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Sport
Monday, July 27, 2009
Full probe launched into Massa accident
Macau ex-minister chosen to lead gambling hub
16 Pages Number 422 1st Year
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Monday, July 27, 2009 In this photo taken on Saturday, July 25, 2009, a truck hang on the collapsed Chediguan Bridge in Wenchuan county, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. A landslide in China’s southwest killed several people early Saturday and damaged the bridge that is a key link for reconstruction in areas hit by a devastating earthquake last year, a state news agency said.
Sanglah hospital treats 20 Swine Flu sufferers, 31 suspects PAGE 8
Agence France Presse
BUDAPEST - A full investigation into the causes and repercussions of Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s dreadful freak accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix was launched on Sunday. The investigation will be conducted by the sport’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation, with the Brawn GP team. Massa suffered skull and eye injuries, as well as brain concussion, when he was struck on the head by a spring that broke loose from compatriot Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car. The debris hit Massa’s helmet just above his left eye at around 275 kph. It knocked him unconscious and caused him to crash into a tyre barrier at Turn Four of the Hungaroring circuit. Massa was reported to be stable in hospital here on Sunday morning, his Ferrari team said, and he will have a further scan later in the day. The accident came just six days after Briton Henry Surtees, 18, the son of former world champion John Surtees, was killed after being hit on the head by a wheel from another car that crashed during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch in England. Massa, one of the sport’s most popular drivers, was examined first at the circuit medical centre and then airlifted to the AEK Hospital in Budapest where they carried out surgery and put him into an induced coma. Doctors at the hospital were said to be encouraged by his condition overnight, and reported that he had suffered no further complications.
Barrichello, a fellow-native of Sao Paulo and a close friend of Massa, visited Massa at the hospital on Saturday evening. Massa’s father, mother and pregnant wife were flying to Hungary from Brazil. Barrichello’s car suffered a rear suspension failure in Turn Three. The spring came off the car and bounced on the track until Massa’s Ferrari collected it four seconds later. Massa’s carbon-fibre helmet absorbed most of the energy from the spring and appeared to save his life. The incident brought back memories of the fatal accident that claimed the life of Ayrton Senna during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in 1994 when a piece of debris penetrated his racing helmet. Since then massive safety advances in Formula One have seen helmets improved - the latest generation are said to be twice as strong as their predecessors - and the sides of cockpits raised and strengthened. The drivers now also wear head and neck restraint devices to protect them from high G-forces in major accidents. Ross Brawn, boss of the Brawn team, said he would do all he could to find out exactly what had happened, but warned against knee-jerk reactions. A close friend of both drivers, having been in charge of them previously at Ferrari where Massa succeeded Barrichello as team-mate to German Michael Schumacher, he said a proper study was required.
AP Photo/MTI,Tamas Kovacs
Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Scuderia Ferrari is carried out of his car after his accident during the qualifying session at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, July 25, 2009. The Formula One Grand Prix of Hungary will take place on 26 July 2009. “We need to keep a perspective on it - from what’s been seen last weekend and this, we need to have a proper study to see if we need to do anything,” he said. “You can have covers or canopies but you have to be able to get at the driver and extract him (from the car) if there is an accident. And you don’t want anything that collapses down on a driver. “In the history of F1 it is a fairly rare occurrence, but we must take it seriously and see what we can do. We must make sure we don’t do something that makes the situation worse.” McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said the Surtees and Massa crashes should act as a safety wake-up call similar to that which followed Imola in 1994 when Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed. “Inevitably we all become complacent if we’re not confronted with a serious accident,” he said. “Obviously ’94 was a massive wake-up call for all of us in Formula One at the time. “It led to everyone, the FIA, teams, contributing to a lot of big steps forward in safety and I think we have to go again. For everyone involved we’ve got to make sure we do everything we can.”
Directors, actors geek out with fans at Comic-Con PAGE 12
Heavy rains kill 10 people in central China
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BEIJING - Heavy rains in central China have triggered landslides and floods that left 10 people dead and forced more than 110,000 others to flee their homes, a state news broadcaster said Sunday.
‘I dropped Facebook because of too many friends’: Bill Gates
The rains swept across five cities in Hunan province on Friday and Saturday, and in one badly hit area sent waves of mud tumbling onto a road, a river and several homes, China Central Television
AP Photo
said in its midday bulletin. The broadcaster said 10 people died in Hongjiang, a district in the city of Huaihua. Continued on page 6
Agence France-Presse
NEW DELHI - Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said he was forced to give up on the social networking phenomenon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend. Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with “10,000 people wanting to be my friends”. Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he “knew this person, did I not know this person”.
Continued on page 6
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks at a function organized by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in New Delhi, India, Friday, July 24, 2009. AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi
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International
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sport
International
News WORLD NEWS
Agence France Presse
PRETORIA - Emmanuel Adebayor failed to score on his debut as Manchester City fell 1-0 to Kaizer Chiefs Saturday in the Vodacom Challenge final.
Agence France-Presse
BANGKOK - Thousands of supporters of Thailand’s fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra gathered at temples across the country Sunday to celebrate his 60th birthday, police said.
Palin exit ANCHORAGE - Gov. Sarah Palin gained fame and to some infamy - since she embarked on a vicepresidential bid less than a year ago. Her surprising departure from Alaska’s top office is gaining her something else: questions over her motives and next big move. She leaves office Sunday.
Media under fire ISLAMABAD - The militants wore masks, carried weapons and came by the dozens. Still, they let the reporter’s relatives leave the house before they bombed it. As Pakistan tries to stave off a Taliban insurgency, journalists have been threatened, attacked and killed, and even their relatives have faced harm.
Vaccine fast LONDON - In a drive to inoculate people against swine flu before winter, many European governments say they will fast-track the testing of a new flu vaccine, arousing concern among some experts about safety issues and proper vaccine doses. Source: ap
porters. They can sign up to wish him happy birthday or monitor his movements,” Noppadon said. In a note posted on his Twitter page, under the user name “Thaksinlive”, Thaksin said his birthday wishes were “to see reconciliation happen” in the country and for Thailand’s king to have a long, healthy life. Since Thaksin was ousted, Thai society has been wracked by divisions between his “Red Shirt” supporters among the largely rural poor, and the powerful Bangkok cliques in the palace, military and bureaucracy. The opponents of Thaksin, known as “Yellow Shirts”, staged protests last year that led to a nine-day blockade of Bangkok’s airports and left more than 300,000 visitors stranded, badly denting the kingdom’s tourist-friendly image. The “Red Shirts” stormed a key Asian summit in the Thai coastal resort of Pattaya on April 11, forcing its cancellation, before rampaging through the capital, leaving two people dead and 123 injured. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared emergency rule and protesters clashed with security forces in Bangkok over two days, but finally dispersed after troops surrounded them and threatened to move them by force. Thaksin fled abroad in August 2008, shortly before being sentenced to two years in prison for conflict of interest concerning a cut-price land purchase by his then-wife Pojaman.
AP Photo/Themba Hadebe
Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor, left, vies for the ball with Kaizer Chiefs’ David Mathebula, right, during a pre-season exhibition soccer match at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, July 25, 2009.
Real Madrid coach mulls over final squad Agence France Presse
AP Photo/David Longstreath
Thai Buddhist monks chant prayers during religious ceremonies to honor the birthday of ousted former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Sunday, July 26, 2009, at Wat Kaew Fa on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. Thaksin, who has been living in self imposed exile faces jail time on corruption charges should he return to Thailand. He however remains the most popular Thai politician in recent memory.
Queen Elizabeth told ‘denial’ sparked global downturn Agence France-Presse
LONDON - Eminent economists have told Queen Elizabeth II that the global financial downturn was brought about by a “psychology of denial” among the financial and political elite, a report said Sunday. In a three-page letter, the experts said “financial wizards” completely failed to “foresee the timing, extent and severity” of the credit crunch, according to
The Observer newspaper, which said it had obtained a copy of the letter. The letter was signed by political historian Peter Hennessy, and Tim Besley, a London School of Economics (LSE) professor and an external member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee. It spoke of the “psychology of denial” that gripped the political and financial world in the build-up to the crisis. The economists said financial
experts convinced themselves and the world’s politicians that they had found clever ways to spread risks across the markets. “It is difficult to reall a greater example of wishful thinking combined with hubris,” the letter said, adding that it was “principally a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people, both in this country and internationally, to understand the risks to the system as a whole.”
During a visit to the LSE in November, Queen Elizabeth asked Professor Luis Garicano about the credit crunch, saying: “Why did nobody notice it?” A spokeswoman for the monarch’s Buckingham Palace official residence would not discuss correspondence but said: “The queen always displays an interest in current issues and is kept abreast of current issues. Obviously the recession is very topical.”
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Debutant Adebayor fires blank as City lose final
Thousands celebrate former Thai PM Thaksin’s birthday Around 60 temples were expected to hold Buddhist ceremonies in his honour, with the largest taking place at Kaew Fah temple in central Nonthaburi province. “More than 10,000 people have gathered at the temple since the early morning,” Police Colonel Songsak Soisuwan told AFP. “We have around 100 police officers taking care of security. So far the situation is peaceful,” he said. Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in September 2006 and is now living abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, later made a phone-in address to Kaew Fah to thank his followers. “I believe the good karma we make today will bring me back to serve the nation soon,” he told them. The ceremony, at which the redclad crowds gave alms to over 100 monks as part of the Buddhist tradition of “merit-making”, was presided over by Thaksin’s brother-in-law and former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. “What we did today was not violating any laws or making any trouble. Everything was done by groups of people who love Thaksin,” Somchai told the crowds, adding that the large turn-out was a “big surprise”. Thaksin also marked the occasion by launching accounts on the social networking websites Twitter and Facebook, according to his close aide and former lawyer Noppadon Pattama. “It’s another channel for Thaksin to communicate with his sup-
Monday, July 27, 2009
MADRID – Real Madrid still has still not determined what its final squad and its starting 11 will be for the upcoming season, new coach Manuel Pellegrini said Saturday. The Spanish giants spent over 200 million euros on new players in the pre-season, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka, and earlier this month Pellegrini said he hoped to have the final squad ironed out by July 27 when all of the club’s internationals returned from holidays. “I said that, but I added that it was important not to make mistakes, that we should make the right decisions. We’ll wait longer if we must,” the Chilean coach told a news conference ahead of Real’s friendly at home Sunday against Saudi Arabian side AlIttihad. “I wish the squad was tighter by now, but it isn’t a big deal. We train normally and there is a good atmosphere in the team. Every player tries to do his best. Our duty is to do the same job with every footballer we have and we’ll keep on doing so,” he added. Real’s spending spree has left it with an overcrowded dressing room as the club has been less successful at offloading players than it has been at recruiting new ones. Pellegrini repeated Real’s desire to sell its Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has been linked with a move to Stuttgart and more recently
with Tottenham. “I’ve spoken to every player and Huntelaar knows what I want. We have many strikers on the team and they can’t all stay. Everybody knows how good he is. We have an excess of strikers right now and he knows there is no place for him,” he said. Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze is also on the “for sale” list, but the size of his wage packet is proving an obstacle. Marseille were interested in the player but cooled off when confronted with a 4.2 million euro price tag. Pellegrini included Ronaldo and Benzema in his 20-man squad for the match on Sunday against Al-Ittihad. If Ronaldo is sent on the pitch it will be the first time that he plays for Real at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium since his record-setting transfer from Manchester United last month. “We haven’t started to try out a defined starting 11 yet. Ronaldo will sometimes play down the wing and will sometimes be positioned as a striker. He is comfortable anywhere in attack,” said Pellegrini. “These are friendly games in which we aren’t looking for a starting lineup,” he added. Ronaldo made his debut for Real last week as they eked out a 1-0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in Ireland. Benzema scored the winner. The 24-year-old Portuguese winger was taken off at half-time having failed to sparkle against some muscular defending.
The 25-million-pound signing from Arsenal came closest early in the second half at Loftus Versfeld when he pounced on a clearance and rounded a defender only to fire over. Other new strikers Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz were not used by City while ex-Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry was the only player from the big-spending English Premiership outfit to have a first-half shot on target. Chiefs won a lively match through a 42nd-minute goal from defender Jeffrey Ntuka with some City players claiming he controlled the ball with a hand before firing home. City manager Mark Hughes gave starting places to goalkeeper Shay Given and defender-cum-captain Richard Dunne for the first time on the eight-day tour to the 2010 FIFA
World Cup host nation. Republic of Ireland international Given was hardly troubled before Ntuka struck while Dunne was substituted by Pablo Zabaleta after 37 minutes on a chilly, clear winter afternoon in the Highveld city. The first half looked set to end goalless until Chiefs went ahead after Given dived low to his left and pushed away a Nkosinathi Nhleko shot at the expense of a corner. City failed to clear the third corner forced by the South Africans and the ball took a deflection off a head to Ntuka lurking at the far post and he drove the ball into the opposite corner of the net. After forcing their only corner of the half a minute before the break, City substitute Ben Haim headed wide while Togolese Adebayor committed a stoppage-time foul
when he battled for possession in the goalmouth. In the second half it took City just two minutes to force a corner as they sought an equaliser and Adebayor should have done better on 55 minutes than blazing over from an acute angle when a rebound fell into his path. Hughes brought on Brazilian Robinho for Bulgarian Martin Petrov, but Chiefs held their own as they sought to end a Premiership dominance of the trophy after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur won the last two editions. Reigning African Footballer of the Year Adebayor had a half chance 12 mintues from full-time when he connected with a deep cross, but his timid header was comfortably held by well positioned Itumeleng Khune. The Premiership club lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates in Polokwane and won 1-0 against Chiefs in Durban in earlier matches on their first visit to South Africa in 16 years.
Besiktas hold Lyon to 1-1 draw in Peace Cup Agence France Presse
MADRID - Turkish champions Besiktas held French side Lyon to a 1-1 draw Saturday in the Peace Cup. Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom opened the scoring for Lyon, who started the match as favourites, with a well-struck shot from outside the penalty area. But Brazil’s Marcio Nobre
equalized for the Turkish side with just six minutes remaining with a header. Kallstrom almost scored from a free kick in the 77th minute, but his effort struck the crossbar. Only about 300 people watched the game at Huelva’s Nuevo Colombino stadium despite the discounts of around 50 percent offered on last-minute ticket sales. Twelve teams from around the
globe, including Juventus, Sevilla and Aston Villa, are taking part in the fourth edition of the pre-season tournament which got underway on Friday. There are four groups with three teams in each. The top team in each group goes through to the semi-finals which will be played on July 31. The final takes place two days later in Seville.
