Survivors criticize Myanmar gov't over clashes

SITTWE, Myanmar (AP) — Victims of ethnic clashes in western Myanmar lashed out at the government for failing to prevent violence between Muslims and Buddhists that has displaced more than 32,000 people over the last week.The crisis, which erupted in June, has raised international concern and posed one of the biggest challenges yet to Myanmar's reformist President Thein Sein, who inherited power from...

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Panasonic may curb solar panel, lithium battery expansion: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Electronics conglomerate Panasonic Corp may curtail its expanded production of solar panels and small lithium batteries used in PCs and other devices as part of new round of restructuring, two sources at the company told Reuters. Panasonic recently built a solar panel plant in Malaysia for 45 billion yen ($564 million), upping capacity by one-third to 900 megawatts....

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In Vietnam, US relies on pirate site to network

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) — It's a wildly popular website laden with unlicensed songs and Hollywood movies, a prime exhibit of the digital piracy that is strangling the music industry in Asia and eroding legitimate online sales around the world.The free-to-download bonanza has pushed Vietnam's Zing.vn into the ranks of the globe's top 550 websites. But a few clicks inside the site reveal a surprising...

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China passes law to curb abuse of mental hospitals

BEIJING (AP) — China's legislature on Friday passed a long-awaited mental health law that aims to prevent people from being involuntarily held and unnecessarily treated in psychiatric facilities — abuses that have been used against government critics and triggered public outrage.The law standardizes mental health care services, requiring general hospitals to set up special outpatient clinics or provide...

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Superstorm Sandy clobbers New York City

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline and hurled a record-breaking 13-foot (4-meter) surge of seawater at New York City on Monday, roaring ashore and putting the presidential campaign on hold a week before Election Day. At least 10 deaths were blamed on the storm.Sandy knocked out power to at least 5.2 million people across the U.S. East, and New York's main utility...

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Chinese protest factory even after official pledge

NINGBO, China (AP) — Protests against the expansion of a factory are resuming in an eastern China city despite a local government pledge to halt the project.About 200 protesters gathered outside Ningbo government offices Monday for a fourth straight day of protests. Police channeled the crowd from the front of the building off to a side street.The protests have occasionally featured violent clashes...

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In San Francisco, tech investor leads a political makeover

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - One morning in April, Ron Conway, the billionaire technology investor, sat in a conference room on the second floor of San Francisco's City Hall with about 50 representatives from the city's business community. On the agenda was a sweeping proposal by Mayor Ed Lee to reform the city's payroll tax, a plan that would favor companies with many employees but little...

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Reports: UK rocker arrested as part of Savile case

LONDON (AP) — Police investigating child sex abuse allegations against the late BBC television host Jimmy Savile arrested former glam rock star and convicted sex offender Gary Glitter on Sunday, British media reported, raising further questions about whether Savile was at the center of a broader pedophile ring.Police would not directly identify the suspect arrested Sunday, but media including the...

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FDA: Pharmacy tied to outbreak knew of bacteria

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staffers at a pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak documented dozens of cases of mold and bacteria growing in rooms that were supposed to be sterile, according to federal health inspectors.In a preliminary report on conditions at the pharmacy, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday that even when the contamination at New England Compounding Center exceeded the...

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East Coast superstorm could menace 50 million people

NEW YORK (AP) — From Washington to Boston, big cities and small towns were buttoned up Monday against the onslaught of a superstorm that threatened 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation, with forecasters warning that the New York area could get the worst of it — an 11-foot wall of water."The time for preparing and talking is about over," Federal Emergency Management...

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