IV. International
(12-16-09)
. Asian economies
are expected
to grow by as much as 7% in 2010. As usual China will be
in the lead.
.
Oil prices hovered below
$70 a barrel in Asia after dropping the last 9 days (13%
down) on investors doubt about the recovery in the US
crude demand and amid a strengthening dollar.
.
Some countries in Asia, e.g., Viet Nam, are facing the
threat of diseases like goiter, brain damage among
children and forced abortion due to low rate of iodized
salt use among the population. High fluoride in the
level of water supplies also pose health risks.
.
Beijing said that the
poorest nations should get priority in the allocation of
funds from developed countries to help fight climate
change, but indicated it also could receive some of
the aid.
.
More college students are heading to Asia to
study languages, with others venturing in the Middle
East and South America. Korean students in Asia, e.g.,
China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand & Singapore, surpass
124,000.
.
A South Korean consortium edged three other
international companies, including Argentina’s INVAP,
China’s CNNC, and Russia’s Atom Story Export (ASE) to be
named by the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) as
the preferred bidder for the project to be inked in
March to build a small-scale nuclear research reactor.
.
In China’s
southern laboratory in Gwangzhou, scientists are trying
to enhance the rare sweet wormwood shrub, from which
artemissinin, the best drug to fight malaria, is
drawn. China hopes to improve and use the drug at home
but also in Africa where it still kills one child every
30 seconds.
.
China and Central Asia opened a new “Silk Road” when
Pres. Hu Jintao and leaders from 3 nations
(Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan) officially
opened a natural gas pipeline, linking Turkmenistan to
China’s Xinjiang region.
.
China has outstripped the US in the amount of money
raised from stock listings, underscoring the region’s
stronger economy and resurgence in investment. Companies
have raised nearly $52 billion from initial public
offerings (IPO) on exchanges in Hong Kong and China this
year, according to financial research firm Dealogic.
. Japan’s
P.M. Yukio Hatoyama who
shouldered huge domestic pressure for a meeting between
visiting Chinese VP Xi Jinping and Japanese Emperor
Akihito said he “earned the chance to deepen ties with
Beijing.”
.
Japan has delayed until
next year a decision on the relocation of a major US
military base on the southern island of Okinawa that’s
at the center of a growing row between Tokyo and
Washington.
.
Tokyo Steele Manufacturing Co. will cut prices
for most products in January because of declining
investment in condominium construction and the
government review of public works spending under
pressure to deal with the massive public debt.
.
The Taichung
meeting between Taiwan and China will focus on
reviewing the implementation of the 9 agreements signed
during the 3 previous rounds of talks and finalized the
4 agreements to be signed Dec. 22. They will cover
cooperation regarding the hiring of Chinese fishing
crew, agricultural quarantine inspection, industrial
product standards, inspection & certification and the
avoidance of double taxation.
.
The government will appropriate NT$45 billion (US$1.39
billion) to help and protect laborers against the impact
of a free trade pact it hopes to sign with China, the
Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) said.
.
More parents have considered putting their children up
for adoption over the past 5 years (2003-2008) mainly
because of financial difficulties, a child welfare
foundation (Child Welfare League Foundation)
reported.
.
Two ministries in
South Korea have been at odds with each other
whether to allow for-profit hospitals. This time, the
Ministry for Health & Welfare, and the
Ministry of Strategy & Finance are engaged in a
proxy war through their research institutes.
.
A bill has been proposed that would require immigration
officers to submit a court-issued warrant before
entering a building or house to search for undocumented
immigrants.
.
A South Korean consortium was picked to build Jordan’s
first small-scale nuclear research reactor, said the
Ministry of Education, Science & Technology. The
$173-million deal represents its first export of a
locally-designed nuclear plant.
. North Korea’s
decision to
accept the South’s offer to provide the anti-viral drug
Tamiflu to help the county fight the spread of influenza
A and to form a joint team with the South to survey
industrial facilities in China and Vietnam raises hope
of inter-Korean rapprochement.
.
North Korea confirmed 9
cases of influenza (H1N1) in Pyongyang and Shinuiju
through its official news agency. The South
unconditionally expressed its willingness to help if an
epidemic breaks out there.
.
US Special Envoy Stephen Bosworth made a 3-day trip to
North Korea to get it to return to the tortuous 6-party
denuclearization talks. He will then visit and brief
other member countries (South Korea, China, Japan and
Russia), while the North sticks to wanting a peace
treaty.