Olympic Lyon’s Govou Sidney, top, and Besiktas’ Serdar Ozkan, bottom, vie for the ball during the Peace Cup Andalucia 2009 soccer tournament at the Colombino Stadium in Huelva, Spain, Saturday, July 25, 2009
AP Photo/Angel Fernandez
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Sport
Monday, July 27, 2009
International
LE MONT VENTOUX - Spain’s 2007 champion Alberto Contador said Saturday he will not join up with Lance Armstrong in a team next year, after virtually securing his second Tour de France crown here. The Spaniard will go into Sunday’s final stage to Paris with a lead of 4min 11sec and 5:24 respectively on Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong. Contador then revealed he will not be joining up with Armstrong, currently his teammate at Astana, at the American’s new team RadioShack. “It’s certain,” said Contador, who has endured a tough Tour campaign due to the presence in Astana of the seven-time champion. “I will be in a different team from Lance next year but whether it’s a new project based around me or me joining an existing team, I don’t know. It’s still too early to say.” Contador won the race in 2007 and in 2008, after winning both the Tour
of Italy and the Tour of Spain, joined an elite club of riders to have won all three major three-week Tours. Having won a host of different one-week stage races the 26-yearold added that Armstrong’s record of seven consecutive wins was not on his radar. “Records are not something I really focus on too much,” he added when asked if interested in matching Armstrong’s achievement. “I try to enjoy everything I do as a cyclist and I like to win lots of different races. I’m 26, and maybe in the future I will try to win some (one-day) classics. “The Tour de France will always be among by big objectives although that won’t stop me from having
Cleri gets revenge to land 25km world title
AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito
Valerio Cleri Agence France Presse
ROME - Italy’s Valerio Cleri made up for his 10km disappointment by winning the gold medal in the men’s 25km open water event in 5hr 26min 31.6sec at the World Championships here on Saturday. Australian Trent Grimsey took silver 19sec back with Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia coming in third almost three minutes down in a race that was made tougher by wind and big waves. Cleri had finished fourth in the 10km competition on Wednesday after the International Swimming Federation (FINA) dismissed an Italian team appeal against bronze medallist Francis Crippen of the Unites States. Crippen had missed the gate to the finishing straight and had ducked under a perimeter rope before touching home just ahead of Cleri.
The Italians appealed claiming Crippen had broken the rules but FINA found in the American’s favour and Cleri missed out on a medal. But he triumphed here in front of his home crowd, winning Italy’s first gold medal of these championships, as a powerful surge in the final kilometres took him clear of Grimsey. The pair had separated from the pack some time before that and looked to be heading for a grandstand finish until Cleri pulled away, even having time to celebrate down the final straight and take his time before touching home. “I’m smiling inside. I’m enjoying thinking about all the people who were happy for what happened the other day,” Cleri told Rai Sport. “It went well, I trained well, but I already knew that after the 10km. Today my nervous energy enabled me finish fresher than normal. “Is this a revenge after the 10km? No. I don’t feel that way. I did two great races. I felt better prepared for the 25km than the 10km. “In fact I’m fresher now than three days ago. I wanted to win this race and I had imagined the post race questions and I thought about many things, but now there’s nothing in my head.” Grimsey was delighted with his finish but revealed there were unwanted dangers lurking in the sea. “I didn’t expect this result, it was the first time for me to compete in the 25km event, it’s a boom,” he said. “The weather conditions weren’t so bad. Jellyfish were a big problem, I was really scared of them.”
ambitions elsewhere.” Armstrong launched his new team last week, virtually confirming his intention to race at the Tour next year. With a full year to prepare, the anticipated duel between the Texan, who will then be 38 years old, and Contador will be unmissable.
Alberto Contador of Spain, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, reacts as he crosses the finish during the 20th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 167 kilometers (103.8 miles) with start in Montelimar and finish on Mont Ventoux pass, southern France, Saturday July 25, 2009. Rear left is American seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
INDIANAPOLIS - Sam Querrey and practise partner Robby Ginepri will face off in an ATP final for the first time Sunday when they play for the title at the ATP Indianapolis Championships. Despite frequently training together, the friends have never faced off when it counted for more than pride. The 2005 champion Ginepri, back from an emergency appendectomy earlier this year, returned to the final with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of compatriot John Isner. Third seed Querrey dropped serve for the first time this week, but still ensured an all-American final with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Canada’s Frank Dancevic. Ginepri had to work for the win against Isner, playing his first event since getting over glandular fever. It took the winner four match points in the final game to advance. Isner said he’s still not on perfect form, but added: “Even if I’d been at 100 percent, Robby still would have beaten me today. He put enough pressure on me to make me crack.” Ginepri, ranked 95th, won the title four years ago with about the same ranking, then carried his momentum onto a Cincinnati Masters semi-final a few weeks later followed by a place in the final four of the US Open and a loss to Andre Agassi. “I spent nine days in hospital, it’s a blessing to be back playing,” Ginepri said of his spring health crisis. “This is the start of my hardcourt summer, I feel confident. “I’ve made a lot of progress this week. Sam is a great server and he will keep me on the run. But it’s good to be part of a US final.” Querrey, 21, claimed his lone ATP honour in Las Vegas in 2008. “It’s exciting to be back in a final. I’ve had three semis here and now I’ve finally gone past that. I’ve really improved my movement a lot from last season, that is key.” Querrey will be playing in back-to-back ATP finals after going down a fortnight ago in Newport on grass to Rajeev Ram. He is poised for a guaranteed move to 31st in the world, his career best.
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Agence France-Presse
AMSTERDAM - Thousands of people around the world held protests to denounce rights abuses in Iran following contested presidential elections and express support for opponents of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
AP Photo/Laurent Rebours
Querrey to face former champion Ginepri in all-US final Agence France Presse
Monday, July 27, 2009
Worldwide day of protest against Tehran regime
Contador keeps distances with Armstrong
Agence France Presse
News
International
Some of the biggest rallies on Saturday — the last day of a three-day “Iran Global Day of Action” staged in 85 cities worldwide — took place in Amsterdam, London and Stockholm, with more than 4,000 alone taking to the streets of the Swedish capital. Among the 1,000 people in Amsterdam was Iran’s Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi who led the crowd in chanting: “We want to live in peace. Long live peace”. In London, where more than a thousand gathered outside the Iranian embassy, organisers also spoke of supporting Iranians protesting against Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election. “This is symbolic, it’s a global day of solidarity,” said Potkin Azarmehr, one of the organisers. “We need to make sure the government pays a price for the way they’re treating the people in Iran.”
Following charges of fraud in the June 12 presidential election, Tehran became the scene of mass street protests that shook the pillars of the Islamic republic. Iranian official reports say at least 20 people died and more than 1,000 were arrested in demonstrations. Dozens of reformist leaders, journalists and human rights activists have also been jailed in the wake of the election that the opposition says was rigged. Chanting “Freedom ...Now,” hundreds of demonstrators marched in New York demanding the release of all political prisoners and democracy in Iran. A crowd estimated at 600 by police and at 2,000 by the organisers waved green flags symbolising Iran’s Green movement supporting opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
He fired a dozen aces while holding the powerful Dancevic to just one in the 73-minute contest. Querrey also struck 27 winners and stayed cool as the Canadian staged a brief fightback in the second set. Dancevic began a recovery from a set and 4-0 down, breaking Querry twice but failing to carry through the momentum.
AP Photo/Jacques Brinon Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
Sam Querrey celebrates his win over Frank Dancevic of Canada during the semifinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships on July 25, 2009 at the Indianapolis Tennis Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
People protest during a demonstration against Iran’s clampdown on opposition activists, at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Saturday, July 25, 2009. Protesters across the world on Saturday called on Iran to end its clampdown on opposition activists, demanding the release of hundreds rounded up during demonstrations against the country’s disputed election.
They filed past Iran’s UN mission and read out a message from Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate Ebadi urging all nations to support “the freedom fighters who stand for the democratic institutions. “Done this way, the sapling of democracy will bear the flower of freedom,” the message said. In a park in Tokyo’s busy Shibuya district, demonstrators carried a placard declaring: “Ahmadinejad is not Iran’s president.” In Paris, a rally of some 600 people, mostly Iranians, denounced the “electoral coup d’etat” in Iran. Many wore green in support of Mousavi who was Ahmadinejad’s closest rival. Others carried pictures of a young Iranian woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, who was shot dead during a demonstration and has become a symbol of the opposition’s struggle. “We want the United Nations to intervene, an inquiry into the systematic human rights violations in Iran,” said the group United for Iran. In Melbourne, one of the five Australian cities where protests took place, about 50 members of the Iranian community waved their homeland’s flag and banners reading “Stop Torture” and “Iran election was a fraud”. Fariba Marzban, who was jailed in Tehran for eight years as a political prisoner following the 1979 revolution, said in London times were changing in Iran. “The people are now speaking — for 30 years, people were quiet, now they are talking,” she said. “Our ambition is free speech, liberty.” Demonstrations also took place in Berlin, Copenhagen, Vienna and Geneva, where protesters gathered outside the United Nations’ European headquarters. In Vienna, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran urged companies such as Siemens and Nokia which do business in Iran to put pressure on Tehran. Iranian opposition leaders Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Khatami on Saturday urged the country’s clerics to intervene to help stop the spread of “oppression” by the authorities. In a statement on Mousavi’s website Ghalamnews, the three accused the regime of “savagery” and said its “interrogation methods are a reminder of the dark era of the Shah” Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was toppled in the 1979 revolution.
AP Photo/Office of the Supreme Leader
This photo released by an official website of the Iranian supreme leader’s office shows Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sitting under a portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 20, 2009
Iran’s Ahmadinejad suffers blow as VP sacked Agence France-Presse
TEHRAN - Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caved in to hardliners and sacked his controversial deputy on Saturday, in a first major blow to forging a new government since his disputed reelection. Ahmadinejad said in a letter to the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie had stepped down as first vice president, a little over a week after he was appointed, the state news agency IRNA said. “I am sending you the letter of Rahim Mashaie announcing he is stepping down from the post of the vice president,” Ahmadinejad said, according to IRNA. The agency later reported that Ahmadinejad named Rahim Mashaie as his advisor and head of his office, describing him as “trusted, devoted and pious.” “I appoint you as the advisor and head of the presidential office,” Ahmadinejad said in a letter carried by IRNA. Rahim Mashaie’s appointment as vice president triggered opposition from hardliners and plunged Iran into a fresh political turmoil, as it remains engulfed in the worst crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Widespread protests after the June 12 re-election of Ahmadinejad left at least 20 people dead and have shaken the pillars of the Islamic republic. Khamenei had ordered the sacking of Rahim Mashaie, who caused a stir last year when he said Iran was a “friend of the Israeli people.” The appointment was against the best interest of Ahmadinejad and the government, and it would cause “division and frustration
among your supporters,” Khamenei said in a letter. “It is necessary that the appointment be cancelled,” he said according to state television. The sacking comes as a blow to Ahmadinejad, who had defended his deputy and described him as “like a pure source of water.” Independent analyst Mohammad Saleh Sedghian told AFP that Rahim Mashaie “is one of Mr Ahmadinejad’s inner circle of trustees.” “His appointment was to have total supervision of the cabinet, especially control over sensitive sectors like oil, economy and central bank...,” he said. “His appointment was aimed at having total control over the cabinet over the next four years so there would be absolutely no opposition.” Ahmadinejad’s re-election has been hotly disputed by his main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says his victory was a result of massive vote rigging. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians poured into Tehran streets to protest their “stolen votes” before security forces launched a crackdown in which at least 20 people died and more than 1,000 were arrested. The crisis has ricocheted all the way up the state structure, with Khamenei denouncing protesters, giving unconditional support to Ahmadinejad and declaring the poll legal. But powerful cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani sees the Islamic regime as having lost the trust of the people, while reformists such as fellow former president Mohammad Khatami have called for a referendum to end the crisis. hundreds of people gatherings in such cities as Amsterdam, London, Stockholm and Tokyo in support of his opponents.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
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International
Harry Patch dies at 111
AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File
The last surviving British World War I veteran, Harry Patch, 110 Agence France-Presse
LONDON - Harry Patch, the last soldier to fight in the trenches of Europe during World War I, died Saturday at the age of 111, his care home in Britain said. Patch, who fought at the notorious Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, was also Britain’s oldest man following the death of fellow veteran Henry Allingham, the oldest man in the world, one week ago. He is the last World War I veteran to have served in the trenches, according to the dersdesders.free.fr website, which is regarded as an authoritative chronicle of veterans of the conflict. “The Great War is a chapter in our history we must never forget, so many sacrifices were made, so many young lives lost,” said Prince Charles, reacting to Patch’s death. “So today nothing could give me greater pride than paying tribute to Harry Patch.” “The noblest of all the generations has left us, but they will never be forgotten,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown added. “We say today with still greater force, we will remember
them.” Claude Choules, 108, who lives in Perth, Australia and served with the Royal Navy, now becomes the last surviving veteran of the 191418 conflict from the British side. Patch did not speak about his wartime experiences until he was aged 100 and was strongly opposed to violent conflict, calling war “organised murder”. “It was not worth it, it was not worth one let alone all the millions,” he said. “It’s important that we remember the war dead on both sides of the line — the Germans suffered the same as we did.” Last year, he made his last trip to Belgium to remember his fallen comrades and unveil a memorial. Patch — nicknamed “The Last Tommy” by Britain’s media — was conscripted into the British army at the age of 18 and served as a machine gunner with the 7th Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He was 19 when he fought in the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, in Belgium in which an estimated 500,000 soldiers died. That battle was one of the bloodiest in the conflict. One of the opposing German soldiers was an Austrian named Adolf Hitler, who as leader of Nazi Germany went on to launch World War II in Europe. After four months in the trenches, Patch was wounded by shrapnel in a German shell attack in which three of his comrades died. He was sent home to Britain and his war was over. In France, the secretary of state for defence and veterans Hubert Falco paid tribute to Patch and recalled other World War I soldiers who recently died, including Allingham and the last French veteran Lazare Ponticelli last year.
Taiwan ruling party votes for new leader Agence France-Presse
TAIPEI - Members of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang party (KMT) voted Sunday to elect their new chairman in a poll expected to return China-friendly President Ma Yingjeo, who is standing unopposed. Ma’s election could pave the way for a first meeting between the presidents of Taiwan and longtime rival China, which regards the island as part of its territory. “The purpose of my running for the election, as I said before, is not to expand my power but to fulfil my responsibility,” Ma told reporters outside a polling station in Taipei. If confirmed in the post, Ma would succeed Wu Po-hsiung, who is set to retire in September after leading the KMT to a landslide victory in last year’s presidential elections. Wu, as head of Taiwan’s ruling party, met Chinese President Hu Jintao on the mainland last year in the highest level contact since the two
sides split in 1949 after a civil war. Ma previously headed the party between July 2005 and February 2007, when he resigned after being indicted for allegedly misusing his expenses as mayor of Taipei. He was cleared of the charges before taking office last year. Ties with China have improved dramatically since Ma’s Beijingfriendly government was inaugurated last year, leading to the launch of regular direct flights and closer trade links. Observers say that as chairman, Ma would have greater power from within the KMT and find it easier to push through government policies in a parliament dominated by the party. Voting began at 8:00 am in 519 polling stations islandwide and closes at 4:00 pm. Results are expected two hours later. The KMT, which has 533,739 eligible voters, was also to elect 1,171 party representatives.
Monday, July 27, 2009
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AP Photo/Andy Wong
Bumblebee, an autobot from the movie “Transformers”, walks past a model standing next to the Chevrolet Camaro on display at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing Sunday, July 26, 2009. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd
A man, who bystanders said was a supporter of ousted Honduras´ President Manuel Zelaya, lies dead on the side of the road near El Paraiso, Honduras, Saturday, July 25, 2009. According to other Zelaya supporters present at the scene, but who did not witness the circumstances of the death, the man was allegedly killed by soldiers and/or police during the night. Defying a curfew and clashing with security forces who fired tear gas thousands of Hondurans flocked to the border town of El Paraiso Friday to support Zelaya when he briefly crossed few yards into Honduran territory.
