A few days before the start of this year's Melbourne International Film Festival its executive director received an "audacious" telephone call.
An official from China's consulate in the city called him to "urge" the festival to withdraw a film about the Chinese activist Rebiya Kadeer.
Beijing then tried to persuade the organisers of the Frankfurt Book Fair not to allow two Chinese writers to attend an event.
China says it does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
But some see these acts as an attempt by China to use abroad the tough censorship measures it constantly employs at home.
Intimidation and threats
Richard Moore, the Melbourne festival's executive director, said he was astonished to receive the call from the city's Chinese consulate.
"It came down to [the consular official] saying we need to justify our decision to include the film in the programme. It was a remarkable display of confidence and arrogance," he said.
The festival decided to ignore the advice and go ahead with the film - about an activist who campaigns for better rights for China's Uighur minority - but that did not end the issue.
The festival organisation was subjected to an intense campaign of threats, intimidation and disruption, although it is not clear who - if anyone - orchestrated the campaign.
The festival e-mail address received insulting messages, there were waves of annoying phone calls and the fax machine was jammed with callers.
 Chinese officials objected to writer Dai Qing speaking in Frankfurt |
Some notes to the organisers contained messages threatening Mr Moore's family.
Internet hackers managed to break into the festival's online booking site, making it appear that session tickets had been sold out.
Hackers also managed to post a Chinese flag on the main website and Chinese film-makers withdrew their movies from the festival.
The film at the centre of the controversy - called The 10 Conditions of Love - was finally shown at a larger venue, partly because the publicity surrounding the row increased interest.
Its subject, Rebiya Kadeer, was also invited to take part in a talk at the festival, which took place in July and August.
But Mr Moore admits that the event organisers will look hard at how to showcase controversial films at future festivals.
The Chinese government was just as direct with the organisers of the Frankfurt Book Fair, an annual event that bills itself as a "worldwide marketplace for ideas".
Walkout
China was the guest of honour at this October's fair and Beijing funded a series of events to showcase its literature and culture.
But Chinese officials were angry when they found out writers Dai Qing and Bei Ling had been invited to a symposium connected to the fair.
 |  China is using its economic influence to threaten its trade partners in order to censor what they don't like  Dai Qing, author  Anger over web censorship China seeks 'open' control |
According to Juergen Boos, the fair's director, China asked the organisers to ban the writers, a request they initially agreed to carry out.
The two Chinese writers were then allowed to speak at the symposium, but when they stood up to make a speech some of the Chinese delegation left the room.
"We did not come to be instructed about democracy," a former Chinese ambassador told the event organisers.
China often asks foreign governments and organisations not to do something that it perceives to be against its interests. It recently complained to Japan when Tokyo allowed Ms Kadeer to enter the country.
But it says this does not contravene its policy of non-interference.
"I believe the Chinese government has not violated the principle of interfering in others' internal affairs," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu recently in response to a question about this policy.
But writer Dai Qing, who is also an environmental campaigner, believes China's increasing economic muscle has emboldened the country's leaders.
"China is using its economic influence to threaten its trade partners in order to censor what they don't like," she said.
David Zweig, of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, is not so sure the Chinese are doing it from a position of strength.
"Sometimes we cannot tell whether it's confidence or concern," said Mr Zweig, the director of the Centre on China's Transnational Relations, based at his university.
He said China's attempts to prevent Ms Kadeer from speaking publicly, for example, could be linked to concerns about ethnic tension in Xinjiang, where most Uighurs live.
Hundreds of Uighurs rioted in July, killing scores of Han Chinese people.
Mr Zweig added that there could also be another reason behind the pressure - the Chinese government and its people are often quick to take offence at opinions they do not like to hear.
And he said ordinary people were sometimes more sensitive than officials - forcing the government to take a tougher stance internationally.
That could be why China is now trying to censor critical opinions abroad.
 Despite rapid development, Vietnam is a conservative society |
Vinh, a 24-year-old man, says his parents never talked to him about sex.
"But they would make jokes about it so that I know what they expect from me," he says.
Vinh is from Hue, one of the most traditional cities in Vietnam, but this attitude is found throughout the country, according to the authors of the first survey into sex and sexual attitudes carried out in the communist state for 50 years.
By turning it into a joke some parents and children find it is easier to talk about sex without being judged or getting embarrassed.
This attitude seems to apply to all, young and old in Vietnam.
But for some the subject really is no laughing matter. The communist state is deeply conservative and sex is a highly sensitive subject.
