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Sport
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
US helicopters join Taiwan typhoon rescue efforts
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Renault can compete at European Grand Prix Reuters -
(AP Photo/Eckehard Schulz)
Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo rides his Yamaha during the MotoGP free practice session of the Czech Republic Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Brno circuit, Czech Republic, Friday, Aug. 14, 2009.
Lorenzo quickest as Yamaha leads test
PARIS - The Renault Formula One team and Spain’s Fernando Alonso were given the green light to compete in Valencia this weekend after getting a one-race suspension overturned on Monday. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that its court of appeal had decided to reduce the sanction imposed on the French team to a reprimand and $50,000 fine. The ban, handed out by stewards at last month’s Hungarian Grand Prix, would have prevented double world champion Alonso from appearing before his home crowd in Sunday’s European Grand Prix. Renault, who had argued the suspension would also have “severe consequences” for local organisers as well as hitting fans
who had bought tickets in the expectation of Alonso racing, welcomed the decision. “The team acknowledges sporting regulations were breached during the incident in the pit lane of the Hungarian Grand Prix, which compromised safety,” Renault said in a separate statement. “The team therefore accepts the decision of the FIA to issue a reprimand and a $50,000 fine is fair and balanced.” Stewards had punished Renault for allowing Alonso to rejoin the race after a pitstop despite allegedly knowing his car’s right front wheel was not properly attached. The wheel came off shortly afterwards. The incident came a day after Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa had been seriously injured by bouncing debris in qualifying for the race in Budapest.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Kuta Carnival will be held in September PAGE 8
Judge approves Michael Jackson merchandise deal PAGE 12
20 dead in Russia truck bomb attack condolences
Brno -
Jorge Lorenzo set the quickest time of Monday’s MotoGP test at Brno as Yamaha continued its domination of the class. The 22-year-old Spaniard’s best time of the day was half a second quicker than team-mate Valentino Rossi, who still finished the test second fastest ahead of the Honda of Dani Pedrosa and the Suzuki of Loris Capirossi. Lorenzo bounced back from his disappointment on Sunday, when he crashed out of the lead of the race, and set a best lap just 0.016s slower than Rossi’s pole time on Saturday. “Today was a profitable day and we worked on a lot of different things, especially electronics,” said Lorenzo. “I felt comfortable and I could ride in the 56.1s, which was good after yesterday.” “I hope that everything we’ve done today will help us at Indianapolis. I’m not thinking about the championship now because it’s very difficult unless something strange happens, but I want to try to be back at
the front and I’m looking forward to the next race.” The afternoon’s running was cut short due to heavy rain, but championship leader Rossi was still happy with his day’s work after testing several 2010 parts. “It’s always hard to go back to work after a great win like yesterday but it was an important chance to try some things for the future,” he said. “Before lunch we did a run with the new chassis, it has some good points and some bad ones and we were able to collect some data. Unfortunately it rained in the lunch break and so we couldn’t ride for a lot of the afternoon because of the
wet rack, but it dried enough for us to do some more work at the end. This time we could really concentrate on doing a proper job testing the chassis and the new engine specification.” Andrea Dovizioso finished the test fifth fastest on the second works Honda, with Toni Elias the first of the customer bikes in sixth on his Gresini Honda. Mika Kallio finished the day 10th on his works Ducati, just one tenth of a second and two places behind team-mate Nicky Hayden. Mattia Pasini, who took Kallio’s place at the Pramac Ducati team for the test, ended the day 13th fastest.
AFP PHOTO / KAZBEK BASAYEV
People stand near destroyed cars at the site of explosion in a police compound in Nazran on August 17, 2009. A truck packed with explosives rammed through the gates Monday of a police compound in southern Russia and exploded in an attack that killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens, officials said.
Agence France-Presse
NAZRAN - A truck packed with explosives rammed through the gates of a police compound in southern Russia on Monday and exploded in a suicide attack that killed at least 20 people and wounded around 130, officials said.
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The attack in the city of Nazran, the main city in Ingushetia, occurred as police officers lined up for roll call at the start of their morning shift. It
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MOSCOW - Divers Tuesday searched flooded wreckage for 64 people still missing after an accident at Russia’s biggest hydroelectric plant but officials admitted that the chances of finding survivors were dwindling. The catastrophe at the SayanoShushenskaya plant in the Khakassia region of Siberia — which investigators believed was caused by a sudden increase in water pressure — is already con-
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injuries in the blast, including 10 children between five and 12 years old, said a regional spokesman for the emergency situations ministry
Continued on page 6
Hopes fade for missing in Russia dam tragedy
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SUNNY
killed and wounded officers in the compound and local residents in homes nearby, officials said. A total of 138 people sustained
in Rostov-on-Don, Oleg Grekov. In a move underscoring the seriousness of the situation, President Dmitry Medvedev announced hours after the attack that he had sacked the region’s top policeman and issued a stern command to his interior minister to bring about order in law enforcement in the region.
firmed to have left 12 people dead. The pressure increase is believed to have caused a massive flood in the turbine room at a time when a hundred people were working there although investigators have emphasised final conclusions have not been reached. “Unfortunately we have no comforting news. We still do not know the fate of over 60 people,” a grimfaced Russian emergencies situations minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian state television from the region. Continued on page 6
AP Photo/Emergency Ministry, Siberian Branch, HO
Damage to the Sayano-Shushinskaya power station in southern Siberia is seen Monday, Aug. 17, 2009 in this photo released by the Emergency Ministry, Siberian Branch on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.
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International
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
News WORLD NEWS
Former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung dies Agence France-Presse
SEOUL - Kim Dae-Jung, a renowned democracy campaigner who survived assassination attempts and a death sentence to win South Korea’s presidency and the Nobel peace prize, died on Tuesday aged 85.
RUSSIA-AIR SHOW ZHUKOVSKY Prime Minister Vladimir Putin opens an international show at an air base outside Moscow which features Russia’s latest commercial jet and other achievements in the nation’s aerospace industries.
EXECUTION DEADLINE SAN ANTONIO A Texas judge who closed her court before a death row inmate could file an appeal plans to testify at the ethics trial where she faces charges that could end her career.
ROPICAL WEATHER
“He was declared dead at 1:43 pm (0443 GMT),” said a spokesman for Seoul’s Severance Hospital. “His heart began failing at 1:35 pm and stopped minutes later despite our efforts to revive it.” Kim, who was president from 19982003, had been admitted to hospital on July 13 with pneumonia and related complications. He held South Korea’s first-ever summit with communist North Korea in 2000 and was awarded the Nobel prize later that year. “We lost a great political leader today,” current President Lee Myung-Bak said in a statement. “His accomplishments and aspirations to achieve democratisation and inter-Korean reconciliation will long be remembered by the people.” The presidential office said it would respect the family’s wishes over whether to organise a state funeral. It said Seoul would not stop North Korea sending a delegation to the funeral if it wishes. Past leaders, including the man whose government condemned Kim to death, also paid tribute to Kim — a towering figure in South Korea’s long struggle for democracy against armybacked autocrats. Kim campaigned strenuously against the 1961-1979 rule of dictator
Source: ap
AP Photo/Yonhap, File
Kim Dae-jung, then South Korean presidential candidate of the National Congress for New Politics, performs calligraphy as U.S. pop star Michael Jackson looks on beside him as he visits Kim’s office in Seoul. ment policy failed to halt its drive for nuclear weapons and its two atomic tests. “This is the best way to end the national tragedy and make a reunified motherland,” Kim said in his final speech in office. In domestic politics, Kim also practised forgiveness. One of his first acts as president was to pardon Chun, who had been convicted of treason and corruption after leaving office. “South Korea lost one of its greatest leaders today,” the conservative ruling Grand National Party said in a statement. “During his lifetime former presi-
dent Kim dedicated himself to democracy, human rights and the development of relations between South and North Korea.” The main opposition Democratic Party described Kim as “the great teacher of the age.” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister currently visiting his homeland, plans to visit the hospital later to pay condolences, his aides said. A temporary mourning altar is being set up at the hospital. Kim is survived by his wife, Lee Hee-Ho, and three sons.
DHAKA - The personal animosity between Bangladesh’s rival political leaders and the seemingly endless bickering it feeds on, has found a new focus in a row over opposition chief Khaleda Zia’s date of birth. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League party has accused the premier’s arch rival of changing her birthday — not out of vanity but out of spite. Former premier Zia celebrated her 65th birthday on Saturday. The date, August 15, is also the anniversary of the 1975 assassination of Hasina’s
father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the country to independence from Pakistan in 1971. “Khaleda Zia’s educational certificate shows her birth date is September 5. Her marriage certificate shows she was born in late August. She changed the birthday to August 15 in the 1990s,” health minister A.F.M Ruhul Haque said. “She did it deliberately to celebrate the killings of August 15,” Haque said. Sheikh Mujib was assassinated along with 14 family members by a group of army officers. Hasina was abroad at the time. Altering one’s date of birth is not
unusual in Bangladesh. It is often done to circumvent age-related restrictions on university applications and official retirement. Registration at the time of birth only became mandatory in Bangladesh in 2006. Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) dismissed the suggestion that any dates had been changed and accused Hasina’s party of playing politics. “We condemned the brutal killings of Sheikh Mujib, but what can we do if someone is born on that day?” said BNP spokesman Nazrul Islam Khan. “Khaleda Zia has been observing her
15
Milan -
Milan finally had something to smile about in pre-season after beating Juventus on penalties in the Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi. Faultless from the spot, the Rossoneri sealed victory on Monday evening after coming from behind to grab a deserved 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes. Milan had the better of the first half and went close on 19 minutes to taking the lead through Andrea Pirlo. The midfielder picked up the ball after a poor Felipe Melo clearance and rattled the bar with his effort from outside the box. Juventus, after Milan had been denied a penalty for what seemed like handball, took the lead through Diego on 28 minutes. The new signing from Werder Bremen looked dangerous throughout after returning from injury and his angled drive was helped in by a Thiago Silva deflection. Milan ended the first period with another chance, but KlaasJan Huntelaar’s effort was comfortably dealt with by Gigi Buffon. Juventus brought on Amauri for Vincenzo Iaquinta at the interval and the Brazilian gave the Old Lady a little more direction in attack. Diego was finding space and picking out passes with ease and a number of moves which he inspired just failed to find the feet of David Trezeguet.
Juventus’ failure to extend their lead cost them on 64 minutes when the Rossoneri equalised. A cross from Ignazio Abate on the right was headed home by the lively Alexandre Pato. The game went to penalties, but only after some Ronaldinho magic late on almost gave the home side glory. Meanwhile Milan boss Leonardo is confident his side can challenge for honours this season after winning the Trofeo Berlusconi last night. Having drawn 1-1 with Juventus after an enthralling 90 minutes at San Siro, the Rossoneri triumphed 5-4 on penalties. And having endured a tough pre-season where results have been missing, the tactician is optimistic that his side have turned a corner. “We have struggled a lot during pre-season and it has been a difficult time for us, but the team showed signs of life – we are grow-
ing,” stated the Brazilian. “It was an important day for us, not particularly for the victory, but for the spirit and the desire which the team illustrated. I particularly liked the way we approached the game.” The pressure on Leonardo has been mounting since he replaced friend Carlo Ancelotti during the summer, but he believes progress is being made. “As time goes by I am beginning to feel more and more that this side is mine,” he added. “If we can play with pride then I am sure we can have our say in the new season.” Milan won’t start the campaign as favourites for glory at home or abroad, yet the World Cup winner insists that his troops will compete for trophies in 2009-10. (AP Photo/Alberto Pellaschiar)
AC Milan’s new forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, foreground, of the Netherlands, competes for the ball with Juventus defender Paolo De Ceglie during the Trofeo Berlusconi exhibition soccer match between AC Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
‘Very easy’ for Kaka as Real Wenger predicts European League within 10 years parade ‘new Galacticos’
birthday on August 15 for decades and the Awami League is trying to make it a political issue,” he told AFP. Zia and Hasina, who have dominated Bangladesh’s political scene for almost two decades, are known as the “battling begums” for a mutual dislike that is as intense as it is personal. During her first stint as premier, from 1996 to 2001, Hasina declared August 15 a public holiday and National Mourning Day, but Zia cancelled it in 2002 when she was in power. A caretaker, army-backed government reinstated it last year. (AFP/File/Pedro Armestre)
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Milan lift Berlusconi Trophy
Bangladesh’s ‘battling begums’ in birthday spat
Agence France-Presse
PORT-AUPRINCE, Haiti - The first hurricane of the Atlantic season gains power out in the ocean, moving on a track that forecasters say could take it close to Bermuda by the end of the week.
Park Chung-Hee and in August 1973 was kidnapped by agents of the Korean CIA from a Tokyo hotel. He was about to be dumped in the sea but swift intervention by Washington and Tokyo saved his life. In May 1980, during Chun DooHwan’s army-backed rule, Kim was thrown into prison on charges of treason. He was sentenced to death by a martial law court but reprieved following strong US pressure. “I hope former President Kim, who underwent a stormy political life, will rest peacefully in the bosom of God,” Chun told reporters of the devout Catholic. A wave of mass street protests in 1987 ended decades of army-backed rule but Kim won the presidency only in 1997 on his fourth attempt. He took office the following February at the height of the Asian economic crisis, which ravaged South Korea and forced it to seek a 57-billion-dollar bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The man once branded by opponents as a communist won praise for working with international financial bodies to revive the economy and launch major reforms and corporate restructuring. He never wavered on the need for reconciliation with North Korea, even though his “sunshine” engage-
Sport
International
Real Madrid new player Brazilian midfielder Kaka thanks supporters during his official presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Kaka said he finds it “very easy” playing alongside the other new world stars at the club.
Agence France - Presse
Reuters -
MADRID – Real Madrid’s Brazilian signing Kaka said he finds it “very easy” playing alongside the other new world stars at the club. “It’s very easy to play in a team with people of such quality around,” he said following his Spanish debut with the side, a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. He had special praise for another of Real’s ‘new Galaticos’, Spain international Xabi Alonso, signed from Liverpool this month. “Xabi Alonso has brought us a lot of security and fluidity. Now the most important thing is to look for balance and we are getting that,” the Spanish sporting press quoted him as saying. “We understand each other and I believe we can do great things together. I have noticed that the team gains possession with Xabi Alonso and that is very important,” said the midfielder, signed from AC Milan for 65 million euros in June. Another big new signing, Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile said he thinks the team, which went on a pre-season tour of the US, is close to reaching the level that fans are expecting of it. “We are continuing to work hard to reach the form that we want, but I know that it will not be very difficult to reach this level in a short space of time,” the Portuguese striker said. Real face Borussia Dortmund in a friendly in Germany on Wednesday, before the start of the Spanish league season at the end of the month. Real president Florentino Perez has splashed out over 250 million euros on the likes of Kaka, Alonso, Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema since he returned to the club in June in a bid to make the nine-times European champions a formidable force again. Perez led Real from 2000 to 2006, when it earned the nickname “Los Galacticos”, with such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and David Beckham. But while the club enjoyed the success of two domestic league titles and one Champions League, between 2003 and 2006 it did not win a single major trophy, and fears have been expressed that its glamourous new stars may also fail to deliver this season.
LONDON - A European soccer league will be up and running within 10 years as the continent’s top clubs look at new ways to raise income, according to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Wenger, whose team face Scottish side Celtic on Tuesday in the first leg of their playoff to reach the lucrative Champions League group phase, said there were “voices” in the game plotting an alternative to the current situation. “I believe the national leagues will survive, but certainly within 10 years there will be a European League,” Wenger was quoted as saying by British media on Tuesday. “At the moment the income is owned and distributed by UEFA, but the way we’re going now financially is that even the money that comes in from the Champions League won’t be enough for some clubs because they spent so much money. I’m not sure how it would work, but I feel that inside the game that there are some voices coming up to do something about this, especially if the rules become too restrictive for the big clubs.” Wenger suggested that big clubs could even have two teams, one for the national league and one for a European competition. “If you don’t want to change the national league, maybe teams will have to play in the international league in midweek and in the national league at the weekend — and all the clubs will have two teams.”
(AP Photo/Tim Hales)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger celebrates a goal against Everton during their English Premier League soccer match at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Saturday Aug. 15, 2009.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sport
International
News
International
Sharapova topples 10th seed Petrova to open Toronto Cup
Agence France-Presse
TORONTO - Russian Maria Sharapova signalled she might be close to a return to top form by dismissing 10th seeded Nadia Petrova 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the $2 million Toronto Cup on Monday. While her current ranking of 49th in the world suggests Sharapova provided a big upset, in reality it was a routine victory for the three-time grand slam winner as she improved her record against Petrova to 8-1. night but quickly had Petrova on the run, breaking her compatriot to go up 3-2 and again to close out the first set. Petrova responded with a break to open the second but did little to slow Sharapova, who swept through the next four games to take control. If there was fault to be found in Sharapova’s performance, it was her failure to finish off her opponent, who broke the former world number one as she served for the match at 5-3. Sharapova made sure there would be no third set, however, by immediately breaking back and finally clinching victory on her third match point when Petrova’s return sailed long. “She had an opportunity to make the match 5-5 in the second
and it was good that I finished it in two,” said Sharapova. “I think we know each other’s game very well, I have a pretty solid game plan when I play her and the main thing is execution. If I do what I have in mind, I’m going to win the match.”
Maria Sharapova, of Russia, AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
serves during her first-
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, for talks on the Middle East peace process during his visit to Washington, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
round match against Nadia Petrova, also of Russia, at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Toronto on Monday, Aug. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)
Athletics-Bolt eases through Karlovic upsets Monfils, 200m heat in morning chill nervous Safin wins Reuters -
BERLIN - Triple Olympic champion Jamaican Usain Bolt cruised into the second round of the 200 metres at the world championships on Tuesday, 36 hours after shattering the 100m world record to win gold. On a chilly and windy morning, Bolt looked a bit stiff round the bend but was still in command of his heat, winning in 20.70 seconds. With 2007 champion Tyson Gay out with a groin injury that flared up following his defeat to Bolt in the shorter sprint, the Jamaican world record holder is the overwhelming favourite to win the title on Thursday. American Shawn Crawford, silver medallist behind Bolt in the Olympics last year, clocked the best overall time of 20.60 to ease into the second round. “I did what I was supposed to do. I tried to get as many cobwebs out as I could,” Crawford told reporters. Compatriot Wallace Spearmon, who initially had won bronze in the Beijing Games only to be disqualified after stepping out of his lane, joined him with a run of 20.66. Apart from Bolt, Spearmon is the only other runner in the field to have cracked the 20 second mark this season. British sprint veteran Marlon
Devonish clocked 20.92 to win his heat, while former 100m world champion Kim Collins finished fourth in heat seven and had to sweat it out before going through in 20.83. Churandy Martina of the Netherland
Antilles, who was also disqualified after finishing second in Beijing, did not start, with Briton Dwain Chambers also absent. The second round heats take place later on Tuesday and the semi-finals on Wednesday.
(AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt reacts after a Men’s 200m first round heat during the World Athletics Championships in Berlin on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.