Honduran killed as Zelaya reaches border Agence France-Presse
LAS MANOS - A Honduran man was found dead Saturday on a road close to Nicaragua, as ousted President Manuel Zelaya returned to the border for a second day to attempt to cross into his home country. Zelaya supporters, who defied a daytime curfew to gather near the border hoping to welcome their president, blamed Honduran police for Saturday’s death of the man identified by friends as 23-year-old Pedro Madriel Munoz Alvarado. The body was found next to a coffee field, bearing knife gashes and signs he had been beaten. A protestor told AFP that Munoz lived in
Colonia San Francisco, a workingclass neighborhood of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. Witnesses on Friday saw police arresting the man after he participated in pro-Zelaya demonstrations, reported Radio Globo, one of the few media outlets critical of the military-backed interim regime. But police said the man was arrested for smoking marijuana and not for po-
litical reasons. “Others are paying for the mistake of one man,” Zelaya said after learning of the man’s death, in comments addressed at interim leader Roberto Micheletti. “We are organizing the resistance,” he said upon arriving in the border town of Las Manos, standing some 100 meters (yards) from Honduras. Rows of Honduran soldiers and police were visible from the Nicaraguan side of the line. “We are not afraid. Onward with social reform, the presidency of the republic and expelling the coup leaders.”
US envoy holds Syria talks amid new peace push Agence France-Presse
DAMASCUS - US Middle East envoy George Mitchell said he had “candid and positive” talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday as Washington began a flurry of diplomacy in the region aimed at pushing foward the peace process. Mitchell arrived overnight for his second visit to Damascus since June and was due to head on to Israel later on Sunday, as Defence Secretary Robert Gates was also due in the region. “I have just completed a very candid and positive conversation with President Assad,” Mitchell said. “I discussed with President Assad the prospects for moving for-
ward on our goals of comprehensive peace in the region and improved bilateral ties between Syria and the United States,” he said. US President Barack Obama is determined to reach a comprehensive peace between Israel and all its Arab neighbours in order to guarantee “stability, security and prosperity” in the region, he said. “If we are to succeed, we will need Arabs and Israelis alike to work with us to bring about comprehensive peace. “We will welcome the full cooperation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic in this historic endeavour.” Obama has moved to re-engage
Damascus as part of a bid to breathe new life into the faltering Middle East peace process. Syria and Israel held four rounds of preliminary negotiations through Turkish mediators last year but Syria broke them off in December amid Israel’s deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip. The new Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since rejected Syria’s minimum condition for a peace treaty — the return of the strategic Golan Heights which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community.
AP Photo/CCTV
This undated image made from video and released by Central China Television shows pandas at the Wolong National Nature Preserve in Sichuan, China. A female panda named You You gave birth to a new cub Thursday morning at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in southwestern Sichuan. It is You You’s third baby, and the 10th panda cub born at Wolong this year. Panda researchers said Friday that they believe it’s the first successful live birth worldwide using frozen panda sperm.
China announces first panda from frozen sperm Associated Press Writer
BEIJING – For the first time, a giant panda cub has been born in China after being conceived using frozen sperm, officials announced Friday — an innovation scientists hope will help the endangered species avoid extinction. The new cub’s birth Thursday means breeders will no longer be forced to rely on semen from China’s few virile males, and may even be able to bring in sperm from zoos in San Diego, Mexico City or elsewhere. That’s key to promoting a healthy panda population because too much inbreeding can lead to birth defects that would further threaten the survival of the species. The new cub, born to You You, a female panda at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in southwestern Sichuan, is the tenth born at the breeding facility this year. It was You You’s third successful pregnancy. Just after dawn, the pinkish, hairless cub emerged, and its mother was shown licking the tiny wiggling creature to clean it on footage broadcast by the state television channel CCTV. Panda researchers said Friday it was the first successful live birth worldwide using frozen panda sperm. “We did try before but it failed,” said Huang Yan, a deputy research technician with the China Panda Preservation Research Center. He declined to provide specifics
but said the Wolong team had improved its thawing techniques, making frozen sperm more viable. Sperm samples are deep-frozen using liquid nitrogen, and in the past, only 20 to 30 percent of the sperm survived. But this time the center managed to raise viability to about 80 percent, he said. Scientists carried out the artificial insemination in March, and You You was found to be pregnant in June during an ultrasound. The sperm from male panda Lu Lu had been frozen for “a number of years,” said Huang. The sex of the baby panda is not yet clear, so it hasn’t been named, Huang said. The technique, if it can be replicated, will be a boost for panda conservation efforts, said Matthew Durnin, regional science director in the Asia-Pacific and North Asia for The Nature Conservancy, a U.S.based conservation organization. “In the past, they’re limited to using semen from a few virile, reproductive males. If you’re using only one male at a time, you start to get lower and lower diversity. This can help with issues of genetic di-
versity among your captive population,” he said. Besides preventing inbreeding, genetically diverse panda populations are generally healthier, meaning they will also have a better chance of thriving if released in the wild, he said. Dr. Barbara Durrant, a reproductive physiologist at San Diego Zoo, said the success in China opens the way for frozen semen exchanges between zoos. “The ideal situation would be to get semen from every male in captivity and freeze the sperm,” she said. “Exchanging frozen semen between zoos is definitely in the plan,” she added, noting this means “much less stress for the animals,” than shipping them to other zoos, often thousands of miles away, to mate. Panda females have only three days a year in which they can conceive — one reason their species is endangered. Ensuring that the male and female pandas are interested and able to mate during that short window is a challenge, and Durrant said some males never succeed at natural breeding. As a result, artificial insemination has become common practice when breeding captive pandas. In 2006, 34 pandas were born through artificial insemination in China and 30 survived — both record numbers for the endangered species.
A model shows a creation of fashion designer Claes Iversen during the Amsterdam International Fashion Week (AIFW) in the Zuiveringshal in Amsterdam, 25 July 2009.
ANP ADE JOHNSON
AP Photo/Andy Wong
A model poses next to Chinese automaker Geely’s new model Panda on display at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing Sunday, July 26, 2009.
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Directors, actors geek out with fans at Comic-Con
Agence France-Presse
PAGADIAN - A town mayor and a former mayor were shot dead in separate attacks in the Philippines on Sunday, police said. Abdul Ayon, mayor of Malangas town in the southern Philippines, was gunned down outside a shopping mall in Pagadian City by a man who fled with his accomplices on motorcycles, said city police chief Senior Inspector Michael Palermo. Palermo said the killing of Ayon may be related either to heated political rivalries in his town, about
SAN DIEGO – Robert Downey Jr. said he wish he could don a Mexican wrestling mask and stroll the ComicCon floor to check out all the collectible toys and geeky-cool stuff. Peter Jackson joked about ducking out of a discussion with director James Cameron — which drew thousands of fans to the San Diego Convention Center’s largest meeting hall — to walk the floor with fewer crowds. best place for super-fans.” Director Tim Burton, who showed a piece of his forthcoming “Alice in Wonderland,” said he first came to ComicCon as an aspiring filmmaker in the 1970s. “I saw a slide show for the first `Superman.’ People were very passionate about it and it kind of scared me,” he said. “It’s a very pure form of passion that it transcends business and anything else. Passion is a very good thing. And that’s why you make movies that you hope people respond to, and so it’s good to see and feel that energy here.” Actor Ben Foster, attending his second Comic-Con, also felt the fear. “It’s a zoo. It’s a Halloween zoo,” he said. “I have no idea how to process this place. It’s funny. And then you have these waves of fear. ... I’m not accustomed to seeing this many people dressed up in samurai outfits and aliens, all in one space.” Comic-Con continues through Sunday.
Spike Lee defends free speech on Venezuela visit Regulators also have begun a series of investigations into Globovision — the only strongly antiCARACAS, Venezuela – Filmmaker Spike Lee Chavez TV channel on the open airwaves — that championed a free press Friday during a visit to could lead to its closure. Lee has never been one to sidestep controversy. Venezuela, where broadcasters are under pressure to avoid criticizing President Hugo Chavez’s left- Many of his films make bold statements about race relations in the United States, and 20 years after ist government. The director didn’t directly refer to the dispute the release of “Do The Right Thing,” a film about in Venezuela, but he said there are “no circum- a race riot in Brooklyn, the message still rings stances” under which news media should be si- strong. “The United States has made great leaps in race lenced. Visiting to screen his 1989 film “Do The Right relations — the biggest one being the election of Thing” and met with fans to discuss race relations, President Barack Obama,” Lee said. But there is still a way to go, he added, citing his career and the late Michael Jackson, Lee said shootings by New York City police officers involvhe is “a firm believer in freedom of speech.” “It’s my opinion that there are no circumstances ing blacks, including the May death of a black where the media should be shut down,” he said to undercover cop killed by a white officer. Lee said he has struggled in his own career as a loud applause. “I’m not talking about any country black film producer, director and actor, but added specifically, but globally.” Chavez has increasingly clashed with he is grateful that from an early age his parents Venezuela’s private media, endorsing plans to re- impressed on him the need to face challenges. “It was drummed into my brain that in order to voke the licenses of 240 radio stations after officials said they didn’t update their registrations. be successful in America you had to be ten times better than white folks,” he said. Lee also reminisced about making the music video “They Don’t Care About Us” with Michael Jackson in Brazil. In the video, the “King of Pop” performs in a Rio de Janeiro shantytown as the Brazilian group Olodum beats drums in the background. Street vendors in Venezuela’s capital have been playing the video regularly since Jackson’s death AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos June 25. “I’m one of US film director Spike Lee, center, attends a news conference at the Museo the billions of people de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Friday, July 24, 2009. Lee is in Venezuela to give who miss him a seminar to young film students. dearly,” Lee said. Associated Press Writer
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Mayor, ex-mayor shot dead in Philippines
Associated Press Writer
Stars love Comic-Con — and not just because it’s a great place to promote their movies. They’re moved by the passion of the fans, and it seems to rejuvenate their own passion for working in film. Fans at the pop-culture convention “not only celebrate fantasy and science fiction and fantastic worlds, but they celebrate each other, and they celebrate their geekness, and there’s a sense of solidarity,” said Cameron, who premiered footage from his anticipated 3D sci-fi adventure, “Avatar,” to conventioneers on Thursday. “And what this group does is they make filmmakers do better. Because if you don’t live up to their standards, you’re not going to get past this. This is the launch pad right here.” The stars of “Twilight” — Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart — said fans’ overwhelming response at Comic-Con helped make their first film such a success. Kristen Bell, a veteran of five Cons, said, “it’s the
Monday, July 27, 2009
AP Photo/Denis Poroy
Actor Robert Downey Jr. poses for photographers while promoting his new film ‘Sherlock Holmes’ at the Comic-Con International 2009 convention held in San Diego Friday, July 24, 2009. The annual comic book and popular arts convention attracts over 100,000 people and runs through Sunday July 26.
Furtado finds fresh inspiration for ‘Mi Plan’ Associated Press Writer
MIAMI – Nelly Furtado admits that writing her new, all-Spanish album, “Mi Plan,” wasn’t in her plans at all after finishing a hectic tour to promote her last chart-topping record. “I was physically tired and I wasn’t feeling inspired. It was almost as if I lost my pop inspiration to write in English,” Furtado said. “I just needed a new outlet, and I found it by writing in Spanish.” The 30-year-old singer told The Associated Press at a Miami recording studio that her fourth full-length album, which is set for release Sept. 15 on her own Nelstar Music label, more intimately explores the passion that fuels relationships “I think this album has some of my first true love songs ever. They’re not complicated. They’re not over-intellectualized, and I found it liberating to be able to sing in the Latin language and to express myself from my Latin soul,” said Furtado, the Canadian-born daughter of Portuguese immigrants.
The Grammy-Award winner, who vaulted up the pop charts with such indelible tracks as “I’m Like a Bird” in 2000 and “Promiscuous” in 2006, is set to deliver a new fleet of mostly uptempo, melodic tunes on “Mi Plan.” “Manos Al Aire” and “Mas” have already hit the airwaves, and two more songs are expected to be available on iTunes in the coming weeks leading up to the album’s release. The 11 songs on the album include collaborations with Mexican singers Alejandro Fernandez and Julieta Venegas, Spanish singer Concha Buika, Latin hip-hop singer La Mala Rodriguez and Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra. And classical singer Josh Groban’s cameo on “Silencio” was a “huge blessing,” Furtado said. “I thought it was important to sort of showcase on this album an artist that people know more for their English recordings,” she said. “So, I thought by working with Josh would actually elevate my point that language isn’t a barrier when it comes to music.”
AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh
Hindu devotees offer milk to snakes at a temple during the annual Hindu Nag Panchami festival, dedicated to the worship of snakes, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, July 26, 2009.
China police, 30,000 workers clash: rights group Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - About 30,000 Chinese steel workers clashed with police over plans to merge their mill with another company, and beat a manager to death, a Hong Kong-based human rights group has said. About 100 people were injured in the incident on Friday in the northeastern city of Tonghua, the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said in a statement. A police officer at the Tonghua Public Security Bureau’s control centre on Sunday confirmed to AFP that a clash took place, but refused to provide any details or comment on the reported death.
Whipping for beer-drinking model sparks debate in Malaysia Agence France-Presse
In this Oct. 13, 2008 file photo, Singer Nelly Furtado arrives at the premiere of “Max Payne” in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Furtado admits that writing her new, all-Spanish album, “Mi Plan,” wasn’t in her plans at all after finishing a hectic tour to promote her last charttopping record. AP Photo/Gus Ruelas, File
Company and local government officials were not immediately available for comment. Tonghua Iron and Steel Group employees opposed plans for Beijing-based Jianlong Steel to take a 65 percent stake in the mill, the centre said, adding they accused Jianlong of mismanagement during temporary stewardship last year. The Tonghua employees attacked Jianlong general manager Chen
Guojun when he ordered them to return to work, the centre said, adding Chen’s friends had confirmed he had died after workers blocked an ambulance from responding. The workers had complained about Chen’s alleged three-millionyuan (438,000-dollar) salary, as the mill’s pensioners received as little as 200 yuan (29 dollars) a month, the statement said. Beijing is trying to consolidate its steel industry, which comprises hundreds of small producers, through mergers aimed at creating big players that have the potential to be globally competitive.
KUALA LUMPUR - An Islamic court’s decision to have a Muslim model whipped for drinking beer at a pub has triggered controversy in Malaysia, a multicultural country where such convictions are extremely rare. Last week, a Sharia or religious court sentenced Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, to six strokes of the cane and a fine of 5,000 ringgit (1,412 dollars) after she pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol in eastern Pahang state last year. Her conviction created a furore
in the nation which is predominantly Muslim, but also home to large Indian and Chinese minorities. Alcohol is widely available in most parts of the country and Muslims are rarely punished for consuming it. “The punishment of whipping is defined as torture and hence we should not in any way condone it,” said Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Nora Murat. “This is the wrong way to educate anyone about the religion. When the sin is between her and God, there is always an option of being repentant. It’s up to God to decide on her faith, and not people,”
she told AFP. Most were stunned that whipping of women was permitted in Malaysia’s Islamic courts, which operate alongside civil courts under a dual-track system. “It’s not just unkind, it’s unjust,” leading women rights activist Ivy Josiah told the New Straits Times newspaper, while Women’s Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil reportedly said that while she did not approve of Muslims drinking, she was shocked by the ruling. Islamic scholars however argued the punishment was necessary to deter other Muslims from drinking.
