IV. International
(12-01-09)
.
Muslims celebrated the
occasion to mark the end of Hajj by slaughtering
sheep, goats and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham’s
willingness to sacrifice his only son as an act of
obedience to God.
.
Approximately 3k students dabbled in finger-painting on
a canvas that covers 2,101 meters in Hong Kong.
The spread is a new Guinness World Record and
calls for people to say “no” to drugs.
.
People held candles in Chandigarh on Nov. 25 at a
vigil on the eve of the first anniversary of the
military attacks on Mumbai, India.
. China’s
government will continue
the proactive fiscal policy and moderate easy monetary
policy next year, the Political Power of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee
agreed. Its economy is expected to grow by 9% next year
on a robust property and automobile sector.
.
China’s economy rose
6.1% in Q1 of this year, 7.9% in Q2 and 8.9% in Q3,
according to data from the National Bureau of
Statistics. Its GDP forecast is at 10.6% in Q4.
.
Although China’s economy has managed to expand
relatively fast, it still faces the challenge of making
it develop in a more balanced, coordinated and
sustainable way, said Stephen Roach, Morgan Staley’s
Asian Chair.
. Japan
got the bad news last
week that prices fell again in Oct, just as a surging
yen threatens to worsen the deflation that is
undermining the country’s fragile economy.
.
Japanese stocks tumbled
last week as a rapidly surging yen pummeled
exporters and Dubai’s massive debt problems triggered
selling of financial issues.
.
Honda Motor Co.
set record production in Asia and China in Oct for the
second straight month, leading a gradual and spotty
recovery at Japanese automakers. Worldwide production of
Odyssey Minivan and Fit subcompact
declined 18.2%.
. Taiwan’s
heavyweights from
two major parties, e.g., Pres. Ma Ying-jeon and Tsai
Ing-wu, chair of Democratic Progressive Party, stepped
up their campaign efforts in the last weekend in the
run-up to Dec. 5 local elections.
.
Taiwan’s consumer
confidence in Nov. rose to a 19-month high, a sign that
the country’s economy might be gradually recovering,
according to results of a monthly survey released last
week.
.
Taipei City government
slapped the
Next Media Group with a second fine of NT$500k in
as many days for violating the Children & Youth
Welfare Law by posting obscene graphic news
in its Web site and transmitting the sensational images
to many mobile phones.
.
Pres. Lee Myung-bak of
South Korea appealed for support from the
government in pushing the $19-billion project to
refurbish the country’s 4 major rivers, denying claims
from environmentalists and opposition parties the
project will damage the environment.
.
A Korean man was fined 1 million won ($855) for
insulting an Indian professor (Bonojit Hussain) using
racially abusive language on a bus in July. Some
lawmakers have been pushing for a bill to ban
discriminating practices against foreigners based on
color or nationality.
.
Korea’s current account surplus reached $4.9 billion for
Oct, staying in positive territory for the 9th
consecutive month. The central bank expects the total to
exceed $40 billion this year, the second biggest
following $40.4 billion in 1995 and could even surpass
that figure.
. Philippine
politics hit bottom
with the abduction and murder of at least 57 people by
political rivals. Of the 57 dead, 22 were women; at
least 27 of the victims were journalists. CHR Chair
Leila de Lima condemned the massacre and tagged the
beheading, mutilation and rape of the victims as an
outrage.
.
There is a prevailing
perception that the government is helpless to deal with
the senseless murder of scores of people in Maguindanao.
This massacre is unprecedented since it was the earliest
election-related violence and the worst loss of life in
one day in the history of journalism.
.
In recognition of his noble endeavor in bringing
education to poor children, Efren Penaflorida won the
2009 CNN Hero of the Year award. Pres. GMA conferred on
him the third order of Lakandula, one of the highest
state honors upon his return to PI.
.
The name “Ampatuan”
connotes holiness. It comes from two words: “Ampa”
which is also “Pah” in the Tausog dialect, is a Malay
term for “Uncle,” and “Tuan” means “Sir.” The two words
combined are used to address a religious teacher and
over time were combined as “Ampatuan.” The
great-grandfather of the Ampatuans was Imam Shariff
Aguak, a religious leader who helped propagate Islam in
Maguindanao.
.
The Bureau of
Immigration placed 9 members of the Ampatuan clan in
its watch list over their alleged link to the massacre.
Datu Ansoy mayor Datu Andal Ampatuan Jr. is the
primary suspect in the abduction and massacre of 57
people with the help of some military and police
officers.
.