Dilemmas
Economic liberalisation and development has made Vietnam a more open society and there has been a noticeable change in sexual behaviour.
Medical experts say increasing numbers of people are having sex below the age of consent, leading to rising numbers of unmarried women having abortions.
There is also the problem posed by unprotected sex and more people contracting HIV.
Faced with these dilemmas, there have been discussions about putting sex education on the school curriculum at an early age.
Based on the findings of the sex survey, some people think that may not be such a bad idea.
|  All male callers said that sex before marriage for men is normal and okay, but they would not want to get married to someone who has lost her virginity through sex Hong Hanh Radio presenter |
Researchers spoke to 245 people in both the rural and urban areas over six years.
They discovered that teenagers or young adults "never" or "hardly ever" talk to their parents about sex.
The parents too admit that they do not speak to their children about it.
For those who do feel they should discuss the subject with their children, just how to broach it is difficult.
Diep Hoa, a mother of two, is typical in this regard. She says she used a letter to talk to her 17-year-old daughter about sex.
"I wrote to her and gave the letter to her on the day she left home to go to study abroad. I told her that I would like her to read it while on the plane", explains Mrs Hoa.
"I mentioned a lot of things in the letter, including sex and relationships. I would like her to understand what love is, what sexual relationships are and the consequences when one loses control of their sexual desires."
Gender prejudice
The survey also found that what is okay for a man is not okay for a woman.
Hong Hanh is a 22-year-old presenter of a live radio programme on HIV and Aids prevention targeted at young people.
"All male callers said that sex before marriage for men is normal and okay, but they would not want to get married to someone who has lost her virginity through sex," Hanh says.
| My parents say if you get her pregnant before marriage, you both won't be allowed to go in the house by the front door Vinh, Hue |
According to Dr Khuat Thu Hong, one of the three authors of the research, "Vietnamese people have a very poor, misperceived and somehow one-sided view about sex, because there is no open or serious discussion of the matter."
According to her this is very dangerous because "it leads to a lot of wrongly imposed sexual perceptions toward men and women, and it limits both sexes from enjoying a sexual relationship."
Some experts say that sex education, which is only taught in some schools, should be made compulsory because young people would benefit from the knowledge provided to them in a serious manner rather than through jokes.
However, there has been opposition to this suggestion from those who uphold what they call "traditional values".
The funny side
Teachers too find the subject highly embarrassing, and some parents and children see nothing wrong with discussing a highly taboo subject in a humorous way.
Back in his very traditional hometown, Vinh smiles and gives some examples of what his parents tell him.
 Report author Dr Khuat Thu Hong says sex should be taken seriously |
"They say: 'If you get her pregnant before marriage, you both won't be allowed to go in the house by the front door', or 'you won't be allowed to go near our ancestors' altar'.
"Another favourite is: 'We will have to make a small shed near the pigsty for you to live in!'"
This indirect and light-hearted way that some parents use to talk to their children about sex as a means of educating them is also a warning to children of the consequences of sex before marriage.
But faced with rising underage sex and HIV, Dr Hong says it is about time that Vietnamese learned to talk openly about the subject.
And she hopes that the findings of the first sex survey in half a century will help change social perceptions and understanding of what remains an extremely delicate matter.
 Xinjiang has seen a high security presence since the unrest |
Security forces in the Chinese province of Xinjiang have said they will "strike hard" against crime and disorder.
Officials vowed to "root out" crime and "change the face of the public security" in the western province, after deadly unrest earlier this year.
Nearly 200 people died in July's rioting between ethnic Uighurs and members of the majority Han group.
A total of 21 people have been found guilty of involvement in the unrest and 12 people have been sentenced to death.
The Xinjiang authorities, quoted in state media, said the "strike hard and rectify" campaign would run until the end of the year to "further consolidate the fruits of maintaining stability and eliminate security dangers".
They said they would "root out places where criminals breed, and change the face of the public security situation in these areas".
The Xinhua news agency said local police would continue to hunt down suspects in the riots and "keep a close eye on clues and cases involving terrorism and explosions".
Swift justice
The violence in Xinjiang erupted on 5 July, when protest by ethnic Uighurs left at least 197 people dead and another 1,700 injured. Two days later, groups of Han went looking for revenge as police struggled to restore order.
Most of those killed were Han, according to officials, and Urumqi's Han population had demanded swift justice.
Last week, the death sentences against 12 people were upheld by an appeals court.
China says it is facing a separatist uprising from Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang, but critics say Beijing is exaggerating the threat to justify its tight control of the province.