40 kilometres (24.8 miles) southwest of Pagadian, or to the illegal drugs trade in the area. Just hours earlier, David Ermalino, former mayor of Candelaria, was shot dead in front of a church outside the town, just southeast of Manila, a police statement said. Two of Ermalino’s security guards were wounded in the incident. The shootings come ahead of a nationwide poll due in May, 2010. Elections in the Philippines have often been marred by violence as rival candidates use force, including private armies, against each other.
India launches first nuclearpowered submarine Agence France-Presse
NEW DELHI - India launched its first nuclear-powered submarine on Sunday, officials said, underlining the military advances made by the rapidly developing nation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it a “historic milestone in the country’s defence preparedness” as the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) was named in the southern city of Visakhapatnam. The submarine, the first of five planned, is powered by an 85megawatt nuclear reactor and can reach 44 kilometres an hour (24 knots) underwater, according to defence officials. It will be armed with torpedoes and ballistic missiles, and carry a crew of 95 men. “We don’t have any aggressive designs nor do we seek to threaten anyone,” the Press Trust of India quoted Singh as saying at the launch. “We seek an external environment in our region and beyond that is conducive to our peaceful development and protection of our value systems.”
India is now part of an exclusive group of nations — including China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia — which own nuclear-powered submarines. The vessel will undergo two years of sea trials in the Bay of Bengal before being commissioned for full service, according to PTI. India previously leased a Russianbuilt nuclear submarine and has signed contracts worth 2.4 billion euros (three billion dollars) to receive six FrancoSpanish Scorpene submarines. The launch came as India marked the tenth anniversary of the brief but bloody Kargil conflict with arch-rival Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region. More than 1,100 people, mostly Indian and Pakistani soldiers, died in the high-altitude offensive in the spring and summer of 1999 when Pakistan-based infiltrators crossed the icy frontier that separates the two countries. At a service earlier in New Delhi, Singh paid tribute to the Indian troops who died during the conflict. “They sacrificed their lives in defence of Indian unity and integrity,” he said.
AFP PHOTO/Noah SEELAM
The INS Kursura, on display as a part of the INS Kurusura Submarine Museum, is seen at Rama Krishna Beach in Visakhapatnam, some 800 kilometers from Hyderabad, on July 25, 2009.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
Macau ex-minister chosen to lead gambling hub
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Monday, July 27, 2009
BUSINESS
Fast growing China, India can help, not save world economy
Agence France-Presse
MACAU - Former culture minister Fernando Chui was Sunday named the new chief executive of Macau on a pledge to diversify the gambling hub’s economy and rid the Chinese territory of corruption. Chui, 52, succeeds Edmund Ho, who led the Macau government since the former Portuguese colony returned to Chinese rule in 1999 and oversaw the liberalisation of the territory’s gaming sector in 2002. Macau, which has a population of 550,000 people, has a separate legal system from the mainland and is the only place on Chinese soil where casino gambling is allowed. Chui’s election was a formality, as he was the only candidate. He won the support of 282, or 94 percent, of the southern Chinese city’s 300-strong chief executive electoral committee, formed mostly by people with ties to Beijing. Chui said after Sunday’s vote that the city needed to do more to reduce its economic reliance on the casino business. “Since we opened up the gaming market, we have seen a big change in the operation mode and the scale of the business,” he told reporters. “The change includes the launch of a lot more integrated entertainment and leisure projects. I personally feel that we should go towards this direction, to suitably diversify the economy.” Since Macau’s gaming market was liberalised in 2002, it has overtaken Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined in terms of gaming rev-
enue as gleaming foreign and locally-owned resorts have sprung up. But the staggering growth has suffered in the past 12 months as Chinese authorities, concerned about the problems of gambling and corruption, have limited the number of visitors to the gaming haven from mainland China. Chui said that he would actively develop the convention, Chinese medicine, logistics, and education sectors. He also said he planned to work to attract more Taiwanese tourists to Macau, taking advantage of recently improved relations between Beijing and Taipei. The new Macau leader has also pledged to fight corruption, which has cast a shadow over the territory’s success. Former transport and public works minister Ao Manlong was jailed in April for 28 and a half years after being convicted on dozens of graft charges including money laundering and bribe taking. Ao’s case touched on some of construction work for the city’s highest-profile resorts. Chui himself came under scrutiny over a controversial government deal which saw a piece of public land given to his elder brother at below-market price in 2006. The new leader has denied any involvement in the land grant.
Agence France-Presse
place where journalists get married and where their lives, once spent, are mourned by their colleagues. It is also a place of vigil for reporters kidnapped or imprisoned during the course of their work, wherever that may be in the world. “We still keep very strong links,” Canon David Meara, the Rector of St Bride’s, told AFP. “But there’s no use pretending it can be the same as it was when all the agencies and newspapers were just around the corner and we were their parish church. “Fleet Street is now a virtual village scattered across London.” While the news industry has moved on from Fleet Street, Meara is keen to find new ways to maintain the bond with journalism. “I want to make new connections with a younger generation of journalists who don’t have the memories of actually working here,” he said.
Spirit of Fleet Street still alive
LONDON - AFP’s departure from Fleet Street on Sunday may have weakened the links between the London throughfare and the media but for some it will always be the spiritual home of journalism in Britain. With Agence France-Presse gone, only the London office of Scottish publishers D.C. Thomson remains on a street world-famous for being dominated by the newspaper industry. But in the ‘journalists’ church’, in the few remaining reporters and in the old hands who made the gallons of ink — and booze — flow in its heydey, the soul of Fleet Street lives on. Saint Bride’s Church is determined to remain a home away from home for journalists. Built on Roman ruins and previous houses of worship, Christopher Wren’s 1672 church, gutted during the Blitz in 1940, still serves as a
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Agence France-Presse
PARIS - Fast growing China and India may be important players but the emerging economic giants alone do not have the clout to drag the global economy out of its worst slump since the 1930s, analysts say.
AP Photo/Vincent Yu
Activits display a banner to symbolize the universal suffrage in year 2019 during a protest in front of the famous Macau tourist spot “The Ruins of St. Paul’s “ Sunday, July 26, 2009. With no competition, Macau’s new leader was appointed Sunday while the world’s gambling capital and Chinese enclave struggles with an industry slump brought on by the economic crisis and tougher visa restrictions.
Mediterranean wildfires wreak destruction, recrimination
Agence France-Presse
ROME - Deadly wildfires sweeping through southern Europe ravaged areas of Italy and Corsica Saturday, as a French foreign legionnaire was charged over a blaze that reached the gates of Marseille. Eight people, six of them Spanish firefighters, died in heatwave-fuelled infernos that have scorched mainly northern Mediterranean coastal areas stretching across to Turkey this week, with hundreds more livelihoods ruined. Tens of thousands of acres (hectares) have been destroyed, with thousands of firefighters pressed into round-the-clock service and volunteers joining efforts led by specialist water-dropping planes and helicopters. Amid the devastation, there have also been recriminations with mourners in Sardinia, where a shepherd and a rancher were killed trying to protect their animals, blaming some of the blazes on criminals and vandals. With the stench of smoke hovering around gutted dwellings and
Dropped... From page 1 “It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up,” Gates told the business forum. Gates was in the Indian capital to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, awarded by the government for his work for the charitable organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation, built by his massive fortune, has committed nearly
razed woodland stretching for miles in some areas, Italian firefighters battled some 17 blazes Saturday in fierce temperatures mainly on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, and in the southern Calabria region. Officials said they were looking “for a drop in temperatures and other factors to help stop the fires from spreading and fanning flames”, Luigi D’Angelo of Italy’s civil protection force told the ANSA news agency. Some 1,500 firefighters and volunteers are engaged in the struggle there, backed by eight Canadairs planes and 11 helicopters. D’Angelo said hundreds of people had been evacuated from the north-eastern Sardinian village of Budoni, but stressed that the fires posed “no particular danger for people because they are in forest areas.” Investigations into what caused the fires that killed the shepherd and the rancher have found that one of the most devastating blazes on the island was deliberately set. “Anger over such a catastrophe... is even greater when you find out there was
one billion dollars to health and development projects in India, targeting especially AIDS and polio. Gates also confided to the audience that he was “not that big at text messaging” and that “I’m not a 24-hour-a-day tech person”. “I read a lot and some of that reading is not on a computer,” he said. Gates, who sought to drive a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, said the information technology revolution had been “hugely beneficial” but added: “All these tools of tech waste our time if we’re not careful.”
a human hand behind the fires. It is unacceptable that in our region there are still criminal minds capable of such acts,” said the head of the Sardinian region, Ugo Cappellacci, at the funeral of one of the victims. On the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, winds hampered the efforts of firefighters trying to contain a blaze near the village of Aullene, contributing to a new evening toll of destruction running to almost 6,000 hectares. “We are not evacuating but the fire is within 10 metres (33 feet) of the houses,” said one resident, Lucienne Gaspari, who was hosing down her home like the other villagers. “The firefighters are on all fronts and the people are calm, but the fire is everywhere.” “Five Canadair will be in place on Sunday,” added southern Corsican regional official Thierry Rogelet. “The weather is getting better (for us) tonight — the winds are dropping and the temperatures won’t go above 30 degrees Celsius.”
Heavy.... From page 1 The report showed footage of a mountain road hit by a landslide. Several brick and mud houses along the road were evacuated. The official Xinhua News Agency said the rains toppled 3,200 homes and resulted in direct economic losses of 670 million yuan ($98 million). Xinhua said the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the national disaster reduction center dispatched a team to the affected areas Sunday morning to help with relief work.
China, ranked the world’s third largest economy after the United States and Japan, grew 7.9 percent in the second quarter this year while India expanded 5.8 percent in the three months to March. Such rates are relatively modest by their standards but stand out sharply as the United States, Japan and Europe are all mired in deep recession as their economies struggle through the fallout from the global financial crisis. Chinese and Indian demand has largely kept raw material prices afloat this year — a key plus for exporting countries such as Australia and Brazil — while also offering hope against the prevailing gloom. The two countries “send out a positive message at a time when the trend is dark and this can help reassure the markets,” said Michel Fouquin, international affairs analyst in Paris. But beyond this psychological comfort, China and India have only a marginal impact on the wider global economy because they are exporters with limited domestic demand — ultimately, they are relying on the developed world to recover first before they too can move ahead once more. “There is no way that the world economy can get back on its feet again just through
(the efforts of) the emerging giants,” said Eric Chaney, chief economist with Axa. China and India may drive demand for raw materials and the other inputs they use in their own exports from Brazil, Australia and the smaller Asian countries but that are not enough for recovery in the developed world. “I’m much less convinced that either China or India can (provide) a significant boost to other economies,” said Eswar Prasad of Cornell University. “India and China can provide an indirect boost ... by maintaining domestic demand and providing a sense of confidence to the world economy that the recovery is in progress ... but their contribution to the world economy is going to remain modest,” Prasad said. The United States, Europe and Japan are the key markets for goods and services sold there by the great exporters such as China which has a much smaller domestic market despite efforts to boost home consumption. Richard Herd at the OECD in Paris noted too that in China, the share of imports in “total demand is relatively small, essentially because it’s a very large economy and there’s a very large degree of self-sufficiency in many areas.”
Australian PM rejects ‘protectionist’ push to buy local
‘Long way’ to US recovery: Biden
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - US Vice President Joseph Biden on Sunday defended a 787-billiondollar stimulus package adopted to jump-start the troubled US economy, but admitted recovery was a long way off. “We still have a long way to go, but clearly we are closer to recovery today than we were in January,” Biden wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times. “The Recovery Act has been critical to that progress.” Passed by Congress earlier this year and signed by President Barack Obama into law, the package combines government-funded infrastructure projects with tax relief and assistance to those affected by the slump. But it has been under fire from Republics who dubbed it inefficient and wasteful. “But the way I see it, our balanced approach recognizes that there is no silver bullet, no single thing, that can address the many and complex needs of America’s vast economy,” Biden wrote. “We need relief, recovery and reinvestment to cope with our multifaceted crisis — and only 159 days after it was signed by President Obama, the Recovery Act is already at work providing all three.”
AFP PHOTO/LIU Jin
A picture taken on July 18, 2009, shows a new real estate project under construction in Beijing. Fast growing China and India may be important players but the emerging economic giants alone do not have the clout to drag the global economy out of its worst slump since the 1930s, analysts say.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images/AFP
Financial professionals work in the Goldman Sachs booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the end of the trading day at the July 24, 2009 in New York City. US Vice President Joseph Biden on Sunday defended a 787-billion-dollar stimulus package adopted to jump-start the troubled US economy, but admitted recovery was a long way off.
MELBOURNE - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Sunday rejected calls for the government to favour local companies when spending money, saying such protectionist measures could spark a trade war. Rudd said much of Australia’s national wealth depended on its access to export markets and it could not afford to support a union-backed push to give local firms preference over their overseas rivals. “We need to avoid any form of protectionist measure, which invites retaliatory protectionist measures from economies around the world, and that’s what would happen,” he told reporters. Rudd said countries tried sealing their economic borders in the 1930s and only succeeded in making the Great Depression worse. “What happens? The entire global economy shrinks. What happened in the ’30s? That depression resulted in negligible economic growth throughout the 1930s,” he said. “We’re not about to repeat those mistakes here.” Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said he understood why unions were pushing for Australian companies struggling in the global downturn to get preferential treatment but trade barriers would not help them survive. “If we actually tilt the playing field artificially
in their favor, that does them no benefits in the longer term and a return to protectionism would be a disaster for the Australian economy in the wider sense,” Tanner said. “That is something we are absolutely committed to avoiding,” he told Channel 10 television. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) said 76,000 jobs had been lost in the manufacturing sector in the past 12 months and the centre-left Labor government should be doing more to protect local workers. AMWU national secretary Dave Oliver said the government could maximize the benefit from the more than 50 billion dollars (40.8 billion US) it has spent on economic stimulus measures since late last year by choosing Australian firms. “(It) is about maximizing local content to get the best bang for the buck,” he said. Australia’s most populous state New South Wales last month unveiled a policy that allowed local firms to bid up to 25 percent higher than foreign companies for government contracts and still win the tender. The federal government criticized the policy as “misguided” at the time. The unions, which have strong links to the Labor Party, are expected to lobby for the policy’s adoption at the party’s national conference this week.