Reuters -
CINCINNATI - Ivo Karlovic banged down 21 aces as he upset 13th seed Gael Monfils of France 64 6-7 7-6 in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters on Monday. The towering 6-foot-10 (2.08 metres) Croat, who beat Roger Federer on his way to the semi-finals last year, won the deciding tiebreak 7-2 to advance to the second round after two hours and 10 minutes. Former world number one Marat Safin, who is set to retire at the end of the year, eased past American Robby Ginepri 7-5 7-6, while seeds Gilles Simon of France and Croatia’s Marin Cilic also claimed first-round wins. Up a set and leading 5-4 with two serves in hand in the tie-break of the second, Karlovic appeared set to cruise to victory, but Monfils reeled off three superb points in a row to force a decider. The Frenchman saved three break points in the fourth game of the decider, but could not repeat his second-set fight-back in the tiebreak, allowing Karlovic to book a second-round clash with another Frenchman in Paul-Henri Mathieu, a 6-7 7-5 6-3 winner over German Mischa Zverev. Safin edged out Ginepri for the second time in a month, taking the second-set tiebreak 7-2 to clinch victory, but said he he was finding it
difficult to relax on court, despite knowing his career will soon draw to a close. “At the end of the day, it’s not like that (relaxing) because I always want to win,” he told reporters. “Always you get pretty tight in important moments and it’s difficult to push yourself to play relaxed, even though you know this is the end. But still, you are a player deep inside, so it comes out in important moments, and you want to win no matter what. So you understand, but also subconsciously when you are getting into the game, the old you comes out.” Ninth seed Simon eased past American wildcard Wayne Odesnik 6-3 6-2 and will now play Russian Igor Andreev, who beat Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-1 7-5. Croatia’s 14th seed Cilic beat another former world number one in Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 64, and will play another Spaniard in David Ferrer, who prevailed 7-5 6-2 over Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. Jose Acasuso of Argentina set up a second-round meeting with world number one Federer by beating Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-4 6-3, but 15th seed Tommy Robredo of Spain fell 6-3 7-5 to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. World number six Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, beaten in the final of the Montreal Masters by Briton Andy Murray on Sunday, withdrew from the tournament citing fatigue, organisers said.
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Australia says China axed minister’s visit over Uighur leader
Reuters -
Sharapova has made steady progress since returning to action in May after nine months on the sidelines recovering from shoulder surgery, but arrives in Toronto still seeking her first title since April 2008. “It’s tough to think about the winner ’s circle because you have to take it one match at a time,” the 22-year-old Russian told reporters. “Coming back trying to get use to the situation again and the match you just hope you move forward and get betterand-better every match. That’s my goal right now. Obviously when I come into a tournament I want to win it but the mind set is to focus on every match.” Sharapova needed a few games to find her range on a muggy
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
In US, Egypt leader puts onus on Israel Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday put the onus on Israel to break a deadlock with Arab nations as he held talks with a US administration under pressure to launch a new peace push. Mubarak met for more than an hour Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a day ahead of a summit with President Barack Obama. It will be the first White House meeting in five years for Mubarak, who had tense relations with former president George W. Bush. Obama has shown new deference to the octogenarian Egyptian leader, with his administration saying it wanted to consult with him before launching any major new initiative in the Middle East. But US hopes to push forward the peace plan before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts later this week look increasingly slim as Israel and Arab states both insist that the other make the first move. Obama is pressuring right-leaning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank while asking Arab states to take at least symbolic steps to reconcile with Israel. In remarks published Monday, Mubarak said he told Obama in June — when the US leader chose Cairo as the backdrop for a landmark speech reaching out to the Islamic world — that Israel must freeze settlements. “I explained to President Obama in Cairo that the Arab initiative offers the recognition of Israel and normalization of ties with it after, and not before, a just and lasting peace is achieved,”
Mubarak told the state-controlled AlAhram newspaper. The position is in line with other Arab states including Saudi Arabia, which has rejected any “step by step” diplomatic approach with Israel. The Arab League in 2002 endorsed a Saudi-led plan calling for Arab states to recognize Israel in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from the land it occupied in war in 1967 and an equitable resolution for Palestinian refugees. Only two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, have signed peace treaties with the Jewish state while some other Arab countries have trade relations. “Some Arab countries that exchanged representatives and trade offices might think of reopening these offices if Israel committed itself to stop settlement expansion and to resume final status peace negotiations,” Mubarak said. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley voiced confidence that Egypt agreed with the United States on the need for “gestures that move towards normalization” as both Israel and the Palestinians take peace steps. He said Clinton also raised human rights with Mubarak. “It is something that we raise in every high-level meeting that we have,” Crowley told reporters. “We would like to see Egypt embark on a path to expand political dialogue.” Mubarak had tense relations with
Bush, who pushed Egypt to release dissidents and hold free elections. Leading Egyptian dissident Ayman Nur, who was freed this year after three years in prison, earlier voiced fear that Obama would set back efforts to promote political reform in Egypt. “It betrays American values,” Nur told AFP in Cairo. The lawyer mounted an unprecedented challenge to Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election before being jailed on forgery charges many saw as trumped up. Mubarak also met Monday with some 20 Jewish leaders on the peace process and also on Iran, which both Israel and Egypt fear is developing nuclear weapons, participants said. Martin Raffel, senior vice president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, described the meeting as “very friendly” and said he believed Mubarak “clearly is committed” to moving ahead with the peace process. But he said the Jewish leaders also pressed Mubarak to find ways to reassure the Israeli public “that the Arab world is serious about trying to achieve peace with Israel.” “If you’re asking Israel to make hard decisions,” Raffel told AFP, “the Israeli people have to begin to feel that there is a positive change happening with the broader Arab world beyond Egypt and Jordan.”
SYDNEY - Australia on Tuesday said China downgraded an official visit this month in protest over Canberra’s decision to give a visa to exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, expressing “regret” over the move. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei pulled out of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and was replaced by a more junior envoy. “We regret that the Chinese government has felt obliged to take these steps, since the government’s position on the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is clear,” he added. China was represented at the Cairns forum by Wang Yongqiu, special envoy for the Pacific Islands Forum. China has sent higher-level officials to previous forums, Smith’s spokesman said. Kadeer’s visit this month was allowed despite strong objections from China, which blames her for deadly unrest in Xinjiang last month and summoned Australia’s ambassador in protest.
Chinese foreign ministry officials in Beijing declined to comment when contacted by AFP. The row is the latest to hit relations between the key trading partners which were tested last month by China’s detention of an Australian mining executive on spying allegations, later changed to industrial espionage. Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull accused the government of a “ham-fisted” approach to China, saying relations were at their lowest point in years despite pledges from Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to boost ties. “Our relations with China are at... the lowest ebb they have been for many, many years,” Turnbull said. “(Rudd) has been making an absolutely ham-fisted effort with our diplomatic relations.” “He has mishandled relations... he obviously has no leverage with China left at all,” Turnbull added. Resource-rich Australia has profited from China’s lightning growth over the past decade with two-way trade worth 58 billion dollars (48 billion US) last year, official figures show.
Asian competitors cast shadow over German solar industry Agence France-Presse
BERLIN - Germany’s solar power industry, until recently the world leader in the technology, is facing an unprecedented crisis, analysts say, outshone by cheaper competitors from Asia, most notably Chinese firms. Q-Cells, the world’s biggest solar cell producer, last week issued a far from glowing set of results, with losses of 700 million euros (984 million dollars) in the first half of the year. As a result, the German firm said it would cut 500 jobs from its workforce of 2,600 and put others on part-time working arrangements. The crisis in the German solar industry is affecting small companies as well as giants such as Q-Cells. Only three months ago, start-up Sunline declared bankruptcy with the loss of all its 78 employees. A glance at the TecDax, Germany’s tech-heavy stock market index, nicknamed “SunDax” for the predominance of solar firms, tells the story, with some companies losing around 30 percent of their value since the start of 2008. “The fact is that Germany is losing more and more of its market leading position in renewable energy production to the United States and China,” said Matthias Fawer from Swiss bank Sarasin, quoted in German weekly Die Zeit. “Asian cell and module producers are going to squeeze out the Germans,” Anne Kreutzmann, the chief editor of solar trade newspaper Photon, told the Financial Times Deutschland.
The main reason is simple: Chinese solar power companies are able to produce cells much more cheaply, due to lower labour costs and also the plummeting price for silicon, the raw material for solar cell manufacture. Whereas German firms are tied in to long-term contracts for silicon deliveries, Chinese firms have been sourcing it from the spot market, where the price has dropped by around 70 percent in the past few months. According to a survey from Photon Consulting, while it costs a German firm such as Ersol 1.01 dollars per watt to produce a solar cell, Chinese company Suntech can manufacture the same cell for 35 cents per watt. All in all, production costs for the solar industry are as much as 30 percent lower in China than in Germany, according to a UBS study. Chinese firms also benefit from state support and the effect has been to push prices for solar cells down significantly in the past few years. Adding to its troubles, the German solar industry’s export market, which accounts for over 40 percent of turnover, is beginning to dry up in key areas. For example, following the decision by the Spanish government to stop subsidies for installing solar panels, the market there, which had previously enjoyed 200-percent growth rates, has crashed. The consequences could be severe for the industry, which in 2008 employed around 75,000 people and turned over approximately seven billion euros, according to the latest data from industry association BSW.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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International
Life Style
International
The ‘alien’ promoting a kinder society
AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye
Yukio Hatoyama. Agence France-Presse
TOKYO - The man widely tipped to be Japan’s next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, is the scion of one of the country’s most influential and wealthy political dynasties, sometimes likened to the Kennedys. He is the grandson of a former premier, the son of a one-time foreign minister and the brother of a recently resigned cabinet minister. Another of his grandfathers founded the world’s largest tyremaker, Bridgestone. Soft-spoken Hatoyama, 62, was elected three months ago as president of the party he co-founded over a decade ago, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), to go head-to-head against Prime Minister Taro Aso, also a political blue blood. Despite his roots in the moneyed power elite, Hatoyama, Japan’s wealthiest parliamentarian, has pledged to fight for the common
FARC release video of two hostages in Colombia Agence France-Presse
BOGOTA - Leftist Colombian guerrillas on Monday released videos of a police officer and a soldier who are among a group of 23 hostages held deep in the jungle. In the videos broadcast by Venezuela-based Telesur television, police officer Guillermo Javier Solorzano, held captive since July 2007, and soldier Salin Antonio San Miguel, who was kidnapped in May 2008, greeted their families. “From here, from this jungle, we plead to those who have the power to bring us back to do something for us, to help us, to realize that we’re suffering here, with stoicism, with courage and dignity,” Solorzano said in a message welcomed by families of the hostages as proof they were still alive. The Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), Latin America’s oldest and largest insurgency, has been battling the government in Bogota for 45 years. The jungle-based group holds 23 police officers and soldiers as hostages and wants to exchange 21 of these “political prisoners” for jailed FARC rebels. It has offered to release another two unilaterally. President Alvaro Uribe, a conservative who is a close US ally, has agreed to FARC demands that leftist Senator Piedad Cordoba negotiate the release of hostages, but only on condition that the guerrillas release all soldiers they still hold in the jungle. Cordoba, who heads a civil movement seeking a mediated solution to the conflict, received the videos. She said the FARC was expected to release more evidence that other hostages are still alive in the coming days.
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Study: Ibuprofen is best for kids with broken arms
Japan’s Hatoyama
man, often speaking of his vision of “a fraternal society.” Hatoyama, an engineer by training, has pledged to strengthen Japan’s social safety net, cut government waste, clean up campaign financing and end the strong influence of state bureaucrats. The DPJ chief — whose centrist party comprises a wide spectrum of members, from pacifists to defence hawks — has also argued that Japan should have a less subservient relationship with its long-time ally the United States. “The election for a change of government has begun at last,” he boldly declared in an appeal to voters at the start of campaigning Tuesday. “The government, with a record of repeated mismanagement, should be ousted by the people. A change of government is a start toward building a new Japan.” Hatoyama is a fourth-generation parliamentarian and one-time LDP member. His brother Kunio Hatoyama served as internal affairs minister in Aso’s cabinet but resigned after falling-out with the premier in June. Hatoyama graduated from the University of Tokyo, received a doctorate in engineering from California’s Stanford University, and was an assistant professor in the School of Economics at Tokyo’s Senshu University. In 1986, he won a lower house seat in Hokkaido as a ruling LDP member and has since been re-elected six times. He left the ruling party in 1993 and — after forming a now-defunct party with other LDP defectors to temporarily oust the ruling party — co-founded the DPJ in 1996, going on to lead it for the first time from 1999 to 2002.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Associated Press Writer
AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA
(AP Photo/arthowardphotography.com)
Syrian Prime Minister Naji Otri (R) welcomes his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki at Damascus airport on August 18, 2009. Maliki arrived in the Syrian capital for security talks, after the top US commander in Iraqi said Syria’s role in allowing fighters across the border remained a concern.
In this undated photo provided by arthowardphotography.com, a deep sea coral reef is seen from a fourman submersible more than 1,000 feet down in the Atlantic Ocean about 50 miles off the southeastern coast of the United States. Scientists are studying the deep water reefs in a 23,000 square mile region stretching from North Carolina to Florida that has been proposed for protection from fishing and other endeavors that could damage the ecosystem, such as energy and oil exploration.
Iraqi PM in Syria for Protection plan deep-sea key security talks coral reefs considered Agence France-Presse
DAMASCUS - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for security talks, after the top US commander in Iraqi said Syria’s role in allowing fighters across the border remained a concern.
Maliki’s trip, which will include a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also comes just days after a senior US military delegation was in Damascus to discuss regional security issues, reportedly including Iraq. His talks will focus on “security, politics, economics, borders, water and regional cooperation,” Ali Musawi, an adviser to the Iraqi premier, told AFP on Sunday.
Maliki was accompanied on his visit by Oil Minister Hussein alShahristani and Water Minister Latif Rashid as well as top security officials. General Ray Odierno told reporters on Monday that while the “flow of foreign fighters in Iraq has decreased significantly... we’re still a little bit concerned with Syria’s role in this.” In recent months, Iraqi officials
had hailed an improvement in security at the Syrian border. Ahead of a US troop pullback from Iraqi towns and cities at the end of June, interior ministry operations director Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf said it was now well secured and Iraqi troops should soon be able to take over patrols. Iraq responded negatively to reports that the US military delegation which visited Syria last Monday discussed Iraqi security. “Baghdad doesn’t care for any of these meetings about Iraq without its presence,” deputy foreign minister Labid Alawi was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Britain says Afghan war ‘winnable’ despite grim milestone Agence France-Presse
LONDON - Britain said Monday the war in Afghanistan is “winnable,” despite its military death toll there passing 200 and an opinion poll showing a majority of Britons oppose the fight against the Taliban. After a weekend when five new deaths took the toll to 204, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth suggested British forces could be scaled back in coming years, dismissing as “ridiculous” claims they could be there for four decades.
But amid questions over Ainsworth’s suggestion, Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government faced growing calls either to pull troops out of Afghanistan altogether or provide stronger support. A poll out Monday said 82 percent of Britons believe the government is not doing enough to back up troops in Afghanistan, compared to 12 percent who said support is sufficient. Fifty-seven percent said troops should not be fighting in Afghanistan — where crucial presidential elections take place Thursday — and only 13
percent said it was “very clear” why troops were there. TheYouGov poll commissioned by Sky News television surveyed 2,127 Britons between August 7 and 10. Ainsworth defended Britain’s mission and talked up the possibility of its troops playing a lower-key role in the coming years, even though the United States is widely expected to ask Britain to send more after the poll. “The troops know that we’ve made progress in the last few months, and I still firmly believe that Afghanistan is winnable,” he told BBC radio.
Associated Press Writer
FIFTY MILES OFF CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Deep beneath the crystalline blue surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern U.S. lies a virtual rain forest of coral reefs so expansive the network is believed to be the world’s largest. A 23,000-square-mile area stretching from North Carolina to Florida is just part of that entire reef tract now being proposed for protection from potential damage by deepsea commercial fishing and energy exploration. So far, it’s been relatively untouched by man because of its largely unreachable depths, providing scientists a unique opportunity to protect an ecosystem before it’s destroyed. “Most of the time, science is trying to catch up with exploitation,” said Steve Ross of the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Ross is leading a four-part research cruise that began Aug. 6 aimed at studying these deep sea environments, hoping to find new species of fish, crab and corals that could lead to scientific and medical discoveries. Environmentalists say crab pots and bottom trawling for shrimp are the most immediate threats. Margot Stiles, a marine scientist for Oceana, an international environmental advocacy group, said other deep water reefs off the U.S. have been severely damaged by trawlers. “In this case,
we have 23,000 square miles of known deep sea corals, and it’s not too late to protect them,” Stiles said. “This particular reef is to the deep sea what the Great Barrier Reef is for the world.” The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is pushing the proposal to protect the region, about the size of West Virginia, in depths down to 2,500 feet and below, creating the largest deep water coral protected area off the Atlantic Coast. Specifics on regulations and restrictions are still being reviewed, but if approved by the U.S. Commerce Secretary, the plan could take effect by next year. “As far as we can tell, there’s relatively little damage,” Ross said. “That’s very different from other parts of the world. In Scotland and Ireland ... there’s been significant damage mostly from fishing and now those reefs are being protected.” While fishermen have for centuries dragged up corals from the deep sea, it wasn’t until the early 1900s that scientists discovered these extensive cold-water reefs existed. And it wasn’t until the 1970s that research-
ers were able to use submersibles and cameras to reach the sea floor to document them. It had long been thought coral reefs only formed in shallow, warm waters. Deep water reefs and pinnacles are much more slow-growing and can take several million years to form. Ross said science is only now beginning to understand these underwater “frontier zones.” Out on the research ship, scientists gather corals, sponges and fish samples by sinking deep to the ocean floor in a four-man submersible about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. The team is comprised of researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida Atlantic University, the U.S. Geological Survey and others. “We’ve barely seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of new species out here,” Ross said. “We’ll find out five or 10 years from now that we made an amazing discovery and we just didn’t realize it ... A lot of our pharmaceuticals come from a tropical rainforest environment. The same people are looking for these in the deep sea, and there are expectations that there will be drugs made that could potentially provide cures for some types of cancer. There is just a great deal of concern that once these habitats are gone, the potential for realizing those discoveries are eliminated,” Ross added.
MILWAUKEE – Kids with a broken arm do better on a simple over-the-counter painkiller than on a more powerful prescription combination that includes a narcotic, a surprising study finds. It tested ibuprofen, sold as Advil, Motrin and other brands, against acetaminophen plus codeine — a combo called Tylenol No. 3 that is also sold in generic form. The children on ibuprofen did better, said the study leader, Dr. Amy Drendel of the Medical College of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee. “They were more likely to play, they ate better and they had fewer adverse effects,” she said. Results were published online Tuesday by the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Experts praised the study as one of the few to compare medicines that have been long used in children based on how they work in adults. “We want to start with what’s effective and less likely to cause problems,” and in this case, it turned out to be a cheap, over-thecounter drug, said Dr. Knox Todd, an emergency medicine pain researcher at Beth Israel Medical
Center in New York and a member of the American Pain Society’s board of directors. The results do not mean that ibuprofen beats acetaminophen for everyday pain relief in children or anyone else, though. The study tested a specific use — pain in the first three days after a broken arm — and the acetaminophen was combined with the narcotic codeine, not tested alone. Still, it shows the best way to treat a very common problem: As many as one out of five kids will break a bone before age 10 — often, an arm. Researchers randomly assigned 336 children ages 4 to 18 to go home with liquid versions of either ibuprofen or the acetaminophen-codeine combo after being treated for a broken arm at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Neither the children, parents nor the doctors knew who received what treatment until the study ended. Full results were available on 244 children. The portion who failed to get relief from their assigned medicine was roughly the same. However, half of those on the combo medicine reported side effects — mostly nausea and drowsiness that can occur with narcotics like codeine — versus 30 percent of those given ibuprofen.
Kenya losing 100 lions every year: conservation group Agence France - Pressse
NAIROBI – Kenya’s lion population has been dropping by an average 100 lions each year since 2002, the Kenya Wildlife Service announced Monday, warning that the big cats could be extinct in the next two decades. Battle herders who kill the lions in retaliation for attacks on their stock have been blamed for much of the decline, the organisation’s spokesman Paul Udoto told AFP. Habitat destruction, disease and the rising human population also
played a role in the drop from 2,749 lions seven years ago to the current 2,000, Udoto said. “We need to take measures to stabilise that number at 2,000 or increase it,” he explained. “Communities are the largest threat to the lions and other cats.” Udoto added that educating people on the behavior and importance of the cats to tourism is a priority among other efforts to save them. Tourism, which relies on Kenya’s renowned wildlife safaris and sun-drenched Indian Ocean beaches, is a key foreign exchange earner.
