IV. International (08-01-06)
.
Global warming
would lead to the destruction of more than half the
mangrove wetlands of some
Pacific
Islands,
wiping out or reducing marine breeding grounds that
support multimillion-dollar fisheries, according to a UN
report last month.
.
The impact of rising seas in 16 Pacific nations found
tat the hardest hit island nations would be
American Samoa, Fiji,
Tuvalu and the Federal States of Micronesia.
They could lose more than half their mangroves by the
end of the century.
.
Mangroves are important nurseries for fish, act to
filter coastal population, and are important sources of
timber and construction materials for local communities.
They also protect from flooding, reducing wave energy
by 75%. They proved crucial in limiting damage to some
sections of the coast during the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami.
.
Russia and Iran reached
a strategy partnership abiding not only by their own
interests, but the interests of India, Pakistan,
China and part of Central Asia that spells nothing
less than an auspicious economic future for a great deal
of Asia, independent from any American interference.
.
In the past 7 months,
Chinese leaders have bought 30 tons of ivory from
Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management
Authority, representing the tusks of some 2,250
elephants.
.
The purchase of 30 tons of ivory from Zimbabwe is
typical of
China’s
rapacious scramble for Africa, in which oil, minerals
and all manner of raw materials are being eagerly
snapped up.
.
Chinese money is now fuelling widespread poaching. Two
months ago,
Zimbabwe police
caught Chinese dealers with 7 tons of ivory, of which 4
tons come from illegal sources.
.
Beijing’s
voracious appetite for raw materials to sustain a
fast-growing economy has seen Chinese trade and
investments flowing into Africa in the past few years.
.
In Nigeria,
a Chinese-language newspaper now serves 50k immigrants.
At no stage in Britain’s colonization of Nigeria did the
British numbers reach such a figure. The British were
the masters in the past, and the Chinese have taken
their place today.
.
The cabinet approved a
formal statement of apology & compensation measures for
the misery suffered by hundreds of Japanese who
emigrated to the Dominican Republic under a misguided
policy in the late 1950’s.
.
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda may not run
for the LDP presidency, for his decision t skip the July
28 convention organized by the Federation of Tokyo
Metropolitan Liberal Democratic Party Branches.
.
Modern condominiums not only provide broadband
connections but one integrated with Internet and cell
phone systems. Sensors monitoring the conditions of
living quarters can detect a fire or intrusion and send
an alert t the resident’s handset.
.
The Council of Grand
Justices in
Taiwan
has ruled that the political party-based selection of
members to the newly established National
Communications Commission (NCC) is unconstitutional
because it denies the premier the power of personnel
appointments.
.
The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research
(CIER), a major private think-tank, adjusted downward
its forecast for the island’s 2006 economic growth to
4.11% from 4.17%.
.
Taiwan’s jobless rate in June edged up 0.14% of a
percentage point from May to 3.98% due mainly to
graduates of the year joining the labor market to seek
jobs, according to statistics by the Directorate
General of Budget, Accounting & Statistics (DGBAS).
.
Demonstrators protested
a proposed free trade agreement between the US and
South Korea.
Studies sponsored by the government suggest that a deal
would increase American exports to South Korea by $15
billion a year and South Korean sales in American market
by $10 billion.
.
North Korea
has banned South Koreans from visiting Kaesong, a city
near the inter-Korean industrial complex, claiming it
wants to replace Hyundai with Lotte as a new partner for
arranging tours of South Koreans to the capital of the
ancient Korean kingdom.
.
Police detained around 115 striking construction workers
of POSCO subcontractors, including 21 union
leaders for their illegal 9-day occupation of the
company’s headquarters in Pohang, N. Kyongsang province.
.
The Philippines
(RP) is just more than 3 years away to what the Dept.
of Energy forecasts as critical years of 2010 to
2011 for electricity supply, yet in the new Power
Development Plan, there is only a nearly 40
megawatts committed additional capacity by then as
compared to the actual need of about 665 megawatts.