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Business
Monday, July 27, 2009
Indonesia Today
International
International
PARIS - Euphoria on global stock markets might give the impression that the financial crisis is a thing of the past, but for unemployed workers or idling companies the effect of the turmoil is still keenly felt. For many, there seems disconnection between the optimism sweeping financial markets and the hardship felt in industry and the labour market where job losses, pay cuts and factory closures continue. “The general rule of thumb is that the equity market leads the economic cycle by 6-9 months,” an analyst at investment bank Calyon, Daragh Maher, explained to AFP. In other words, investors are
anticipating blue skies ahead and they are adjusting to the first signals of better weather. Companies are much less responsive, meaning most people will continue to live under the thunder clouds of the financial crisis for some time — or at least until the final quarter of this year if equities bottomed in March. “The initial phase of any downturn is that you fire people, then you
stop firing people, then you start hiring again,” added Maher. A survey released Friday backed up this view. The poll, a Eurobarometer released by the European Commission, showed that two thirds of Europeans believed that worse job losses were to come and a third of those working said they were “very worried” about their job. The good news for everyone — not just those who own shares or work in finance — is that there are genuine causes for optimism about the so-called “real economy” that underpinned the swing in the market mood last week. An avalanche of company reports
in the United States showed most firms delivering generally betterthan-expected results, with a recovering financial sector meaning credit should become easier to get. “The stock market has been pleased with the results which are fueling the current rally,” commented Fred Dickson, analyst at the DA Davidson & Co brokerage, commenting on the rising US stock market. Other signs of stabilization in the US housing market — the source of the problem via the subprime mortgage sector — also prompted optimism, as did economic indicators and comments in other countries. Japan’s economy, the second in
the world in size, has been showing “signs of recovery,” the government said in an annual report, noting that the slump had been “extremely deep.” In Europe, surveys showed a brighter mood among eurozone firms, particularly in powerhouse Germany where the closely watched monthly Ifo survey showed sentiment among companies brightening for the fourth month running. But there are still plenty of reasons for caution. Since the eruption of the financial crisis, stock markets have staged a number of rallies that have faltered and only weeks ago the talk was of a weaker-than-expected recovery.
Antara
MAKASSAR - Police in Panakkukang, Makassar, early Saturday morning arrested a man resembling the wanted Malaysian-born extremist Noordin M Top at his boarding house on Jalan Pengayoman.
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
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A driver of a delman, traditional horse-drawn cart, waits for customers during a car free day in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, July 26, 2009. Jakarta government ban cars and other motorized vehicles from the main business district every last Sunday of the month to promote clean air in the city of 8.5 million usually plagued with bumper to bumper traffic.
Indonesia reports first swine flu-related death Agence France-Presse
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Noordin M. Top look –alike arrested in Makassar
Investors are happy again, but what about the workers? Agence France-Presse
Monday, July 27, 2009
JAKARTA - Indonesia on Saturday reported its first death linked to swine flu after a six-year-old girl who had severe pneumonia died in a Jakarta hospital. “During her stay at the hospital, the patient’s condition kept getting worse and she died on July 22, 2009,” Health Ministry director general for disease control Tjandra Yoga Aditama said on the ministry’s website. “The child already had health problems since several years ago and delayed development... this patient had severe pneumonia and the result from Polymerase Chain Reaction has shown that she was positively (infected) by influenza A(H1N1),” he said. As of July 24, Indonesia had recorded 343 swine flu cases.
The first cases of the virus emerged in Indonesia in June after a British tourist and an Indonesian pilot tested positive. Officials have installed thermal scanners in several major international airports and seaports. Incoming travelers from infected countries also have to fill in “health alert cards” for tracking purposes upon arrival. The government has appointed around 100 hospitals to take care of people infected with the virus. Indonesia, an archipelago of 234 million people, has said it has no plans to close borders or issue travel warnings. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization put the number of deaths worldwide from swine flu at more than 700. It declared the outbreak a pandemic last month.
Adjunct Senior Commissioner Masjur. Chief of the East Makassar police, said Mustofa Akbar alias Taufan Haji (45) was picked up at 03.00 Saturday morning on a tipoff from local residents who remembered a local authorities’ call following last Firday’s terror bombings in Jakarta to watch out for suspicious things or people in their immediate surroundings. Mustofa’s neighbors became suspicious because since moving into the boarding house last July 7, Mustofa never went out during daytime and when he did it was to play internet or go to the mosque. Masjur said Mustofa sported a goatee, was fairly obese and about 156 cm tall. Police also took Mustofa’a personal belongings which included a notebook, a memory card, flash disk, a small map, and three cellphones, about 20 credit cards, ATM cards issued by BCA, Lippo, Mandiri and BII banks. Mustofa also proved to have five identity cards issued by several regional administrations and each mentioning a different place of birth, namely Magetan, Surabaya, Sumenep, Trenggalek (East Java)
and Luwuk Banggai (Central Sulawesi). To establish Mustofa’s real identity, police would need at least 2 times 24 hours’ time, Masjur said. “Our preliminary suspicion is at least that he has been withdrawing money from other people’s bank accounts through the internet,” he said. Separately, South Sulawei Police Chief Insp Gen Mathius Salempang who had come to the East Makassar’s police headquarters after hearing about Mustofa’s arrest, said police could give further information on Mustofa only after their preliminary investigation was finished. “ We sill don’t have the results of the preliminary investigation, but we know he rarely mixes with other people and only goes out at night and often plays the internet,” Salempang said. Meanwhile, First Insp Sugeng, head of the East Makassar’s mobile investigation unit, showed reporters Mustofa’s photo next to Noordin M Top’s picture to see the two’s facial similarities for themselves. Kusmawati, the boarding house’s owner, said “the man introduced himself as Mustofa. He said he was a contractor who was working on a project in Makassar, so I took him in.”
Indonesian opposition to challenge president’s election win Agence France-Presse Specialis in :
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JAKARTA - Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri Saturday rejected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s landslide reelection win and will challenge the results in court, a spokesman said. Megawati’s campaign will lodge a challenge to the results of the July 8 poll with the Constitutional Court, by alleging widespread irregularities including millions of people left off voter rolls, spokesman Gayus Lumbuun said. “Because there are still unresolved legal issues, we are rejecting the presidential election results from the KPU (election commission),” Gayus Lumbuun said. Official results announced by the commission Saturday gave the liberal ex-general Yudhoyono 60.8 percent of the vote, far ahead of ex-president Megawati with 26.8 percent and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla with 12.4 percent. The Megawati campaign boycotted the official signing of the results at the election com-
mission office. Kalla’s campaign will also launch a Constitutional Court appeal over voter list irregularities, but has not yet decided whether to accept or reject the results, news website Viva News reported. Yudhoyono, who defeated Megawati in Indonesia’s first direct presidential election in 2004 on an anti-corruption platform, is credited with ensuring stability and economic growth.
Indonesian students hold a rally to support the result of the presidential election in Jakarta on July 25, 2009. Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri rejected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s landslide reelection win and will challenge the results in court, a spokesman said.
AFP PHOTO/ADEK BERRY
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International
Monday, July 27, 2009
Bali Today
Monday, July 27, 2009
Balinese Culture Dendeng Pedas
Sanglah hospital treats 20 Swine Flu sufferers, 31 suspects
(Spicy Fried Beef) Ingredients * 1 kg (2 lb) topside (beef) * 1 tb Olive oil * 1/2 ts Black pepper 1 tb Dark soya sauce * 10 Shallots * 4 Red chillis (or 2 tbs -Sambal Ulek) * 2 tb Vegetable oil * Salt * 1 tb Lemon or fresh lime juice
Antara
DENPASAR - Sanglah Public Hospital in Denpasar, Bali Province, has so far treated 20 patients confirmed of having been infected with type-A Influenza (H1N1) or swine flu, and 31 suspects.
Bali Post/Eka
Two suspected H1N1 patients talking with medical staff at Sanglah Hospital. Sanglah Public Hospital in Denpasar, Bali Province, has so far treated 20 patients confirmed of having been infected with type-A Influenza (H1N1) or swine flu, and 31 suspects.
“Since the spreading of the H1N1 virus, Sanglah Hospital has treated a total of 51 patients, up to Saturday (July 25), we still have 10 patients, and three of them have been hospitalized since Friday (July 24),” dr. Lanang Suantara, head of the Sanglah Hospital’s medical service unit, said here on Saturday. The three patients suspected of having contracted H1N1 are Kusaki Shun (16) of Japan, Made (28) and Wiratani, both are Indonesians. “The three swine flu suspects are being isolated at Nusa Indah Isolation room of the Sanglah Public Hospital. They are considered suspects because they had contacts with H1N1 sufferers or come from TypeA Influenza affected countries,” he said. In general, their condition is improving. All of the patients have complained of influenza like illness (ILI). Meanwhile, Suantara said the Sanglah Hospital’s management has proposed a more flexible medical treatment for H1N1 suspects.
He said those suspected of being infected with the swine flu virus need not to immediately isolate in a special medical room. “Patients having ILI just need to stay at home for 3 to 4 days, while taking Tamiflu,” he said. “We very much hope that this proposal could be accepted by the health ministry, to make H1N1 medical treatment more flexible,” he said. Meanwhile, twenty-one more people were reported to have been infected with H1N1 virus on Friday raising the national number of infection cases so far to 343 consisting of 193 men and 150 women. The health ministry said in its press statement received in Jakarta on Friday the new cases were found in Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Riau Islands, Bali, Yogyakarta, North Sumatra, East Java, East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. The patients including some foreigners mostly had a history of traveling to infected countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
Traditional painters held exhibition in Ubud Antara
DENPASAR – Painters specialized in painting the traditional Bali style, carried out exhibition in Damping Gallery, Banjar Kutuh Kaja, Ubud, Gianyar, started on July 24th through August 7th 2009. Wayan Sutarma, the owner of damping Gallery, said that there are 31 painters take part in the exhibition, they are Made Suta, Made Sunarta, Made Madra, Ketut Sumadi, Nyoman Lidrayoga, Wayan Naya, Nyoman Edi, Ketut Juliarta, Kadek Sunarta, Made Rasna, Wayan Suparta, Made Suarsa, Wayan Rapet, Wayan Mandiyasa, Ketut Purna, Wayan Kayun, Wayan Beneh, Made Widiarta, Made Teja, Made Jiwa, Ketut Sudila, Kadek Mudanayasa, Nyoman Sarta, Nyoman Suarta, Made Adi Antara, Nyoman Wirawan, Mangku Made Sucipta, Ni Ketut Suarsi, Ni Made Nyangkih, Ketut Roji, and Wayan Warsa In the exhibition, the painters exhibit the paintings about the daily life of the Balinese but mostly it shows
the past events such as ngaben ceremony, wedding ceremony, farming, art performances, and market activities. Sutama said that the exhibition entitled “The Idealization of Bali” is being held in order to encourage the traditional Balinese painters. There is great hope that they can exhibit their works all around the world. “We think that the future of Balinese traditional paintings depend on the generation of Balinese painters. The Damping Gallery wanted to attract the youngster to Bali’s traditional art of painting,” he added. In addition to display the work of the painters, the Gallery also established art group called Sanggar Pudak Bali. The group will become the association for all arts in Bali. Mr. Sutama said “the art group can create many activities in order to develop the artists in Bali.” The member of the gallery will not only conduct exhibition in Bali but also throughout Indonesia and even abroad. They also joined the auctions held by representative departments.
FOTO ANTARA/Seno S
Two police officers were checking the car that entered the Sea Port at Banyuwangi, East Java. The police keep tightly guarded the vital areas in Bali after the bomb blasts in JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta July 17th 2009. The vital locations guarded by the police officers are Ngurah Rai Airport, Benoa Harbor, Sanur and Kuta, hotels, and other public places that visited by tourists.
Police guarded vital areas in Bali Antara
DENPASAR – The police keep tightly guarded the vital areas in Bali after the bomb blasts in JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta July 17th 2009. The vital locations guarded by the police officers are Ngurah Rai Airport, Benoa Harbor, Sanur and Kuta, hotels, and other public places that visited by tourists. I Gede Sugianyar, the head of Public Relation Division in Bali Police Department, said that the
tight security is to anticipate any terrorist attack after the bombing in Jakarta. The police is assisted by local security officers and equipped with metal detector. “The police are not only guarding the vital area but also patrolling the all around Bali in order to prevent terrorist from entering Bali,” he added. The police officers are also spreading the picture of Noordin M Top, the most wanted terrorist in Indonesia in public place including traditional markets.
The action is done to make the society aware of the fugitive and there is great hope that the people will inform the police of they see someone match the description of Noordin M Top. Kuta is still crowded with foreign tourists. The beach is packed with tourists who enjoying the view. Based on the data from Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) the number of tourists visited Bali is still very stable, the number approximately 6,000 tourists every day.
Bali needs oceanic seaport to facilitate exports
Antara
Bali Post/Eka
Balinese people and tourists release baby turtles to the ocean as one way to preserve the turtle habitat that categorize as endangered species.
DENPASAR - Indonesia’s tourist resort province of Bali needs an international seaport to speed up the shipment of its multifarious handicraft and industrial products to export destination countries, a local trade official said. “Bali has no oceanic seaport for its handicraft exports so its products can not compete effectively in world markets,” head of overseas trade affairs at Bali’s Trade Office, Ni Wayan Kusumawathi, said here on Saturday. The trade official said Bali’s multifarious industrial and handicraft products were so far exported through Surabaya’s oceanic seaport and this was basically increasing the goods’ sales prices. Kusumawathi said this condition forced the exporters to bear higher expenses and reduced the com-
petitive edge of goods from Bali in overseas markets. She said Bali’s exports of nonoil/non-gas commodities such as fish (canned and fresh tuna) and agricultural products (coffee, vanilla and others) had continued to increase. Bali’s non-oil/non-gas exports had increased significantly over the past four years, especially those to the United States, Japan and a number of European countries such as France. She said that the value of Bali’s non-oil/non-gas exports in 2005 reached US$458.4 million and increased to US$458.7 million in the following year. In line with the improving economic conditions in the importing countries, Bali’s non-oil/non-gas exports in 2007 increased to US$504 million. The figure increased further
to US$553.8 million in 2008. However, as a whole, Bali’s exports were declining. Its exports dropped 13.35 percent, from US$70.89 million in the first quarter of 2008 to $61.43 million in the same period this year. Panudiana Kuhn, chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said recently the decrease in exports was a result of the current financial crisis. According to data released by the Bali office of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) recently the sharpest decrease occurred in exports of footwear, followed by wood products and jewelry. Footwear exports dropped from $4.95 million to $3.30 million, wood and wood products from $2.60 million to $2.23 million, and jewelry and precious stones from $16.05 million to $14.18 million.
Directions: Cut the beef fairly thin and trim it into small, square pieces. Marinate it for 1 hour or longer. This is fried beef, with a robust flavour of chilli. Slice the shallots finely. Seed and slice the chillis. Fry them in a tablespoonful of oil, in a wok, stirring all the time until they are golden brown. Add salt to taste. Keep hot. Put a tablespoonful of oil in a thick frying-pan, and fry the slices of meat a few at a time. Three minutes on each side will be ample*. When all the pieces are cooked, put them into the wok with the shallots and chilli. Heat, and mix well. Sprinkle over the mixture 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, or, better still, fresh lime juice. Stir, and add more salt if necessary. Serve hot, with rice. * NOTE: In Indonesia, the meat is usually fried until crisp. You can even buy sun-dried dendeng which only needs coating with bumbu and frying. Crisp dendeng can be rather tough, and I prefer it as described above; however, a purist might say that my recipe is not ‘genuinely’ Indonesian. (http://asiaspice.com)
Crispy Fried Tempe (Keripik Tempe) Ingredients * 600 gram tempe (fermented soybean cake) - not tofu * 200 ml water * ½ tsp. slaked lime water * 100 gr. rice flour mixed with 25 gram cornstarch * vegetable oil * Spice Paste Ingredients: * 4 candlenuts * 1 clove garlic * 1 tsp. coriander seeds * salt to taste * 1 cm fresh kencur Directions Slice the tempe in thin 3½ x 5 cm squares. Set aside. Mix the spice-paste together with the water and slaked lime water. Add the rice flour and cornstarch and blend till smooth. Heat the oil in a wok, dip the tempe in the batter and deep-fry until it is golden brown and crisp. Note: Make sure that the oil is not to hot, otherwise the batter and the tempe will not be done at the same time.