(AFP/File/Tony Karumba)
An African Lion yawns next to a lioness in the Maasai Mara, approximately 400 kilometres southwest of Nairobi, in 2006. Kenya’s lion population has been dropping by an average 100 lions each year since 2002, the Kenya Wildlife Service announced Monday, warning that the big cats could be extinct in the next two decades.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Entertainment
International
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International
Judge approves Michael Jackson merchandise deal tober 30 drawn from footage of Jackson’s final rehearsals for a planned series of London concerts. “We cannot put off a hearing till next week,” Jorrie said. “We need to start building the exhibition on Monday.” But Burt Levitch, an lawyer representing Katherine Jackson, urged patience. “We feel that it’s important for the family to have a seat at the table,” he told reporters. “It’s not about making a quick buck.” AEG is pressing for a quick resolution so it can seize on the pop star’s appeal after his June 25 death shocked the world, a notion
Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI - A businessman running behind schedule triggered a bomb scare on an airplane in a desperate attempt to catch his flight, Indian police said Tuesday. Vijay Khandelwal, 35, was stuck in a traffic jam on the way to New Delhi airport last week when he realised he would miss the IndiGo plane to Kolkata unless it was held up, senior police officer Satyendra Garg told AFP. Khandelwal was arrested after he confessed to making a hoax call on his mobile phone.
not lost on the administrators of Jackson’s estate. “There may be some opportunities we have lost or are losing because of the delay,” lamented Howard Weitzman, an attorney for the administrators of the estate. The hearing also marked the first appearance of Margaret Lodise, who was appointed by Beckloff last week to safeguard the financial interests of Jackson’s children Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and sevenyear-old Prince Michael II, during business negotiations.
AFP PHOTO / JAY DIRECTO
Confiscated loose firearms presented to the media during a press briefing at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Quezon City suburban Manila on August 17, 2009.
This image released by Julien’s Auctions shows Michael Jackson’s glove from his 1983 performance of Billie Jean at the Motown 25 television special where he performed the Moonwalk for the first time. The glove will be auctioned on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City’s Times Square.
Robin Wright Penn Rules Out Reconciliation Actress Robin Wright Penn has slammed the door shut on a full reconciliation with Sean Penn, suggesting she no longer wants to be married to the Oscar winner. The pair began divorce proceedings in December 2007 only to officially end the separation four months later, but, in April, the actor filed papers for a “legal separation”, just days before the couple’s 13th wedding anniversary. He reportedly dismissed the bid in May. The couple then appeared to be back together when the Penns turned up to a party at Hollywood producer Joel Silver’s house in Malibu, California together at the end of May. But now Wright Penn reveals to More magazine, the official split may be off, but the couple is not back together. She explains, “I hit that crossroad a while ago. For Robin, the ‘I know what I don’t want’ was flashing in neon lights. I have no regrets. I, we, have two amazing children we raised together.” Wright Penn admits the split has given her “clarity of life,” adding, “I think I’ve always been a follow-theleader with my career, or maybe waiting for things to happen. Now I’m like, ‘I’m OK, I know the direction, whoever’s on board can go with me.” But there’s one part of her life she’s currently struggling with - her youngest child is about to leave home. She says, “At least twice a week, I pull over and sob. My baby is leaving. It’s an emotionally full time, but it’s not sad. I can’t wait for Dylan to go (and) live. That’s what makes me cry.”
(AP Photo/Julien’s Auctions)
Spielberg wins funds to launch new studio The new DreamWorks Studios run by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider announced Monday it had finalized an 825-million-dollar deal with Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group. DreamWorks said it had secured the final piece of financing for its plan to shoot about six films a year, which came in the form of 325 million dollars provided by J.P. Morgan Securities and other banks. Walt Disney Studios, which will handle marketing and distribution for the new studio except in India, is also set to extend a loan for an amount that was not disclosed but the Los Angeles Times reported amounted to 175 million dollars. Along with the J.P. Morgan financ-
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Late passenger arrested for India plane bomb hoax
A judge approved a deal Monday to sell Michael Jackson merchandise but attorneys for the legendary singer’s mother and the administrators of his estate disagreed on a proposed memorabilia tour. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff gave the green light to an agreement that would see clothing and other merchandise hit store shelves, with proceeds benefiting the King of Pop’s estate. But lawyers, including a newly appointed special guardian representing the financial interests of Jackson’s three orphaned children, continued their bickering over concert promoter AEG Live and merchandiser Bravado International Group’s plans to organize an exhibition of the singer’s belongings. Beckloff set an evidentiary hearing for Friday to determine whether the tour could go forward. The deal is expected to generate between five and six million dollars for the estate and “maybe more,” AEG attorney Kathie Jorrie told AFP, adding it would take place in three cities that she declined to name. AEG wants the tour to launch at the same time as “This Is It,” a film to be released worldwide starting on Oc-
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
ing and an equal 325-million-dollar commitment from Reliance Big Entertainment, DreamWorks secured a total of 825 million, which should allow the studio to launch its activity anew after cutting its ties with Paramount Pictures in October 2008. The new DreamWorks, which separated from its sister company DreamWorks Animation in 2004, plans to have its first release out in 2010. “This will allow us to move ahead quickly into production with our first group of films,” Snider and Spielberg said in a joint statement. Spielberg has already obtained rights to bring the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King to the silver screen, and plans to shoot next year a
remake of “Harvey,” a Hollywood classic from the 1950s in which James Stewart’s best friend is a giant rabbit. “Our partnership with Stacey and Steven is the cornerstone of our Hollywood strategy as we grow our film interests across the globe,” said Reliance ADA Group chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani. “Given our faith in the business plan that they presented to us and despite the current economic climate, we were always confident that this day would come.” The other banks involved in the debt financing deal led by J.P. Morgan were Bank of America, City National Bank, Wells Fargo, Comerica, Union Bank of California, SunTrust, California Bank Trust and Israel Discount Bank.
Thandie Newton’s Mother Protected Her From Racism Thandie Newton has credited her mother with shielding her from racism while she was growing up in England - although her efforts strained their relationship at times. The actress is the daughter of Englishman Nick and Zimbabwean Nyasha, who immigrated to Britain to work as a nurse. As a result of her mixed heritage, the Crash star and her family were subjected to cruel taunting during her youth in the English county of Cornwall. Nevertheless, Newton admits she frequently wasn’t aware of the rude remarks because her mother worked hard to protect her from it. She says, “I remember sensing that my mother was holding something back from me. I used to think I had done something wrong because she could be so distant. I knew there was something going on that I didn’t know about, and, because I was a child, I thought it was my fault. It took me years to work out that she had actually been protecting me as a child (from) racism. It was Cornwall.” “I don’t blame people. I don’t think it was truly nasty, but there were comments, and my mother kept all that away from us and, to do that, she had to keep herself distant in order to be a barrier between us and them.” The 36 year old struggled to understand her mother’s distance, insisting it left her feeling deeply devastated: “She has explained it to me and of course I understand. There were times when I was so unhappy no one could reach me. It’s like a madness.” However, their relationship has since been patched up - and she’s grateful for her mother’s support: “My mother and father have always supported me in what I do, even when I have had my own distance from them.”
Philippines moves to recover million guns ahead of vote Agence France-Presse
MANILA - Philippine police on Tuesday warned political warlords to turn in unlicensed firearms ahead of the May 2010 presidential vote to prevent bloodshed among rival candidates. National police chief Director General Jesus Versoza said there were an estimated 1.11 million unlicensed guns in the hands of civilians, private armies and Muslim and communist insurgents. This is on top of the estimated 1.8 million firearms in the hands of the police, military and licensed security agencies, he said. The capital Manila and nearby provinces, as well the southern island of Mindanao account for over half the illegal weapons, Versoza said citing official statistics.
Lockerbie youth rages at prospect of bomber’s release Agence France-Presse
LOCKERBIE - Hanging out in the park on a sunny afternoon, the gang of local youths could be in any town, anywhere. But these young people grew up in the shadow of atrocity — this is Lockerbie. Most of them weren’t even born when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded above the small Scottish community on the night of December 21, 1988, killing all 259 on board as well as 11 on the ground. But the tragedy is a part of their lives. “It affects you, even though it was 21 years ago. Ever since it happened there’s been this big dark cloud over Lockerbie,” said Stefan McCormick, who was only one year old when disaster struck. He and his friends erupt into anger at the suggestion that the man responsible for the bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet alMegrahi, could be freed. “He should be killed rather than taxpayers paying for him. The mess he made of this town,” said McCormick, a sentiment echoed by many of his peers.
Media reports and Libyan sources suggest Megrahi, who is suffering from prostate cancer, could be released this week despite serving just eight and a half years of a life sentence. The Scottish government says only that it is considering applications for Megrahi’s compassionate early release or a prison transfer to his home country of Libya, and expects a decision by the end of August. One of the teenagers, who asked not to be named, offered a third alternative. “Bring him back here mate, we can beat him up,” he joked. The group complains of the usual drawbacks of a small town, including a lack of facilities — the cinema closed down and they wouldn’t be seen dead in the local youth club — as well as difficulty in finding decent jobs. But while this is nothing new, they believe the horrifying explosion that left body parts strewn for miles cast a unique shadow. “There was a baby found in my back yard. My uncle found it. It fucked him up,” said McCormick.
Indian artist says ‘threatened’ over Hindu god portraits Agence France-Presse
Thandie Newton
He said civilians would have until the end of October to register their guns, while police operations would continue against known private armies and crime groups with firearms. The total includes a “conservative estimate” of nearly 16,000 highpowered weapons in rebel hands, Versoza said. “The presence of loose firearms in the country contributes to our problems with peace and order,” Versoza told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
“Now that the elections are coming, we are (carrying out) programmes and activities to control these firearms.” The Philippines goes to the polls in May to choose a president, half of the 24-seat Senate, more than 250 congressmen and thousands of local officials from village councillors and mayors to provincials governors. Versoza said the police had come up with a list of politicians known to control private armies and would deploy forces to traditional hot spots. In the 2007 congressional elections, there were about 229 violent incidents reported, most of which involved the use of illegal firearms, Versoza said without giving comparative figures.
“Just to delay the flight’s departure, he telephoned the call centre of the airline and announced there was a bomb in the aircraft,” Garg said. Security officials at the airport were alerted, and launched an major emergency operation to search passengers and luggage. Police arrested Khandelwal by tracing his mobile number and taking a statement from his taxi driver, who had overheard him making the hoax call and refused to drop him at the airport. Authorities declared the emergency over after 90 minutes and the plane took off four hours late.
PANAJI - An Indian artist said Tuesday that he had faced intimidation from hardline Hindu nationalists for depicting a popular god in unusual poses, including as an Oscar statuette. “I have been receiving phone calls which threaten me with dire consequences. They told me that they will chop off my fingers for indulging in such acts,” Subodh Kerkar told AFP from his home in the resort state of Goa. Kerkar has sketched the male elephant-headed god Ganesha in various guises for a new exhibition in the former Portuguese colony.
One shows the deity performing a traditional Maori dance, or haka. He is also depicted in a similar pose to French sculptor Auguste Rodin’s work “The Thinker”, and walking naked carrying a garden rake. Kerkar, 49, said the threats started when the hardline Sanatan Sanstha group told Hindus to call him and “express their anguish” at the images. Two other groups then filed complaints with police, alleging that the art works hurt religious feelings. One, the Hindu Jangruti Samiti, called for demonstrations at the exhibition venue. “We intend to have peaceful protests, but we are not responsible for
any law and order problem if it arises,” HJS convener Jayesh Thali said. The HJS previously protested against the renowned Indian painter M.F. Hussain because of his nude depictions of Hindu gods and goddesses. The controversy in the mid1990s led to court cases, attacks on Hussain’s house and death threats. Goa state police, which confirmed receiving two complaints, have told Kerkar to “desist from any activity which will hurt religious feelings.” But the artist, who said he was a devotee of Ganesha, insisted that the paintings meant no offence.
AFP PHOTO/FILES/MANOOCHER DEGHATI
(FILES) File photo taken February 18, 1992 in Tripoli shows convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi (C) being escorted by security officers.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Hopes fade... From page 1
AFP PHOTO
This handout photo provided by the Military News Agency and taken on August 18, 2009 shows a US Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter lifting a front hoe tractor at the Tainan air force base in southern Taiwan, to support ongoing typhoon rescue operations. Rescuers struggled on August 18 to save thousands trapped in villages across southern and central Taiwan as the island’s embattled leader warned the floods’ death toll could jump to 500.
US helicopters join Taiwan typhoon rescue efforts Agence France-Presse
CHISHAN - US military helicopters joined Taiwan’s massive typhoon rescue operation Tuesday, lifting excavation equipment into areas that have been cut off for 10 days by floods and mudslides. President Ma Ying-jeou, who has apologised for the government’s slow response to the emergency, was scheduled to face domestic and international media in separate news conferences to provide an update on relief efforts. Ma has already warned the death toll from Typhoon Morakot could climb to more than 500, with hundreds feared buried, while 127 people are so far confirmed to have perished in the disaster. The crisis may have claimed its first political victim as TVBS cable news channel reported deputy foreign minister Andrew Hsia resigned over the ministry’s decision to reject foreign aid immediately after the typhoon hit. A foreign ministry spokesman told a news conference he could not confirm the report. The government was expected to cancel National Day celebrations on October 10, deeming the planned festivities no longer appropriate, the China Times reported. Officials in Ma’s office were not immediately available for comment. Meanwhile, rescue operations continued at a slow pace as many typhoon victims, mostly aboriginal people, refused to leave cut-off villages, fear-
ing they would not be allowed to return, rescue officials and tribal elders said. A total of 1,638 people still needed to be airlifted as of Sunday night, according to the government, but only a small number were brought to safety during Monday’s operations, military spokesman Colonel Tai Chan-Teh said. “Most of the people still stranded on the mountain refuse to leave,” Tai told AFP. Transport Minister Mao Chih-kuo said the military may have to start removing people by force, because it would be too expensive to airlift food and supplies to the villages in the six months it is expected to take to rebuild roads. The US heavy-lift military helicopters were to carry 12 crane shovels into the disaster area to help speed up repairs to blocked roads, said Christopher Kavanagh, spokesman for the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy. China sent 100 prefabricated houses late Monday to help reconstruction efforts, the first in a batch of 1,000 homes worth 2.9 million US dollars being sent to Taiwan’s
Kaohsiung port, China’s official Xinhua news agency said. At a makeshift morgue in the southern Chishan township, a senior police officer said work was going slowly. He said only 50 bodies had been processed because corpses were badly damaged and would require DNA identification. “We have been working here round-the-clock for days. But while we hope to help families recover the bodies of their loved ones on the mountain, it is not easy to find them. The mud they were buried in is often a few storeys high,” the officer, who gave only his surname, Chang, told AFP. Foreign aid continued to pour in as Japan pledged 100 million yen (one million US dollars) and sent envoys from its development agency to assess how it can do more to help, Japan’s foreign ministry said. Chinese mainland broadcasters said a star-studded fundraiser would air Thursday featuring actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li, actresses Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun, and sports stars Yao Ming and Guo Jingjing as well directors Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaogang, Xinhua reported.
“The territory above water and under the water is being searched. We are awaiting a robot, which is able to work underwater. Three groups of divers are now working under the water,” he added. Russian state television said 1,000 specialists were involved in the search operation. “It is unlikely that survivors will be found where the flooding happened. We are carrying out search operations,” added Vasily Zubakin, acting chairman of the plant’s operator RusHyrdro, according to Russian news agencies. He confirmed that 64 people were still unaccounted for. He said it was highly unlikely that the accident, caused by a rupture of water pipes in one of the plant’s power units, was due to any kind of terror act, saying “we regard a technical breakdown as the cause”. Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the investigative committee of prosecutors, also said investigators “had not found any explosive substances at the scene of the disaster” and ruled out terror as an explana-
20 dead... From page 1 “This terrorist act could have been avoided,” a stern-faced Medvedev said on state television. He told federal Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to submit to the Kremlin “concrete proposals on how to bring about order and strengthen cadres within Ingushetia’s interior ministry”. Medvedev’s press office said he offered his condolences to the families of the victims. “This crime is further proof of the lack of humanity of these gangsters who are pursuing their attempts to destabilise Ingushetia ... We will do everything to find and punish the perpetrators of this cruel crime.” Late Monday, rescue teams were still searching for more people that might be buried under the debris, Grekov told AFP. He refused to speculate how many people could be found. Twenty people have died and 74 were hospitalized, said a spokeswoman for local police, Madina Khadziyeva. Many of those injured were from residential buildings adjacent to the police station, officials said. The blast site was a scene of devastation with overturned cars, twisted rubble and burned trees littering the ground under a thin pall of grey smoke and the shattered windows of the nearby apartment buildings. The attack, four days after the Kremlin said Ingushetia’s President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was returning to work despite still recovering from injuries sustained in a bomb attack in June, underscored growing fears over stability in the region. Local officials declared three days of mourning, beginning Monday.
tion. But he said that a criminal inquiry had been opened for neglecting the rules of safety at work. Local officials have said that Wednesday will be an official day of mourning in Khakassia, a remote region in the mountains of southern Siberia. The power station is one of the most powerful in the world with a capacity of 6.4 million kilowatts an hour. The components were undergoing repairs when the accident occurred, causing a large portion of the power unit to break off and puncture the ceiling and wall, allowing water to pour in and flood the chamber, officials said Tuesday. The accident sparked panic among nearby residents who feared the massive dam at the facility might collapse, but officials said there was no threat to people downstream. Rescue divers had on Monday pulled out two people alive who were suffering from hypothermia but were otherwise unharmed. The accident disrupted power supply to key smelters in the region including those of UC Rusal, Russia’s largest aluminium producer, and other enterprises. Investigators said a Russianmade Gazelle light truck had crashed through the security gate at the Nazran police headquarters and sped into the building’s interior courtyard. Local officials said the truck blew up near the police armament depot, setting off explosions of ammunition that shook the area well after the initial blast and that hampered search and rescue operations. The emergency situations ministry dispatched a large plane to the airport at Beslan, nearby site of a 2004 school hostage massacre, and officials said those most seriously hurt in Monday’s attack would be evacuated for treatment at hospitals in Moscow. Violent attacks by militants on Russian law enforcement personnel have become an almost daily occurrence in Ingushetia, but Yevkurov’s spokesman, Kaloi Akhilgov, said Monday’s blast was extraordinary. “We have not had such an attack for a long time,” he said, adding: “There is not enough blood” to treat the injured. Yevkurov, who was nearly killed in an attempt on his life on June 22, blamed Islamist militants for the attack. “The militants have carried out this terrorist act with the aim of destabilizing the situation in the republic,” he said, in comments relayed by his spokesman. US President Barack Obama said he was “deeply troubled” by the attack. “There can be no justification for such an act of terrorism. This latest attack highlights the concerning increase in violence in the region affecting officials and civilians alike. Our condolences go out to the government of Russia and the families of victims,” he said. The European Union called the attack “a brutal act” of terrorism.
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BUSINESS Oil rises above $67 amid mixed economic signals Associated Press Writer
VIENNA – Oil prices rose above $67 a barrel Tuesday as stock markets rebounded and investors looked for clues to the strength of the global economic recovery. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 81 cents to $67.56 a barrel in midday European trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, the contract fell 76 cents to settle at $66.75. Crude prices have reversed direction after dropping from above $71 a barrel Friday on investor concerns that recovery from recession may be slow because of weak U.S. consumer demand. Meanwhile, Germany, France and Japan reported in the last week they emerged from recession in the second quarter. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2 percent Monday, but Asian and European indexes rebounded Tuesday. Still, concerns remain about prospects for global economic recovery. “I think the market was too optimistic about the recovery,” said Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. “It’s not a strong rebound yet.” With traders edgy about the direc-
tion of the economy — and crude demand — trader and analyst Stephen Schork suggested that prices would bounce within a “well defined range between the high $50s and low $70” in the near future.” Investors will be watching if the first hurricane of the year threatens oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Bill was a Category 2 storm with winds of 100 mph (160 kph) and will likely be near Bermuda by the end of the week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. “This year is supposed to be a quiet hurricane season, but it only takes one bad one to really drive the market up,” Chu said. In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery slipped marginally at $1.95 a gallon and heating oil gained less than a penny to fetch $1.83. Natural gas for September delivery rose nearly 6 cents to $3.22 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent prices rose 65 cents to $71.19 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
AP Photo/Guillermo Arias
A hose used to steal gasoline is placed on the flatbed of a federal government truck after it was seized inside a small shack where a Pemex gas pipeline was being tapped on the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009. Drug cartel members and other criminals bleed the fuel lines just about anywhere, sucking millions of dollars of Mexican petroleum from makeshift taps hidden in sheds or on remote desert stretches, with thousands of gallons ending up in U.S. refineries.
