China women look for financial security in marriage

SHANGHAI: Financial security in marriage ranks high among women in China.

That's according to the latest Chinese marriage report which shows that nearly 80 per cent of Chinese women look for partners who earn twice what they do.

And more than half of them want full access to their future husbands' salary.

Xizhiyuan match-making company has been in business for 13 years.

They have noticed that how much a man earns has become more important to women in recent years.

Now more than half of their female customers ask for dates with men who make at least 50 per cent more than them.

Jiang Weilan, Manager of Xizhiyuan Match-Making, said, "Young people, particularly women, tend to compete with each other. In the past, they were happy with dates who earn slightly more than they do, but now it's no longer the case. For example, she is paid 10,000 yuan a month, she require her date to earn 15,000 or 20,000 a month. 50 per cent to 60 per cent more in salary is a very common requirement now. At least that's what we found from our clients. Even if they ask for doubled salaries, it's still quite normal."

According to the 2012 Annual Chinese Marriage Report, 77 per cent of urban Chinese women want a husband whose income is at least double theirs.

Sociologists say this is a reflection of the income disparity that still exists in China.

Lu Xiaowen, Vice Director of Institute of Sociology at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said, "We still face the unfairness that women are paid less than men in a lot of cases. Practically, women will naturally look for men who have higher income. This is a fact of our society. Besides, our income has increased significantly over the past few years, and the expectation of a further increase is high. Therefore, women now have a high standard when it comes to their future husbands' income."

The report also shows women now favour men with a stable income more than those who own an apartment.

The report found 89 per cent of women chose stable income as a must for marriage, whereas 68 per cent think a property decides who is qualified to be a husband.

Experts believe this shows a growing healthy trend, dubbed "naked marriage".

Lu Xiaowen added, "Naked marriage means when young people get married, they don't require an apartment or big saving. Instead, they work hard together to build their own home. A key factor in this equation is they both need a stable career and income so that they can mutually work towards their goal together."

Another interesting fact in the report - more than half of Chinese women want to control their husband's salaries after marriage.

Although men are not in favour of this idea, experts believe letting the wife act as family CFO could bring stability and harmony to a home.

Most women do, in fact, run the household and may be more equipped to deal with family expenditures.

- CNA/de

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India pledges $100m for Mali reconstruction

NEW DELHI: India gathered with European and African nations in Brussels on Tuesday to commit itself to stabilizing Mali which is reeling under al-Qaida attacks. It's the first time India will be involving itself in the political process as well as reconstruction of a country so far from its immediate sphere of influence. The move displays a growing confidence within the Indian foreign policy system.

India had promised to be part of the Support and Follow-Up Group (SFG) for Mali at last week's conference in Addis Ababa, headquarters for the African Union (AU). India has committed to giving $1 million for the upgrade of the Malian army with a pledge to ramp up contributions for reconstruction to $100 million after the situation stabilizes. The Malian army, which will remain in the frontlines after the French intervention is over, is poorly equipped and trained, and markedly different from the fighters of al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

India's involvement in Mali is interesting given New Delhi's aversion to external intervention in foreign conflicts, like Syria or Libya, where it abstained on a crucial UN Security Council resolution authorizing the "no-fly" zone. The conflict in Mali evokes a very different reaction from India.

There appear to be three broad reasons. First, India's commitment to a continued fight against extremist terrorism would ring hollow if New Delhi shied away from taking responsibility in emerging conflicts. In Mali, the al-Qaida fighters teamed up with the Tuaregs to carve out a territory that could be under the control of Islamist extremists. From the Indian point of view this would be profoundly dangerous.

Second, the lead role in the Mali intervention has been played by France. Indian officials said they have been "kept in the loop" by Paris from the beginning. In December 2012, during its last month at the UN Security Council, India co-sponsored a French resolution UNSCR 2085 that supported an African Union-ECOWAS military force in Mali. The French military intervention in Mali has not prompted the expected negative reaction from New Delhi. And, the target this time around is al Qaeda and its affiliated groups in that region, where India, like others, is developing economic interests. India's reaction to the France-led operation in Libya in 2011 was much more negative. In fact, many in the Indian government believe that the Mali crisis was a natural blowback of the Libya conflict.