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8
International
Monday, July 27, 2009
Bali Today
Monday, July 27, 2009
Balinese Culture Dendeng Pedas
Sanglah hospital treats 20 Swine Flu sufferers, 31 suspects
(Spicy Fried Beef) Ingredients * 1 kg (2 lb) topside (beef) * 1 tb Olive oil * 1/2 ts Black pepper 1 tb Dark soya sauce * 10 Shallots * 4 Red chillis (or 2 tbs -Sambal Ulek) * 2 tb Vegetable oil * Salt * 1 tb Lemon or fresh lime juice
Antara
DENPASAR - Sanglah Public Hospital in Denpasar, Bali Province, has so far treated 20 patients confirmed of having been infected with type-A Influenza (H1N1) or swine flu, and 31 suspects.
Bali Post/Eka
Two suspected H1N1 patients talking with medical staff at Sanglah Hospital. Sanglah Public Hospital in Denpasar, Bali Province, has so far treated 20 patients confirmed of having been infected with type-A Influenza (H1N1) or swine flu, and 31 suspects.
“Since the spreading of the H1N1 virus, Sanglah Hospital has treated a total of 51 patients, up to Saturday (July 25), we still have 10 patients, and three of them have been hospitalized since Friday (July 24),” dr. Lanang Suantara, head of the Sanglah Hospital’s medical service unit, said here on Saturday. The three patients suspected of having contracted H1N1 are Kusaki Shun (16) of Japan, Made (28) and Wiratani, both are Indonesians. “The three swine flu suspects are being isolated at Nusa Indah Isolation room of the Sanglah Public Hospital. They are considered suspects because they had contacts with H1N1 sufferers or come from TypeA Influenza affected countries,” he said. In general, their condition is improving. All of the patients have complained of influenza like illness (ILI). Meanwhile, Suantara said the Sanglah Hospital’s management has proposed a more flexible medical treatment for H1N1 suspects.
He said those suspected of being infected with the swine flu virus need not to immediately isolate in a special medical room. “Patients having ILI just need to stay at home for 3 to 4 days, while taking Tamiflu,” he said. “We very much hope that this proposal could be accepted by the health ministry, to make H1N1 medical treatment more flexible,” he said. Meanwhile, twenty-one more people were reported to have been infected with H1N1 virus on Friday raising the national number of infection cases so far to 343 consisting of 193 men and 150 women. The health ministry said in its press statement received in Jakarta on Friday the new cases were found in Jakarta, West Java, Banten, Riau Islands, Bali, Yogyakarta, North Sumatra, East Java, East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan. The patients including some foreigners mostly had a history of traveling to infected countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
Traditional painters held exhibition in Ubud Antara
DENPASAR – Painters specialized in painting the traditional Bali style, carried out exhibition in Damping Gallery, Banjar Kutuh Kaja, Ubud, Gianyar, started on July 24th through August 7th 2009. Wayan Sutarma, the owner of damping Gallery, said that there are 31 painters take part in the exhibition, they are Made Suta, Made Sunarta, Made Madra, Ketut Sumadi, Nyoman Lidrayoga, Wayan Naya, Nyoman Edi, Ketut Juliarta, Kadek Sunarta, Made Rasna, Wayan Suparta, Made Suarsa, Wayan Rapet, Wayan Mandiyasa, Ketut Purna, Wayan Kayun, Wayan Beneh, Made Widiarta, Made Teja, Made Jiwa, Ketut Sudila, Kadek Mudanayasa, Nyoman Sarta, Nyoman Suarta, Made Adi Antara, Nyoman Wirawan, Mangku Made Sucipta, Ni Ketut Suarsi, Ni Made Nyangkih, Ketut Roji, and Wayan Warsa In the exhibition, the painters exhibit the paintings about the daily life of the Balinese but mostly it shows
the past events such as ngaben ceremony, wedding ceremony, farming, art performances, and market activities. Sutama said that the exhibition entitled “The Idealization of Bali” is being held in order to encourage the traditional Balinese painters. There is great hope that they can exhibit their works all around the world. “We think that the future of Balinese traditional paintings depend on the generation of Balinese painters. The Damping Gallery wanted to attract the youngster to Bali’s traditional art of painting,” he added. In addition to display the work of the painters, the Gallery also established art group called Sanggar Pudak Bali. The group will become the association for all arts in Bali. Mr. Sutama said “the art group can create many activities in order to develop the artists in Bali.” The member of the gallery will not only conduct exhibition in Bali but also throughout Indonesia and even abroad. They also joined the auctions held by representative departments.
FOTO ANTARA/Seno S
Two police officers were checking the car that entered the Sea Port at Banyuwangi, East Java. The police keep tightly guarded the vital areas in Bali after the bomb blasts in JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta July 17th 2009. The vital locations guarded by the police officers are Ngurah Rai Airport, Benoa Harbor, Sanur and Kuta, hotels, and other public places that visited by tourists.
Police guarded vital areas in Bali Antara
DENPASAR – The police keep tightly guarded the vital areas in Bali after the bomb blasts in JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels in Jakarta July 17th 2009. The vital locations guarded by the police officers are Ngurah Rai Airport, Benoa Harbor, Sanur and Kuta, hotels, and other public places that visited by tourists. I Gede Sugianyar, the head of Public Relation Division in Bali Police Department, said that the
tight security is to anticipate any terrorist attack after the bombing in Jakarta. The police is assisted by local security officers and equipped with metal detector. “The police are not only guarding the vital area but also patrolling the all around Bali in order to prevent terrorist from entering Bali,” he added. The police officers are also spreading the picture of Noordin M Top, the most wanted terrorist in Indonesia in public place including traditional markets.
The action is done to make the society aware of the fugitive and there is great hope that the people will inform the police of they see someone match the description of Noordin M Top. Kuta is still crowded with foreign tourists. The beach is packed with tourists who enjoying the view. Based on the data from Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) the number of tourists visited Bali is still very stable, the number approximately 6,000 tourists every day.
Bali needs oceanic seaport to facilitate exports
Antara
Bali Post/Eka
Balinese people and tourists release baby turtles to the ocean as one way to preserve the turtle habitat that categorize as endangered species.
DENPASAR - Indonesia’s tourist resort province of Bali needs an international seaport to speed up the shipment of its multifarious handicraft and industrial products to export destination countries, a local trade official said. “Bali has no oceanic seaport for its handicraft exports so its products can not compete effectively in world markets,” head of overseas trade affairs at Bali’s Trade Office, Ni Wayan Kusumawathi, said here on Saturday. The trade official said Bali’s multifarious industrial and handicraft products were so far exported through Surabaya’s oceanic seaport and this was basically increasing the goods’ sales prices. Kusumawathi said this condition forced the exporters to bear higher expenses and reduced the com-
petitive edge of goods from Bali in overseas markets. She said Bali’s exports of nonoil/non-gas commodities such as fish (canned and fresh tuna) and agricultural products (coffee, vanilla and others) had continued to increase. Bali’s non-oil/non-gas exports had increased significantly over the past four years, especially those to the United States, Japan and a number of European countries such as France. She said that the value of Bali’s non-oil/non-gas exports in 2005 reached US$458.4 million and increased to US$458.7 million in the following year. In line with the improving economic conditions in the importing countries, Bali’s non-oil/non-gas exports in 2007 increased to US$504 million. The figure increased further
to US$553.8 million in 2008. However, as a whole, Bali’s exports were declining. Its exports dropped 13.35 percent, from US$70.89 million in the first quarter of 2008 to $61.43 million in the same period this year. Panudiana Kuhn, chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), said recently the decrease in exports was a result of the current financial crisis. According to data released by the Bali office of the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) recently the sharpest decrease occurred in exports of footwear, followed by wood products and jewelry. Footwear exports dropped from $4.95 million to $3.30 million, wood and wood products from $2.60 million to $2.23 million, and jewelry and precious stones from $16.05 million to $14.18 million.
Directions: Cut the beef fairly thin and trim it into small, square pieces. Marinate it for 1 hour or longer. This is fried beef, with a robust flavour of chilli. Slice the shallots finely. Seed and slice the chillis. Fry them in a tablespoonful of oil, in a wok, stirring all the time until they are golden brown. Add salt to taste. Keep hot. Put a tablespoonful of oil in a thick frying-pan, and fry the slices of meat a few at a time. Three minutes on each side will be ample*. When all the pieces are cooked, put them into the wok with the shallots and chilli. Heat, and mix well. Sprinkle over the mixture 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, or, better still, fresh lime juice. Stir, and add more salt if necessary. Serve hot, with rice. * NOTE: In Indonesia, the meat is usually fried until crisp. You can even buy sun-dried dendeng which only needs coating with bumbu and frying. Crisp dendeng can be rather tough, and I prefer it as described above; however, a purist might say that my recipe is not ‘genuinely’ Indonesian. (http://asiaspice.com)
Crispy Fried Tempe (Keripik Tempe) Ingredients * 600 gram tempe (fermented soybean cake) - not tofu * 200 ml water * ½ tsp. slaked lime water * 100 gr. rice flour mixed with 25 gram cornstarch * vegetable oil * Spice Paste Ingredients: * 4 candlenuts * 1 clove garlic * 1 tsp. coriander seeds * salt to taste * 1 cm fresh kencur Directions Slice the tempe in thin 3½ x 5 cm squares. Set aside. Mix the spice-paste together with the water and slaked lime water. Add the rice flour and cornstarch and blend till smooth. Heat the oil in a wok, dip the tempe in the batter and deep-fry until it is golden brown and crisp. Note: Make sure that the oil is not to hot, otherwise the batter and the tempe will not be done at the same time.
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Business
Monday, July 27, 2009
Indonesia Today
International
International
PARIS - Euphoria on global stock markets might give the impression that the financial crisis is a thing of the past, but for unemployed workers or idling companies the effect of the turmoil is still keenly felt. For many, there seems disconnection between the optimism sweeping financial markets and the hardship felt in industry and the labour market where job losses, pay cuts and factory closures continue. “The general rule of thumb is that the equity market leads the economic cycle by 6-9 months,” an analyst at investment bank Calyon, Daragh Maher, explained to AFP. In other words, investors are
anticipating blue skies ahead and they are adjusting to the first signals of better weather. Companies are much less responsive, meaning most people will continue to live under the thunder clouds of the financial crisis for some time — or at least until the final quarter of this year if equities bottomed in March. “The initial phase of any downturn is that you fire people, then you
stop firing people, then you start hiring again,” added Maher. A survey released Friday backed up this view. The poll, a Eurobarometer released by the European Commission, showed that two thirds of Europeans believed that worse job losses were to come and a third of those working said they were “very worried” about their job. The good news for everyone — not just those who own shares or work in finance — is that there are genuine causes for optimism about the so-called “real economy” that underpinned the swing in the market mood last week. An avalanche of company reports
in the United States showed most firms delivering generally betterthan-expected results, with a recovering financial sector meaning credit should become easier to get. “The stock market has been pleased with the results which are fueling the current rally,” commented Fred Dickson, analyst at the DA Davidson & Co brokerage, commenting on the rising US stock market. Other signs of stabilization in the US housing market — the source of the problem via the subprime mortgage sector — also prompted optimism, as did economic indicators and comments in other countries. Japan’s economy, the second in
the world in size, has been showing “signs of recovery,” the government said in an annual report, noting that the slump had been “extremely deep.” In Europe, surveys showed a brighter mood among eurozone firms, particularly in powerhouse Germany where the closely watched monthly Ifo survey showed sentiment among companies brightening for the fourth month running. But there are still plenty of reasons for caution. Since the eruption of the financial crisis, stock markets have staged a number of rallies that have faltered and only weeks ago the talk was of a weaker-than-expected recovery.
Antara
MAKASSAR - Police in Panakkukang, Makassar, early Saturday morning arrested a man resembling the wanted Malaysian-born extremist Noordin M Top at his boarding house on Jalan Pengayoman.
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
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A driver of a delman, traditional horse-drawn cart, waits for customers during a car free day in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, July 26, 2009. Jakarta government ban cars and other motorized vehicles from the main business district every last Sunday of the month to promote clean air in the city of 8.5 million usually plagued with bumper to bumper traffic.
Indonesia reports first swine flu-related death Agence France-Presse
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Noordin M. Top look –alike arrested in Makassar
Investors are happy again, but what about the workers? Agence France-Presse
Monday, July 27, 2009
JAKARTA - Indonesia on Saturday reported its first death linked to swine flu after a six-year-old girl who had severe pneumonia died in a Jakarta hospital. “During her stay at the hospital, the patient’s condition kept getting worse and she died on July 22, 2009,” Health Ministry director general for disease control Tjandra Yoga Aditama said on the ministry’s website. “The child already had health problems since several years ago and delayed development... this patient had severe pneumonia and the result from Polymerase Chain Reaction has shown that she was positively (infected) by influenza A(H1N1),” he said. As of July 24, Indonesia had recorded 343 swine flu cases.
The first cases of the virus emerged in Indonesia in June after a British tourist and an Indonesian pilot tested positive. Officials have installed thermal scanners in several major international airports and seaports. Incoming travelers from infected countries also have to fill in “health alert cards” for tracking purposes upon arrival. The government has appointed around 100 hospitals to take care of people infected with the virus. Indonesia, an archipelago of 234 million people, has said it has no plans to close borders or issue travel warnings. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization put the number of deaths worldwide from swine flu at more than 700. It declared the outbreak a pandemic last month.
Adjunct Senior Commissioner Masjur. Chief of the East Makassar police, said Mustofa Akbar alias Taufan Haji (45) was picked up at 03.00 Saturday morning on a tipoff from local residents who remembered a local authorities’ call following last Firday’s terror bombings in Jakarta to watch out for suspicious things or people in their immediate surroundings. Mustofa’s neighbors became suspicious because since moving into the boarding house last July 7, Mustofa never went out during daytime and when he did it was to play internet or go to the mosque. Masjur said Mustofa sported a goatee, was fairly obese and about 156 cm tall. Police also took Mustofa’a personal belongings which included a notebook, a memory card, flash disk, a small map, and three cellphones, about 20 credit cards, ATM cards issued by BCA, Lippo, Mandiri and BII banks. Mustofa also proved to have five identity cards issued by several regional administrations and each mentioning a different place of birth, namely Magetan, Surabaya, Sumenep, Trenggalek (East Java)
and Luwuk Banggai (Central Sulawesi). To establish Mustofa’s real identity, police would need at least 2 times 24 hours’ time, Masjur said. “Our preliminary suspicion is at least that he has been withdrawing money from other people’s bank accounts through the internet,” he said. Separately, South Sulawei Police Chief Insp Gen Mathius Salempang who had come to the East Makassar’s police headquarters after hearing about Mustofa’s arrest, said police could give further information on Mustofa only after their preliminary investigation was finished. “ We sill don’t have the results of the preliminary investigation, but we know he rarely mixes with other people and only goes out at night and often plays the internet,” Salempang said. Meanwhile, First Insp Sugeng, head of the East Makassar’s mobile investigation unit, showed reporters Mustofa’s photo next to Noordin M Top’s picture to see the two’s facial similarities for themselves. Kusmawati, the boarding house’s owner, said “the man introduced himself as Mustofa. He said he was a contractor who was working on a project in Makassar, so I took him in.”