Five Chinese firms on Fortune’s 100 lists Amcor in $2 bln bid for Rio Tinto’s Alcan assets Agence France Presse
BEIJING – Five Chinese companies have made their way onto Fortune’s list of the 100 fastest-growing firms in the world, with two among the top 10 thanks to China’s Internet boom, the magazine said Tuesday. Sohu.com, a popular Chinese Internet portal, ranked third on the list and China’s biggest online-gaming company Shanda took the seventh spot, the magazine said in a statement. The list — to be included in the August 31 issue — used to only track US companies and for the first time refers to businesses around the world, Fortune said. “Since the Great Depression, some companies just keep growing. And not only in the United States,” it said. Bill Powell, Fortune’s Shanghai-based editor, said a lot of US firms took a hit from the global crisis with the financial services industry and its suppliers being “the biggest casualties”, while that was “less true” in China. “Obviously the financial crisis cut a broad swath through growth certainly in the US in the fourth quarter of last year — basically the economy fell off the table,” he told AFP. “And while we had slower growth here in China for the year as a whole, obviously growth was strong.” Companies were ranked based on their revenue, profit growth and total return in the past three years. Canada’s Research in Motion, producer of the popular Blackberry smartphone, landed in the first spot with a three-year average earnings-per-share growth of 84 percent, revenue growth of 77 percent and total return of 45 percent. The other three Chinese firms on the list are online ticket and hotel reservation agency Ctrip.com International at 38, telecom software solution provider AsiaInfo Holdings at 40 and China Medical Technolo-
gies in 73rd place. “They are in spaces that are extremely fast growing in China ... for the past three years,” Powell said. “With the growth of the Internet still torrid here in China, the financial crisis and ensuing recession did nothing, or certainly very little, to diminish that growth,” he said. Internet companies have thrived in China, which has the world’s largest number of web users at 338 million — more than the entire population of the United States. The Chinese economy has held up well amid the global downturn, expanding 7.9 percent in the second quarter, up from 6.1 percent in the first, mainly due to huge government stimulus measures to boost domestic spending.
AFP/File/Teh Eng Koon
A Sohu.com employee walks past the logo of 2008 Beijing Olympic games and Sohu.com in Beijing, October 2007. Five Chinese companies have made their way onto Fortune’s list of the 100 fastest-growing firms in the world, with two among the top 10 thanks to China’s Internet boom, the magazine said Tuesday.
Agence France Presse
MELBOURNE – Australian packaging firm Amcor on Tuesday launched a 2.025 billion US dollar takeover offer for parts of resources giant Rio Tinto’s Alcan business. Amcor said it had offered to buy four Alcan Packaging divisions, part of a range of assets Rio Tinto has put on the market as it seeks to reduce its debts. Amcor said the targeted businesses complemented its existing operations and would make it one of the world’s largest packaging companies. “Now is the time in the economic cycle to be making acquisitions as asset values are substantially lower than they have been for many years,” chief executive Ken MacKenzie said. The divisions Amcor wants to buy are Alcan’s global tobacco and pharmaceuticals divisions and its food packaging arms in Asia and Europe. Rio Tinto said the businesses had 14,000 employees in 28 countries and generated revenues of 4.1 billion US dollars in 2008. “We believe Amcor’s offer is in the interests of all stakeholders,” Rio’s chief financial officer Guy Elliott said.
AFP/File/Joel Saget
The facade of the Alcan’s headquarters in Paris, pictured in 2007. Australian packaging firm Amcor on Tuesday launched a 2.025 billion US dollar takeover offer for parts of resources giant Rio Tinto’s Alcan business. Rio borrowed heavily to fund its 38.1 billion US dollar takeover of Canadian aluminium group Alcan in 2007 and the miner is selling non-core assets to reduce its debt burden. Elliott said Rio had already agreed asset sales of 6.6 billion US dollars over the past 18 months, including last month’s sale of Alcan’s American food packaging arm to US firm Bemis for 1.2 billion. Amcor said subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal could be completed by the end of September.
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Business
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
International
International
Indonesia Today
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
World markets recover poise after big sell-off Yudhoyono, Boediono declared President and Vice President Associated Press Writer
LONDON – European stock markets bounced back Monday, helped by some upbeat German economic data, a day after a deep sell-off around the world sent major indexes back down to levels from the beginning of August.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Men sit on a bench in front of the New York Stock Exchange after trading hours in New York August 17, 2009.
The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 40.02 points, or 0.9 percent, at 4,685.03 while Germany’s DAX rose 40.15 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,241.76. The CAC-40 in France was 20.98 points, or 0.6 percent, higher at 3,440.67. Asia’s markets recovered too but Shanghai’s main market recouped only a small chunk of losses from Monday, when worries about the U.S. consumer outlook weighed on markets worldwide. Investors are aware that without the support of the U.S. consumer, which accounts for around 70 percent of the U.S. economy and 20 percent of the global economy, recovery will be muted at best. Some of those concerns were eased somewhat on Tuesday after another batch of better than expected economic data out of Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.
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Most notably, the ZEW research institute painted a far more rosy picture of investor sentiment than expected. Its main confidence index spiked up to 56.1 in August, way ahead of July’s 39.5 and analysts’ expectations for a more modest increase to 45. The news that Germany unexpectedly returned to growth in the second quarter helped sentiment bounce back strongly. Volumes remained extremely light in holiday trimmed trading so investors remained wary of making too many predictions about whether the big rally seen in stocks since March — with a few downtrends since — will continue through to the end of the year. As is often the case, much may depend on what happens on Wall Street when trading traditionally picks up after the Labor Day holiday in early September. “People will come back to work
and begin evaluating; many expect a huge downdraft in prices in the next couple of months, which may (or may not) create another buying opportunity towards the autumn,” said David Buik, markets analyst at BGC Partners. For now though, U.S. stocks are expecting to recover some of their poise later following big falls Monday. Dow futures were up 57 points, or 0.6 percent, at 9,177 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 7 points, or 0.7 percent to 985. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 16.35 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,284.96 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 168.62 points, or 0.8 percent, to 20,306.27. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2 percent. In China, the Shanghai benchmark recouped early losses to rise 1.4 percent to 2,910.88.
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Jakarta - The General Elections Commission (KPU) on Tuesday officially declared Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono as president- and vice president-elect based on the results of the 2009 election. The declaration, contained in KPU Decree No.373/Kpts/KPU/ 2009, dated August 18, 2009 and signed by KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary, was read out by KPU Secretary General Suripto Bambang Setyadi at an open KPU plenary session here. “The KPU herewith officially declares Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono as the president and vice president for the 2009-2014 period,” Setyadi said. In the presidential election on July 8, 2009 the YudhoyonoBoediono pair won a landslide victory by garnering 73,874,562 votes or 60.80 percent of the total number of valid votes (121,504,481). While the two other pairs, namely Megawati Soekarnoputri-Prabowo Subianto had won 32,548,105 votes or 26.79 percent and Jusuf KallaWiranto pair trailed behind with 15,081,814 votes or 12.41 percent of the total ballot. According to Law No.42/2008 on
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presidential elections, the elected pair are the one who hace collected more than 50 percent of the total valid votes with at least 20 percent in every province. In the July 8 election, the Yudhoyono-Boediono pair had more than 50 percent of the total national ballot and over 20 percent in 33 provinces. Therefore, KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said, Yudhoyono and Boediono were the pair deserving to be confirmed as the elected president and vice president for the 2009-2014 period. The results of 2009 election were then handed to a number of institutions, namely the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, the president, political parties participating in the election, and the elected president and vice president.
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Manado - The on-going Sail Bunaken international event in North Sulawesi can strengthen maritime countries’ relations in welfare and security cooperation. “This international event has the potential to solve maritime problems for the future interest of
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maritime countries,” United States Navy Commander Admiral Garry Roughead said here on Tuesday. Lasting from August 12-20,2009 in North Sulawesi, Sail Bunaken is participated in by at least 28 warships, a number of fighter planes, and 165 yachts from at least 30 countries in this International Fleet Review.
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A large group of Indonesian divers takes to the waters off Manado in North Sulawesi on August 17, 2009 as part of a mass dive by 2,486 scuba divers in the hopes of setting a new Guinness World Record. The attempt to set a new world record for the largest ever simultaneous scuba dive was held in conjunction with the country’s 64th Independence Day. G.1043-ibp
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, right, hands an Indonesian national flag to a flag bearer during a ceremony commemorating the 64th anniversary of the country’s independence from Dutch colonial rule at Merdeka (Freedom) palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
US Navy: Sail Bunaken strengthen BEI index start weaker maritime countries ties on profit taking moves
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Roughead said the Sail Bunaken was and important event to strengthen cooperation relations among maritime countries because the sea can unite their perception, especially in the relation between Indonesia and the United States. According to Roughead, the US government admired Indonesia which is made up of thousands of islands and wider maritime territory in the world. The United States joins the Sail Bunaken at Manado Bay with Australia, Britain, the Philippines, Brunei, India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, China, Thailand, Singapore, Timor Leste, Brazil, Russia, Prance, South Korea, Japan, Turkey, Chili, Bangladesh, Canada, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Italy, Peru, Syria, Papua New Guinea, and the host country Indonesia. North Sulawesi Governor SH Sarudajang said here recently that the event was expected to improve the tourism industry in the province. He said the world’s biggest maritime event in the 21st century in North Sulawesi would have a positive impact on the province’s economic development, especially in the tourism sector.
Antara
Jakarta - The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) here early Tuesday weakened as investors actively released their shares on profit taking moves. The BEI index sharply fell 2.96 percent or 70.844 points to 2,317.572 points, and the LQ-45 index went down 16.054 points or 3.43 percent to 450.616 points. The Indonesian stocks depreciated because investors sold commodity
and plantation sector shares which had significantly rallied last week, Khrisna Dwi Setiawan, a stock analyst of PT Valbury Asia Securities, said here on Tuesday morning. They sold their shares to make profits and there were no negative impacts on the market, he said. The market was sound from the internal factor and the country was event considered as a potential market, he said. In the external market, the US government’s bond offers were responded positively by the wide public.
Woman gives normal birth to 8 kg baby Antara
Pamekasan, Madura, - A woman in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java, has given birth to a baby weighing eight kilograms in a normal manner or without undergoing a cesarean section. Siti Aminah, the baby’s mother, was on Tuesday still recuperating in a local hospital, after delivering her sixth child at 09:00 on Monday (August 17), coinciding with Indonesia’s
Independence Day. When emerging from its mother’s womb, the male baby, named Wahyu Agus Perwira, was in good health and had the physical appearance of a one-year-old infant. Siti Aminah told reporters her pregnancy had lasted longer than normal, namely 12 months, and although during the period she had never consulted a doctor, she had had no difficulty delivering the baby.
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International
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Bali Today Kuta Carnival will be held in September
Tourism Site Law is very important in countering terrorism Antara
Antara
Denpasar - Kuta Small Business Association (KSBA) will hold the 7th Kuta Carnival on September 19th through September 27th 2009. Ketut Nugra, the head of the committee, said that the annual event is held to promote tourism in Bali. This year’s theme is A Celebration of Life. In the event will be performed traditional arts and exhibition. The events held during the Kuta Carnival are kites festival, Balinese cuisine, surfing, and in the closing ceremony will be held a parade on Kuta beach. “The event will involve foreign and domestic tourists. Hopefully it can attract more tourists visited Bali,” added Nugra. There is great
hope that the international events like Kuta Carnival can be maintained in order to develop tourism in Bali. The number of tourists visited Bali is instable because many problems such as swine flu and terrorism. There is great hope that by conducting many events, more tourists will come to Bali. Bali Statistics Department stated that the number of tourists visited Bali is currently increasing.
BP/doc
Last year’s Kuta Carnival was opened by surfing competition.
Novel approach to improve forest governance Antara
DENPASAR - Researchers working with forest community groups and policy makers in ten countries in Africa and Asia have developed a novel way of improving the flow of social and environmental benefits from tropical forests. “With forests set to take a central stage in a new global deal to tackle climate changes, there is a desperate search underway for proven ways
to improve governance to ensure that forest resources are managed for the good of the public,” says project leader and head of IIED’s Natural Resources Group, James Mayers. The search, he said, needs to look at what had been achieved by the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG). Its experience shows how to improve governance in ways that lead to tangible changes in policy with positive impacts on the people who depend on forests. The FGLG project has been funded
Water supply in Karangasem decreasing Antara
KARANGASEM – Clean Water supply in several villages in Karangasem regency is getting lower. The condition is because there is no rain for several weeks in the area. Made Astawa, a citizen in Kubu, said “there was rain early this week but it was only for several minutes. We are afraid that the supply will run out next week.” Most of the village in Karangasem regency relay on rain for their water supply. Karangasem government had prepared water car to supply clean water to the villages. The drought not only happened in Kubu but also in Seraya area. Similar condition often happened every year but by employing the
water cars hopefully the problems can be solved. Bali’s Vice Governor, AA Puspayoga, promised to make clean water project to solve the drought. There is great hope that next year there will be no drought happening in Kubu and Seraya. Wayan Geredeg, the head of Karangasem regency, said “the fund from Bali Government will be used to buy the water pipes as the main channel of water. It will need several kilometers of pipes.” Geredeg said that the government planed to use theater source in Yeh Eha in Ababi village. The water in the area is abundant so it can be used as the source for the water project. However the location is quite difficult. It is located in a steep cliff, and it will need enormous fund to flow the water to the people.
by a grant from the European Commission and co-financing from the Dutch Government. A new proposal to extend the activities of the initiative for an additional five years from January 2009 has been approved by the EC. In each country, IIED, the International Institute for Environment and Development, and partners set up FGLG teams to bring together representatives of communities, governments, civil society organisations and businesses to explore the driving forces of poor forest governance and to influence national and subnational policy making. The groups enabled varied stakeholders to build trust and learn from each other whilst identifying positive policy changes suited to local circumstances and priorities. To assess the work’s impact so far and what can be learned from it, IIED commissioned an independent evaluation by Tom Blomley of Acacia Consulting. The Blomley report, published today, concludes that the project’s specific object of improved governance of forest resources in ten countries in Africa and Asia will largely be met in most of the ten countries. It adds that strong examples of this came from Ghana, South Africa, and Indonesia where important policy changes have been effected as a direct result of work of the learning groups in those countries. The report notes that the level
of impact generated in terms of learning, as well as improved governance, is high despite the project’s modest cost. “The decentralised manner in which FGLG has worked in the ten countries has provided an important testing ground for locally-driven and innovative approaches,” the Blomey report said. James Mayers, the other IIED’s expert, adds, “Many forest problems are questions of social justice. Where FGLG country teams are working well they have shown how practical steps to greater social justice and sustainable local livelihoods can be taken even when very powerful players are against them.” This provides strong lessons for efforts to support forest governance as a climate change mitigation strategy, known as REDD or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. IIED, through stimulating, for example, improved parliamentary debates, enhanced civil society action and more informed journalism, the project has achieved impacts such as forest-dependent households living around Mabira forests in Uganda. There, they have more secure livelihoods after action which successfully reversed a government decision to degazette the forests and convert them to sugar plantations and small scale forest enterprises in South Africa can now operate within a framework of simplified, rationalised and improved policies. Also, encouraging indigenous
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
communities in Orissa state, India, has been done to increase access to collect and manage non-timber forest products in state forested land. Besides in Vietnam, it has improved governance and frameworks have enabled practical actions for locally beneficial community forests. Several investments in logging deals that were over-exploitative of local forests and livelihoods have been questioned and prevented by high-level action in Mozambique, East Africa. The evaluation report found that, of the ten country teams being supported by the initiative by four teams from Ghana, Uganda, Vietnam, and South Africa, are achieving an impact in terms of improved learning, governance decisions with national applicability and demonstrating signs that this has been translated into tangible and widespread impact on the ground for ultimate target groups at local level. The other four country teams (India, Indonesia, Malawi, and Mozambique) have achieved an impact in terms of both improved learning and governance decisions, with some impact on the ultimate target group, although conditions for wider impact appear favourable. And the two country teams from Cameroon and Niger have achieved an impact in terms of improved learning as well as some impact on generating improved forest governance decisions, but with limited tangible signs of impact on the ultimate target group.
DENPASAR – The head of Public Relation Division in Indonesian Police Department, Nanan Sukarna, said that Law approach is the most important factors in arresting the terrorists in Indonesia. Nanan Sukarna gave a speech in the discussion regarding the act of terrorism in Indonesia on Tuesday, August 18th 2009. The discussion was officially opened by The Head of Bali Police Department, Sutisna and it was attended by the member of Indonesian Human Rights Commission Ifdhal Kasim and the member of Indonesian Commission for Missing Person and Violent Victims (KONTRAS), Indria F Aplhasonny. Nanan Sukarna mainly explained about the ideal and truth inside of the police department, internal reform of police, and the comparison with police department in other countries. Regarding the terrorism act in Indonesia, Nana said that in upholding the law, the police always act based on the rules and human right. “The law and human right are our first consideration but there are some cases that need different approach. For heavy crimes such as terrorism, the police can detain the suspects up to 7 days but for regular crimes the suspect only can be detained for 48 hours,” he added. He gave an example of the police work which is the operation in Solo, Bekasi, and Temanggung. In order to avoid any publication before the raid, the police divert the attention of the reporters towards other area. The other problem face during the big operation is the funding. The government only provided 40 million rupiah for each heavy crime operation which is actually not enough. The fund needed to overcome the organize crime like terrorism is billions of rupiah. The police usually used special fund provided by the police department.
Taman Ayun Temple Taman Ayun temple is the only temple compound that has Balinese structures which is the form of “Meru” or stories roof top and surrounded by ponds. The temple was built in the 16th century by the King of Mengwi. The king who ruled the kingdom at that time was King Badak Agung. He was a King who highly believed and respect in God. For that reason, he built a shire and temples as the symbols of nine main temples in Bali such as Besakih temple, Uluwatu, Batur, Ulundanu, and others. The King hoped that the people of Mengwi didn’t have to travel far BP/doc
to pray.
The head of Bali Police Department, Irjen Pol Sutisna
Pura Luhur Uluwatu (Uluwatu temple)
The temple stands gracefully in the southern end of Bali. The beautiful scenery of the ocean and sunset can be seen from the tip of its cliff. Kecak dance is held in the temple every night. The combinations of sunset in the background with Kecak dance become an unforgettable experience. Kuturan who built the shrine in Besakih temple. The temple was chosen by Danghyang Nirarta to reach “Moksa” or the unity with God. In the temple there is bushes guarded by monkeys and protected by the locals. Uluwatu temple placed in rocky cliffs in the southern of Bali. Uluwatu is in Pecatu village, Kuta district, Badung regency. The area is 30 kilometers southern of Denpasar, through Kuta, Tuban, and Jimbaran. The place is very good for those who like to surf.