All the women killed in
the massacre had their ants undone, suggesting they ma
have been raped before they
were killed. Some of the
women were shot in their genitals. The Ampatuans are
political allies of Pres. GMA.
. Thai
PM Abhisit Vejjajiva has
instructed economic ministers to closely monitor the
Dubai economic fallout and Viet Nam’s devaluation of its
currency (dong) and its impact on the Thai
economy. Dubai World the city-state’s main
investment arm announced last week it is seeking to
reschedule payments of $59 billion.
.
The major challenge for
Thailand in 2009 is political stability. It is
not certain whether the new government can cope with the
pressure from former PM Thaksin and his supporters while
they seek to resolve the growing political and economic
problems.
.
Thaksin made the following offer to the government:
You let me back into Thailand with no jail time, and
I’ll keep the red shirts (my supporters) from protesting
and calling for the overthrow of Mr. Abhisit.
.
Experts from 10 nations
are slated to meet in Bali (Indonesia) next week
to show how they shift power over forests into the hands
of able custodians who can promote and pursue
sustainable forest-based livelihoods. The meeting was
organized by UK-based International Institute for
Environment and Development (IIED).
.
Three Indonesians are facing 20-year prison sentences
for their illegal roles in smuggling more than 50 people
in Australia.
.
Indonesia has rejected a push by the island of Bali for
sea turtles to be legally slain in Hindu
ceremonies with
conservationists of the
protected reptiles rallying against religious advocates,
and official said.
.
The Malaysian
ringgit is expected to be firm against the US dollar
this week in view of active commercial demand from local
and foreign lenders for the local unit, dealers said.
.
Bank Negara Malaysia announced the Malaysian
economy registered an improvement in Q3 with a reduced
contraction of 1.2% compared with a 3.9% decline in Q2.
It also left the overnight policy rate unchanged at 2%
at its last Mandatory Policy Committee meeting
for 2009.
.
Malaysia’s largest
conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd will build a new RM
100 million hospital in its residential development in
Ara Damasura, Selangor bringing the group’s total
number of hospitals to four.
.
PM Nguyen Tan Dung of
Viet Nam has asked selected agencies to quickly
complete the master plan for expanding Ha Noi’s city
development up to the year 2030 with a vision of 2050.
. An
international symposium discussed East Asian issues to
settle disputes and address challenges involving peace
and stability in the region. East Asia has huge natural
resources and tremendous role in shipping, is of
strategic significance in maintaining security and
economic growth regionally and globally.
.
The application of a
multi-dimensional approach for measuring child poverty
shows that about seven million children under 16 years
of age are poor. They comprise one-third of Viet
Nam’s children.
.
There were concerns in
India regarding its vote against Iran at IAEA,
but sources in the government said it was clear that
while Iran had rights as an NPT signatory, India would
not want another nuclear power in the region.
.
Despite the brave front put up by India, the debt crisis
that has enveloped Dubai World threatens to hit
the struggling Indian overseas labor market that is
largely dependent on short-term Middle-East job
contracts.
.
The cash-strapped Democratic Front government in
Maharashtra has so far spent a staggering Rs. 31
crore, or nearly Rs. 8.5 lakh per day to
keep the 21-year old terrorist from Pakistan’s town of
Faridkot safe and secure enough to stand trial.
.
Lahore (Pakistan)
police claimed to have nabbed a suspected alleged
terrorist and recovered from his possession the maps of
various Lahore sites and arms & ammunitions, Geo
news reported.
. An expected
US military surge in Afghanistan could destabilize
neighboring Pakistan, PM Yusuf Raza Giliani said, days
before a long-awaited US announcement of its Afghan
strategy.
.
With the first
anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, defense
lawyers of the accused Pakistani want Ajmal Amir Kasab
for investigation and his trial here. Law enforcement
agencies have arrested a number of suspects in this
connection and seven are being tried in the
Anti-Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi.
.
The election
commissioner of Sri Lanka has sent out
invitations to four international observers to monitor
the Jan. 26 presidential election: European
Union, United Nations, Commonwealth Union and the
Asian Assn. of Election Authorities (AAEA).
.
National Development
Bank PLC
(NDB) has posted a strong 9-month result for the
period ended Sept. 30, 2009, with profits attributable
to shareholders up a significant 50% over the
comparative period last year, the bank chair reported in
an interim statement.
. Four
candidates, including NSSP leaders Dr. W. Karunaratna
and United Socialist Party leader S. Jayarsuriya plan to
run in the Jan. 26 presidential elections, political
sources said. Two main runners are Pres. Rajapaksa and
Gen. Fonseca.