Indian support to the French operation in Mali is predicated on it being a primarily counter-terror operation. Syed Akbaruddin, MEA's spokesperson, said, "We unequivocally condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Wherever and by whosoever committed, regardless of their motivation, we consider it criminal and unjustifiable. We also believe that the fight against the scourge of terrorism must be unrelenting."

Third, India's impetus to rush to the aid of Mali was also influenced by reports from the UN that some of the al Qaeda fighters may be from the Af-Pak region. In the Algerian hostage crisis at In Amenas recently a number of fighters were found to be from different countries, including Canada.

Off the record, Indian officials express fears that al Qaeda-fuelled unrest could spread in those difficult regions, because of what they believe is a deadly cocktail of Islamist extremist ideology, widespread poverty, lack of governance and vast amounts of arms and weapons. Most of these weapons were taken out of Libya after the fall of the Gaddafi regime. The Libyan operation gave humanitarian intervention, or R2P in UN parlance, a bad name in the Indian mind.

On Monday, French president Francois Hollande paid a surprise visit to Timbuktu, Mali, while the French operation is concentrating its energies on targeting the Al Qaeda fighters who have melted into the desert, mountains and caves outside the cities. The situation in northern Mali is yet to stabilize with several Tuareg fighters still holed up there. The French forces are trying to keep control of the cities and clear them of the Islamists and Tuaregs, but with the fighters at large, there is always the possibility of the repeat of Afghanistan, and resurgence after the foreign forces have left.

This reinforces the support group's importance. India is expected to support a political process in Mali with elections in July, a goal already adopted by its national assembly, but questions have to be answered whether the country would be ready for elections by that time.

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Space Pictures This Week: A Space Monkey, Printing a Moon Base

Illustration courtesy Foster and Partners/ESA

The European Space Agency (ESA) announced January 31 that it is looking into building a moon base (pictured in an artist's conception) using a technique called 3-D printing.

It probably won't be as easy as whipping out a printer, hooking it to a computer, and pressing "print," but using lunar soils as the basis for actual building blocks could be a possibility.

"Terrestrial 3-D printing technology has produced entire structures," said Laurent Pambaguian, head of the project for ESA, in a statement.

On Earth, 3-D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, produces a three-dimensional object from a digital file. The computer takes cross-sectional slices of the structure to be printed and sends it to the 3-D printer. The printer bonds liquid or powder materials in the shape of each slice, gradually building up the structure. (Watch how future astronauts could print tools in space.)

The ESA and its industrial partners have already manufactured a 1.7 ton (1.5 tonne) honeycombed building block to demonstrate what future construction materials would look like.

—Jane J. Lee

Published February 4, 2013

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Boy Rescued in Ala. Standoff 'Laughing, Joking'

The 5-year-old boy held hostage in a nearly week-long standoff in Alabama is in good spirits and apparently unharmed after being reunited with his family at a hospital, according to his family and law enforcement officials.

The boy, identified only as Ethan, was rescued by the FBI Monday afternoon after they rushed the underground bunker where suspect Jimmy Lee Dykes, 65, was holding him. Dykes was killed in the raid and the boy was taken away from the bunker in an ambulance.

Who Is Jimmy Lee Dykes?

Officials have not yet provided any further details on the raid, citing the ongoing investigation.

"I've been to the hospital," FBI Special Agent Steve Richardson told reporters Monday night. "I visited with Ethan. He is doing fine. He's laughing, joking, playing, eating, the things that you would expect a normal 5- to 6-year-old young man to do. He's very brave, he's very lucky, and the success story is that he's out safe and doing great."

Ethan is expected to be released from the hospital later today and head home where he will be greeted by birthday cards from his friends at school. Ethan will celebrate his 6th birthday Wednesday.

Ala. Hostage Standoff Over: Kidnapper Dead, Child Safe Watch Video

Alabama Hostage Standoff: Jimmy Lee Dykes Dead Watch Video

Officials were able to insert a high-tech camera into the 6-by-8-foot bunker to monitor Dykes' movements, and they became increasingly concerned that he might act out, a law enforcement source with direct knowledge told ABC News Monday. FBI special agents were positioned near the entrance of the bunker and used an explosive charge to gain access and neutralize Dykes.