 The effects of the floods are worse than initially thought, officials say |
Wide-scale floods in central Vietnam have killed more people than officials originally estimated, after a tropical storm wreaked havoc in the region.
Tropical storm Mirinae killed at least 13 people in a number of provinces, although some reports suggest up to 40 perished in the floods that followed.
The hardest-hit provinces include Phu Yen, Kanah Hoa, Gia Lai and Binh Dinh.
Soldiers have been sent in to help rescue people from the estimated 2,600 households destroyed by the storm.
An official from Vietnam's national disaster committee told reporters that most of the recorded deaths were due to the floods, with Phu Yen province worst hit.
'Mass evacuations'
An estimated 338 millimetres (13 inches) of rain fell in Vietnam's central provinces, the disaster committee states.
Around 2,600 houses and 4,400 acres (1,800 hectares) of farmland have been destroyed, it believes.
Vietnam says more than 50,000 people were evacuated from coastal regions before the storm hit on Monday night.
State television showed pictures of people stuck on roofs of houses, and rescuers attempting to take children and the elderly to safety.
Helicopters loaded with emergency food supplies have been dispatched to isolated villages, and to rescue the most vulnerable, the government says.
Over the weekend Mirinae - which was then at Typhoon strength - crossed over the northern Philippines, which is still reeling after being hit by unrelenting bad weather in recent months.
 Protests have been held in Jakarta against the police action |
Indonesian police have released two of the country's top anti-corruption officials from jail.
They were detained by police last week on suspicion of involvement in a bribery case. They deny the charges.
Critics say the arrests are an attempt by the police to undermine Indonesia's powerful anti-corruption commission.
The case has generated widespread criticism of the Indonesian police, with hundreds of people protesting this week against their actions.
Indonesia is often ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, but the anti-corruption commission has made efforts to try to clean up that image.
Resignation calls
The two anti-corruption officials had submitted tapes of conversations as part of their defence.
Thousands of Indonesians sat glued to their TV sets in their offices and homes as news channels broadcast four hours of the taped conversations, allegedly between a businessman and several people thought to be in Indonesia's police force and the attorney general's office - two of the most powerful forces in the country.
Discussions on the tapes revealed the speakers had plans to weaken Indonesia's anti-corruption commission significantly.
Police arrested the pair last week and say they are suspected in a bribery case and must be investigated.
The case of Bibit and Chandra - as it has been dubbed by the local press - has angered many in Indonesia.
Hundreds protested on the streets of Jakarta on Monday against the police actions, calling for the resignation of the police chief.
Indonesia's anti-corruption commission has made many enemies because it has been so successful in investigating and charging corrupt officials, including those in the police force.
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is under pressure to come up with a solution to this growing problem.
One of his promises during his campaign for re-election earlier this year was to clamp down on corruption.
How this case is handled will be seen as a test of his commitment.
The ruling against the oral statement was seen to pre-empt any attempt at theatrics. The high court allowed the opening statements for the defence and the prosecution to be submitted in written form.
In an earlier decision, the defence request for Thaksin to give his statement via video was also rejected. But his arguments will be accepted in writing.
An ongoing investigation by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has suggested that there were coordinated efforts to attack Thai stock market with inauspicious rumours.
When the rumours first spread in mid-October, Thai stock index plunged badly.
"The efforts involve persons, juristic persons, local news agencies and foreign news agencies," DSI director general Tharit Pengdit said Monday.
Pheu Thai Party chairman Chavalit Yongchaiyudh tried on Monday to win the hearts of locals while on a tour to push his idea to make the three southern provinces a special autonomous administrative zone, which he called "Nakhon Rat Pattani".
Thepthai Senpong, spokesman of the Democrat Party leader, gave a press conference after the party called MPs from five southern provinces to consider Pheu Thai's latest move. The meeting agreed they could easily lose support of people in the far South because it was a sensitive spot in which locals' allegiance swayed with political sentiment.
I started adding bank and insurance stocks to my portfolio in the middle of November 2008 and bought through the end of March. I bought Royal Bank of Scotland, Genworth Financial, GE, Hartford, Lincoln National, Deutsche Bank, State Street, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Berkshire Hathaway.
I wasn't sure if all the companies would make it out of the crisis but I felt many were victims of panic selling. Although they had short-term balance sheet issues, their business was fundamentally solid enough to recover and build long term shareholder value.
By early March, my portfolio had lost almost 40%. I had friends tell me they were liquidating their stocks because they believed we were in for the next Great Depression. But I fought my urge to panic and decided to see it as a great opportunity.
