Australian feared killed in Indonesia blasts

An Australian man is missing and feared killed in the bombings of two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Craig Senger, a senior official with the Australian Government trade agency Austrade, had been attending a conference at the JW Marriott hotel when it was rocked by a high-powered explosion Friday morning."We fear the worst," Senger's uncle Geoff Lazurus told Melbourne's The Age newspaper.The blasts at the Marriott and nearby Ritz-Carlton hotel killed at least nine people and injured more than 40 others, including two Australians.A New Zealand businessman, Tim Mackay, is among the confirmed dead.Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd condemned the bombings, calling them cowardly and murderous attacks.He said they are a reminder that the terrorist threat remains alive across the world."This is an assault on all of us, and we're dealing with some very ugly people here," Mr Rudd said

Rio Tinto spy scandal

China is accusing Australian mining executives of stealing state secrets damaging Beijing's economic security, following the arrest of four employees of mining giant Rio Tinto on suspicion of spying.The arrests came amid tense negotiations between Rio Tinto and Chinese steel mills over the contract price of iron ore.But questions are being asked about what impact the arrests will have on foreign investment in China, and the extent to which the state will intervene in deal making.

In the last two decades, China has been a new financial field for many, where the government has tried to build a reputation as a stable and lucrative investment destination. But now questions are being asked over just how business is being done in China, and how far the state will go, to ensure the price is right."The concern that foreign investors would have is the extent to which government plays a role in commercial negotiations - what one might describe as the hidden hand of government - and the extent to which the support of government might be enlisted to help resolve commercial issues," said Andrew Godwin from Melbourne University's Asia Law Centre.The arrest of four executives of the mining giant Rio Tinto in Shanghai, among them Australian Stern Hu, provoked immediate reaction.Australia's Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, says officials were advised Mr Hu was being detained on suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets."That was a surprise to our officials and the Australian Government, as it came as a surprise to Rio Tinto, the employer," he said.The Chinese foreign ministry says it can prove the allegations against the men."The relevant Chinese authorities have sufficient evidence to prove that they have stolen state secrets, which have greatly damaged China's economic security," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. "It is inappropriate to make this individual judicial case bigger, or even politicise it, because this will be no good for Australia."The arrests came at a time when China's steel mills, and miners like Rio Tinto, were in intense negotiations over the contract price of iron ore. The Chinese wanted a 40 per cent cut on the price, but a 33 per cent cut is now believed to have been agreed on. "In terms of meeting the market, they're not going to get the supply from anywhere else," Peter Arden from Ord Minnett said. "So I think they've got to be commercial about it, and I think they cannot expect Australia to agree to a bigger price cut in the way it's being demanded."Andrew Godwin says in China, the bigger the business, the more likely it is to be state owned. A veteran of ten years of law practice in China, he says there are always concerns about how much the state will intervene in the deal."Given the role of the state-owned sector in the Chinese economy, the extent to which state-owned enterprises are directly accountable to government, there are obvious concerns about the role of government, the extent to which commercial decision are being directed by government, and that is really behind the concerns that people have in this context," he said.When Rio allied itself with its arch-rival, BHP Billiton, last year, to thwart a bid by the Chinese Government-owned Chinalco, to take a $US19 billion stake in Rio, it was seen as a betrayal in a country where saving face is everything. There was talk about payback, but Andrew Godwin thinks that's unlikely, because the damage it would do to confidence in China would be too great."That, to me, would constitute a greater threat to confidence in China generally, and for that reason, I'd be surprised if they were motivated by those concerns," he said.At times, foreign business people have fallen foul of the law in China over disputed deals, usually in more remote regions. But Andrew Godwin says what should concern the international community is the fact these arrests were made in Shanghai."Shanghai really is the preeminent business and industrial centre in China, and it is a place in which foreign investors, I think, could expect to receive a fair hearing, and also, a place in which one would hope the principles of rule of law are observed," he said.China's economy has been the envy of many - continuing to grow during the global financial crisis, albeit at a slower pace than before. Foreign investment and expertise has played its own role in the success of the so-called tiger economies in the Asian region. Now it remains to be seen if the arrest of the Rio Tinto executives means the Chinese tiger is on a short leash.