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International
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Bali Today Kuta Carnival will be held in September
Tourism Site Law is very important in countering terrorism Antara
Antara
Denpasar - Kuta Small Business Association (KSBA) will hold the 7th Kuta Carnival on September 19th through September 27th 2009. Ketut Nugra, the head of the committee, said that the annual event is held to promote tourism in Bali. This year’s theme is A Celebration of Life. In the event will be performed traditional arts and exhibition. The events held during the Kuta Carnival are kites festival, Balinese cuisine, surfing, and in the closing ceremony will be held a parade on Kuta beach. “The event will involve foreign and domestic tourists. Hopefully it can attract more tourists visited Bali,” added Nugra. There is great
hope that the international events like Kuta Carnival can be maintained in order to develop tourism in Bali. The number of tourists visited Bali is instable because many problems such as swine flu and terrorism. There is great hope that by conducting many events, more tourists will come to Bali. Bali Statistics Department stated that the number of tourists visited Bali is currently increasing.
BP/doc
Last year’s Kuta Carnival was opened by surfing competition.
Novel approach to improve forest governance Antara
DENPASAR - Researchers working with forest community groups and policy makers in ten countries in Africa and Asia have developed a novel way of improving the flow of social and environmental benefits from tropical forests. “With forests set to take a central stage in a new global deal to tackle climate changes, there is a desperate search underway for proven ways
to improve governance to ensure that forest resources are managed for the good of the public,” says project leader and head of IIED’s Natural Resources Group, James Mayers. The search, he said, needs to look at what had been achieved by the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG). Its experience shows how to improve governance in ways that lead to tangible changes in policy with positive impacts on the people who depend on forests. The FGLG project has been funded
Water supply in Karangasem decreasing Antara
KARANGASEM – Clean Water supply in several villages in Karangasem regency is getting lower. The condition is because there is no rain for several weeks in the area. Made Astawa, a citizen in Kubu, said “there was rain early this week but it was only for several minutes. We are afraid that the supply will run out next week.” Most of the village in Karangasem regency relay on rain for their water supply. Karangasem government had prepared water car to supply clean water to the villages. The drought not only happened in Kubu but also in Seraya area. Similar condition often happened every year but by employing the
water cars hopefully the problems can be solved. Bali’s Vice Governor, AA Puspayoga, promised to make clean water project to solve the drought. There is great hope that next year there will be no drought happening in Kubu and Seraya. Wayan Geredeg, the head of Karangasem regency, said “the fund from Bali Government will be used to buy the water pipes as the main channel of water. It will need several kilometers of pipes.” Geredeg said that the government planed to use theater source in Yeh Eha in Ababi village. The water in the area is abundant so it can be used as the source for the water project. However the location is quite difficult. It is located in a steep cliff, and it will need enormous fund to flow the water to the people.
by a grant from the European Commission and co-financing from the Dutch Government. A new proposal to extend the activities of the initiative for an additional five years from January 2009 has been approved by the EC. In each country, IIED, the International Institute for Environment and Development, and partners set up FGLG teams to bring together representatives of communities, governments, civil society organisations and businesses to explore the driving forces of poor forest governance and to influence national and subnational policy making. The groups enabled varied stakeholders to build trust and learn from each other whilst identifying positive policy changes suited to local circumstances and priorities. To assess the work’s impact so far and what can be learned from it, IIED commissioned an independent evaluation by Tom Blomley of Acacia Consulting. The Blomley report, published today, concludes that the project’s specific object of improved governance of forest resources in ten countries in Africa and Asia will largely be met in most of the ten countries. It adds that strong examples of this came from Ghana, South Africa, and Indonesia where important policy changes have been effected as a direct result of work of the learning groups in those countries. The report notes that the level
of impact generated in terms of learning, as well as improved governance, is high despite the project’s modest cost. “The decentralised manner in which FGLG has worked in the ten countries has provided an important testing ground for locally-driven and innovative approaches,” the Blomey report said. James Mayers, the other IIED’s expert, adds, “Many forest problems are questions of social justice. Where FGLG country teams are working well they have shown how practical steps to greater social justice and sustainable local livelihoods can be taken even when very powerful players are against them.” This provides strong lessons for efforts to support forest governance as a climate change mitigation strategy, known as REDD or Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation. IIED, through stimulating, for example, improved parliamentary debates, enhanced civil society action and more informed journalism, the project has achieved impacts such as forest-dependent households living around Mabira forests in Uganda. There, they have more secure livelihoods after action which successfully reversed a government decision to degazette the forests and convert them to sugar plantations and small scale forest enterprises in South Africa can now operate within a framework of simplified, rationalised and improved policies. Also, encouraging indigenous
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
communities in Orissa state, India, has been done to increase access to collect and manage non-timber forest products in state forested land. Besides in Vietnam, it has improved governance and frameworks have enabled practical actions for locally beneficial community forests. Several investments in logging deals that were over-exploitative of local forests and livelihoods have been questioned and prevented by high-level action in Mozambique, East Africa. The evaluation report found that, of the ten country teams being supported by the initiative by four teams from Ghana, Uganda, Vietnam, and South Africa, are achieving an impact in terms of improved learning, governance decisions with national applicability and demonstrating signs that this has been translated into tangible and widespread impact on the ground for ultimate target groups at local level. The other four country teams (India, Indonesia, Malawi, and Mozambique) have achieved an impact in terms of both improved learning and governance decisions, with some impact on the ultimate target group, although conditions for wider impact appear favourable. And the two country teams from Cameroon and Niger have achieved an impact in terms of improved learning as well as some impact on generating improved forest governance decisions, but with limited tangible signs of impact on the ultimate target group.
DENPASAR – The head of Public Relation Division in Indonesian Police Department, Nanan Sukarna, said that Law approach is the most important factors in arresting the terrorists in Indonesia. Nanan Sukarna gave a speech in the discussion regarding the act of terrorism in Indonesia on Tuesday, August 18th 2009. The discussion was officially opened by The Head of Bali Police Department, Sutisna and it was attended by the member of Indonesian Human Rights Commission Ifdhal Kasim and the member of Indonesian Commission for Missing Person and Violent Victims (KONTRAS), Indria F Aplhasonny. Nanan Sukarna mainly explained about the ideal and truth inside of the police department, internal reform of police, and the comparison with police department in other countries. Regarding the terrorism act in Indonesia, Nana said that in upholding the law, the police always act based on the rules and human right. “The law and human right are our first consideration but there are some cases that need different approach. For heavy crimes such as terrorism, the police can detain the suspects up to 7 days but for regular crimes the suspect only can be detained for 48 hours,” he added. He gave an example of the police work which is the operation in Solo, Bekasi, and Temanggung. In order to avoid any publication before the raid, the police divert the attention of the reporters towards other area. The other problem face during the big operation is the funding. The government only provided 40 million rupiah for each heavy crime operation which is actually not enough. The fund needed to overcome the organize crime like terrorism is billions of rupiah. The police usually used special fund provided by the police department.
Taman Ayun Temple Taman Ayun temple is the only temple compound that has Balinese structures which is the form of “Meru” or stories roof top and surrounded by ponds. The temple was built in the 16th century by the King of Mengwi. The king who ruled the kingdom at that time was King Badak Agung. He was a King who highly believed and respect in God. For that reason, he built a shire and temples as the symbols of nine main temples in Bali such as Besakih temple, Uluwatu, Batur, Ulundanu, and others. The King hoped that the people of Mengwi didn’t have to travel far BP/doc
to pray.
The head of Bali Police Department, Irjen Pol Sutisna
Pura Luhur Uluwatu (Uluwatu temple)
The temple stands gracefully in the southern end of Bali. The beautiful scenery of the ocean and sunset can be seen from the tip of its cliff. Kecak dance is held in the temple every night. The combinations of sunset in the background with Kecak dance become an unforgettable experience. Kuturan who built the shrine in Besakih temple. The temple was chosen by Danghyang Nirarta to reach “Moksa” or the unity with God. In the temple there is bushes guarded by monkeys and protected by the locals. Uluwatu temple placed in rocky cliffs in the southern of Bali. Uluwatu is in Pecatu village, Kuta district, Badung regency. The area is 30 kilometers southern of Denpasar, through Kuta, Tuban, and Jimbaran. The place is very good for those who like to surf.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
World markets recover poise after big sell-off Yudhoyono, Boediono declared President and Vice President Associated Press Writer
LONDON – European stock markets bounced back Monday, helped by some upbeat German economic data, a day after a deep sell-off around the world sent major indexes back down to levels from the beginning of August.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Men sit on a bench in front of the New York Stock Exchange after trading hours in New York August 17, 2009.
The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 40.02 points, or 0.9 percent, at 4,685.03 while Germany’s DAX rose 40.15 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,241.76. The CAC-40 in France was 20.98 points, or 0.6 percent, higher at 3,440.67. Asia’s markets recovered too but Shanghai’s main market recouped only a small chunk of losses from Monday, when worries about the U.S. consumer outlook weighed on markets worldwide. Investors are aware that without the support of the U.S. consumer, which accounts for around 70 percent of the U.S. economy and 20 percent of the global economy, recovery will be muted at best. Some of those concerns were eased somewhat on Tuesday after another batch of better than expected economic data out of Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.
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Most notably, the ZEW research institute painted a far more rosy picture of investor sentiment than expected. Its main confidence index spiked up to 56.1 in August, way ahead of July’s 39.5 and analysts’ expectations for a more modest increase to 45. The news that Germany unexpectedly returned to growth in the second quarter helped sentiment bounce back strongly. Volumes remained extremely light in holiday trimmed trading so investors remained wary of making too many predictions about whether the big rally seen in stocks since March — with a few downtrends since — will continue through to the end of the year. As is often the case, much may depend on what happens on Wall Street when trading traditionally picks up after the Labor Day holiday in early September. “People will come back to work
and begin evaluating; many expect a huge downdraft in prices in the next couple of months, which may (or may not) create another buying opportunity towards the autumn,” said David Buik, markets analyst at BGC Partners. For now though, U.S. stocks are expecting to recover some of their poise later following big falls Monday. Dow futures were up 57 points, or 0.6 percent, at 9,177 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures rose 7 points, or 0.7 percent to 985. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 16.35 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,284.96 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 168.62 points, or 0.8 percent, to 20,306.27. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.2 percent. In China, the Shanghai benchmark recouped early losses to rise 1.4 percent to 2,910.88.
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Jakarta - The General Elections Commission (KPU) on Tuesday officially declared Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono as president- and vice president-elect based on the results of the 2009 election. The declaration, contained in KPU Decree No.373/Kpts/KPU/ 2009, dated August 18, 2009 and signed by KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary, was read out by KPU Secretary General Suripto Bambang Setyadi at an open KPU plenary session here. “The KPU herewith officially declares Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Boediono as the president and vice president for the 2009-2014 period,” Setyadi said. In the presidential election on July 8, 2009 the YudhoyonoBoediono pair won a landslide victory by garnering 73,874,562 votes or 60.80 percent of the total number of valid votes (121,504,481). While the two other pairs, namely Megawati Soekarnoputri-Prabowo Subianto had won 32,548,105 votes or 26.79 percent and Jusuf KallaWiranto pair trailed behind with 15,081,814 votes or 12.41 percent of the total ballot. According to Law No.42/2008 on
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presidential elections, the elected pair are the one who hace collected more than 50 percent of the total valid votes with at least 20 percent in every province. In the July 8 election, the Yudhoyono-Boediono pair had more than 50 percent of the total national ballot and over 20 percent in 33 provinces. Therefore, KPU chairman Abdul Hafiz Anshary said, Yudhoyono and Boediono were the pair deserving to be confirmed as the elected president and vice president for the 2009-2014 period. The results of 2009 election were then handed to a number of institutions, namely the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives (DPR), the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, the president, political parties participating in the election, and the elected president and vice president.
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Manado - The on-going Sail Bunaken international event in North Sulawesi can strengthen maritime countries’ relations in welfare and security cooperation. “This international event has the potential to solve maritime problems for the future interest of
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maritime countries,” United States Navy Commander Admiral Garry Roughead said here on Tuesday. Lasting from August 12-20,2009 in North Sulawesi, Sail Bunaken is participated in by at least 28 warships, a number of fighter planes, and 165 yachts from at least 30 countries in this International Fleet Review.
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A large group of Indonesian divers takes to the waters off Manado in North Sulawesi on August 17, 2009 as part of a mass dive by 2,486 scuba divers in the hopes of setting a new Guinness World Record. The attempt to set a new world record for the largest ever simultaneous scuba dive was held in conjunction with the country’s 64th Independence Day. G.1043-ibp
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Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, right, hands an Indonesian national flag to a flag bearer during a ceremony commemorating the 64th anniversary of the country’s independence from Dutch colonial rule at Merdeka (Freedom) palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
US Navy: Sail Bunaken strengthen BEI index start weaker maritime countries ties on profit taking moves
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Roughead said the Sail Bunaken was and important event to strengthen cooperation relations among maritime countries because the sea can unite their perception, especially in the relation between Indonesia and the United States. According to Roughead, the US government admired Indonesia which is made up of thousands of islands and wider maritime territory in the world. The United States joins the Sail Bunaken at Manado Bay with Australia, Britain, the Philippines, Brunei, India, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, China, Thailand, Singapore, Timor Leste, Brazil, Russia, Prance, South Korea, Japan, Turkey, Chili, Bangladesh, Canada, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Italy, Peru, Syria, Papua New Guinea, and the host country Indonesia. North Sulawesi Governor SH Sarudajang said here recently that the event was expected to improve the tourism industry in the province. He said the world’s biggest maritime event in the 21st century in North Sulawesi would have a positive impact on the province’s economic development, especially in the tourism sector.
Antara
Jakarta - The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) here early Tuesday weakened as investors actively released their shares on profit taking moves. The BEI index sharply fell 2.96 percent or 70.844 points to 2,317.572 points, and the LQ-45 index went down 16.054 points or 3.43 percent to 450.616 points. The Indonesian stocks depreciated because investors sold commodity
and plantation sector shares which had significantly rallied last week, Khrisna Dwi Setiawan, a stock analyst of PT Valbury Asia Securities, said here on Tuesday morning. They sold their shares to make profits and there were no negative impacts on the market, he said. The market was sound from the internal factor and the country was event considered as a potential market, he said. In the external market, the US government’s bond offers were responded positively by the wide public.
Woman gives normal birth to 8 kg baby Antara
Pamekasan, Madura, - A woman in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java, has given birth to a baby weighing eight kilograms in a normal manner or without undergoing a cesarean section. Siti Aminah, the baby’s mother, was on Tuesday still recuperating in a local hospital, after delivering her sixth child at 09:00 on Monday (August 17), coinciding with Indonesia’s
Independence Day. When emerging from its mother’s womb, the male baby, named Wahyu Agus Perwira, was in good health and had the physical appearance of a one-year-old infant. Siti Aminah told reporters her pregnancy had lasted longer than normal, namely 12 months, and although during the period she had never consulted a doctor, she had had no difficulty delivering the baby.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Hopes fade... From page 1
AFP PHOTO
This handout photo provided by the Military News Agency and taken on August 18, 2009 shows a US Navy MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter lifting a front hoe tractor at the Tainan air force base in southern Taiwan, to support ongoing typhoon rescue operations. Rescuers struggled on August 18 to save thousands trapped in villages across southern and central Taiwan as the island’s embattled leader warned the floods’ death toll could jump to 500.
US helicopters join Taiwan typhoon rescue efforts Agence France-Presse
CHISHAN - US military helicopters joined Taiwan’s massive typhoon rescue operation Tuesday, lifting excavation equipment into areas that have been cut off for 10 days by floods and mudslides. President Ma Ying-jeou, who has apologised for the government’s slow response to the emergency, was scheduled to face domestic and international media in separate news conferences to provide an update on relief efforts. Ma has already warned the death toll from Typhoon Morakot could climb to more than 500, with hundreds feared buried, while 127 people are so far confirmed to have perished in the disaster. The crisis may have claimed its first political victim as TVBS cable news channel reported deputy foreign minister Andrew Hsia resigned over the ministry’s decision to reject foreign aid immediately after the typhoon hit. A foreign ministry spokesman told a news conference he could not confirm the report. The government was expected to cancel National Day celebrations on October 10, deeming the planned festivities no longer appropriate, the China Times reported. Officials in Ma’s office were not immediately available for comment. Meanwhile, rescue operations continued at a slow pace as many typhoon victims, mostly aboriginal people, refused to leave cut-off villages, fear-
ing they would not be allowed to return, rescue officials and tribal elders said. A total of 1,638 people still needed to be airlifted as of Sunday night, according to the government, but only a small number were brought to safety during Monday’s operations, military spokesman Colonel Tai Chan-Teh said. “Most of the people still stranded on the mountain refuse to leave,” Tai told AFP. Transport Minister Mao Chih-kuo said the military may have to start removing people by force, because it would be too expensive to airlift food and supplies to the villages in the six months it is expected to take to rebuild roads. The US heavy-lift military helicopters were to carry 12 crane shovels into the disaster area to help speed up repairs to blocked roads, said Christopher Kavanagh, spokesman for the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy. China sent 100 prefabricated houses late Monday to help reconstruction efforts, the first in a batch of 1,000 homes worth 2.9 million US dollars being sent to Taiwan’s
Kaohsiung port, China’s official Xinhua news agency said. At a makeshift morgue in the southern Chishan township, a senior police officer said work was going slowly. He said only 50 bodies had been processed because corpses were badly damaged and would require DNA identification. “We have been working here round-the-clock for days. But while we hope to help families recover the bodies of their loved ones on the mountain, it is not easy to find them. The mud they were buried in is often a few storeys high,” the officer, who gave only his surname, Chang, told AFP. Foreign aid continued to pour in as Japan pledged 100 million yen (one million US dollars) and sent envoys from its development agency to assess how it can do more to help, Japan’s foreign ministry said. Chinese mainland broadcasters said a star-studded fundraiser would air Thursday featuring actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li, actresses Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun, and sports stars Yao Ming and Guo Jingjing as well directors Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and Feng Xiaogang, Xinhua reported.
“The territory above water and under the water is being searched. We are awaiting a robot, which is able to work underwater. Three groups of divers are now working under the water,” he added. Russian state television said 1,000 specialists were involved in the search operation. “It is unlikely that survivors will be found where the flooding happened. We are carrying out search operations,” added Vasily Zubakin, acting chairman of the plant’s operator RusHyrdro, according to Russian news agencies. He confirmed that 64 people were still unaccounted for. He said it was highly unlikely that the accident, caused by a rupture of water pipes in one of the plant’s power units, was due to any kind of terror act, saying “we regard a technical breakdown as the cause”. Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the investigative committee of prosecutors, also said investigators “had not found any explosive substances at the scene of the disaster” and ruled out terror as an explana-
20 dead... From page 1 “This terrorist act could have been avoided,” a stern-faced Medvedev said on state television. He told federal Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev to submit to the Kremlin “concrete proposals on how to bring about order and strengthen cadres within Ingushetia’s interior ministry”. Medvedev’s press office said he offered his condolences to the families of the victims. “This crime is further proof of the lack of humanity of these gangsters who are pursuing their attempts to destabilise Ingushetia ... We will do everything to find and punish the perpetrators of this cruel crime.” Late Monday, rescue teams were still searching for more people that might be buried under the debris, Grekov told AFP. He refused to speculate how many people could be found. Twenty people have died and 74 were hospitalized, said a spokeswoman for local police, Madina Khadziyeva. Many of those injured were from residential buildings adjacent to the police station, officials said. The blast site was a scene of devastation with overturned cars, twisted rubble and burned trees littering the ground under a thin pall of grey smoke and the shattered windows of the nearby apartment buildings. The attack, four days after the Kremlin said Ingushetia’s President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was returning to work despite still recovering from injuries sustained in a bomb attack in June, underscored growing fears over stability in the region. Local officials declared three days of mourning, beginning Monday.
tion. But he said that a criminal inquiry had been opened for neglecting the rules of safety at work. Local officials have said that Wednesday will be an official day of mourning in Khakassia, a remote region in the mountains of southern Siberia. The power station is one of the most powerful in the world with a capacity of 6.4 million kilowatts an hour. The components were undergoing repairs when the accident occurred, causing a large portion of the power unit to break off and puncture the ceiling and wall, allowing water to pour in and flood the chamber, officials said Tuesday. The accident sparked panic among nearby residents who feared the massive dam at the facility might collapse, but officials said there was no threat to people downstream. Rescue divers had on Monday pulled out two people alive who were suffering from hypothermia but were otherwise unharmed. The accident disrupted power supply to key smelters in the region including those of UC Rusal, Russia’s largest aluminium producer, and other enterprises. Investigators said a Russianmade Gazelle light truck had crashed through the security gate at the Nazran police headquarters and sped into the building’s interior courtyard. Local officials said the truck blew up near the police armament depot, setting off explosions of ammunition that shook the area well after the initial blast and that hampered search and rescue operations. The emergency situations ministry dispatched a large plane to the airport at Beslan, nearby site of a 2004 school hostage massacre, and officials said those most seriously hurt in Monday’s attack would be evacuated for treatment at hospitals in Moscow. Violent attacks by militants on Russian law enforcement personnel have become an almost daily occurrence in Ingushetia, but Yevkurov’s spokesman, Kaloi Akhilgov, said Monday’s blast was extraordinary. “We have not had such an attack for a long time,” he said, adding: “There is not enough blood” to treat the injured. Yevkurov, who was nearly killed in an attempt on his life on June 22, blamed Islamist militants for the attack. “The militants have carried out this terrorist act with the aim of destabilizing the situation in the republic,” he said, in comments relayed by his spokesman. US President Barack Obama said he was “deeply troubled” by the attack. “There can be no justification for such an act of terrorism. This latest attack highlights the concerning increase in violence in the region affecting officials and civilians alike. Our condolences go out to the government of Russia and the families of victims,” he said. The European Union called the attack “a brutal act” of terrorism.