I held onto the stocks I already had and used the 15% of my portfolio that was in cash to buy more. I'm so glad I did. One year after Lehman Brothers, my portfolio is down less than 15%.
(CNN) -- At first, R&B singer Monica wanted no part of reality television.
"I assumed [producers] would not want a reality show about my life as it really is, because my life is drama-free now," said the Grammy Award-winning artist. "If they wanted drama, they would have had to have caught me 10 years ago."
The singer, whose full name is Monica Denise Arnold, has overcome some terrible experiences.
She witnessed the suicide of a despondent boyfriend and was involved with rapper C-Murder (whose real name is Corey Miller and who is the brother of rapper Master P) when he was arrested for the shooting death of a fan.
But those times are now behind the mother of two young sons. She's happily settled in a committed relationship with her children's father, rapper Rocko, and currently starring in the BET show "Monica: Still Standing." A new album is set to be released in the new year.
While she's had success with singles like "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)," "Angel of Mine" and her duet, "The Boy Is Mine," with singer Brandy, the 29-year-old is looking to break through to superstar status.
"I think this is her moment," said her cousin and longtime manager, Melinda Dancil. "People have seen 'the artist Monica,' but they have never really seen 'the person Monica,' and the person Monica is really what creates her engaging personality."
The singer is quick to point out that "I'm not a victim, I'm a victor," and said she wants her legacy to extend beyond just her reputation as a singer, songwriter and occasional actress.
She spoke to CNN about her career, why you won't see her in a catfight with another female singer and what makes her emotional.
CNN: What do you hope fans take away from your new reality show?
Monica: My main objective is to show some form of strength.
I think people experience a lot, especially in this day and age, and especially young people, and people don't normally speak directly to them.
I think they will take the idea of strength, the idea of faith and the idea of family away from it. The latter two are things that people don't like to talk a lot about or deal a lot with, in my experience.
CNN: At what point are you in your career?
Monica: I'm at the point in my career where it's time for me to start defining who I am as an artist.
I would love for people to look at me as a great singer, but also know exactly who I am, the way that we have loved and respected people like Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle having gone through the different stages of their lives with them. That's the type of history I want to have.
This is the defining moment where I separate myself from others by whatever it is I do and the way that I do it.
CNN: There was a moment at the 2009 BET Awards where you and Keyshia Cole performed [the duet "Trust"]. You came out singing, and the camera went to Beyonce in the front row where she was grooving.
What is it like to perform for your peers, some of whom may not have been in the business as long as you have, but who may have greater recognition?
Monica: You know, I don't think about it a lot. I look at it like this: They work hard, so I know they want to see great entertainment as well. Any time I perform in front of my peers, I think about it that way.
I think about it the same way I do as when I am out on stage in front of a lot of people I don't know. You give 120 percent, make sure you do your absolute best and try to make sure each performance is memorable.
CNN: What don't your fans know about you?
Monica: I talk a lot about strength, faith and love, but I don't ever talk about the fact that I am one of the most sensitive people in my family.
That might be the most shocking, because you always see me fighting the good fight, with the strong face on, but I am the most emotional.
CNN: What makes you emotional?
Monica: (Chuckles) Anything. I don't like to see children hurt or in need. I don't like to see people troubled or without, I don't like to see death.
Some things make me emotional in a good way. When my son does well in school, I get real emotional because that's a testament to what I'm feeding him at home on a daily basis as far as knowledge goes.
I wasn't so emotional until I had my first son.
CNN: You gave up your teenage years to your career. Any regrets?
Monica: None. I still love it.
I always tell people that the music industry may be frustrating sometimes, but the singing never gets old. It's something I grew up doing, and I take the bitter with the sweet.
CNN: What's frustrating to you about the industry?
Monica: It's frustrating to me to see how much they force people to compete. It's not a competition. What is for me is for me, what's for you is for you.
You can't constantly make these artists feel like they can't like each other or enjoy each other or do songs together because one is from this place and the other is from another. I think it's foolish.
(CNN) -- Two U.S. diplomats arrived in Myanmar Tuesday and will meet with imprisoned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and deputy Scot Marciel plan to meet with Suu Kyi Wednesday, a spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar said.
The visit is part of a new shift in U.S. policy toward Myanmar.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in September that the United States will try to directly engage with the military leaders of Myanmar, also known as Burma, without abandoning its existing sanctions on the southeast Asian country.