Indonesian opposition to challenge president’s election win Agence France-Presse Specialis in :
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JAKARTA - Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri Saturday rejected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s landslide reelection win and will challenge the results in court, a spokesman said. Megawati’s campaign will lodge a challenge to the results of the July 8 poll with the Constitutional Court, by alleging widespread irregularities including millions of people left off voter rolls, spokesman Gayus Lumbuun said. “Because there are still unresolved legal issues, we are rejecting the presidential election results from the KPU (election commission),” Gayus Lumbuun said. Official results announced by the commission Saturday gave the liberal ex-general Yudhoyono 60.8 percent of the vote, far ahead of ex-president Megawati with 26.8 percent and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla with 12.4 percent. The Megawati campaign boycotted the official signing of the results at the election com-
mission office. Kalla’s campaign will also launch a Constitutional Court appeal over voter list irregularities, but has not yet decided whether to accept or reject the results, news website Viva News reported. Yudhoyono, who defeated Megawati in Indonesia’s first direct presidential election in 2004 on an anti-corruption platform, is credited with ensuring stability and economic growth.
Indonesian students hold a rally to support the result of the presidential election in Jakarta on July 25, 2009. Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri rejected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s landslide reelection win and will challenge the results in court, a spokesman said.
AFP PHOTO/ADEK BERRY
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Monday, July 27, 2009
Macau ex-minister chosen to lead gambling hub
News
Monday, July 27, 2009
BUSINESS
Fast growing China, India can help, not save world economy
Agence France-Presse
MACAU - Former culture minister Fernando Chui was Sunday named the new chief executive of Macau on a pledge to diversify the gambling hub’s economy and rid the Chinese territory of corruption. Chui, 52, succeeds Edmund Ho, who led the Macau government since the former Portuguese colony returned to Chinese rule in 1999 and oversaw the liberalisation of the territory’s gaming sector in 2002. Macau, which has a population of 550,000 people, has a separate legal system from the mainland and is the only place on Chinese soil where casino gambling is allowed. Chui’s election was a formality, as he was the only candidate. He won the support of 282, or 94 percent, of the southern Chinese city’s 300-strong chief executive electoral committee, formed mostly by people with ties to Beijing. Chui said after Sunday’s vote that the city needed to do more to reduce its economic reliance on the casino business. “Since we opened up the gaming market, we have seen a big change in the operation mode and the scale of the business,” he told reporters. “The change includes the launch of a lot more integrated entertainment and leisure projects. I personally feel that we should go towards this direction, to suitably diversify the economy.” Since Macau’s gaming market was liberalised in 2002, it has overtaken Las Vegas and Atlantic City combined in terms of gaming rev-
enue as gleaming foreign and locally-owned resorts have sprung up. But the staggering growth has suffered in the past 12 months as Chinese authorities, concerned about the problems of gambling and corruption, have limited the number of visitors to the gaming haven from mainland China. Chui said that he would actively develop the convention, Chinese medicine, logistics, and education sectors. He also said he planned to work to attract more Taiwanese tourists to Macau, taking advantage of recently improved relations between Beijing and Taipei. The new Macau leader has also pledged to fight corruption, which has cast a shadow over the territory’s success. Former transport and public works minister Ao Manlong was jailed in April for 28 and a half years after being convicted on dozens of graft charges including money laundering and bribe taking. Ao’s case touched on some of construction work for the city’s highest-profile resorts. Chui himself came under scrutiny over a controversial government deal which saw a piece of public land given to his elder brother at below-market price in 2006. The new leader has denied any involvement in the land grant.
Agence France-Presse
place where journalists get married and where their lives, once spent, are mourned by their colleagues. It is also a place of vigil for reporters kidnapped or imprisoned during the course of their work, wherever that may be in the world. “We still keep very strong links,” Canon David Meara, the Rector of St Bride’s, told AFP. “But there’s no use pretending it can be the same as it was when all the agencies and newspapers were just around the corner and we were their parish church. “Fleet Street is now a virtual village scattered across London.” While the news industry has moved on from Fleet Street, Meara is keen to find new ways to maintain the bond with journalism. “I want to make new connections with a younger generation of journalists who don’t have the memories of actually working here,” he said.
Spirit of Fleet Street still alive
LONDON - AFP’s departure from Fleet Street on Sunday may have weakened the links between the London throughfare and the media but for some it will always be the spiritual home of journalism in Britain. With Agence France-Presse gone, only the London office of Scottish publishers D.C. Thomson remains on a street world-famous for being dominated by the newspaper industry. But in the ‘journalists’ church’, in the few remaining reporters and in the old hands who made the gallons of ink — and booze — flow in its heydey, the soul of Fleet Street lives on. Saint Bride’s Church is determined to remain a home away from home for journalists. Built on Roman ruins and previous houses of worship, Christopher Wren’s 1672 church, gutted during the Blitz in 1940, still serves as a
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Agence France-Presse
PARIS - Fast growing China and India may be important players but the emerging economic giants alone do not have the clout to drag the global economy out of its worst slump since the 1930s, analysts say.
AP Photo/Vincent Yu
Activits display a banner to symbolize the universal suffrage in year 2019 during a protest in front of the famous Macau tourist spot “The Ruins of St. Paul’s “ Sunday, July 26, 2009. With no competition, Macau’s new leader was appointed Sunday while the world’s gambling capital and Chinese enclave struggles with an industry slump brought on by the economic crisis and tougher visa restrictions.
Mediterranean wildfires wreak destruction, recrimination
Agence France-Presse
ROME - Deadly wildfires sweeping through southern Europe ravaged areas of Italy and Corsica Saturday, as a French foreign legionnaire was charged over a blaze that reached the gates of Marseille. Eight people, six of them Spanish firefighters, died in heatwave-fuelled infernos that have scorched mainly northern Mediterranean coastal areas stretching across to Turkey this week, with hundreds more livelihoods ruined. Tens of thousands of acres (hectares) have been destroyed, with thousands of firefighters pressed into round-the-clock service and volunteers joining efforts led by specialist water-dropping planes and helicopters. Amid the devastation, there have also been recriminations with mourners in Sardinia, where a shepherd and a rancher were killed trying to protect their animals, blaming some of the blazes on criminals and vandals. With the stench of smoke hovering around gutted dwellings and
Dropped... From page 1 “It was just way too much trouble so I gave it up,” Gates told the business forum. Gates was in the Indian capital to receive the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, awarded by the government for his work for the charitable organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation, built by his massive fortune, has committed nearly
razed woodland stretching for miles in some areas, Italian firefighters battled some 17 blazes Saturday in fierce temperatures mainly on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily, and in the southern Calabria region. Officials said they were looking “for a drop in temperatures and other factors to help stop the fires from spreading and fanning flames”, Luigi D’Angelo of Italy’s civil protection force told the ANSA news agency. Some 1,500 firefighters and volunteers are engaged in the struggle there, backed by eight Canadairs planes and 11 helicopters. D’Angelo said hundreds of people had been evacuated from the north-eastern Sardinian village of Budoni, but stressed that the fires posed “no particular danger for people because they are in forest areas.” Investigations into what caused the fires that killed the shepherd and the rancher have found that one of the most devastating blazes on the island was deliberately set. “Anger over such a catastrophe... is even greater when you find out there was
one billion dollars to health and development projects in India, targeting especially AIDS and polio. Gates also confided to the audience that he was “not that big at text messaging” and that “I’m not a 24-hour-a-day tech person”. “I read a lot and some of that reading is not on a computer,” he said. Gates, who sought to drive a vision of a computer on every desk and in every home, said the information technology revolution had been “hugely beneficial” but added: “All these tools of tech waste our time if we’re not careful.”
a human hand behind the fires. It is unacceptable that in our region there are still criminal minds capable of such acts,” said the head of the Sardinian region, Ugo Cappellacci, at the funeral of one of the victims. On the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, winds hampered the efforts of firefighters trying to contain a blaze near the village of Aullene, contributing to a new evening toll of destruction running to almost 6,000 hectares. “We are not evacuating but the fire is within 10 metres (33 feet) of the houses,” said one resident, Lucienne Gaspari, who was hosing down her home like the other villagers. “The firefighters are on all fronts and the people are calm, but the fire is everywhere.” “Five Canadair will be in place on Sunday,” added southern Corsican regional official Thierry Rogelet. “The weather is getting better (for us) tonight — the winds are dropping and the temperatures won’t go above 30 degrees Celsius.”
Heavy.... From page 1 The report showed footage of a mountain road hit by a landslide. Several brick and mud houses along the road were evacuated. The official Xinhua News Agency said the rains toppled 3,200 homes and resulted in direct economic losses of 670 million yuan ($98 million). Xinhua said the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the national disaster reduction center dispatched a team to the affected areas Sunday morning to help with relief work.
China, ranked the world’s third largest economy after the United States and Japan, grew 7.9 percent in the second quarter this year while India expanded 5.8 percent in the three months to March. Such rates are relatively modest by their standards but stand out sharply as the United States, Japan and Europe are all mired in deep recession as their economies struggle through the fallout from the global financial crisis. Chinese and Indian demand has largely kept raw material prices afloat this year — a key plus for exporting countries such as Australia and Brazil — while also offering hope against the prevailing gloom. The two countries “send out a positive message at a time when the trend is dark and this can help reassure the markets,” said Michel Fouquin, international affairs analyst in Paris. But beyond this psychological comfort, China and India have only a marginal impact on the wider global economy because they are exporters with limited domestic demand — ultimately, they are relying on the developed world to recover first before they too can move ahead once more. “There is no way that the world economy can get back on its feet again just through
(the efforts of) the emerging giants,” said Eric Chaney, chief economist with Axa. China and India may drive demand for raw materials and the other inputs they use in their own exports from Brazil, Australia and the smaller Asian countries but that are not enough for recovery in the developed world. “I’m much less convinced that either China or India can (provide) a significant boost to other economies,” said Eswar Prasad of Cornell University. “India and China can provide an indirect boost ... by maintaining domestic demand and providing a sense of confidence to the world economy that the recovery is in progress ... but their contribution to the world economy is going to remain modest,” Prasad said. The United States, Europe and Japan are the key markets for goods and services sold there by the great exporters such as China which has a much smaller domestic market despite efforts to boost home consumption. Richard Herd at the OECD in Paris noted too that in China, the share of imports in “total demand is relatively small, essentially because it’s a very large economy and there’s a very large degree of self-sufficiency in many areas.”
Australian PM rejects ‘protectionist’ push to buy local
‘Long way’ to US recovery: Biden
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - US Vice President Joseph Biden on Sunday defended a 787-billiondollar stimulus package adopted to jump-start the troubled US economy, but admitted recovery was a long way off. “We still have a long way to go, but clearly we are closer to recovery today than we were in January,” Biden wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times. “The Recovery Act has been critical to that progress.” Passed by Congress earlier this year and signed by President Barack Obama into law, the package combines government-funded infrastructure projects with tax relief and assistance to those affected by the slump. But it has been under fire from Republics who dubbed it inefficient and wasteful. “But the way I see it, our balanced approach recognizes that there is no silver bullet, no single thing, that can address the many and complex needs of America’s vast economy,” Biden wrote. “We need relief, recovery and reinvestment to cope with our multifaceted crisis — and only 159 days after it was signed by President Obama, the Recovery Act is already at work providing all three.”
AFP PHOTO/LIU Jin
A picture taken on July 18, 2009, shows a new real estate project under construction in Beijing. Fast growing China and India may be important players but the emerging economic giants alone do not have the clout to drag the global economy out of its worst slump since the 1930s, analysts say.
Chris Hondros/Getty Images/AFP
Financial professionals work in the Goldman Sachs booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange at the end of the trading day at the July 24, 2009 in New York City. US Vice President Joseph Biden on Sunday defended a 787-billion-dollar stimulus package adopted to jump-start the troubled US economy, but admitted recovery was a long way off.
MELBOURNE - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Sunday rejected calls for the government to favour local companies when spending money, saying such protectionist measures could spark a trade war. Rudd said much of Australia’s national wealth depended on its access to export markets and it could not afford to support a union-backed push to give local firms preference over their overseas rivals. “We need to avoid any form of protectionist measure, which invites retaliatory protectionist measures from economies around the world, and that’s what would happen,” he told reporters. Rudd said countries tried sealing their economic borders in the 1930s and only succeeded in making the Great Depression worse. “What happens? The entire global economy shrinks. What happened in the ’30s? That depression resulted in negligible economic growth throughout the 1930s,” he said. “We’re not about to repeat those mistakes here.” Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said he understood why unions were pushing for Australian companies struggling in the global downturn to get preferential treatment but trade barriers would not help them survive. “If we actually tilt the playing field artificially
in their favor, that does them no benefits in the longer term and a return to protectionism would be a disaster for the Australian economy in the wider sense,” Tanner said. “That is something we are absolutely committed to avoiding,” he told Channel 10 television. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) said 76,000 jobs had been lost in the manufacturing sector in the past 12 months and the centre-left Labor government should be doing more to protect local workers. AMWU national secretary Dave Oliver said the government could maximize the benefit from the more than 50 billion dollars (40.8 billion US) it has spent on economic stimulus measures since late last year by choosing Australian firms. “(It) is about maximizing local content to get the best bang for the buck,” he said. Australia’s most populous state New South Wales last month unveiled a policy that allowed local firms to bid up to 25 percent higher than foreign companies for government contracts and still win the tender. The federal government criticized the policy as “misguided” at the time. The unions, which have strong links to the Labor Party, are expected to lobby for the policy’s adoption at the party’s national conference this week.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
Entertainment
International
News
International
Directors, actors geek out with fans at Comic-Con
Agence France-Presse
PAGADIAN - A town mayor and a former mayor were shot dead in separate attacks in the Philippines on Sunday, police said. Abdul Ayon, mayor of Malangas town in the southern Philippines, was gunned down outside a shopping mall in Pagadian City by a man who fled with his accomplices on motorcycles, said city police chief Senior Inspector Michael Palermo. Palermo said the killing of Ayon may be related either to heated political rivalries in his town, about
SAN DIEGO – Robert Downey Jr. said he wish he could don a Mexican wrestling mask and stroll the ComicCon floor to check out all the collectible toys and geeky-cool stuff. Peter Jackson joked about ducking out of a discussion with director James Cameron — which drew thousands of fans to the San Diego Convention Center’s largest meeting hall — to walk the floor with fewer crowds. best place for super-fans.” Director Tim Burton, who showed a piece of his forthcoming “Alice in Wonderland,” said he first came to ComicCon as an aspiring filmmaker in the 1970s. “I saw a slide show for the first `Superman.’ People were very passionate about it and it kind of scared me,” he said. “It’s a very pure form of passion that it transcends business and anything else. Passion is a very good thing. And that’s why you make movies that you hope people respond to, and so it’s good to see and feel that energy here.” Actor Ben Foster, attending his second Comic-Con, also felt the fear. “It’s a zoo. It’s a Halloween zoo,” he said. “I have no idea how to process this place. It’s funny. And then you have these waves of fear. ... I’m not accustomed to seeing this many people dressed up in samurai outfits and aliens, all in one space.” Comic-Con continues through Sunday.