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BUSINESS Oil rises above $67 amid mixed economic signals Associated Press Writer
VIENNA – Oil prices rose above $67 a barrel Tuesday as stock markets rebounded and investors looked for clues to the strength of the global economic recovery. Benchmark crude for September delivery was up 81 cents to $67.56 a barrel in midday European trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, the contract fell 76 cents to settle at $66.75. Crude prices have reversed direction after dropping from above $71 a barrel Friday on investor concerns that recovery from recession may be slow because of weak U.S. consumer demand. Meanwhile, Germany, France and Japan reported in the last week they emerged from recession in the second quarter. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2 percent Monday, but Asian and European indexes rebounded Tuesday. Still, concerns remain about prospects for global economic recovery. “I think the market was too optimistic about the recovery,” said Clarence Chu, a trader with market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. “It’s not a strong rebound yet.” With traders edgy about the direc-
tion of the economy — and crude demand — trader and analyst Stephen Schork suggested that prices would bounce within a “well defined range between the high $50s and low $70” in the near future.” Investors will be watching if the first hurricane of the year threatens oil installations in the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Bill was a Category 2 storm with winds of 100 mph (160 kph) and will likely be near Bermuda by the end of the week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. “This year is supposed to be a quiet hurricane season, but it only takes one bad one to really drive the market up,” Chu said. In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery slipped marginally at $1.95 a gallon and heating oil gained less than a penny to fetch $1.83. Natural gas for September delivery rose nearly 6 cents to $3.22 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent prices rose 65 cents to $71.19 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
AP Photo/Guillermo Arias
A hose used to steal gasoline is placed on the flatbed of a federal government truck after it was seized inside a small shack where a Pemex gas pipeline was being tapped on the outskirts of Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009. Drug cartel members and other criminals bleed the fuel lines just about anywhere, sucking millions of dollars of Mexican petroleum from makeshift taps hidden in sheds or on remote desert stretches, with thousands of gallons ending up in U.S. refineries.
Five Chinese firms on Fortune’s 100 lists Amcor in $2 bln bid for Rio Tinto’s Alcan assets Agence France Presse
BEIJING – Five Chinese companies have made their way onto Fortune’s list of the 100 fastest-growing firms in the world, with two among the top 10 thanks to China’s Internet boom, the magazine said Tuesday. Sohu.com, a popular Chinese Internet portal, ranked third on the list and China’s biggest online-gaming company Shanda took the seventh spot, the magazine said in a statement. The list — to be included in the August 31 issue — used to only track US companies and for the first time refers to businesses around the world, Fortune said. “Since the Great Depression, some companies just keep growing. And not only in the United States,” it said. Bill Powell, Fortune’s Shanghai-based editor, said a lot of US firms took a hit from the global crisis with the financial services industry and its suppliers being “the biggest casualties”, while that was “less true” in China. “Obviously the financial crisis cut a broad swath through growth certainly in the US in the fourth quarter of last year — basically the economy fell off the table,” he told AFP. “And while we had slower growth here in China for the year as a whole, obviously growth was strong.” Companies were ranked based on their revenue, profit growth and total return in the past three years. Canada’s Research in Motion, producer of the popular Blackberry smartphone, landed in the first spot with a three-year average earnings-per-share growth of 84 percent, revenue growth of 77 percent and total return of 45 percent. The other three Chinese firms on the list are online ticket and hotel reservation agency Ctrip.com International at 38, telecom software solution provider AsiaInfo Holdings at 40 and China Medical Technolo-
gies in 73rd place. “They are in spaces that are extremely fast growing in China ... for the past three years,” Powell said. “With the growth of the Internet still torrid here in China, the financial crisis and ensuing recession did nothing, or certainly very little, to diminish that growth,” he said. Internet companies have thrived in China, which has the world’s largest number of web users at 338 million — more than the entire population of the United States. The Chinese economy has held up well amid the global downturn, expanding 7.9 percent in the second quarter, up from 6.1 percent in the first, mainly due to huge government stimulus measures to boost domestic spending.
AFP/File/Teh Eng Koon
A Sohu.com employee walks past the logo of 2008 Beijing Olympic games and Sohu.com in Beijing, October 2007. Five Chinese companies have made their way onto Fortune’s list of the 100 fastest-growing firms in the world, with two among the top 10 thanks to China’s Internet boom, the magazine said Tuesday.
Agence France Presse
MELBOURNE – Australian packaging firm Amcor on Tuesday launched a 2.025 billion US dollar takeover offer for parts of resources giant Rio Tinto’s Alcan business. Amcor said it had offered to buy four Alcan Packaging divisions, part of a range of assets Rio Tinto has put on the market as it seeks to reduce its debts. Amcor said the targeted businesses complemented its existing operations and would make it one of the world’s largest packaging companies. “Now is the time in the economic cycle to be making acquisitions as asset values are substantially lower than they have been for many years,” chief executive Ken MacKenzie said. The divisions Amcor wants to buy are Alcan’s global tobacco and pharmaceuticals divisions and its food packaging arms in Asia and Europe. Rio Tinto said the businesses had 14,000 employees in 28 countries and generated revenues of 4.1 billion US dollars in 2008. “We believe Amcor’s offer is in the interests of all stakeholders,” Rio’s chief financial officer Guy Elliott said.
AFP/File/Joel Saget
The facade of the Alcan’s headquarters in Paris, pictured in 2007. Australian packaging firm Amcor on Tuesday launched a 2.025 billion US dollar takeover offer for parts of resources giant Rio Tinto’s Alcan business. Rio borrowed heavily to fund its 38.1 billion US dollar takeover of Canadian aluminium group Alcan in 2007 and the miner is selling non-core assets to reduce its debt burden. Elliott said Rio had already agreed asset sales of 6.6 billion US dollars over the past 18 months, including last month’s sale of Alcan’s American food packaging arm to US firm Bemis for 1.2 billion. Amcor said subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal could be completed by the end of September.
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Judge approves Michael Jackson merchandise deal tober 30 drawn from footage of Jackson’s final rehearsals for a planned series of London concerts. “We cannot put off a hearing till next week,” Jorrie said. “We need to start building the exhibition on Monday.” But Burt Levitch, an lawyer representing Katherine Jackson, urged patience. “We feel that it’s important for the family to have a seat at the table,” he told reporters. “It’s not about making a quick buck.” AEG is pressing for a quick resolution so it can seize on the pop star’s appeal after his June 25 death shocked the world, a notion
Agence France-Presse NEW DELHI - A businessman running behind schedule triggered a bomb scare on an airplane in a desperate attempt to catch his flight, Indian police said Tuesday. Vijay Khandelwal, 35, was stuck in a traffic jam on the way to New Delhi airport last week when he realised he would miss the IndiGo plane to Kolkata unless it was held up, senior police officer Satyendra Garg told AFP. Khandelwal was arrested after he confessed to making a hoax call on his mobile phone.
not lost on the administrators of Jackson’s estate. “There may be some opportunities we have lost or are losing because of the delay,” lamented Howard Weitzman, an attorney for the administrators of the estate. The hearing also marked the first appearance of Margaret Lodise, who was appointed by Beckloff last week to safeguard the financial interests of Jackson’s children Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and sevenyear-old Prince Michael II, during business negotiations.
AFP PHOTO / JAY DIRECTO
Confiscated loose firearms presented to the media during a press briefing at the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Quezon City suburban Manila on August 17, 2009.
This image released by Julien’s Auctions shows Michael Jackson’s glove from his 1983 performance of Billie Jean at the Motown 25 television special where he performed the Moonwalk for the first time. The glove will be auctioned on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City’s Times Square.
Robin Wright Penn Rules Out Reconciliation Actress Robin Wright Penn has slammed the door shut on a full reconciliation with Sean Penn, suggesting she no longer wants to be married to the Oscar winner. The pair began divorce proceedings in December 2007 only to officially end the separation four months later, but, in April, the actor filed papers for a “legal separation”, just days before the couple’s 13th wedding anniversary. He reportedly dismissed the bid in May. The couple then appeared to be back together when the Penns turned up to a party at Hollywood producer Joel Silver’s house in Malibu, California together at the end of May. But now Wright Penn reveals to More magazine, the official split may be off, but the couple is not back together. She explains, “I hit that crossroad a while ago. For Robin, the ‘I know what I don’t want’ was flashing in neon lights. I have no regrets. I, we, have two amazing children we raised together.” Wright Penn admits the split has given her “clarity of life,” adding, “I think I’ve always been a follow-theleader with my career, or maybe waiting for things to happen. Now I’m like, ‘I’m OK, I know the direction, whoever’s on board can go with me.” But there’s one part of her life she’s currently struggling with - her youngest child is about to leave home. She says, “At least twice a week, I pull over and sob. My baby is leaving. It’s an emotionally full time, but it’s not sad. I can’t wait for Dylan to go (and) live. That’s what makes me cry.”
(AP Photo/Julien’s Auctions)
Spielberg wins funds to launch new studio The new DreamWorks Studios run by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider announced Monday it had finalized an 825-million-dollar deal with Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group. DreamWorks said it had secured the final piece of financing for its plan to shoot about six films a year, which came in the form of 325 million dollars provided by J.P. Morgan Securities and other banks. Walt Disney Studios, which will handle marketing and distribution for the new studio except in India, is also set to extend a loan for an amount that was not disclosed but the Los Angeles Times reported amounted to 175 million dollars. Along with the J.P. Morgan financ-
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Late passenger arrested for India plane bomb hoax
A judge approved a deal Monday to sell Michael Jackson merchandise but attorneys for the legendary singer’s mother and the administrators of his estate disagreed on a proposed memorabilia tour. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff gave the green light to an agreement that would see clothing and other merchandise hit store shelves, with proceeds benefiting the King of Pop’s estate. But lawyers, including a newly appointed special guardian representing the financial interests of Jackson’s three orphaned children, continued their bickering over concert promoter AEG Live and merchandiser Bravado International Group’s plans to organize an exhibition of the singer’s belongings. Beckloff set an evidentiary hearing for Friday to determine whether the tour could go forward. The deal is expected to generate between five and six million dollars for the estate and “maybe more,” AEG attorney Kathie Jorrie told AFP, adding it would take place in three cities that she declined to name. AEG wants the tour to launch at the same time as “This Is It,” a film to be released worldwide starting on Oc-
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
ing and an equal 325-million-dollar commitment from Reliance Big Entertainment, DreamWorks secured a total of 825 million, which should allow the studio to launch its activity anew after cutting its ties with Paramount Pictures in October 2008. The new DreamWorks, which separated from its sister company DreamWorks Animation in 2004, plans to have its first release out in 2010. “This will allow us to move ahead quickly into production with our first group of films,” Snider and Spielberg said in a joint statement. Spielberg has already obtained rights to bring the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King to the silver screen, and plans to shoot next year a
remake of “Harvey,” a Hollywood classic from the 1950s in which James Stewart’s best friend is a giant rabbit. “Our partnership with Stacey and Steven is the cornerstone of our Hollywood strategy as we grow our film interests across the globe,” said Reliance ADA Group chairman Anil Dhirubhai Ambani. “Given our faith in the business plan that they presented to us and despite the current economic climate, we were always confident that this day would come.” The other banks involved in the debt financing deal led by J.P. Morgan were Bank of America, City National Bank, Wells Fargo, Comerica, Union Bank of California, SunTrust, California Bank Trust and Israel Discount Bank.
Thandie Newton’s Mother Protected Her From Racism Thandie Newton has credited her mother with shielding her from racism while she was growing up in England - although her efforts strained their relationship at times. The actress is the daughter of Englishman Nick and Zimbabwean Nyasha, who immigrated to Britain to work as a nurse. As a result of her mixed heritage, the Crash star and her family were subjected to cruel taunting during her youth in the English county of Cornwall. Nevertheless, Newton admits she frequently wasn’t aware of the rude remarks because her mother worked hard to protect her from it. She says, “I remember sensing that my mother was holding something back from me. I used to think I had done something wrong because she could be so distant. I knew there was something going on that I didn’t know about, and, because I was a child, I thought it was my fault. It took me years to work out that she had actually been protecting me as a child (from) racism. It was Cornwall.” “I don’t blame people. I don’t think it was truly nasty, but there were comments, and my mother kept all that away from us and, to do that, she had to keep herself distant in order to be a barrier between us and them.” The 36 year old struggled to understand her mother’s distance, insisting it left her feeling deeply devastated: “She has explained it to me and of course I understand. There were times when I was so unhappy no one could reach me. It’s like a madness.” However, their relationship has since been patched up - and she’s grateful for her mother’s support: “My mother and father have always supported me in what I do, even when I have had my own distance from them.”
Philippines moves to recover million guns ahead of vote Agence France-Presse
MANILA - Philippine police on Tuesday warned political warlords to turn in unlicensed firearms ahead of the May 2010 presidential vote to prevent bloodshed among rival candidates. National police chief Director General Jesus Versoza said there were an estimated 1.11 million unlicensed guns in the hands of civilians, private armies and Muslim and communist insurgents. This is on top of the estimated 1.8 million firearms in the hands of the police, military and licensed security agencies, he said. The capital Manila and nearby provinces, as well the southern island of Mindanao account for over half the illegal weapons, Versoza said citing official statistics.
Lockerbie youth rages at prospect of bomber’s release Agence France-Presse
LOCKERBIE - Hanging out in the park on a sunny afternoon, the gang of local youths could be in any town, anywhere. But these young people grew up in the shadow of atrocity — this is Lockerbie. Most of them weren’t even born when Pan Am Flight 103 exploded above the small Scottish community on the night of December 21, 1988, killing all 259 on board as well as 11 on the ground. But the tragedy is a part of their lives. “It affects you, even though it was 21 years ago. Ever since it happened there’s been this big dark cloud over Lockerbie,” said Stefan McCormick, who was only one year old when disaster struck. He and his friends erupt into anger at the suggestion that the man responsible for the bombing, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet alMegrahi, could be freed. “He should be killed rather than taxpayers paying for him. The mess he made of this town,” said McCormick, a sentiment echoed by many of his peers.
Media reports and Libyan sources suggest Megrahi, who is suffering from prostate cancer, could be released this week despite serving just eight and a half years of a life sentence. The Scottish government says only that it is considering applications for Megrahi’s compassionate early release or a prison transfer to his home country of Libya, and expects a decision by the end of August. One of the teenagers, who asked not to be named, offered a third alternative. “Bring him back here mate, we can beat him up,” he joked. The group complains of the usual drawbacks of a small town, including a lack of facilities — the cinema closed down and they wouldn’t be seen dead in the local youth club — as well as difficulty in finding decent jobs. But while this is nothing new, they believe the horrifying explosion that left body parts strewn for miles cast a unique shadow. “There was a baby found in my back yard. My uncle found it. It fucked him up,” said McCormick.
Indian artist says ‘threatened’ over Hindu god portraits Agence France-Presse
Thandie Newton
He said civilians would have until the end of October to register their guns, while police operations would continue against known private armies and crime groups with firearms. The total includes a “conservative estimate” of nearly 16,000 highpowered weapons in rebel hands, Versoza said. “The presence of loose firearms in the country contributes to our problems with peace and order,” Versoza told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.
“Now that the elections are coming, we are (carrying out) programmes and activities to control these firearms.” The Philippines goes to the polls in May to choose a president, half of the 24-seat Senate, more than 250 congressmen and thousands of local officials from village councillors and mayors to provincials governors. Versoza said the police had come up with a list of politicians known to control private armies and would deploy forces to traditional hot spots. In the 2007 congressional elections, there were about 229 violent incidents reported, most of which involved the use of illegal firearms, Versoza said without giving comparative figures.
“Just to delay the flight’s departure, he telephoned the call centre of the airline and announced there was a bomb in the aircraft,” Garg said. Security officials at the airport were alerted, and launched an major emergency operation to search passengers and luggage. Police arrested Khandelwal by tracing his mobile number and taking a statement from his taxi driver, who had overheard him making the hoax call and refused to drop him at the airport. Authorities declared the emergency over after 90 minutes and the plane took off four hours late.
PANAJI - An Indian artist said Tuesday that he had faced intimidation from hardline Hindu nationalists for depicting a popular god in unusual poses, including as an Oscar statuette. “I have been receiving phone calls which threaten me with dire consequences. They told me that they will chop off my fingers for indulging in such acts,” Subodh Kerkar told AFP from his home in the resort state of Goa. Kerkar has sketched the male elephant-headed god Ganesha in various guises for a new exhibition in the former Portuguese colony.
One shows the deity performing a traditional Maori dance, or haka. He is also depicted in a similar pose to French sculptor Auguste Rodin’s work “The Thinker”, and walking naked carrying a garden rake. Kerkar, 49, said the threats started when the hardline Sanatan Sanstha group told Hindus to call him and “express their anguish” at the images. Two other groups then filed complaints with police, alleging that the art works hurt religious feelings. One, the Hindu Jangruti Samiti, called for demonstrations at the exhibition venue. “We intend to have peaceful protests, but we are not responsible for
any law and order problem if it arises,” HJS convener Jayesh Thali said. The HJS previously protested against the renowned Indian painter M.F. Hussain because of his nude depictions of Hindu gods and goddesses. The controversy in the mid1990s led to court cases, attacks on Hussain’s house and death threats. Goa state police, which confirmed receiving two complaints, have told Kerkar to “desist from any activity which will hurt religious feelings.” But the artist, who said he was a devotee of Ganesha, insisted that the paintings meant no offence.
