IV. International
(01-16-06)
.
Leaders of
Australia’s large Asian
population
and single largest ethnic group after white Australians,
hail the country as exceedingly tolerant.
.
India may be a big draw, but the US faces competition
for talent elsewhere. Canada and Australia have recently
changed policies favoring immigrants with university
degrees and business expertise, while the US continues
to favor relatives over skilled workers.
.
Programs sponsored by countries, e.g., Singapore,
Taiwan, etc. are luring entrepreneurial expatriates back
from the US. These are US-trained and US residents who
are returning to their mother countries and constitute
an alarming exodus of
America’s Best and
Brightest.
.
A year after the tsunami
ravaged the shores of South and Southeast Asia, killing
more than 180,000 people and wiping away entire villages,
rebuilding is lagging in many areas, leaving tens of
thousands without homes and billions of dollars in
donations unspent.
.
In Indonesia and Sri Lanka,, the two countries
hardest hit, fewer than a fifth of the homes have been
rebuilt. Most displaced families remain in temporary
shelters, or stay with relatives or neighbors. Vital
infrastructure, e.g., roads and ports, has yet to be
repaired.
. China’s
economy will likely grow by 9.4% in 2005 and will see
continued growth this year, said the Minister of
State & Reform Commission (Ma Kai).
. China’s Ad
industry is expected to reach $42 billion within a few
years. It will spend billions on SARS and bird flu
education through advertising. CHMD, through its
subsidiary Ren Ren, has already signed agreements
with the Ministry of Health.
. China hopes
to turn its demand for raw materials to its advantage by
transforming its future markets into global price
setters.
.
China, which has the world’s fastest-growing major
economy, is happy to turn its voracious appetite for raw
materials to its advantage by using its weight as a
consumer to get better prices.
. Hong Kong’s
pro-democracy opposition voted down a modest political
reform plan that it described as an attempt to sidestep
public demand for general elections, dealing a sharp
defeat to the local government and its allies in
Beijing.
. Trade
ministers saved global talks in Hong Kong with an
interim accord to end farm export subsidies by 2013 and
give new support to the poorest nations.
. The
Secretary of Economic Development & Labor has said
electricity tariffs would go down between 10% to 20%
because of the government’s proposal to cap the return
of the 2 power supply firms.
. Japan’s
Health Ministry said that the log-predicted
demographic decline has begun, reporting the number of
2005 deaths will exceed births.
. Although
diplomatic facilities in Japan are exempt from fixed
property tax, there are growing calls within the
Liberal Democratic Party to remove the exemption
from civic organizations, e.g., Chongryun, a
pro-Pyongyang General Assn. of Korean Residents
in Japan.
.
Policymakers at the Bank of Japan are grappling
with an unprecedented dilemma how to end the bank’s
“quantitative easing” monetary policy.
. South Korea’s
clone pioneer faked at least 11 stem-cell lines he
claimed, in a US
journal Science article, he had created,
Seoul National
University
said.
.
The ruling Uri Party
passed the government’s budget proposal for 2006 with
support from 3 minor opposition parties at a plenary
National Assembly session, despite boycott from the
largest opposition Grand National Party.
.
North Koreans
seem to feel that economic polarization has deepened
since the Stalinist regime implemented some economic
adjustment policies in July 2002, a survey said.
.
Premier Frank Hsieh said
Taiwan’s
economic
growth in 2006 would be around 5.6%. He also said it was
Pres. Chen’s call whether the cabinet should resign
en masse.
.
Taipei became a city that never slept, at least for one
day, as thousands of visitors packed the city government
square to welcome the arrival of 2006.
.
Accusing DuPont of lying about the toxic levels
of Teflon, the Consumer Foundation (CF)
demanded that all Teflon utensils be removed from
Taiwan’s store shelves.
.
An email to one of
PGMA’s inner circle staff in the
Philippines
has pointed to VP
Cheney’s group who is or may be behind the plots to
remove her from Malacanang.
.
Oil firms (Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp, Petron
Corp and Caltex Philippines Inc) cut oil prices by
R).50 on January 1, 2006.
.
The Department of Finance (DoF) said the
government’s budget deficit for 2005 was P165 billion,
far lower than the P180 billion ceiling by fiscal
authorities.
.
The sex industry in
Thailand
is smaller per capita than in
Taiwan, Philippines or
US. That it
is more notorious is probably because Thais are less coy
about it than many other people.
. The 2005
has been a bad year from natural disasters, with severe
floods and droughts hitting several parts of the
country, but more is yet to come in 2006-2010.
.
The government has high hopes that Bangkok’s new
international airport will improve Thailand’s chances of
becoming a regional air transport hub and
also attract huge investment in selected businesses.
. Malaysia’s
biggest cell phone firm, Maxis Communications Bhd,
expanded into the fast-growing Indian market, taking the
lead in a $1.08 billion joint-venture takeover of
Aircal Ltd.
.
Property-based
Metroplex Bhd has sold its mall shopping complex and
adjoining office tower in Kuala Lumpur to the
Employees Provident Fund (EPF), sources said.
.
The Kuala
Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI)
ended the last trading day of 2005 on a weaker note to
round off what analysts have described as a
disappointing year for the local stock market.
. Vietnamese
victims of defoliant known as “Agent Orange” wound up a
month-long visit to US at the invitation of veterans to
press their case for reparations (for estimated 50,000
deformed children) from US government and companies that
made the chemical.
. Pres. Tran
Duc Luong has praised the Party organization and central
agencies of the foreign affairs sector for impressive
achievements over the past 5 years.
.
At the beginning of the year, Hanoi will abolish the
regulation under which housing developers must sell 50%
of apartments to low-income households.
.
Suspected Islamic
militants detonated a powerful bomb in a Christian
market in Palu on Sulawesi Island in
Indonesia, killing 8 people an wounding 45 others as
they bought pork for New Year’s eve celebrations.
.
Sulawesi’s 12.5 million people are roughly split between
Christians & Muslims. It is also the home to tiny
Buddhist & Hindu communities. The religious affiliation
of the dead was not immediately known. The market sold
only pig and dog meat, both of which are forbidden under
Islam.
.
Government estimates that revenue from the oil & gas
sector will surge 41% to Rp. 153.10 trillion ($15.56
billion) this year, as high oil prices in the global
market offset lower production from the country’s aging
fields.
.
An estimated 5.1 million
Indians are living with HIV/AIDS. In
India,
sex is the major cause of infection in some areas, while
intravenous drug use is the leading cause in others.
.
India’s constitution
does not allow dual citizenship, but due to longstanding
demand by Indians in the diaspora, the government has
introduced a new “overseas citizenship of India” scheme
to accommodate them
.
The Kerala State of
Electricity Board has decided to approach the
State Electricity Regulatory Commission with a
proposal to reduce the power tariff for domestic &
commercial consumers by 20 paise a unit.