. His arrest
by US immigration authorities has raised hopes that
former agriculture undersecretary Jocjoc Bolante
will finally be compelled to shed light on the
controversial fertilizer scam being investigated by the
Philippine Senate.
.
More businesses in RP are bullish on the economic
prospects this year than last year’s, tracking down
optimistic prospects in most East Asian countries, the
Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey
2006 showed.
. Singapore
Airlines has surprised industry watchers by
becoming the first customer to order the brand-new
Airbus A350 XWB-900.
.
Actual deep tunneling work for an underground oil
storage cavern at Jurong Island, estimated to
cost $1 billion, is set to start soon. Phase I will have
the capacity to store about 9.2 million barrels of crude
oil.
. The
People’s Action Party must expect a much tougher
fight in the next election, and must start preparing for
it now, said its secretary-general Lee Hsien Loong.
.
Two of Bangkok’s
well-known tourist attractions offer clues to
understanding the powerful effects of the global economy
unfolding in
Thailand
today.
.
The first is the photogenic “floating market,” the
early-morning market in canals when women sell produce
and goods from small canoes.
.
The second is the commercial zone in “Chinatown,”
specifically
Sampeng Lane, a
dense street of wholesale shop-houses. By making
colorful markets from
Thailand’s past, these
attractions point to the cultural, even intimate
properties of the economy.
.
Proposals to revive
undersea cable project in
Malaysia
come about because proposals for an aluminum smelter to
take up the bulk of Bakun’s 2400 megawatts power have
been unsatisfactory.
.
Stiffer competition among smaller construction firms for
the first round of development projects, given the
shortage of jobs in the past 24 months, may even trigger
a price war, analysts said.
.
BCT Technology Bhd, a chip design house, is
looking at partnerships and acquisitions in the
Asian-Pacific region to grow its economy.
.
Six-foot tsunami waves
triggered by an underwater earthquake swamped several
resorts and village seafronts on the southern coast of
Java in
Indonesia,
killing more than 580 people (numbers still rising),
officials said.
.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred at 3:15 PM on 7/17
and was centered 150 miles off the southern
coast of
Java,
Indonesia’s most
populous island. Water crashed with devastating force
into the coastlines of
Thailand, Sri Lanka,
India and
East Africa.
.
The “Changing Vehicles for the Earth” theme of the
Indonesian International Motor Show is taking a back
seat to the bigger concern of jacking up sales after
they plunged 49% in the first half of the year.
.
US exports to
India
have nearly doubled
since 2002. US companies hope lifting nuclear
restrictions will further the travel. Only 4 companies
worldwide build the most sensitive components of such
plants: Areva (France), Toshiba Corp,
Atomprom (Russia) and General Electric Co.
. Business &
investor confidence in India has dipped to its lowest
level sin Jan 2005, reveals a survey by leading
think-tank National Council of Applied Economic
Research (NCAER).
.
Ford’s robust sales growth performance in India comes
amid a sharp plunge in the company’s overall Q2 sales
from the year-ago levels.
.
HIV could cause huge damage to the Indian economy,
opening an 11,000 billion rupee (40 billion pounds) hole
in the country’s balance sheet, according to a recent UN
report.
. Pakistan
has begun building what independent analysts say is a
powerful new reactor for producing plutonium, a move
that would signal a major expansion of the country’s
nuclear weapons capabilities and a potential new
escalation in the region’s arms race.
. The
Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has levied Rs 15000
excise duty on foreign air travel, replacing previously
15% levied excise duty.
.
Market sources are expecting the meetings between the
officials of Securities & Exchange Commission
of Pakistan (SECP) and the Central Depository
Company (CDC) to determine the duty to be changed
either on every transaction or on book closing.
.
The LTTE has cut
off the water supply to over 30k acres of paddy lands in
Seruwila,
Sri Lanka
threatening the livelihoods of a large farmer community.
.
The UNICEF says its 2-year campaign with the
Sri Lankan Tourist Board against child sex tourism
is being intensified.
. The
Colombo Port
is now fully operational with five main line vessels
handled within 24 hours.
.
The Korean government has donated $20 million for
several development projects in Sri Lanka.
