are in the offing for Pakistan after the handover of the proofs by the Afghan government to the Pakistani embassy in Kabul about the plot behind the murder of Afghan peace leader Burhanuddin Rabbani that was hatched in Quetta.

According to the spokesperson of Afghan National Security Directorate, the assassination plot against Rabbani was planned in Satellite Town of Quetta and the job was done by Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) through Quetta Shura, the Afghan Taliban’s governing council.

The person who carried out the suicide attack that killed Mr. Rabbani is a resident of Chaman of Baluchistan province, according to the statements issued from President Karzai’s office.

Following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, the Japanese government, which formerly pursued a range of nuclear options to fill the nation’s energy needs, began to reconsider the future of the nuclear power industry. Both former Prime Minister Naoto Kan and current Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda have discussed the possibility that Japan will face a non-nuclear future.

The increased skepticism in the country about the feasibility and safety of nuclear power in a quake prone region of the world has now led to massive funding cuts for one of the world’s most promising and advanced nuclear reactors. According to reports, the Japanese science ministry plans to cut funding for the Monju fast-breeder reactor by up to 80 percent next year.

A strong earthquake rocked northern India late on Sunday, causing several deaths and dozens of minor injuries. Among the deaths, five people reportedly died in Nepal, while several perished in India.

According to the Hindustan Times, “A man in Bhagalpur district died in a stampede after the quake shook parts of Bihar.”

Other deaths included that of a 7-year-old girl, according to New Delhi Television.

The paper also reported that “several buildings developed major cracks in Sikkim, state chief secretary Karma Gyatso said.”

Witnesses reported seeing objects shaking violently during the quake.

“We saw computers, chairs and tables rattling in our office,” said one witness.

Amidst the ongoing mainstream rehabilitation of Communist and supposedly former Communist nations (i.e., the media studiously avoids mention of the c-word), Communist countries continue to persecute political dissidents.

The most obvious case was the extrajudicial detention of artist and architect Ai Weiwei by Communist China. Arguably China’s most famous and accomplished artist, AI Weiwei has long been a critic of China’s government. Earlier this year, he was detained and held without trial by China’s Communist government proving to many that while China may have allowed liberalization of some parts of the economy, the country still operates a substantial police state apparatus.

Vietnam, another Communist nation now largely rehabilitated in the eyes of western media organs, also continues to detain dissidents and, according to one human rights organization, engages in torture of detainees.

As the United States and the world remembers the victims of the attacks of 9/11, the Taliban has conducted a bomb attack on a NATO base in Afghanistan.

According to a press release from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, the attack killed two civilians and injured dozens of people at Combat Outpost Sayed Abad in Wardak province.

According to NATO, “Two Afghan civilians were killed and a significant number of ISAF and Afghan civilians were injured as a result of the Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Device attack at approx 5:30 p.m. at Combat Outpost Sayed Abad, Wardak province, yesterday.”

Typhoon Talas has raged through Japan, leaving dozens dead and missing in its wake and wreaking terrible damage to the already earthquake ravaged nation.

According to the Japan Times, the Kyodo News has calculated that Talas is the deadliest storm to hit Japan in the last seven years.

As the typhoon approached, Japan issued evacuation orders for as many as 460,000 people. “Nevertheless, at least 3,600 people were stranded by flooding, landslides or broken bridges that hampered relief efforts,” the Japan Times reported.

The death toll from the storm has reached 32, with 57 people still missing.

Residents of several towns remain cut off as a result of flooding and landslides and authorities are using helicopters to mount rescue efforts.

A fun day at the beach turned into a gruesome and horrific tragedy as a giant great white shark killed a young surfer while dozens of swimmers looked on in horror.

The terrible attack took place at a crowded beach in Western Australia.

Witnesses said the giant shark attacked with no warning, coming up from below and behind and dragging the victim, described as a male in his early 20s, under the water.

According to reports, the victim was bitten in two by the shark.

Kurt Morris, who talked with the victim's friends, described what he was told for London's Daily Mail.

"They were saying they were just two metres away from him," Morris recalled. "From the waist down, it was all gone."

Islamabad -- The U.S. State Department’s new country report on terrorism 2010 has been released and it includes allegations and charges that Pakistan is not, either through inability or unwillingness, able to counter terrorists who are planning violence against American interests in South Asia.

The report has been released at the time when there already have been critical relations between Pakistan and United States. Nevertheless Washington is demanding more from Islamabad in efforts to combat terrorism in the region.

The report is comprised of seven chapters and is being widely discussed by the international media as it revealed that despite efforts from Pakistan the country’s northern areas remain a safe heaven for terrorists and dangerous militant groups.

The report stated that the Haqqani Network, Taliban’s Quetta Shura, Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba are using the border areas of the country for their terrorist activities in Afghanistan.