AFP PHOTO/FILES/MANOOCHER DEGHATI
(FILES) File photo taken February 18, 1992 in Tripoli shows convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi (C) being escorted by security officers.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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The ‘alien’ promoting a kinder society
AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye
Yukio Hatoyama. Agence France-Presse
TOKYO - The man widely tipped to be Japan’s next prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, is the scion of one of the country’s most influential and wealthy political dynasties, sometimes likened to the Kennedys. He is the grandson of a former premier, the son of a one-time foreign minister and the brother of a recently resigned cabinet minister. Another of his grandfathers founded the world’s largest tyremaker, Bridgestone. Soft-spoken Hatoyama, 62, was elected three months ago as president of the party he co-founded over a decade ago, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), to go head-to-head against Prime Minister Taro Aso, also a political blue blood. Despite his roots in the moneyed power elite, Hatoyama, Japan’s wealthiest parliamentarian, has pledged to fight for the common
FARC release video of two hostages in Colombia Agence France-Presse
BOGOTA - Leftist Colombian guerrillas on Monday released videos of a police officer and a soldier who are among a group of 23 hostages held deep in the jungle. In the videos broadcast by Venezuela-based Telesur television, police officer Guillermo Javier Solorzano, held captive since July 2007, and soldier Salin Antonio San Miguel, who was kidnapped in May 2008, greeted their families. “From here, from this jungle, we plead to those who have the power to bring us back to do something for us, to help us, to realize that we’re suffering here, with stoicism, with courage and dignity,” Solorzano said in a message welcomed by families of the hostages as proof they were still alive. The Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), Latin America’s oldest and largest insurgency, has been battling the government in Bogota for 45 years. The jungle-based group holds 23 police officers and soldiers as hostages and wants to exchange 21 of these “political prisoners” for jailed FARC rebels. It has offered to release another two unilaterally. President Alvaro Uribe, a conservative who is a close US ally, has agreed to FARC demands that leftist Senator Piedad Cordoba negotiate the release of hostages, but only on condition that the guerrillas release all soldiers they still hold in the jungle. Cordoba, who heads a civil movement seeking a mediated solution to the conflict, received the videos. She said the FARC was expected to release more evidence that other hostages are still alive in the coming days.
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Study: Ibuprofen is best for kids with broken arms
Japan’s Hatoyama
man, often speaking of his vision of “a fraternal society.” Hatoyama, an engineer by training, has pledged to strengthen Japan’s social safety net, cut government waste, clean up campaign financing and end the strong influence of state bureaucrats. The DPJ chief — whose centrist party comprises a wide spectrum of members, from pacifists to defence hawks — has also argued that Japan should have a less subservient relationship with its long-time ally the United States. “The election for a change of government has begun at last,” he boldly declared in an appeal to voters at the start of campaigning Tuesday. “The government, with a record of repeated mismanagement, should be ousted by the people. A change of government is a start toward building a new Japan.” Hatoyama is a fourth-generation parliamentarian and one-time LDP member. His brother Kunio Hatoyama served as internal affairs minister in Aso’s cabinet but resigned after falling-out with the premier in June. Hatoyama graduated from the University of Tokyo, received a doctorate in engineering from California’s Stanford University, and was an assistant professor in the School of Economics at Tokyo’s Senshu University. In 1986, he won a lower house seat in Hokkaido as a ruling LDP member and has since been re-elected six times. He left the ruling party in 1993 and — after forming a now-defunct party with other LDP defectors to temporarily oust the ruling party — co-founded the DPJ in 1996, going on to lead it for the first time from 1999 to 2002.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Associated Press Writer
AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA
(AP Photo/arthowardphotography.com)
Syrian Prime Minister Naji Otri (R) welcomes his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki at Damascus airport on August 18, 2009. Maliki arrived in the Syrian capital for security talks, after the top US commander in Iraqi said Syria’s role in allowing fighters across the border remained a concern.
In this undated photo provided by arthowardphotography.com, a deep sea coral reef is seen from a fourman submersible more than 1,000 feet down in the Atlantic Ocean about 50 miles off the southeastern coast of the United States. Scientists are studying the deep water reefs in a 23,000 square mile region stretching from North Carolina to Florida that has been proposed for protection from fishing and other endeavors that could damage the ecosystem, such as energy and oil exploration.
Iraqi PM in Syria for Protection plan deep-sea key security talks coral reefs considered Agence France-Presse
DAMASCUS - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for security talks, after the top US commander in Iraqi said Syria’s role in allowing fighters across the border remained a concern.
Maliki’s trip, which will include a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also comes just days after a senior US military delegation was in Damascus to discuss regional security issues, reportedly including Iraq. His talks will focus on “security, politics, economics, borders, water and regional cooperation,” Ali Musawi, an adviser to the Iraqi premier, told AFP on Sunday.
Maliki was accompanied on his visit by Oil Minister Hussein alShahristani and Water Minister Latif Rashid as well as top security officials. General Ray Odierno told reporters on Monday that while the “flow of foreign fighters in Iraq has decreased significantly... we’re still a little bit concerned with Syria’s role in this.” In recent months, Iraqi officials
had hailed an improvement in security at the Syrian border. Ahead of a US troop pullback from Iraqi towns and cities at the end of June, interior ministry operations director Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf said it was now well secured and Iraqi troops should soon be able to take over patrols. Iraq responded negatively to reports that the US military delegation which visited Syria last Monday discussed Iraqi security. “Baghdad doesn’t care for any of these meetings about Iraq without its presence,” deputy foreign minister Labid Alawi was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Britain says Afghan war ‘winnable’ despite grim milestone Agence France-Presse
LONDON - Britain said Monday the war in Afghanistan is “winnable,” despite its military death toll there passing 200 and an opinion poll showing a majority of Britons oppose the fight against the Taliban. After a weekend when five new deaths took the toll to 204, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth suggested British forces could be scaled back in coming years, dismissing as “ridiculous” claims they could be there for four decades.
But amid questions over Ainsworth’s suggestion, Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government faced growing calls either to pull troops out of Afghanistan altogether or provide stronger support. A poll out Monday said 82 percent of Britons believe the government is not doing enough to back up troops in Afghanistan, compared to 12 percent who said support is sufficient. Fifty-seven percent said troops should not be fighting in Afghanistan — where crucial presidential elections take place Thursday — and only 13
percent said it was “very clear” why troops were there. TheYouGov poll commissioned by Sky News television surveyed 2,127 Britons between August 7 and 10. Ainsworth defended Britain’s mission and talked up the possibility of its troops playing a lower-key role in the coming years, even though the United States is widely expected to ask Britain to send more after the poll. “The troops know that we’ve made progress in the last few months, and I still firmly believe that Afghanistan is winnable,” he told BBC radio.
Associated Press Writer
FIFTY MILES OFF CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Deep beneath the crystalline blue surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern U.S. lies a virtual rain forest of coral reefs so expansive the network is believed to be the world’s largest. A 23,000-square-mile area stretching from North Carolina to Florida is just part of that entire reef tract now being proposed for protection from potential damage by deepsea commercial fishing and energy exploration. So far, it’s been relatively untouched by man because of its largely unreachable depths, providing scientists a unique opportunity to protect an ecosystem before it’s destroyed. “Most of the time, science is trying to catch up with exploitation,” said Steve Ross of the Center for Marine Science at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Ross is leading a four-part research cruise that began Aug. 6 aimed at studying these deep sea environments, hoping to find new species of fish, crab and corals that could lead to scientific and medical discoveries. Environmentalists say crab pots and bottom trawling for shrimp are the most immediate threats. Margot Stiles, a marine scientist for Oceana, an international environmental advocacy group, said other deep water reefs off the U.S. have been severely damaged by trawlers. “In this case,
we have 23,000 square miles of known deep sea corals, and it’s not too late to protect them,” Stiles said. “This particular reef is to the deep sea what the Great Barrier Reef is for the world.” The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is pushing the proposal to protect the region, about the size of West Virginia, in depths down to 2,500 feet and below, creating the largest deep water coral protected area off the Atlantic Coast. Specifics on regulations and restrictions are still being reviewed, but if approved by the U.S. Commerce Secretary, the plan could take effect by next year. “As far as we can tell, there’s relatively little damage,” Ross said. “That’s very different from other parts of the world. In Scotland and Ireland ... there’s been significant damage mostly from fishing and now those reefs are being protected.” While fishermen have for centuries dragged up corals from the deep sea, it wasn’t until the early 1900s that scientists discovered these extensive cold-water reefs existed. And it wasn’t until the 1970s that research-
ers were able to use submersibles and cameras to reach the sea floor to document them. It had long been thought coral reefs only formed in shallow, warm waters. Deep water reefs and pinnacles are much more slow-growing and can take several million years to form. Ross said science is only now beginning to understand these underwater “frontier zones.” Out on the research ship, scientists gather corals, sponges and fish samples by sinking deep to the ocean floor in a four-man submersible about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. The team is comprised of researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Florida Atlantic University, the U.S. Geological Survey and others. “We’ve barely seen the tip of the iceberg in terms of new species out here,” Ross said. “We’ll find out five or 10 years from now that we made an amazing discovery and we just didn’t realize it ... A lot of our pharmaceuticals come from a tropical rainforest environment. The same people are looking for these in the deep sea, and there are expectations that there will be drugs made that could potentially provide cures for some types of cancer. There is just a great deal of concern that once these habitats are gone, the potential for realizing those discoveries are eliminated,” Ross added.
MILWAUKEE – Kids with a broken arm do better on a simple over-the-counter painkiller than on a more powerful prescription combination that includes a narcotic, a surprising study finds. It tested ibuprofen, sold as Advil, Motrin and other brands, against acetaminophen plus codeine — a combo called Tylenol No. 3 that is also sold in generic form. The children on ibuprofen did better, said the study leader, Dr. Amy Drendel of the Medical College of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee. “They were more likely to play, they ate better and they had fewer adverse effects,” she said. Results were published online Tuesday by the Annals of Emergency Medicine. Experts praised the study as one of the few to compare medicines that have been long used in children based on how they work in adults. “We want to start with what’s effective and less likely to cause problems,” and in this case, it turned out to be a cheap, over-thecounter drug, said Dr. Knox Todd, an emergency medicine pain researcher at Beth Israel Medical
Center in New York and a member of the American Pain Society’s board of directors. The results do not mean that ibuprofen beats acetaminophen for everyday pain relief in children or anyone else, though. The study tested a specific use — pain in the first three days after a broken arm — and the acetaminophen was combined with the narcotic codeine, not tested alone. Still, it shows the best way to treat a very common problem: As many as one out of five kids will break a bone before age 10 — often, an arm. Researchers randomly assigned 336 children ages 4 to 18 to go home with liquid versions of either ibuprofen or the acetaminophen-codeine combo after being treated for a broken arm at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Neither the children, parents nor the doctors knew who received what treatment until the study ended. Full results were available on 244 children. The portion who failed to get relief from their assigned medicine was roughly the same. However, half of those on the combo medicine reported side effects — mostly nausea and drowsiness that can occur with narcotics like codeine — versus 30 percent of those given ibuprofen.
Kenya losing 100 lions every year: conservation group Agence France - Pressse
NAIROBI – Kenya’s lion population has been dropping by an average 100 lions each year since 2002, the Kenya Wildlife Service announced Monday, warning that the big cats could be extinct in the next two decades. Battle herders who kill the lions in retaliation for attacks on their stock have been blamed for much of the decline, the organisation’s spokesman Paul Udoto told AFP. Habitat destruction, disease and the rising human population also
played a role in the drop from 2,749 lions seven years ago to the current 2,000, Udoto said. “We need to take measures to stabilise that number at 2,000 or increase it,” he explained. “Communities are the largest threat to the lions and other cats.” Udoto added that educating people on the behavior and importance of the cats to tourism is a priority among other efforts to save them. Tourism, which relies on Kenya’s renowned wildlife safaris and sun-drenched Indian Ocean beaches, is a key foreign exchange earner.
(AFP/File/Tony Karumba)
An African Lion yawns next to a lioness in the Maasai Mara, approximately 400 kilometres southwest of Nairobi, in 2006. Kenya’s lion population has been dropping by an average 100 lions each year since 2002, the Kenya Wildlife Service announced Monday, warning that the big cats could be extinct in the next two decades.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
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Sharapova topples 10th seed Petrova to open Toronto Cup
Agence France-Presse
TORONTO - Russian Maria Sharapova signalled she might be close to a return to top form by dismissing 10th seeded Nadia Petrova 6-3 6-4 in the first round of the $2 million Toronto Cup on Monday. While her current ranking of 49th in the world suggests Sharapova provided a big upset, in reality it was a routine victory for the three-time grand slam winner as she improved her record against Petrova to 8-1. night but quickly had Petrova on the run, breaking her compatriot to go up 3-2 and again to close out the first set. Petrova responded with a break to open the second but did little to slow Sharapova, who swept through the next four games to take control. If there was fault to be found in Sharapova’s performance, it was her failure to finish off her opponent, who broke the former world number one as she served for the match at 5-3. Sharapova made sure there would be no third set, however, by immediately breaking back and finally clinching victory on her third match point when Petrova’s return sailed long. “She had an opportunity to make the match 5-5 in the second
and it was good that I finished it in two,” said Sharapova. “I think we know each other’s game very well, I have a pretty solid game plan when I play her and the main thing is execution. If I do what I have in mind, I’m going to win the match.”
Maria Sharapova, of Russia, AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
serves during her first-
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, for talks on the Middle East peace process during his visit to Washington, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
round match against Nadia Petrova, also of Russia, at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament in Toronto on Monday, Aug. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darren Calabrese)
Athletics-Bolt eases through Karlovic upsets Monfils, 200m heat in morning chill nervous Safin wins Reuters -
BERLIN - Triple Olympic champion Jamaican Usain Bolt cruised into the second round of the 200 metres at the world championships on Tuesday, 36 hours after shattering the 100m world record to win gold. On a chilly and windy morning, Bolt looked a bit stiff round the bend but was still in command of his heat, winning in 20.70 seconds. With 2007 champion Tyson Gay out with a groin injury that flared up following his defeat to Bolt in the shorter sprint, the Jamaican world record holder is the overwhelming favourite to win the title on Thursday. American Shawn Crawford, silver medallist behind Bolt in the Olympics last year, clocked the best overall time of 20.60 to ease into the second round. “I did what I was supposed to do. I tried to get as many cobwebs out as I could,” Crawford told reporters. Compatriot Wallace Spearmon, who initially had won bronze in the Beijing Games only to be disqualified after stepping out of his lane, joined him with a run of 20.66. Apart from Bolt, Spearmon is the only other runner in the field to have cracked the 20 second mark this season. British sprint veteran Marlon
Devonish clocked 20.92 to win his heat, while former 100m world champion Kim Collins finished fourth in heat seven and had to sweat it out before going through in 20.83. Churandy Martina of the Netherland
Antilles, who was also disqualified after finishing second in Beijing, did not start, with Briton Dwain Chambers also absent. The second round heats take place later on Tuesday and the semi-finals on Wednesday.
(AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt reacts after a Men’s 200m first round heat during the World Athletics Championships in Berlin on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.
Reuters -
CINCINNATI - Ivo Karlovic banged down 21 aces as he upset 13th seed Gael Monfils of France 64 6-7 7-6 in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters on Monday. The towering 6-foot-10 (2.08 metres) Croat, who beat Roger Federer on his way to the semi-finals last year, won the deciding tiebreak 7-2 to advance to the second round after two hours and 10 minutes. Former world number one Marat Safin, who is set to retire at the end of the year, eased past American Robby Ginepri 7-5 7-6, while seeds Gilles Simon of France and Croatia’s Marin Cilic also claimed first-round wins. Up a set and leading 5-4 with two serves in hand in the tie-break of the second, Karlovic appeared set to cruise to victory, but Monfils reeled off three superb points in a row to force a decider. The Frenchman saved three break points in the fourth game of the decider, but could not repeat his second-set fight-back in the tiebreak, allowing Karlovic to book a second-round clash with another Frenchman in Paul-Henri Mathieu, a 6-7 7-5 6-3 winner over German Mischa Zverev. Safin edged out Ginepri for the second time in a month, taking the second-set tiebreak 7-2 to clinch victory, but said he he was finding it
difficult to relax on court, despite knowing his career will soon draw to a close. “At the end of the day, it’s not like that (relaxing) because I always want to win,” he told reporters. “Always you get pretty tight in important moments and it’s difficult to push yourself to play relaxed, even though you know this is the end. But still, you are a player deep inside, so it comes out in important moments, and you want to win no matter what. So you understand, but also subconsciously when you are getting into the game, the old you comes out.” Ninth seed Simon eased past American wildcard Wayne Odesnik 6-3 6-2 and will now play Russian Igor Andreev, who beat Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-1 7-5. Croatia’s 14th seed Cilic beat another former world number one in Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 64, and will play another Spaniard in David Ferrer, who prevailed 7-5 6-2 over Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. Jose Acasuso of Argentina set up a second-round meeting with world number one Federer by beating Lukasz Kubot of Poland 6-4 6-3, but 15th seed Tommy Robredo of Spain fell 6-3 7-5 to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. World number six Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, beaten in the final of the Montreal Masters by Briton Andy Murray on Sunday, withdrew from the tournament citing fatigue, organisers said.
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Australia says China axed minister’s visit over Uighur leader
Reuters -
Sharapova has made steady progress since returning to action in May after nine months on the sidelines recovering from shoulder surgery, but arrives in Toronto still seeking her first title since April 2008. “It’s tough to think about the winner ’s circle because you have to take it one match at a time,” the 22-year-old Russian told reporters. “Coming back trying to get use to the situation again and the match you just hope you move forward and get betterand-better every match. That’s my goal right now. Obviously when I come into a tournament I want to win it but the mind set is to focus on every match.” Sharapova needed a few games to find her range on a muggy
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
In US, Egypt leader puts onus on Israel Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Monday put the onus on Israel to break a deadlock with Arab nations as he held talks with a US administration under pressure to launch a new peace push. Mubarak met for more than an hour Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a day ahead of a summit with President Barack Obama. It will be the first White House meeting in five years for Mubarak, who had tense relations with former president George W. Bush. Obama has shown new deference to the octogenarian Egyptian leader, with his administration saying it wanted to consult with him before launching any major new initiative in the Middle East. But US hopes to push forward the peace plan before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts later this week look increasingly slim as Israel and Arab states both insist that the other make the first move. Obama is pressuring right-leaning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank while asking Arab states to take at least symbolic steps to reconcile with Israel. In remarks published Monday, Mubarak said he told Obama in June — when the US leader chose Cairo as the backdrop for a landmark speech reaching out to the Islamic world — that Israel must freeze settlements. “I explained to President Obama in Cairo that the Arab initiative offers the recognition of Israel and normalization of ties with it after, and not before, a just and lasting peace is achieved,”
Mubarak told the state-controlled AlAhram newspaper. The position is in line with other Arab states including Saudi Arabia, which has rejected any “step by step” diplomatic approach with Israel. The Arab League in 2002 endorsed a Saudi-led plan calling for Arab states to recognize Israel in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal from the land it occupied in war in 1967 and an equitable resolution for Palestinian refugees. Only two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, have signed peace treaties with the Jewish state while some other Arab countries have trade relations. “Some Arab countries that exchanged representatives and trade offices might think of reopening these offices if Israel committed itself to stop settlement expansion and to resume final status peace negotiations,” Mubarak said. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley voiced confidence that Egypt agreed with the United States on the need for “gestures that move towards normalization” as both Israel and the Palestinians take peace steps. He said Clinton also raised human rights with Mubarak. “It is something that we raise in every high-level meeting that we have,” Crowley told reporters. “We would like to see Egypt embark on a path to expand political dialogue.” Mubarak had tense relations with
Bush, who pushed Egypt to release dissidents and hold free elections. Leading Egyptian dissident Ayman Nur, who was freed this year after three years in prison, earlier voiced fear that Obama would set back efforts to promote political reform in Egypt. “It betrays American values,” Nur told AFP in Cairo. The lawyer mounted an unprecedented challenge to Mubarak in the 2005 presidential election before being jailed on forgery charges many saw as trumped up. Mubarak also met Monday with some 20 Jewish leaders on the peace process and also on Iran, which both Israel and Egypt fear is developing nuclear weapons, participants said. Martin Raffel, senior vice president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, described the meeting as “very friendly” and said he believed Mubarak “clearly is committed” to moving ahead with the peace process. But he said the Jewish leaders also pressed Mubarak to find ways to reassure the Israeli public “that the Arab world is serious about trying to achieve peace with Israel.” “If you’re asking Israel to make hard decisions,” Raffel told AFP, “the Israeli people have to begin to feel that there is a positive change happening with the broader Arab world beyond Egypt and Jordan.”