"Within the past 24 hours, negotiations deteriorated and Mr. Dykes was observed holding a gun," the FBI's Richardson said. "At this point, the FBI agents, fearing the child was in imminent danger, entered the bunker and rescued the child."

Richardson said it "got tough to negotiate and communicate" with Dykes, but declined to give any specifics.

After the raid was complete, FBI bomb technicians checked the property for improvised explosive devices, the FBI said in a written statement Monday afternoon.

The FBI had created a mock bunker near the site and had been using it to train agents for different scenarios to get Ethan out, sources told ABC News.

Former FBI special agent and ABC News consultant Brad Garrett said rescue operators in this case had a delicate balance.

"You have to take into consideration if you're going to go in that room and go after Mr. Dykes, you have to be extremely careful because any sort of device you might use against him, could obviously harm Ethan because he's right there," he said.

Still, Monday's raid was not the ending police had sought as they spent days negotiating with the decorated Vietnam veteran through a ventilation shaft. The plastic PVC pipe was also used to send the child comfort items, including a red Hot Wheels car, coloring books, cheese crackers, potato chips and medicine.

State Sen. Harri Anne Smith said Ethan's mother asked police a few days ago not to kill Dykes.

"She put her hand on the officer's heart and said, 'Sir, don't hurt him. He's sick,'" Smith said Monday.

Taylor Hodges, pastor of the Midland City Baptist Church, said, "Many people here don't keep their doors locked. Things are going to change, especially for our school system."

The outcome of the situation drew praise from the White House.

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WP's Lee Li Lian holds first Meet-the-People session

SINGAPORE: Ms Lee Li Lian of the Workers' Party headed straight to her Meet-the-People session after Monday's Parliament sitting.

The session was held at Blk 135 Rivervale Street.

About 30 residents were in the queue to speak to Ms Lee about housing and parking issues.

The Workers' Party's (WP) Secretary-General Low Thia Khiang also turned up.

Ms Lee was sworn in as the Member of Parliament for Punggol East on Monday.

Ms Lee beat the People's Action Party's Dr Koh Poh Koon, the Reform Party's Kenneth Jeyaretnam and the Singapore Democratic Alliance's Desmond Lim in a four-cornered by-election on January 26.

Ms Lee won the seat with 54.5 per cent of the votes cast.

She is the seventh elected WP member in the House.

- CNA/xq

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'Women Only' buses to make commuting safer

MUMBAI: A series of transport reforms is on the anvil to prevent crimes against women.

The central government on Monday recommended that 'Women Only' buses should be pressed into service.

It also proposed to encourage more women to drive buses and taxis all over the country.

A common grouse cited by traffic police personnel nationwide is that vehicles often have factory-fitted glasses where the tint is darker than the permissible limit.

The secretary in the ministry of road transport will consult with technical experts and police representatives to examine what should be the maximum permissible level of tint in windows of public transport buses.

The ministry of home affairs will develop a time-bound protocol to verify the antecedents of crew manning public transport vehicles.

It will also advise state governments to undertake similar verification checks.

The particulars of the bus owner, the driver and the details of permit and license will be required to be prominently displayed both inside and outside the buses.

The detail will have to be placed where it is prominently visible in an easily readable font.

The ministry of road transport & highways will make it mandatory to install GPS devices in all public transport vehicles.

A control room will have to be set up to monitor the movement of buses. The ministry will soon issue an advisory to all states to comply.

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King Richard III Bones Found, Scientists Say

The search for the long-vilified English King Richard III, who died in battle in 1485 and whose image as a nasty tyrant was immortalized by William Shakespeare, appears to have ended.

In a dramatic Monday morning press conference, researchers from England's University of Leicester announced they had identified "beyond all reasonable doubt" Richard III's skeletal remains. The remains had been unearthed last August by an archaeological team from beneath a parking lot where the friary that reportedly held Richard III's body once stood.

For nearly 40 minutes on Monday, a team of scientists and historians reported the results of detailed medical, historical, genealogical, and genetic studies conducted after archaeologists discovered a skeleton that they believed to be Richard III. (Related: "Shakespeare's Coined Words Now Common Currency.")

