IV. International
(07-16-07)
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Officials from more than
a dozen Asian countries met in
Malaysia
to outline health problems their populations are facing
in relation to a rise in global temperatures, says the
Associate Press.
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Last month, US federal food safety officials included
shrimp from China on a short list of seafood that
are banning until it no longer tests positive for
unapproved chemicals and cancer-causing agents. The
China ban may be too late to rescue US shrimpers.
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The USS Nimitz’s visit to Chennai India attests
to the growing vista of military relations between the
two countries. It is expected to strengthen US-India
strategic partnership supposed to have been deepened
already by a nuclear deal.
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China’s trade surplus
($26.9 billion in June) was almost double that of June
2006, as Chinese companies scrambled to get orders out
before the end of a tax regime that favored major
exporters. Many companies were trying to get their goods
out before the July deadline.
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The national numbers are plain enough. Two consecutive
years of 8% growth and sales of cars & electronics that
are increasing by 50% a year. At Suzuki in
Pakistan,
sales have increased 7-fold since 2002.
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The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs
Committee passed House Resolution 121, demanding
a formal apology from Japan over the sexual exploitation
of young women in Asia during World War II.
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Oxford Research Group
says that
despite industry myth, nuclear power is neither clean
nor safe. A World Bank study on pollution in
China,
produced in cooperation with the Chinese government,
found that about 750k die prematurely in China each
year, and are linked to air pollution in large cities.
. The Chinese
scientists behind the drug Gendicine see it as a
milestone in the country’s efforts to catch up with the
West, proof that China can develop some of the world’s
most advanced medicine.
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China executed the former head of its food & drug safety
agency (Zheng Xiayu) for accepting bribes worth more
than $800k in exchange for approving substandard
medicines. He ran the agency from 1998 to 2005. At least
6 drugs were approved on his watch which turned out to
be fake.
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After 63 years as a
faithful ally of
Taiwan,
Costa Rica
was switching diplomatic relations to China,
acknowledging that money was the big lure. It was
regarded as a major setback in the long-standing and
fierce competition with China for international
recognition.
. Outgoing
president Chen Shui-bian has proposed a referendum
alongside Taiwan’s presidential elections in March. It
would ask the people whether
Taiwan
should join the UN under “Taiwan.”
If approved by the people, it would symbolize the
island’s drive for sovereignty and international
recognition.
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Taiwan’s main opposition Nationalist Party
endorsed Ma Ying-jeou (former Mayor of Taipei), a
popular Harvard-educated lawyer who favors
reconciliation with China, as its presidential
candidate.
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The number of Japanese
living beyond 100 has almost quadrupled in the past 10
years, with the once-exclusive centenarian club expected
to exceed 28k this year. Experts often attribute the
longevity to a Japanese diet rich in vegetables and
fish.
. Thousands
of Japanese who were abandoned in China following
Tokyo’s defeat in WW II will receive more aid from the
government after dropping compensation lawsuits, an
official said. About 2,500 war orphans returned to
Japan, after Tokyo normalized ties with Beijing in 1972.
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Farm Minister Norihiko Akagi said there were no
accounting improprieties on the part of Ibaraki
Prefecture support group as he tried to downplay the
latest scandal to rock P.M. Shinzo Abe’s cabinet ahead
of the 7/29 Upper House elections.
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A major clash between
Philippine marines and Abu Sayyaf militants on
Basilan Island
(involving 50 marines and 300 militants) has killed at
least 28 people, including 8 soldiers. Four of dead
marines were found beheaded.
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For the first time, Philippine house-ware manufacturers
will participate in an exhibition in
Brazil
to break into the huge market in
South America.
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The Foreign Chambers of the
Philippines (FTP)
has called for a new master-plan to develop
international & domestic aviation and sea transport for
logistics in Central Luzon in order that RP could cope
up with the fast increasing volume of travelers.
. Thailand
is fast becoming the land of foreigner sons-in-law, with
the number of cross-cultural marriages rising at around
10% a year. But they don’t always live happily ever
after.
. The Army
chief and coup-maker (Gen. Sothi) aims to prevent the
return of Thaksin. Long gone is the promise to stay out
of politics for 2 years as history, it seems, is about
to repeat itself.
. The
baht continues to appreciate on the back of capital
inflows into the stock market even as the central bank
warns local banks and exporters against currency
speculation.
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Prosecutors filed a
civil lawsuit against former Indonesian dictator
Suharto, seeking $1.54 billion in damages and funds
allegedly stolen from the state during his 32 years in
power.
. State-owned
PT Bank Negara
Indonesia (BNI),
the country’s third largest bank by assets, will bring
road shows to a number of countries next week to draw up
investor interest in its planned secondary offering.
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The outlook for domestic cement consumption growth is
encouraging. But domestic manufacturers face challenges
from lower-priced imports.
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At a time when Muslims
from Algeria to
Indonesia have emerged as incubators for anti-Western
extremists, India, by some estimates the world’s second
most populous Muslim nation, has remained a unique case.
Not one Indian Muslim has joined al Quaeda.
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Officials confirmed that an Indian suspect in the failed
car bombings in UK has worked as an aeronautical
engineer at a company (Infotech Enterprises) contracted
by biggest names in aviation (Boeing, Airbus et al.),
possibly giving hi access to sensitive design
information.
. A survey
conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization
has revealed that 51% or more than half India’s rural
households (marginal farmers with less than 1,076 square
feet of land) have no ration card at all.
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With liberal economic
policies and the
US as its patron,
Pakistan
is seeing an investment surge. Throughout its history,
its economic booms have coincided with periods of
increased American attention – with Pakistan receiving
huge infusions of cash for helping the US fight first
the Soviets and now terrorism.
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The 39-page memo recovered from an al Quaeda laptop
computer in Pakistan 3 years ago read like an Idiot’s
Guide to Bomb-making. The manual advised buying the
ingredients from a hardware store or pharmacy for a
terrorist attack.
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A commando raid that was expected to be a quick
operation to subdue Islamic radicals in the Red
Mosque turned into a marathon battle last week with
elite Pakistani forces sweeping through underground
bunkers in more than 20 hours of intense combat.
. Osama
bin Laden, founder of al Quaeda, died of typhoid
fever earlier this month in Pakistan, said a highly
classified intelligence brief given to King Fahd of
Saudi Arabia and former French president Jacques Chirac.
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Army commandos seized a
plateau nicknamed Tora Bora and searched grassy field
and bush looking for as many as 200 Tamil rebels, the
last organized resistance, to govt. forces in
E. Sri Lanka, the
military said
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Amnesty International
slammed the LTTE for not living up to its pledge
to stop recruiting children and releasing existing child
cadres, accusing that over 1,500 such security still
remained within the terrorist outfit.
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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID),
probing the mission found at the Agrarian Insurance
Board and Agrarian Service Department told
the Colombo Chief Magistrate they are pursuing the bank
accounts of Minister S.M. Chandrasena, whose name
transpired during investigations into the fraud.