SYDNEY - Australia on Tuesday said China downgraded an official visit this month in protest over Canberra’s decision to give a visa to exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, expressing “regret” over the move. A spokesman for Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Vice-Foreign Minister He Yafei pulled out of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and was replaced by a more junior envoy. “We regret that the Chinese government has felt obliged to take these steps, since the government’s position on the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region is clear,” he added. China was represented at the Cairns forum by Wang Yongqiu, special envoy for the Pacific Islands Forum. China has sent higher-level officials to previous forums, Smith’s spokesman said. Kadeer’s visit this month was allowed despite strong objections from China, which blames her for deadly unrest in Xinjiang last month and summoned Australia’s ambassador in protest.
Chinese foreign ministry officials in Beijing declined to comment when contacted by AFP. The row is the latest to hit relations between the key trading partners which were tested last month by China’s detention of an Australian mining executive on spying allegations, later changed to industrial espionage. Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull accused the government of a “ham-fisted” approach to China, saying relations were at their lowest point in years despite pledges from Mandarin-speaking Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to boost ties. “Our relations with China are at... the lowest ebb they have been for many, many years,” Turnbull said. “(Rudd) has been making an absolutely ham-fisted effort with our diplomatic relations.” “He has mishandled relations... he obviously has no leverage with China left at all,” Turnbull added. Resource-rich Australia has profited from China’s lightning growth over the past decade with two-way trade worth 58 billion dollars (48 billion US) last year, official figures show.
Asian competitors cast shadow over German solar industry Agence France-Presse
BERLIN - Germany’s solar power industry, until recently the world leader in the technology, is facing an unprecedented crisis, analysts say, outshone by cheaper competitors from Asia, most notably Chinese firms. Q-Cells, the world’s biggest solar cell producer, last week issued a far from glowing set of results, with losses of 700 million euros (984 million dollars) in the first half of the year. As a result, the German firm said it would cut 500 jobs from its workforce of 2,600 and put others on part-time working arrangements. The crisis in the German solar industry is affecting small companies as well as giants such as Q-Cells. Only three months ago, start-up Sunline declared bankruptcy with the loss of all its 78 employees. A glance at the TecDax, Germany’s tech-heavy stock market index, nicknamed “SunDax” for the predominance of solar firms, tells the story, with some companies losing around 30 percent of their value since the start of 2008. “The fact is that Germany is losing more and more of its market leading position in renewable energy production to the United States and China,” said Matthias Fawer from Swiss bank Sarasin, quoted in German weekly Die Zeit. “Asian cell and module producers are going to squeeze out the Germans,” Anne Kreutzmann, the chief editor of solar trade newspaper Photon, told the Financial Times Deutschland.
The main reason is simple: Chinese solar power companies are able to produce cells much more cheaply, due to lower labour costs and also the plummeting price for silicon, the raw material for solar cell manufacture. Whereas German firms are tied in to long-term contracts for silicon deliveries, Chinese firms have been sourcing it from the spot market, where the price has dropped by around 70 percent in the past few months. According to a survey from Photon Consulting, while it costs a German firm such as Ersol 1.01 dollars per watt to produce a solar cell, Chinese company Suntech can manufacture the same cell for 35 cents per watt. All in all, production costs for the solar industry are as much as 30 percent lower in China than in Germany, according to a UBS study. Chinese firms also benefit from state support and the effect has been to push prices for solar cells down significantly in the past few years. Adding to its troubles, the German solar industry’s export market, which accounts for over 40 percent of turnover, is beginning to dry up in key areas. For example, following the decision by the Spanish government to stop subsidies for installing solar panels, the market there, which had previously enjoyed 200-percent growth rates, has crashed. The consequences could be severe for the industry, which in 2008 employed around 75,000 people and turned over approximately seven billion euros, according to the latest data from industry association BSW.
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International
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
News WORLD NEWS
Former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung dies Agence France-Presse
SEOUL - Kim Dae-Jung, a renowned democracy campaigner who survived assassination attempts and a death sentence to win South Korea’s presidency and the Nobel peace prize, died on Tuesday aged 85.
RUSSIA-AIR SHOW ZHUKOVSKY Prime Minister Vladimir Putin opens an international show at an air base outside Moscow which features Russia’s latest commercial jet and other achievements in the nation’s aerospace industries.
EXECUTION DEADLINE SAN ANTONIO A Texas judge who closed her court before a death row inmate could file an appeal plans to testify at the ethics trial where she faces charges that could end her career.
ROPICAL WEATHER
“He was declared dead at 1:43 pm (0443 GMT),” said a spokesman for Seoul’s Severance Hospital. “His heart began failing at 1:35 pm and stopped minutes later despite our efforts to revive it.” Kim, who was president from 19982003, had been admitted to hospital on July 13 with pneumonia and related complications. He held South Korea’s first-ever summit with communist North Korea in 2000 and was awarded the Nobel prize later that year. “We lost a great political leader today,” current President Lee Myung-Bak said in a statement. “His accomplishments and aspirations to achieve democratisation and inter-Korean reconciliation will long be remembered by the people.” The presidential office said it would respect the family’s wishes over whether to organise a state funeral. It said Seoul would not stop North Korea sending a delegation to the funeral if it wishes. Past leaders, including the man whose government condemned Kim to death, also paid tribute to Kim — a towering figure in South Korea’s long struggle for democracy against armybacked autocrats. Kim campaigned strenuously against the 1961-1979 rule of dictator
Source: ap
AP Photo/Yonhap, File
Kim Dae-jung, then South Korean presidential candidate of the National Congress for New Politics, performs calligraphy as U.S. pop star Michael Jackson looks on beside him as he visits Kim’s office in Seoul. ment policy failed to halt its drive for nuclear weapons and its two atomic tests. “This is the best way to end the national tragedy and make a reunified motherland,” Kim said in his final speech in office. In domestic politics, Kim also practised forgiveness. One of his first acts as president was to pardon Chun, who had been convicted of treason and corruption after leaving office. “South Korea lost one of its greatest leaders today,” the conservative ruling Grand National Party said in a statement. “During his lifetime former presi-
dent Kim dedicated himself to democracy, human rights and the development of relations between South and North Korea.” The main opposition Democratic Party described Kim as “the great teacher of the age.” United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister currently visiting his homeland, plans to visit the hospital later to pay condolences, his aides said. A temporary mourning altar is being set up at the hospital. Kim is survived by his wife, Lee Hee-Ho, and three sons.
DHAKA - The personal animosity between Bangladesh’s rival political leaders and the seemingly endless bickering it feeds on, has found a new focus in a row over opposition chief Khaleda Zia’s date of birth. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling Awami League party has accused the premier’s arch rival of changing her birthday — not out of vanity but out of spite. Former premier Zia celebrated her 65th birthday on Saturday. The date, August 15, is also the anniversary of the 1975 assassination of Hasina’s
father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who led the country to independence from Pakistan in 1971. “Khaleda Zia’s educational certificate shows her birth date is September 5. Her marriage certificate shows she was born in late August. She changed the birthday to August 15 in the 1990s,” health minister A.F.M Ruhul Haque said. “She did it deliberately to celebrate the killings of August 15,” Haque said. Sheikh Mujib was assassinated along with 14 family members by a group of army officers. Hasina was abroad at the time. Altering one’s date of birth is not
unusual in Bangladesh. It is often done to circumvent age-related restrictions on university applications and official retirement. Registration at the time of birth only became mandatory in Bangladesh in 2006. Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) dismissed the suggestion that any dates had been changed and accused Hasina’s party of playing politics. “We condemned the brutal killings of Sheikh Mujib, but what can we do if someone is born on that day?” said BNP spokesman Nazrul Islam Khan. “Khaleda Zia has been observing her
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Milan -
Milan finally had something to smile about in pre-season after beating Juventus on penalties in the Trofeo Luigi Berlusconi. Faultless from the spot, the Rossoneri sealed victory on Monday evening after coming from behind to grab a deserved 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes. Milan had the better of the first half and went close on 19 minutes to taking the lead through Andrea Pirlo. The midfielder picked up the ball after a poor Felipe Melo clearance and rattled the bar with his effort from outside the box. Juventus, after Milan had been denied a penalty for what seemed like handball, took the lead through Diego on 28 minutes. The new signing from Werder Bremen looked dangerous throughout after returning from injury and his angled drive was helped in by a Thiago Silva deflection. Milan ended the first period with another chance, but KlaasJan Huntelaar’s effort was comfortably dealt with by Gigi Buffon. Juventus brought on Amauri for Vincenzo Iaquinta at the interval and the Brazilian gave the Old Lady a little more direction in attack. Diego was finding space and picking out passes with ease and a number of moves which he inspired just failed to find the feet of David Trezeguet.
Juventus’ failure to extend their lead cost them on 64 minutes when the Rossoneri equalised. A cross from Ignazio Abate on the right was headed home by the lively Alexandre Pato. The game went to penalties, but only after some Ronaldinho magic late on almost gave the home side glory. Meanwhile Milan boss Leonardo is confident his side can challenge for honours this season after winning the Trofeo Berlusconi last night. Having drawn 1-1 with Juventus after an enthralling 90 minutes at San Siro, the Rossoneri triumphed 5-4 on penalties. And having endured a tough pre-season where results have been missing, the tactician is optimistic that his side have turned a corner. “We have struggled a lot during pre-season and it has been a difficult time for us, but the team showed signs of life – we are grow-
ing,” stated the Brazilian. “It was an important day for us, not particularly for the victory, but for the spirit and the desire which the team illustrated. I particularly liked the way we approached the game.” The pressure on Leonardo has been mounting since he replaced friend Carlo Ancelotti during the summer, but he believes progress is being made. “As time goes by I am beginning to feel more and more that this side is mine,” he added. “If we can play with pride then I am sure we can have our say in the new season.” Milan won’t start the campaign as favourites for glory at home or abroad, yet the World Cup winner insists that his troops will compete for trophies in 2009-10. (AP Photo/Alberto Pellaschiar)
AC Milan’s new forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, foreground, of the Netherlands, competes for the ball with Juventus defender Paolo De Ceglie during the Trofeo Berlusconi exhibition soccer match between AC Milan and Juventus at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Monday, Aug. 17, 2009.
‘Very easy’ for Kaka as Real Wenger predicts European League within 10 years parade ‘new Galacticos’
birthday on August 15 for decades and the Awami League is trying to make it a political issue,” he told AFP. Zia and Hasina, who have dominated Bangladesh’s political scene for almost two decades, are known as the “battling begums” for a mutual dislike that is as intense as it is personal. During her first stint as premier, from 1996 to 2001, Hasina declared August 15 a public holiday and National Mourning Day, but Zia cancelled it in 2002 when she was in power. A caretaker, army-backed government reinstated it last year. (AFP/File/Pedro Armestre)
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Milan lift Berlusconi Trophy
Bangladesh’s ‘battling begums’ in birthday spat
Agence France-Presse
PORT-AUPRINCE, Haiti - The first hurricane of the Atlantic season gains power out in the ocean, moving on a track that forecasters say could take it close to Bermuda by the end of the week.
Park Chung-Hee and in August 1973 was kidnapped by agents of the Korean CIA from a Tokyo hotel. He was about to be dumped in the sea but swift intervention by Washington and Tokyo saved his life. In May 1980, during Chun DooHwan’s army-backed rule, Kim was thrown into prison on charges of treason. He was sentenced to death by a martial law court but reprieved following strong US pressure. “I hope former President Kim, who underwent a stormy political life, will rest peacefully in the bosom of God,” Chun told reporters of the devout Catholic. A wave of mass street protests in 1987 ended decades of army-backed rule but Kim won the presidency only in 1997 on his fourth attempt. He took office the following February at the height of the Asian economic crisis, which ravaged South Korea and forced it to seek a 57-billion-dollar bailout from the International Monetary Fund. The man once branded by opponents as a communist won praise for working with international financial bodies to revive the economy and launch major reforms and corporate restructuring. He never wavered on the need for reconciliation with North Korea, even though his “sunshine” engage-
Sport
International
Real Madrid new player Brazilian midfielder Kaka thanks supporters during his official presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Kaka said he finds it “very easy” playing alongside the other new world stars at the club.
Agence France - Presse
Reuters -
MADRID – Real Madrid’s Brazilian signing Kaka said he finds it “very easy” playing alongside the other new world stars at the club. “It’s very easy to play in a team with people of such quality around,” he said following his Spanish debut with the side, a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in a pre-season friendly on Saturday. He had special praise for another of Real’s ‘new Galaticos’, Spain international Xabi Alonso, signed from Liverpool this month. “Xabi Alonso has brought us a lot of security and fluidity. Now the most important thing is to look for balance and we are getting that,” the Spanish sporting press quoted him as saying. “We understand each other and I believe we can do great things together. I have noticed that the team gains possession with Xabi Alonso and that is very important,” said the midfielder, signed from AC Milan for 65 million euros in June. Another big new signing, Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile said he thinks the team, which went on a pre-season tour of the US, is close to reaching the level that fans are expecting of it. “We are continuing to work hard to reach the form that we want, but I know that it will not be very difficult to reach this level in a short space of time,” the Portuguese striker said. Real face Borussia Dortmund in a friendly in Germany on Wednesday, before the start of the Spanish league season at the end of the month. Real president Florentino Perez has splashed out over 250 million euros on the likes of Kaka, Alonso, Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema since he returned to the club in June in a bid to make the nine-times European champions a formidable force again. Perez led Real from 2000 to 2006, when it earned the nickname “Los Galacticos”, with such stars as Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and David Beckham. But while the club enjoyed the success of two domestic league titles and one Champions League, between 2003 and 2006 it did not win a single major trophy, and fears have been expressed that its glamourous new stars may also fail to deliver this season.
LONDON - A European soccer league will be up and running within 10 years as the continent’s top clubs look at new ways to raise income, according to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Wenger, whose team face Scottish side Celtic on Tuesday in the first leg of their playoff to reach the lucrative Champions League group phase, said there were “voices” in the game plotting an alternative to the current situation. “I believe the national leagues will survive, but certainly within 10 years there will be a European League,” Wenger was quoted as saying by British media on Tuesday. “At the moment the income is owned and distributed by UEFA, but the way we’re going now financially is that even the money that comes in from the Champions League won’t be enough for some clubs because they spent so much money. I’m not sure how it would work, but I feel that inside the game that there are some voices coming up to do something about this, especially if the rules become too restrictive for the big clubs.” Wenger suggested that big clubs could even have two teams, one for the national league and one for a European competition. “If you don’t want to change the national league, maybe teams will have to play in the international league in midweek and in the national league at the weekend — and all the clubs will have two teams.”
(AP Photo/Tim Hales)
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger celebrates a goal against Everton during their English Premier League soccer match at Goodison Park, Liverpool, England, Saturday Aug. 15, 2009.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
US helicopters join Taiwan typhoon rescue efforts
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Renault can compete at European Grand Prix Reuters -
(AP Photo/Eckehard Schulz)
Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo rides his Yamaha during the MotoGP free practice session of the Czech Republic Motorcycle Grand Prix at the Brno circuit, Czech Republic, Friday, Aug. 14, 2009.
Lorenzo quickest as Yamaha leads test
PARIS - The Renault Formula One team and Spain’s Fernando Alonso were given the green light to compete in Valencia this weekend after getting a one-race suspension overturned on Monday. The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement that its court of appeal had decided to reduce the sanction imposed on the French team to a reprimand and $50,000 fine. The ban, handed out by stewards at last month’s Hungarian Grand Prix, would have prevented double world champion Alonso from appearing before his home crowd in Sunday’s European Grand Prix. Renault, who had argued the suspension would also have “severe consequences” for local organisers as well as hitting fans
who had bought tickets in the expectation of Alonso racing, welcomed the decision. “The team acknowledges sporting regulations were breached during the incident in the pit lane of the Hungarian Grand Prix, which compromised safety,” Renault said in a separate statement. “The team therefore accepts the decision of the FIA to issue a reprimand and a $50,000 fine is fair and balanced.” Stewards had punished Renault for allowing Alonso to rejoin the race after a pitstop despite allegedly knowing his car’s right front wheel was not properly attached. The wheel came off shortly afterwards. The incident came a day after Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa had been seriously injured by bouncing debris in qualifying for the race in Budapest.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Kuta Carnival will be held in September PAGE 8
Judge approves Michael Jackson merchandise deal PAGE 12
20 dead in Russia truck bomb attack condolences
Brno -
Jorge Lorenzo set the quickest time of Monday’s MotoGP test at Brno as Yamaha continued its domination of the class. The 22-year-old Spaniard’s best time of the day was half a second quicker than team-mate Valentino Rossi, who still finished the test second fastest ahead of the Honda of Dani Pedrosa and the Suzuki of Loris Capirossi. Lorenzo bounced back from his disappointment on Sunday, when he crashed out of the lead of the race, and set a best lap just 0.016s slower than Rossi’s pole time on Saturday. “Today was a profitable day and we worked on a lot of different things, especially electronics,” said Lorenzo. “I felt comfortable and I could ride in the 56.1s, which was good after yesterday.” “I hope that everything we’ve done today will help us at Indianapolis. I’m not thinking about the championship now because it’s very difficult unless something strange happens, but I want to try to be back at
the front and I’m looking forward to the next race.” The afternoon’s running was cut short due to heavy rain, but championship leader Rossi was still happy with his day’s work after testing several 2010 parts. “It’s always hard to go back to work after a great win like yesterday but it was an important chance to try some things for the future,” he said. “Before lunch we did a run with the new chassis, it has some good points and some bad ones and we were able to collect some data. Unfortunately it rained in the lunch break and so we couldn’t ride for a lot of the afternoon because of the
wet rack, but it dried enough for us to do some more work at the end. This time we could really concentrate on doing a proper job testing the chassis and the new engine specification.” Andrea Dovizioso finished the test fifth fastest on the second works Honda, with Toni Elias the first of the customer bikes in sixth on his Gresini Honda. Mika Kallio finished the day 10th on his works Ducati, just one tenth of a second and two places behind team-mate Nicky Hayden. Mattia Pasini, who took Kallio’s place at the Pramac Ducati team for the test, ended the day 13th fastest.
AFP PHOTO / KAZBEK BASAYEV
People stand near destroyed cars at the site of explosion in a police compound in Nazran on August 17, 2009. A truck packed with explosives rammed through the gates Monday of a police compound in southern Russia and exploded in an attack that killed at least 16 people and wounded dozens, officials said.
Agence France-Presse
NAZRAN - A truck packed with explosives rammed through the gates of a police compound in southern Russia on Monday and exploded in a suicide attack that killed at least 20 people and wounded around 130, officials said.
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The attack in the city of Nazran, the main city in Ingushetia, occurred as police officers lined up for roll call at the start of their morning shift. It
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MOSCOW - Divers Tuesday searched flooded wreckage for 64 people still missing after an accident at Russia’s biggest hydroelectric plant but officials admitted that the chances of finding survivors were dwindling. The catastrophe at the SayanoShushenskaya plant in the Khakassia region of Siberia — which investigators believed was caused by a sudden increase in water pressure — is already con-
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injuries in the blast, including 10 children between five and 12 years old, said a regional spokesman for the emergency situations ministry
Continued on page 6
Hopes fade for missing in Russia dam tragedy
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SUNNY
killed and wounded officers in the compound and local residents in homes nearby, officials said. A total of 138 people sustained
in Rostov-on-Don, Oleg Grekov. In a move underscoring the seriousness of the situation, President Dmitry Medvedev announced hours after the attack that he had sacked the region’s top policeman and issued a stern command to his interior minister to bring about order in law enforcement in the region.
firmed to have left 12 people dead. The pressure increase is believed to have caused a massive flood in the turbine room at a time when a hundred people were working there although investigators have emphasised final conclusions have not been reached. “Unfortunately we have no comforting news. We still do not know the fate of over 60 people,” a grimfaced Russian emergencies situations minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian state television from the region. Continued on page 6
AP Photo/Emergency Ministry, Siberian Branch, HO
Damage to the Sayano-Shushinskaya power station in southern Siberia is seen Monday, Aug. 17, 2009 in this photo released by the Emergency Ministry, Siberian Branch on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009.