.
An agrarian revolution in
SE Asia and China has more than doubled
poultry production in barely a decade, bringing pick-up
trucks, air conditioning and other trappings of prosperity
to hundreds of millions of ordinary Asians.
.
With chickens now packed into farmyards alongside other
livestock, international health experts warn that
conditions are set for a bird flu epidemic that could kill
millions worldwide if the virus spreads among humans.
.
In its current forms, the disease kills ¾ of the people
who catch it from birds. The disease has struck 9 Asian
countries. It is only a matter of time before the new
strain remakes itself, unleashing a highly lethal disease
and easy to catch as an ordinary flu bug.
.
If this happens, WHO
predicts 2 to 7 million people would die worldwide and the
toll could reach 100 million. It has already shown traits
similar to the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 which killed
an estimated 40 million people.
.
The UN said governments
have given only a fraction of the money they pledged for
tsunami aid and warned that more cash was needed to fund
long-term reconstruction efforts.
.
Hundreds of survivors are still in need. Nations have
pledged $977 million, but only $360 million has reached
the world body, said the special envoy for Kofi Annan.
.
China’s trade surplus hit a record $6.5 billion in
January. Other imports lagged behind a sharp rise in
exports. China’s exports rose 42% from a year earlier to
$50.8 billion.
.
Economists trace its export performance in part to its
currency. The yuan exchange rate is tied to the
dollar, giving China’s exports an advantage as the US
currency losses value against other major trading
currencies.
.
The difference between
Wen Jiabao, who practices the humanistic policies he
advocates, is closer to the people and cares for farmers,
as reflected in state council policies, and Hu Jintao
who has not made any resolute reforms to reflect concern
for the people; instead he has hunted down and arrested
dissidents on a large scale and tightened control over
public opinion.
.
The Juiping comprises a historical account of the
CCP’s formation and existence in China and its advocacy of
violence and reception, its destruction of traditional
values, and the disaster it has brought upon the Chinese
nation.
.
All views collected will
be taken into account by the government when drawing up
proposals to improve Hong Kong’s legislature to
protect copyright laws.
.
The government will appeal pay reduction judgment as
inconsistent with Article 100 of the Basic Law.
.
Nonstop charter flights between Taiwan and the
Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and
Xiamen would be a step towards the end of a
decades-old ban by the island on direct air links with the
mainland.
.
Beijing floated long-term
plans that would be a new wonder of the world—a highway
linking it with Taiwan as part of a campaign to assert its
claim of sovereignty over the island.
.
Japan
confirmed its first human case of mad cow disease
following the death in December of a man who had shown
symptoms of the fatal brain-wasting illness.
.
Japanese real-estate
investment trusts are for the first time publicly offering
bonds, opening up a new source of funding for the sector,
thanks to a change in the country’s securities laws.
.
Hanaro Telecom,
one of South Korea’s largest broadband service
providers, bought Korea Thrunet, and expects its
earnings to rise this year, driven by a growing fixed line
business and the acquisition of new customers.
.
North Korea
has reprocessed 8k spent fuel rods into weapons-grade
plutonium and appears to have exported nuclear material to
Libya, US officials informed Asian allies. The nuclear
material was uranium hexafluoride, which can be
enriched into weapons-grade material if it is fed into
nuclear centrifuges.
.
North Korea boasted
publicly for the first time that it has nuclear weapons
and said it will stay away from disarmament talks,
dramatically raising the stakes in the 2-year-old
dispute.
.
The Development Bank of
the Philippines has earmarked at least P4.2 billion to
finance hydropower projects in Mindanao in partnership
with the private sector.
.
Food and beverage giant San Miguel Corporation
achieved strong results last year with its consolidated
net income growing, growing 10% to P8.08 billion.
.
Hundreds of Philippine
marines were sent to reinforce troops in Mindanao
following clashes with rebel forces of the al Quaeda-linked
Abu Sayyaf movement.
.
The overwhelming victory
of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in last week’s
general election in Thailand came as no surprise to
the press in Southeast Asia.
.
The opposition has taken
its poll battle to the Election Commission which it
hopes can give it the 2 seats needed to launch a
no-confidence motion against the government.
.
The Finance Ministry has floated the idea of
establishing a 10-billion baht trust fund to help
finance reconstruction efforts for victims of the Dec. 26
tsunami.
.
Indonesia
told aid workers not to venture beyond 2 cities because of
what it said are militant threats.
.
Tens of thousands of
Indonesia tsunami survivors will be given $4-a-day jobs
cleaning up the disaster’s debris, the UN said. It is
providing temporary income to people whose livelihoods
were swept away by the December 26 disaster.
.
Indonesia’s Chinese
minority is openly aiding disaster victims, a high profile
that former Pres. Suharto would have prohibited.
.
During the Suharto era, ethnic Chinese account for less
than 4%of Indonesia’s 220 million people, often were
treated as second-class citizens. Now they have formed
political parties, have been appointed to senior
government cabinet posts and gained prominence in the arts
and the media.
.
New York Life,
one of the largest US life insurance companies, has
withdrawn its application for a license to operate in
Vietnam after waiting more than 4 years. Same is true
with 3 other US insurers: Liberty Mutual, Ace
International, and Marsh Inc.
.
Vietnam’s first urea plant, put into operation last month,
will cut the country’s import of the fertilizer by
one-third from the 2.2 million tons it usually buys
abroad.
.
A Muslim cleric in Sri
Lanka called the tsunami God’s punishment for straying
from his “ways.” The island is 70% Buddhist, 15% Hindu,
7.5% Muslim and 7.5% Christian.
.
Tamil rebels said the
killings of top political leaders and 5 others may disrupt
tsunami relief work and the resumption of talks with the
Sri Lankan government, which denied it was behind the
attack.
.
Bangladesh will oppose
inclusion of bribery& corruption issues in the proposed
trade and investment framework agreement with the US.
.
The National Board of
Revenue found that some 10k people concealed their real
income in their tax returns for 2003-2004 fiscal year
under the self-assessment scheme.
.
The phone service was
restored in Nepal after King Gyanendra seized
control, imposed emergency control and ordered a
communications blackout.