Three Astronauts in Apollo

Forty years ago, three astronauts in Apollo 11 blasted off towards the moon, the culmination of a decade-long space race between the United States and Russia.Now, on the 40th anniversary of the historic landing, the future of space exploration looks to be increasingly in the hands of Asia's emerging superpowers.

It was a promise, first expressed by the US President, John F. Kennedy, to the US congress in 1961 - to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him back safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish."- John F. Kennedy - May 25, 1961The moon landing, on July 20, 1969, delivered on that promise, after eight years of unprecedented national effort by over 100,000 people, more than $US100 billion, and the death of three other astronauts.On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Around 600 million people, or what was then one-fifth of the world's population, are believed to have watched the live broadcast of his first steps on moon.
"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

The moon landing followed more than a decade of the so-called 'space race' between the United States and Russia, and was the first of six manned moon landings. December 1972 was the last time that man stood on the moon.

China's missions

But the last decade has seen several new players entering the final frontier - most notably from Asia - including China, India and South Korea, resulting in a new 'space race'."There is some discussion of a space race, particularly between the United States and China," says Jeff Foust, publisher of The Space Review."I think the real space race though is the competition between these Asian countries, China, India, also Japan, South Korea that are ramping up their space programs and embarking on new missions, such as missions to the moon and also manned space craft programs in an effort to demonstrate that they are at the very least at the same level as the leaders, the United States and Russia, if not perhaps superior in some ways."China in particular has accelerated its space program - launching two manned missions since 2003.US space agency NASA has acknowledged its plans to return to the moon by 2020 could be trumped by a Chinese mission, but Jeff Foust says that doesn't seem likely based on its current schedule."Certainly I think their long term ambitions do include human missions to the moon," he said. "I don't think we will see that before 2020. In fact some Chinese officials talk about doing human lunar missions sometime around 2025 or 2030, which is probably a little more realistic based on the current progress, as well as their current interest focusing more on human missions in earth orbits in developing a small series of small stations."

Indian landing

In 2008, India became the fourth country to plant its flag on the moon, when it crash-landed a scientific probe launched from its Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.It plans to launch a second mission with the goal of landing a rover on the moon by 2012, with manned spaceflight missions shortly after."They did their first mission to the moon or robotic mission to the moon last year and now they are moving into a greater interest in human space flight and perhaps doing their first human space flight sometime in the middle of the next decade," said Mr Foust."So certainly they are ramping up and putting more and more resources into their space program."

Other Asian exploration

Japan has been active in space exploration since the 1970s, including missions to explore Halley's Comet and Mars. Its lunar explorer mission, known as Kaguya, has been described as the largest lunar mission since the Apollo program. Japan has also crash-landed a lunar orbiter into the moon's surface at the end of its mission. Although Japan has set a goal of lunar landings by 2020, with the construction of a lunar base to follow, it has not yet developed its own manned spacecraft - but several Japanese astronauts have been sent into space, among them Koichi Wakata who will be in space, as part of the International Space Station crew, during the Apollo anniversary.And other Asian countries have also joined the space race, launching satellites and unmanned spacecraft. "South Korea is starting to devote more resources to their space program as well," said Mr Foust. "They have been working with Russia to develop their own small launch vehicle for launching satellites themselves, which could be ready for launch as soon as the end of this month and they also have some long term ambitions about perhaps doing some robotic missions to the moon sometime in the next decade."Indonesia has also claimed success in its plans to put a satellite in orbit.Jeff Foust says the new space race is as much about prestige for the emerging Asian powers as it is the economic and security benefits."It really is in terms of funding and what level of priority you want to put on your space program and certainly as these countries become wealthier and more powerful, they have more resources that they can put into space, in part because they realise the economic and security benefits that space can provide,"he said."But also the greater prestige that space can provide and demonstrating to the world that these really are rising powers in the world."