SE Asia begins negotiations to set up rights body

By Manny Mogato

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has begun negotiations for the creation of a human rights body, documents seen by Reuters on Monday showed, hoping to conclude talks in Bangkok next July.

According to a draft joint communique to be issued on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the 10 member-states said they “look forward to the first draft of the terms of reference of the ASEAN human rights body” by a task force created on Monday.

Last year, Southeast Asian leaders agreed in Singapore to set up a rules-based organisation after signing an ASEAN charter and a human rights body was among the key institutions they have agreed to establish.

Oil rises to near US$130 a barrel in Asia as Iran nuclear talks end without agreement

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rose Monday in Asia to near US$130 a barrel on concerns that the threat of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program may escalate tensions in the oil-rich Gulf region.

Talks on Saturday ended with Iran stonewalling Washington and five other world powers on their call to freeze uranium enrichment. In response, the six gave Iran two weeks to respond to their demand, setting the stage for a new round of U.N. sanctions.

The U.S. sent Undersecretary of State William Burns to the talks in hopes the first-time American presence would encourage Tehran into making concessions. But the talks’ lack of progress may lead to “further isolation” for Iran, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Saturday.

Iran state radio on Sunday quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying the talks were “a step ahead.”

“The talks didn’t resolve the problem of Iran’s nuclear program, and that has been a factor in prices ticking higher today,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “Part of the reason prices had fallen recently was on the expectation a deal could be made there.”

Canada part of group working on plan to bring Mars samples back to Earth

MONTREAL — Canada, which is part of a group working to bring samples of Mars back to Earth, has helped the mission exploring the Red Planet to get more bang for its buck, says a key American scientist.

Peter Smith, the lead scientist behind the Phoenix Mars Lander, describes the Canadian contribution to the mission as “a godsend,” and says a $37-million Canadian-built weather station on board the spacecraft has worked “flawlessly” since it landed on May 25.

“Because we’re a low-cost mission, having Canada supply our weather station allowed us to do a lot more than we could have done with the dollars provided,” he told The Canadian Press.

The word “Canada” capped with a small Maple Leaf flag is branded on a thermal blanket wrapped around the station, which is the size of a big shoe box.

“We have pressure and temperature readings essentially every (Martian) day of 24 hours, 48 minutes,” Smith said.

The Dark Knight Reigns: $155.3 Mil Weekend

(Spider-Man) Batman forever.

The Dark Knight chased Spider-Man 3 from the record books with a $155.3 opening weekend gross, per Exhibitor Relations Co. estimates today.

The figure capped three days of eye-popping figures for the Christopher Nolan film. The highlights:

* The Dark Knight made more money in Friday midnight screenings ($18.5 million) than its predecessor, Batman Begins, made in any one day.
* The Dark Knight made more money in one day ($66.4 million on Friday) than Batman Begins made in any one weekend.
* The Dark Knight made about as much money in its second-biggest day ($48 million on Saturday) as Batman Begins made in its biggest weekend ($48.7 million).

* The Dark Knight made more money in its third-biggest day ($39 million on Sunday) than Get Smart and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, to name two recent hits, made in their respective opening weekends.
* The Dark Knight made more money in its biggest day than Hancock, WALL-E and Kung-Fu Panda, to name three recent supersize hits, made in their respective opening weekends.
* The Dark Knight made more money in its opening weekend than the previous top-three-opening Batman movies (Batman Forever, Batman Begins, Batman Returns) made in their opening weekends—combined.

About the only thing The Dark Knight didn’t do was keep up the frenetic pace it set with Friday’s $66.4 million blowout, a performance which set new records as Hollywood’s biggest-ever opening day and biggest-ever single day.