IV. International
(06-01-07)
.
King Malistoa
Tanuonafili II, one of the world’s longest reigning
monarch, has died, the Prime Minister’s office said. He
was 94.
.
Australian authorities said they want to hire
professionals to shoot more than 3k kangaroos, noting
that the animals were proliferating and eating the
habitats of endangered species.
.
Gangs torched houses and fought in East Timor,
injuring about 14 people as violence broke out after the
nation’s presidential elections, police and party
officials said.
. The Chinese
government is looking for a place to invest a portion of
its $1.2 trillion of foreign exchange reserve.
.
The former chief of
China’s
food and drug watchdog agency (Zheng Xiaoyu) was tried
on charges of taking bribes and dereliction of duty, as
the safety of the nation’s food and drug productions is
under tough scrutiny.
. China’s new
foreign minister (Yong Jiechi) denounced US and European
efforts to link the Beijing Olympics with Chinese policy
in Darfur, saying they run counter to the Olympic
spirit. It underscored China’s determination to prevent
anything from spoiling the 2008 Olympics which are
viewed by the public and government as an international
endorsement of
China’s rising
status and its efforts to constitute friendly relations
with countries around the world.
.
Thousands of farmers in SW China
rioted at a government office after authorities imposed
heavy taxes on families with more children than allowed
under the country’s family planning policy, a newspaper
said.
. Taiwan’s
president (Chen Shui-bian) renamed a landmark Taipei
memorial honoring the late Chiang Kai-shek, less
than an hour after pro- and anti-government
demonstrators fought running battles in an adjacent
boulevard.
. The
Pentagon yearly report on
China’s
military situation detailed a burgeoning list of
advanced equipment being stockpiled by the People’s
Liberation Army against
Taiwan.
The Pentagon expressed confidence in the
US
ability to counter
Beijing’s
efforts.
.
Technical concerns outweighed gains in the NT dollar as
cautious traders waited for further developments on the
global front. Asian stocks continued to consolidate with
most benchmarks closing lower as investors fret over
whether China will face a major correction.
. Japan
is falling far behind in its struggle to meet its
obligation under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce its
greenhouse gas emissions by 6% below 1990 levels by
2012. Japan would cut 20% of carbon emissions from the
household sector with steps such as offering subsidies
or tax breaks for using solar energy or reinforcing
insulation in homes.
.
Japan’s parliament
passed a bill extending air force support for the US-led
war in Iraq for another two years despite opposition
calls for the troops to be brought home.
.
The US and
UK asked Japan to send a
military helicopter unit to Afghanistan to help maintain
security, but were refused, sources said.
.
The presidents of
South Korea
and the US reaffirmed their firm commitment to a free
trade agreement (FTA) as the 2 countries released the
draft full text of the deal simultaneously.
.
North Korea
said it may soon receive the frozen funds that it had
demanded be returned before it could start to shut down
its nuclear reactor, the source of its weapons-grade
plutonium.
. North
Korea’s navy accused South Korea of sending warships
into its waters off the divided peninsula’s west coast,
warning that the South could face unspecified
consequences if the alleged provocations continue.
.
International observers
witnessed vote-buying in some Southern
Philippine voting precincts during midterm elections
last month. The allegations came amidst hand-counting of
millions of ballots.
. Pres. GMA
made a 5-day travel to
New Zealand
and Australia to reaffirm close diplomatic ties with
countries in this region and promote RP to foreign
investors there.
.
The government is moving
to address concerns raised by local micro, small and
medium enterprises (MSMEs) in a recent survey released
by the United Parcel Service (UPS) Asian Business
Monitor, said Cerge Remonde, Presidential Management
Staff Director.
.
Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado has sought Department of
Energy (DoE) support for bio-fuel from palm oil
that is now being produced in the province.
.
A solid majority of
Thais want all political groups to call off plans to
protest publicly, even if the Constitutional Tribunal
orders their parties to be dissolved for political
fraud, a new poll showed.
.
The appointment of retired Army Gen. Panlop Pevimanee as
military adviser appears to be a signal from the
Council for National Security that the conciliatory
approach will change toward both Muslims in the South
and opponents of the military regime.
.
Police are looking for a South Korean and a Thai working
for a non-profit organization for their possible
involvement in the Underground Railroad that
helps North Koreans escape to South Korea through
Thailand.
.
A Vietnamese
court sentenced a farm organization worker to 5 years in
prison, the 7th political activist to be
jailed for subversion against the Communist state since
March.
. Pres.
Nguyen Minh Triet said the state and people of Vietnam
warmly welcomed the first president of South Africa to
visit the country, lauding it a milestone in the two
countries’ traditional amity & cooperation.
.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed his wish
that Japan and Vietnam accelerate the process of
negotiation on an Economic Partnership Agreement
(EPA).
. India
is home to the world’s second largest Muslim population.
However, the 145-million Muslims are a minority in a
country of 1.1 billion people, 80% of them Hindu.
. At least
two policemen were injured when a mob pelted them with
stones after a burial of victims from a mosque explosion
and ensuing violent clash in the Indian city of
Hyderabad.
. It is easy
to talk about globalization by just sucking dollars out
of EU and US through manipulated lower valuation of
currency. In reality, Indian oligarchs and Indian Inc.
has failed as it strives to participate in
globalization.
.
A suicide bomber blew up
the ground-floor restaurant at the Marhaba Hotel in
Peshawar,
Pakistan,
killing 25 and wounding 30. A message taped to the
bomber’s leg said spies for America would meet the same
fate as those killed. Restaurants are popular with
Afghans. The owner, who was killed, was an Afghan with
ties to an anti-Taliban warlord.
. The
State Bank of Pakistan projected that containing
target “domestic inflation” during current fiscal year
would be missed but 7% GDP growth rate would be achieved
comfortably.
.
The government’s
decision to suspend wheat exports, in an attempt to cool
domestic prices of the commodity, will not only hit the
exporters but the growers as well.
.
The debate to bail out
the textile industry through subsidies or debt swap has
angered some entrepreneurs who paid their loans on time
while operating under similar circumstances as faced by
those on the verge of default.
. Sri Lanka’s
government said that it has killed more than 500 rebels
in the past 4 months and lost 44 of its won soldiers in
fierce fighting that has shattered the island nation’s
peace process.
.
A leading human rights
activist (Ahilan Kadirgamar) expressed fears that a
northbound mobilization of troops in Sri Lanka indicated
the Colombo government was planning to open another
front in its push into Tamil Tiger territory in
retaliation for increasingly brazen rebel attacks
involving air strikes against military bases.
. The Plantation Industries Ministry
will invest Rs. 48,875 million to increase coconut
production to meet the demand of 3,800 million nuts by
2016, Plantation Development Director Raja Premadasa
said.
