IV. International (03-01-08)
.
Activists who link
atrocities in the Darfur region in
Sudan with the Beijing
Olympics are being “unreasonable, irresponsible and
unfair,” China
said after a day of publicized celebrity protests.
.
The first 200 Australian Special Reaction troops
were airlifted into
East Timor
to help enforce a state of emergency after its president
(Jose Ramos-Horta, co-winner of 1996 Nobel Peace Prize)
was critically wounded in a double-assassination
attempt.
.
Supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi protested in
Rangoon to demand democracy in
Burma,
days after the military government said it would hold
elections in 2010 under a new constitution likely to
entrench the junta’s powerful position.
. Hong Kong
banker and
lawmaker David Li, who is paying $8.1 million to settle
a US probe into alleged insider trading, resigned from
the city’s Executive Council.
.
WTO
issued its first official condemnation of Chinese
commercial practices (taxing imports of auto parts at
the same rate as foreign-made finished cars), siding
with the US,
EU and Canada
in a dispute over car parts.
.
Steven Spielberg’s
departure from the Beijing Olympics Board advising the
Chinese government on how to stage the Games’ opening
and closing ceremonies in August undermined China’s
efforts to present itself as a modern and advanced
nation.
.
Seeking to ferret out online games considered overly
violent or unhealthy, China has targeted illegal Web
site, computer markets and Internet cafes as part of a
campaign to rein in juvenile crime.
.
Two suspects were killed
and 15 others arrested in a raid on 1/27 in the Tienshan
District of Urumqi City, capital of Xinjiang province.
Separatists have previously staged bombings in Xinjiang
where Uighurs who are Muslims, make up the largest
ethnic group.
. A
Chinese court has sentence 3 people to life in
prison and handed jail terms to 14 others for their role
in a coal mine explosion that killed 105 miners last
year, the New China News Agency reported.
. Much has
changed for China’s
steel industry in the last 5 years. In 2005,
China went from a net
steel importer to a steel exporter. In 2006, China
became the largest steel exporter in the world, up from
5th largest in 2005.
. South Korea
held its first-ever trial by jury as part of reform
measures aimed at increasing confidence in the
judicial system. By South Korean law, the findings
of a jury are non-binding, with the final verdict still
resting in the hands of a judge. Juries will be used at
the request of defendants in some cases.
.
Namdaemum fell victim to
arson. It was the oldest structure in Seoul, having
served as the city’s ceremonial entrance since 1398. It
survived the Japanese Occupation and the Korean War.
. South
Korean investigators looking into allegations that the
president-elect was involved in securities fraud said
they found no wrongdoing, defining a scandal that
analysts said could have undermined his authority. He
took the oath of office as the new president vowing to
revitalize the economy, strengthen relations with US and
deal with nuclear-armed North Korea.
. North
Korean authorities were holding a Russian cargo ship
with 25 people aboard after the vessel violated the sea
border of the country, a Russian diplomat said. The
authorities acknowledged that the ship was forced close
to shore by a storm.
.
Are you prepared to do
business with a country (Philippines)
where every government contract is overpriced by
20% which ends in the pockets of government leaders
(thieves) who help in pushing the deal. It is a case of
the greed of a few fattening themselves at the expense
of the poor and hungry, public-school students, public
hospitals, and housing to thousands of families.
.
The Philippine government has uncovered an alleged plot
by al-Quaeda linked to militants to assassinate Pres.
GMA, officials said. “Other people” and foreign
embassies were also targets of planned terror bombings.
Her planned visit to RP’s premier military academy was
canceled because of the revelations.
.
The central bank does
not expect the peso to appreciate as rapid and as large
this year compared to 2007, when the local currency
increased by 18.8% to close the year at P41.28 = $1.
. Thailand
is considering granting partial authority to its
Muslim-majority southern provinces (Pattani, Yala,
Narathiwat) which for the past 4 years have been the
scene of a radical Islamic insurgency, said Interior
Minister Chalerm Yoobambrung.
.
Foreign Minister
Noppadon Pattama said at Post Forum 2008 that he is
telling foreign investors that democracy is restored in
Thailand and the country wants to welcome them back.
.
The new government vowed to clear bureaucratic
roadblocks holding up some 100 million baht worth
of proposed investment for the Eastern Seaboard.
.
While school violence
remains rare in
India, three attacks since Dec have led to calls for
increased security in schools and for broader control of
the more than 32 million guns in civilian hands in
India.
TV images of terrified children crying in hallways after
bloody student-on-student attacks have helped drive the
concern.
.
Raytheon has partnered with Precision Electronics
of India to jointly pursue defense communications
contracts. The agreement provide for production
arrangements and work-sharing agreement in India and
long-term support, the company said.
. Annual
trade has tripled since 2000 to more than $41
billion last year. Lockheed which makes F-16 and Boeing
which makes F-18 are competing for a $10-billion
contract to sell 126 fighter jets. The two nations are
working to counter terrorism and limit nuclear
proliferation, while the US has become the destination
of choice for Indians studying abroad. Last year, more
than 83k Indians studied in US. UK, favored because of
links dating back from the colonial era, was 11th
with just 8,438.
. The
philanthropic units of billionaire investor George Soros
and Google have put $17 million into a venture with the
Omidyar network to fund small and medium enterprises in
India,
they said in a statement.
.
Opposition leaders in
Pakistan
complained
about rigging that includes stuffing ballot boxes,
hiring thugs to intimidate voters at polling stations,
extorting loyalty from public employees, using official
vehicles and funds to promote pro-government candidates.
. Pakistan’s
government has banned access to the video-sharing Web
into YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies that users
have posted on the site, the Pakistan Telecommunication
Authority told the country’s 70 Internet service
providers that the popular Web site would be blocked
until further notice.
.
Initial attempts by
elements in the military to exclude some parties have
failed, as have efforts by some groups to mount a
boycott front. These will be the most widely contested
polls Pakistan
has seen. While the election might save Musharraf’s
presidency for awhile, it will wreck Pakistan. All 4 of
the provinces that together form the Islamic republic
are showing breakaway trends.
. Pakistanis
dealt a crushing defeat to Pres Musharraf in
parliamentary elections on 2/18 in what government &
opposition politicians said was a firm rejection of his
policies since 2001 and those of the US.
. The
growers are not satisfied with the increase in tobacco
support prices in view of rising cost of production,
delays in fixing prices and lack of representation of
genuine farmers’ association in the
Pakistan Tobacco Board.
.
Civilian casualties have
reached “appalling levels” in
Sri Lanka’s
civil war, the Red Cross said as the military announced
its troops had killed 15 ethnic Tamil rebels in clashed
across the nation’s restive north.
. Tamil
political parties contesting the forthcoming local
Government polls in the Batticola District have called
upon voters in the region to reject the LTTE and its
“gun culture” to build a civilized society where
democracy could prevail.
.
The Environmental Conservation Levy bill to
investigate global warming, protect wildlife, the fauna
and flora, and set up a solid waste management system in
the country which was scheduled to be presented in
Parliament shortly has been put on hold due to Trade
Union pressure, Ministry sources said.