Turi King, a geneticist at the University of Leicester, and Kevin Schürer, a genealogist at the school, turned up the most compelling evidence. By poring over historical records and documents, Schürer conclusively identified two of Richard III's living descendants: Michael Ibsen, a furniture maker in London, England, and a second individual who now wishes to remain anonymous.

King took DNA samples from the two descendants and compared them to a sample of ancient DNA obtained from the skeleton from the friary. "There is a DNA match," King told reporters, "so the DNA evidence points to these being the remains of Richard III."

Richard III died at age 32 of injuries he sustained at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485, and the new evidence fits closely with these records.

University of Leicester osteologist Jo Appleby showed two gruesome head injuries that Richard received in his last moments—one likely inflicted from behind by an assailant bearing a halberd, a medieval weapon consisting of an axe blade topped with a spike. In addition, Appleby found several other wounds that she described as "humiliation injuries," likely inflicted on Richard's dead body.

Historical accounts suggest that Richard's enemies stripped his body after the battle and threw his corpse over a horse "and this," says Appeleby, "would have left his body exposed to [humiliation] injuries."

The osteologist's studies also revealed that Richard was a man of slight build who suffered from a medical condition known as idiopathic adolescent scolosis, a curvature of the spine that developed after ten years of age and that may have brought back pain to the future king.

This emerging scientific picture of Richard fits with a description of the king written by John Rous, a medieval English historian, in the late 15th century. According to Rous, Richard III "was slight in body and weak in strength."

The King's enduring image as a cruel despot was cemented by Shakespeare, who portrayed him as a glowering monster so repugnant "that dogs bark at me as I halt by them."

In Shakespeare's famous play, the hunchbacked king claws his way to the throne and methodically murders most of his immediate family—his wife, older brother, and two young nephews—until he suffers defeat and death on the battlefield at the hands of a young Tudor hero, Henry VII.

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Which Super Bowl Commercial Won the Night?

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Etch A Sketch creator dies

PARIS: Andre Cassagnes, the French inventor of the Etch A Sketch, a toy beloved of children around the world, has died at the age of 86.

His death in France in mid-January was announced by the Ohio Art Company which has been making the Etch a Sketch since 1960, according to media reports.

The Etch A Sketch, a grey screen with bold red frame, allows children to draw a picture using a stylus and then erase it with the turn of two buttons.

It has sold more than 100 million copies around the world.

- AFP/ck

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No noble family will allow girls to become dancers: Hurriyat

SRINAGAR: Hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference today expressed surprise over Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah's support for the valley's only all-girls rock band, saying there is no room to nourish western culture and immoral values in the state.

"Kashmir is a place of sufis and saints and there is no room to nourish western type of culture and immoral values," Hurriyat spokesman Ayaz Akbar said in a statement.

"Though in a civilised society there is no place for coercion and force, there are some values a citizen has to adopt to safeguard the ethical and religious traditions," he said.

"Hurriyat Conference expresses regret and surprise over the support of Omar Abdullah," Akbar said.

"As a matter of fact no noble family will allow their girls to choose their profession as a dancer so as to be a mere thing of pleasure for strangers," he said.

Akbar said Omar should have gone through the history of Kashmir to find out the high regard and esteem bestowed upon women in order to save them from being sold as commodity.

"It is a matter of concern for us the way Omar Abdullah backed the rock band because the dynasty he belongs to has since long disassociated itself from Islamic and ethical values," he said.

Referring to the reported threats being given to the rock band, the spokesman termed it "not good".

"Instead, parents should have rectified the things and provided advice to their daughters that their activities were not as per ethics of Islam, culture and our unique identity," he said.

Omar had come out in support of the girls yesterday saying police will probe the threats.

"I hope these talented young girls will not let a handful of morons silence them," he said.

The all-girls band, which came to limelight in late December last year after their performance at the annual 'Battle of the Bands' competition here, had defied the convention by stepping into the male-dominated field of music.

The girls' band has received abusive and hate messages on their Facebook page for defying convention by choosing the field of music.

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