. Philippine
authorities moved thousands (20,000) of villagers from
harm’s way near its most active volcano (Mayon in Albay
province) after it oozed lava and shot plumes of ash.
They probably would spend a bleak Christmas in an
evacuation center.
.
The 9-day dawn masses
which begin before sunrise today (12/16) sends a native
but jubilant message that “God is not frozen in
history.” Simbang Gabi is the most popular and
widespread pre-Christian observance in the country. It
is a tradition that goes back to Spanish times.
.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) released
the names of eight aspirants for president,8 for vice
president and 58 for senators for the May 2010
elections. Disqualified candidates have 5 days to appeal
their cases.
.
Volatility in global rice prices has stalled attempts to
sell the Thai government’s huge rice stocks, estimated
at 6 million tons. Thailand aims to cut
greenhouse gas emission by up to 30%from now till 2020.
.
Thai oil is transforming
itself into a fuel converting company by venturing into
downstream and petrochemical businesses.
.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has raised its
year-end forecast for foreign arrivals by 14.1 million.
.
Despite numerous
complaints about its meager services, the Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport in Indonesia is good at one
thing: punctuality.
.
Safety Shoes producer King’s Safety Ware (KSW)said
it targets to produce 70,000 shoes a month next year, to
meet demand from European countries, up from 40,000 a
month this year.
.
Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said it
suspected potential losses from mismanagement of the
Special Allocation Fund (DAK) between 2003-2009
could reach Rp 194 billion (US$20.53 million)
. Malaysia
could lose billions
of ringgit in palm oil export earnings if a
serious labor shortage in Sabah consintues, industry
officials say.
.
Computer maker Dell Inc
is offering a voluntary separation scheme (VSS) to 700
of its Penang workers in a bid to cut costs and stay
lean.
.
Tanjong plc (2267), a power producer and gaming
company may pay a high dividend in its final quarter as
savings from its utility business continue to be strong.
.
Party Gen. Secretary
Nang Duc Manh of Viet Nam will pay an official
visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia Dec. 17-19 at the
invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni.
.
He called on the people in the Tay Nguyen (Central
Highlands) province of Dak Nong to pay attention to
environmental protection and preserving cultural
traditions of ethnic minorities during economic
development.
. More than
6 million disadvantaged people in Viet Nam will be able
to receive government financial support if the proposed
poverty line is applied in 2011.
.
Kacchi Khajuri is a
predominantly Muslim locality in New Delhi (India)
but like many other Muslim-dominated areas in the
country, this is highly neglected in terms of civic
amenities, drinking water, roads, schools and hospitals.
.
People started living here in 1983. Most came ad are
still coming from W. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They are
mostly from labor classes or do small businesses, 25
years on, and they are still living without pucca roads
and drinking water facility. Electricity reached here
very recently.
.
There is no drainage system, lanes and by lanes are
littered with filth and garbage, causing various
diseases among the residents. It tells one the
misconduct of the government. They need no road, no
drinking water, no ration shop, no hospital but they
surely need a police station.
.
The agricultural sector
in Pakistan has performed well in 2009and
achieved a growth of 4.7% against the target of 3.5%
mainly due to higher support prices.
.
The blast in the Punjabi town of Dera Ghazi Khan was the
latest in a series of attacks by Taliban militants
avenging an army offensive against insurgents in the
northwest. More than 500 people have been killed. The
missile blast killed 22 in a crowded Pakistani market.
.
Police and politicians in Punjab are under pressure to
crack down on militant networks that have long recruited
in its poor villages and Islamic boarding schools. There
have also been at least 3 bombs in crowded markets,
apparently aimed at causing civilian casualties and
undercutting public support for the army offensive.
.
Government sources said
there was absolutely no truth in a recent claim that
Caritas Sri Lanka had spent Rs. 9.7 million
a day in support of ongoing rehabilitation and
reconstruction efforts in the Vanni region.
. Hatta
National Bank, the premier private sector commercial
bank in Sri Lanka, joined hands with D&M Engineering PLC
(DIMO) to promote the Tata medium and heavy commercial
vehicles.
.
Pres. Mahinda predicted
a professional revolution in dairy farming with
self-sufficiency in dairy products in the-not-too-
distant-future being the cherished goal.