Suu Kyi's detention has been a key component in America's political tangle with Myanmar. Critics of the country's ruling junta have accused the regime of convicting Suu Kyi, 64, to keep her from participating in 2010 elections.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been confined in her house for about 14 of the past 20 years. She was sentenced to 18 more months of house arrest after John Yettaw, an American man, swam uninvited to her home in Yangon where she has been confined.
Suu Kyi has accepted the new shift in U.S. policy toward Myanmar, her spokesman said.
It was unclear if the two diplomats would meet with members of Myanmar's military junta.
In August, U.S. Senator Jim Webb became the first American official to meet withe Myanmar's junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, when he went there to secure Yettaw's release.
Odell Smith, 16, covers his face and grieves with fellow Woodrow Wilson High students at the spot where Melody Ross was shot and killed. "I just saw her moments before she was shot...she was smiling," said Smith. (Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times / November 2, 2009)
Melody Ross, a pole vaulter, was well-liked and had a positive attitude, friends say. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / October 31, 2009)Friday night's shooting jolts parents who consider campus to be the safest school in Long Beach.
Mourning students at Long Beach's Wilson High School gathered Monday by the pavement where classmate Melody Ross was shot after the homecoming football game. Leaving handwritten notes to Melody and her family, the teenagers lit candles and shed tears as they remembered the bubbly 16-year-old.
"Why her?" asked sophomore Micah Mathis, 15, who took French with Melody, an honors student. "That's what I want to know."
The mood at the coastal campus was somber as students, teachers and administrators struggled to comprehend what occurred Friday, when someone fired into a crowd of students leaving the game, striking three people, including Melody, who was fatally wounded.
Police patrol cars circled the school. The principal's voice cracked as she addressed students. Grief counselors met with a steady stream of teenagers, who wore black shirts in Melody's honor and released balloons during a lunchtime ceremony attended by her parents.
"It's a large high school, but it's like a family and it feels like we've lost one of our own," said Chris Eftychiou, spokesman for the Long Beach Unified School District. "The students are very resilient and they are helping each other get through this difficult time."
Wilson has 4,300 students, and is racially and economically diverse. The school serves some of the city's most affluent communities, yet half the students receive free or reduced-price lunches, a measure of poverty. Many parents consider Wilson, an early adopter of school uniforms, the safest high school in the city.
Tamura Howard of Signal Hill said her 14-year-old daughter previously attended a Christian school and that she believed Wilson is safe.
"That's why I put her in this school, it has a reputation for being safe and it's in a relatively good neighborhood," said Howard, noting that her daughter attended Friday's game. "This has given me nightmares."
The week had been a boisterous one on Wilson's campus, with pep rallies leading up to the game, and a dance. Students were hoping for an unlikely drubbing of crosstown rival Polytechnic High School, one of the nation's strongest high school football teams.
"Everyone was so, so excited," said senior Daisha Black, 17. "Everyone kept saying, 'Isn't it a good day to be a Bruin?' "
But minutes after the game, shots were fired on Ximeno Avenue just south of 10th Street, striking Ross and two others who are expected to survive.
Although there were hundreds of people leaving the campus, police have no witnesses or suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call the homicide detail at (562) 570-7244.
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote today to offer a $10,000 reward.
Meanwhile, rumors swirled across campus about who shot Melody.
"People don't want to talk, they don't want to open their mouths," said Black, who was a few feet from Melody when the shooting occurred, and whose boyfriend comforted her while awaiting paramedics.
Students learned about the death Saturday morning through text messages and the Internet.
Madison Guest, 16, didn't believe the rumors until a friend asked her to bring flowers to track practice Saturday. She was on the team with Melody, and recalled hearing her boisterous cheers on the track.
"She was always happy and always supported me in my running," the junior said. "I'm still in shock. I just tried to go on with my day -- that's what she would have wanted."
Melody's parents were sequestered in their North Long Beach home Monday afternoon. The family fled the Khmer Rouge and the killing fields of Cambodia to move to Long Beach before Melody was born.
One month ago, tired of the violence in their last neighborhood, near Anaheim Street, the center of Long Beach's large Cambodian community, the family moved to North Long Beach.
The district's superintendent set up a fund to help the family with funeral costs and other needs
According to the Marine Rescue and Coordination Centre in Varna, the incident occurred outside Bulgaria’s 12-mile territorial zone during a storm. The captains of both ships rejected the offers of help.
The press service of the ministry of transport, communications and information technologies said the Bulgarian Navy has been notified of the incident. A helicopter is ready to fly to the scene of the incident, if need be.