IV. International
(11-03-08)
.
The Dalai Lama
said he has given up on efforts to persuade
Beijing to allow
Tibet
greater autonomy under Chinese rule. He said he would
now ask the Tibetan people to decide how to take the
dialogue forward.
.
Singapore’s
high court ordered an
opposition party and its leaders to pay $415,800 in
defamation damages to P.M. Lee Hsien Loong and his
father, Lee Kuan Yew, court documents showed.
. Sri Lankan
helicopters
fired rockets at Tamil Tiger rebels constructing
a trench during three days of clashes that killed at
least 85 people, according to the military.
. China
announced easing media
restrictions permanently that it introduced for the
2008
Beijing Olympics,
allowing foreign journalists to travel and conduct
interviews without first seeking permission from the
government.
.
The decree takes place
immediately but falls short of lifting restrictions on
travel to Tibet and other restricted areas which require
additional permits. So far only a small group has been
allowed to enter the area.
.
The new rules do not apply to China’s domestic media
outlets which remain tightly controlled and regularly
receive memos outlining how they should cover stories,
e.g., 53k babies sickened by contaminated infant
formula. Radio and TV stations should use only official
reports for state-run New China News Agency and
focus on positive successes the government was taking to
control the crisis.
.
Unknown assailants
kidnapped 9 Chinese oil workers in
SW Sudan, the Chinese
ambassador in Khartoum said. They were abducted in the
S. Kordofan province where ethnic African rebels are
fighting the Arab-dominated government. The hostages
were later killed.
.
Beijing’s former
vice-mayor received a suspended death sentence for
taking more than $1 million in bribes, the state-run
media reported. He oversaw construction, real estate,
sports and traffic projects for the Beijing Olympic
Games until he was fired in June 2006 on suspicion of
corruption.
.
Investment banker turned
lawmaker (Kotaro Tamura) has a proposal to heal the sick
global economy, making all Japanese richer and compel
the US to be more
deferential toward
Japan.
.
A leading a group of 65 lawmakers from the Liberal
Democratic Party, Tamura urges the government to
inject some of its abundant cash into the troubled US
and European banks in return for equity and to purchase
distressed corporate assets for fire-sale prices.
.
In recent days, the government said only that it would
assist developing countries by contributing money to a
rescue effort organized by the International Monetary
Fund.
.
To shore up a stumbling
stock market and a troubled economy,
South Korea
announced (10/19) it
would guarantee $100 million in foreign debt & supply
$30 billion to banks and exporters in urgent need of
dollars.
.
The credit rating S&P placed on five major South Korean
banks on a watch list, citing their problems in finding
dollars to repay foreign currency loans. Pres. Lee
Myung-bak has asked citizens to stop hoarding dollars
and “refrain from pursuing private interests.”
.
South Korea’s currency (won) is down 30% against
US dollar this year, making it the biggest loser among
the world’s major currencies. Its stock market has
fallen 31%. Panicky foreign investors have pulled more
than half of their holdings out of South Korean stocks.
. North Korea
proposed with
military officers from the South, an official said.
Colonels from the two Koreas held a brief, stormy
meeting last month at which the North complained about
propaganda leaflets that South Korean groups had dropped
into the Communist state.
. A South
Korean woman (Won Jeong Hwa) was arrested in July on
charges of passing classified information to the North,
including locations of key military installations, lists
of North Korean defectors and personal information on
South Korean military officials.
. Pak Song
Chol, member of Political Bureau of Central Committee
of Workers Party of Korea and honorary VP of the
Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, died
after long illness at age 95. After the liberation of
the country he held important posts at a local power
organ and the People’s Army.
.
Jet Airways,
India’s
largest domestic carrier cut 1900 employees (10/16)
because of high fuel prices and slowing global growth,
an indication that India’s once-robust economy is being
hammered by the worldwide economic slowdown. It will
form an alliance with Kingfisher Services, a
major rival. Two days later, the employees were
reinstated, this being an election year.
. Few
industries have symbolized India’s economic
modernization as vividly as its airlines, which have
proliferated rapidly in the past decade. Two years ago,
India had one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation
markets. That seems to be changing!
.
In August 2.92 million travelers took to the skies,
compared with 3.8 million for the same month last year,
according to the Civil Aviation Ministry.
India’s
airlines are filling 67% of their seats, compared with
90% needed to break even, said Jet Airways
chairman. The industry expects to lose $2 billion this
year.
. Pakistan
may have to accept politically unpopular assistance from
the IMF to ward off a possible economic meltdown if
wealthy nations do not offer aid, the government said.
Assistance from IMF is often conditioned on deep cuts in
public spending that can affect programs for the poor.
. With a
global financial crisis draining coffers in the US &
Europe, Pakistan is seeking help from an old friend
newly flush with cash: China. Its bid for Chinese
cash underscores the potential of Beijing’s $1.9
trillion in foreign reserve, the longest in the world to
boost its global influence. The government is seeking as
much as $3 billion in emergency assistance from China as
well as assistance from oil rich Gulf States, including
Saudi Arabia and UAE.
.
While the money it needs
in the short term is relatively small ($4 to $6
billion), analysts say the climate of crisis and public
anger over domestic bailouts in the US and W. Europe
have made even a modest infusion from its western allies
politically difficult. A possible debt default could
cripple its economy and spark more civil unrest.
. Thailand’s
Queen Sirikit
attended a funeral of a protester killed in clashed with
police last month. The move gave explicit royal backing
to the 5-month street campaign aimed at ousting the
elected government.
.
A court in Vietnam
handed down a 2-year prison sentence to a
journalist (Nguyen Viet Chien) who exposed a scandal
involving Transport Ministry officials (minister
resigned and his deputy was also charged)
who siphoned official
money, in part to bet on European soccer matches.
. Cambodian
P.M. Hun Sen gave Thailand an ultimatum last month to
withdraw troops from a disputed stretch of jungle-clad
border within 24 hours or his forces would turn the area
into a “death zone.”
.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Lao
government to release information regarding Hmong
refugees who led protests in Thailand earlier this year
and later repatriated to Laos.
.
The BCC slammed fresh
attempts by allies of Philippine president Arroyo
in the House of Representatives to extend her term
beyond 6/30/10 by
amending the Constitution and change the presidential
and unitary form of government to a parliamentary and
federal one.
.
Taiwanese traveling to UK on business for up to 6
months now need to apply for a dedicated new business
visa starting 11/27/08. This is to safeguard the visitor
route into the UK from abuse and keep Britain an
attractive place to do business.
.
A court in
military-controlled
Burma
handed down prison sentences to 6 opposition party
members who were arrested after last year’s
pro-democracy demonstrations, with prison terms ranging
from 2 to 13 years, a National League for Democracy
spokesman said.
.
Malaysia will team up with Japan to provide an
alternative fuel for the cement industry made from palm
oil waste and used tires, said Phil Chin, Minister for
Commodities and Plantation Industries.