Spike Lee defends free speech on Venezuela visit Regulators also have begun a series of investigations into Globovision — the only strongly antiCARACAS, Venezuela – Filmmaker Spike Lee Chavez TV channel on the open airwaves — that championed a free press Friday during a visit to could lead to its closure. Lee has never been one to sidestep controversy. Venezuela, where broadcasters are under pressure to avoid criticizing President Hugo Chavez’s left- Many of his films make bold statements about race relations in the United States, and 20 years after ist government. The director didn’t directly refer to the dispute the release of “Do The Right Thing,” a film about in Venezuela, but he said there are “no circum- a race riot in Brooklyn, the message still rings stances” under which news media should be si- strong. “The United States has made great leaps in race lenced. Visiting to screen his 1989 film “Do The Right relations — the biggest one being the election of Thing” and met with fans to discuss race relations, President Barack Obama,” Lee said. But there is still a way to go, he added, citing his career and the late Michael Jackson, Lee said shootings by New York City police officers involvhe is “a firm believer in freedom of speech.” “It’s my opinion that there are no circumstances ing blacks, including the May death of a black where the media should be shut down,” he said to undercover cop killed by a white officer. Lee said he has struggled in his own career as a loud applause. “I’m not talking about any country black film producer, director and actor, but added specifically, but globally.” Chavez has increasingly clashed with he is grateful that from an early age his parents Venezuela’s private media, endorsing plans to re- impressed on him the need to face challenges. “It was drummed into my brain that in order to voke the licenses of 240 radio stations after officials said they didn’t update their registrations. be successful in America you had to be ten times better than white folks,” he said. Lee also reminisced about making the music video “They Don’t Care About Us” with Michael Jackson in Brazil. In the video, the “King of Pop” performs in a Rio de Janeiro shantytown as the Brazilian group Olodum beats drums in the background. Street vendors in Venezuela’s capital have been playing the video regularly since Jackson’s death AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos June 25. “I’m one of US film director Spike Lee, center, attends a news conference at the Museo the billions of people de Bellas Artes in Caracas, Friday, July 24, 2009. Lee is in Venezuela to give who miss him a seminar to young film students. dearly,” Lee said. Associated Press Writer
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Mayor, ex-mayor shot dead in Philippines
Associated Press Writer
Stars love Comic-Con — and not just because it’s a great place to promote their movies. They’re moved by the passion of the fans, and it seems to rejuvenate their own passion for working in film. Fans at the pop-culture convention “not only celebrate fantasy and science fiction and fantastic worlds, but they celebrate each other, and they celebrate their geekness, and there’s a sense of solidarity,” said Cameron, who premiered footage from his anticipated 3D sci-fi adventure, “Avatar,” to conventioneers on Thursday. “And what this group does is they make filmmakers do better. Because if you don’t live up to their standards, you’re not going to get past this. This is the launch pad right here.” The stars of “Twilight” — Taylor Lautner, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart — said fans’ overwhelming response at Comic-Con helped make their first film such a success. Kristen Bell, a veteran of five Cons, said, “it’s the
Monday, July 27, 2009
AP Photo/Denis Poroy
Actor Robert Downey Jr. poses for photographers while promoting his new film ‘Sherlock Holmes’ at the Comic-Con International 2009 convention held in San Diego Friday, July 24, 2009. The annual comic book and popular arts convention attracts over 100,000 people and runs through Sunday July 26.
Furtado finds fresh inspiration for ‘Mi Plan’ Associated Press Writer
MIAMI – Nelly Furtado admits that writing her new, all-Spanish album, “Mi Plan,” wasn’t in her plans at all after finishing a hectic tour to promote her last chart-topping record. “I was physically tired and I wasn’t feeling inspired. It was almost as if I lost my pop inspiration to write in English,” Furtado said. “I just needed a new outlet, and I found it by writing in Spanish.” The 30-year-old singer told The Associated Press at a Miami recording studio that her fourth full-length album, which is set for release Sept. 15 on her own Nelstar Music label, more intimately explores the passion that fuels relationships “I think this album has some of my first true love songs ever. They’re not complicated. They’re not over-intellectualized, and I found it liberating to be able to sing in the Latin language and to express myself from my Latin soul,” said Furtado, the Canadian-born daughter of Portuguese immigrants.
The Grammy-Award winner, who vaulted up the pop charts with such indelible tracks as “I’m Like a Bird” in 2000 and “Promiscuous” in 2006, is set to deliver a new fleet of mostly uptempo, melodic tunes on “Mi Plan.” “Manos Al Aire” and “Mas” have already hit the airwaves, and two more songs are expected to be available on iTunes in the coming weeks leading up to the album’s release. The 11 songs on the album include collaborations with Mexican singers Alejandro Fernandez and Julieta Venegas, Spanish singer Concha Buika, Latin hip-hop singer La Mala Rodriguez and Dominican singer Juan Luis Guerra. And classical singer Josh Groban’s cameo on “Silencio” was a “huge blessing,” Furtado said. “I thought it was important to sort of showcase on this album an artist that people know more for their English recordings,” she said. “So, I thought by working with Josh would actually elevate my point that language isn’t a barrier when it comes to music.”
AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh
Hindu devotees offer milk to snakes at a temple during the annual Hindu Nag Panchami festival, dedicated to the worship of snakes, in Allahabad, India, Sunday, July 26, 2009.
China police, 30,000 workers clash: rights group Agence France-Presse
BEIJING - About 30,000 Chinese steel workers clashed with police over plans to merge their mill with another company, and beat a manager to death, a Hong Kong-based human rights group has said. About 100 people were injured in the incident on Friday in the northeastern city of Tonghua, the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said in a statement. A police officer at the Tonghua Public Security Bureau’s control centre on Sunday confirmed to AFP that a clash took place, but refused to provide any details or comment on the reported death.
Whipping for beer-drinking model sparks debate in Malaysia Agence France-Presse
In this Oct. 13, 2008 file photo, Singer Nelly Furtado arrives at the premiere of “Max Payne” in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles. Furtado admits that writing her new, all-Spanish album, “Mi Plan,” wasn’t in her plans at all after finishing a hectic tour to promote her last charttopping record. AP Photo/Gus Ruelas, File
Company and local government officials were not immediately available for comment. Tonghua Iron and Steel Group employees opposed plans for Beijing-based Jianlong Steel to take a 65 percent stake in the mill, the centre said, adding they accused Jianlong of mismanagement during temporary stewardship last year. The Tonghua employees attacked Jianlong general manager Chen
Guojun when he ordered them to return to work, the centre said, adding Chen’s friends had confirmed he had died after workers blocked an ambulance from responding. The workers had complained about Chen’s alleged three-millionyuan (438,000-dollar) salary, as the mill’s pensioners received as little as 200 yuan (29 dollars) a month, the statement said. Beijing is trying to consolidate its steel industry, which comprises hundreds of small producers, through mergers aimed at creating big players that have the potential to be globally competitive.
KUALA LUMPUR - An Islamic court’s decision to have a Muslim model whipped for drinking beer at a pub has triggered controversy in Malaysia, a multicultural country where such convictions are extremely rare. Last week, a Sharia or religious court sentenced Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, to six strokes of the cane and a fine of 5,000 ringgit (1,412 dollars) after she pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol in eastern Pahang state last year. Her conviction created a furore
in the nation which is predominantly Muslim, but also home to large Indian and Chinese minorities. Alcohol is widely available in most parts of the country and Muslims are rarely punished for consuming it. “The punishment of whipping is defined as torture and hence we should not in any way condone it,” said Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Nora Murat. “This is the wrong way to educate anyone about the religion. When the sin is between her and God, there is always an option of being repentant. It’s up to God to decide on her faith, and not people,”
she told AFP. Most were stunned that whipping of women was permitted in Malaysia’s Islamic courts, which operate alongside civil courts under a dual-track system. “It’s not just unkind, it’s unjust,” leading women rights activist Ivy Josiah told the New Straits Times newspaper, while Women’s Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil reportedly said that while she did not approve of Muslims drinking, she was shocked by the ruling. Islamic scholars however argued the punishment was necessary to deter other Muslims from drinking.
40 kilometres (24.8 miles) southwest of Pagadian, or to the illegal drugs trade in the area. Just hours earlier, David Ermalino, former mayor of Candelaria, was shot dead in front of a church outside the town, just southeast of Manila, a police statement said. Two of Ermalino’s security guards were wounded in the incident. The shootings come ahead of a nationwide poll due in May, 2010. Elections in the Philippines have often been marred by violence as rival candidates use force, including private armies, against each other.
India launches first nuclearpowered submarine Agence France-Presse
NEW DELHI - India launched its first nuclear-powered submarine on Sunday, officials said, underlining the military advances made by the rapidly developing nation. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it a “historic milestone in the country’s defence preparedness” as the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) was named in the southern city of Visakhapatnam. The submarine, the first of five planned, is powered by an 85megawatt nuclear reactor and can reach 44 kilometres an hour (24 knots) underwater, according to defence officials. It will be armed with torpedoes and ballistic missiles, and carry a crew of 95 men. “We don’t have any aggressive designs nor do we seek to threaten anyone,” the Press Trust of India quoted Singh as saying at the launch. “We seek an external environment in our region and beyond that is conducive to our peaceful development and protection of our value systems.”
India is now part of an exclusive group of nations — including China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia — which own nuclear-powered submarines. The vessel will undergo two years of sea trials in the Bay of Bengal before being commissioned for full service, according to PTI. India previously leased a Russianbuilt nuclear submarine and has signed contracts worth 2.4 billion euros (three billion dollars) to receive six FrancoSpanish Scorpene submarines. The launch came as India marked the tenth anniversary of the brief but bloody Kargil conflict with arch-rival Pakistan in the disputed Kashmir region. More than 1,100 people, mostly Indian and Pakistani soldiers, died in the high-altitude offensive in the spring and summer of 1999 when Pakistan-based infiltrators crossed the icy frontier that separates the two countries. At a service earlier in New Delhi, Singh paid tribute to the Indian troops who died during the conflict. “They sacrificed their lives in defence of Indian unity and integrity,” he said.
AFP PHOTO/Noah SEELAM
The INS Kursura, on display as a part of the INS Kurusura Submarine Museum, is seen at Rama Krishna Beach in Visakhapatnam, some 800 kilometers from Hyderabad, on July 25, 2009.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
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International
Harry Patch dies at 111
AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File
The last surviving British World War I veteran, Harry Patch, 110 Agence France-Presse
LONDON - Harry Patch, the last soldier to fight in the trenches of Europe during World War I, died Saturday at the age of 111, his care home in Britain said. Patch, who fought at the notorious Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, was also Britain’s oldest man following the death of fellow veteran Henry Allingham, the oldest man in the world, one week ago. He is the last World War I veteran to have served in the trenches, according to the dersdesders.free.fr website, which is regarded as an authoritative chronicle of veterans of the conflict. “The Great War is a chapter in our history we must never forget, so many sacrifices were made, so many young lives lost,” said Prince Charles, reacting to Patch’s death. “So today nothing could give me greater pride than paying tribute to Harry Patch.” “The noblest of all the generations has left us, but they will never be forgotten,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown added. “We say today with still greater force, we will remember
them.” Claude Choules, 108, who lives in Perth, Australia and served with the Royal Navy, now becomes the last surviving veteran of the 191418 conflict from the British side. Patch did not speak about his wartime experiences until he was aged 100 and was strongly opposed to violent conflict, calling war “organised murder”. “It was not worth it, it was not worth one let alone all the millions,” he said. “It’s important that we remember the war dead on both sides of the line — the Germans suffered the same as we did.” Last year, he made his last trip to Belgium to remember his fallen comrades and unveil a memorial. Patch — nicknamed “The Last Tommy” by Britain’s media — was conscripted into the British army at the age of 18 and served as a machine gunner with the 7th Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. He was 19 when he fought in the 1917 Battle of Passchendaele, also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, in Belgium in which an estimated 500,000 soldiers died. That battle was one of the bloodiest in the conflict. One of the opposing German soldiers was an Austrian named Adolf Hitler, who as leader of Nazi Germany went on to launch World War II in Europe. After four months in the trenches, Patch was wounded by shrapnel in a German shell attack in which three of his comrades died. He was sent home to Britain and his war was over. In France, the secretary of state for defence and veterans Hubert Falco paid tribute to Patch and recalled other World War I soldiers who recently died, including Allingham and the last French veteran Lazare Ponticelli last year.
Taiwan ruling party votes for new leader Agence France-Presse
TAIPEI - Members of Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang party (KMT) voted Sunday to elect their new chairman in a poll expected to return China-friendly President Ma Yingjeo, who is standing unopposed. Ma’s election could pave the way for a first meeting between the presidents of Taiwan and longtime rival China, which regards the island as part of its territory. “The purpose of my running for the election, as I said before, is not to expand my power but to fulfil my responsibility,” Ma told reporters outside a polling station in Taipei. If confirmed in the post, Ma would succeed Wu Po-hsiung, who is set to retire in September after leading the KMT to a landslide victory in last year’s presidential elections. Wu, as head of Taiwan’s ruling party, met Chinese President Hu Jintao on the mainland last year in the highest level contact since the two
sides split in 1949 after a civil war. Ma previously headed the party between July 2005 and February 2007, when he resigned after being indicted for allegedly misusing his expenses as mayor of Taipei. He was cleared of the charges before taking office last year. Ties with China have improved dramatically since Ma’s Beijingfriendly government was inaugurated last year, leading to the launch of regular direct flights and closer trade links. Observers say that as chairman, Ma would have greater power from within the KMT and find it easier to push through government policies in a parliament dominated by the party. Voting began at 8:00 am in 519 polling stations islandwide and closes at 4:00 pm. Results are expected two hours later. The KMT, which has 533,739 eligible voters, was also to elect 1,171 party representatives.
Monday, July 27, 2009
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New Products
AP Photo/Andy Wong
Bumblebee, an autobot from the movie “Transformers”, walks past a model standing next to the Chevrolet Camaro on display at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing Sunday, July 26, 2009. AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd
A man, who bystanders said was a supporter of ousted Honduras´ President Manuel Zelaya, lies dead on the side of the road near El Paraiso, Honduras, Saturday, July 25, 2009. According to other Zelaya supporters present at the scene, but who did not witness the circumstances of the death, the man was allegedly killed by soldiers and/or police during the night. Defying a curfew and clashing with security forces who fired tear gas thousands of Hondurans flocked to the border town of El Paraiso Friday to support Zelaya when he briefly crossed few yards into Honduran territory.
Honduran killed as Zelaya reaches border Agence France-Presse
LAS MANOS - A Honduran man was found dead Saturday on a road close to Nicaragua, as ousted President Manuel Zelaya returned to the border for a second day to attempt to cross into his home country. Zelaya supporters, who defied a daytime curfew to gather near the border hoping to welcome their president, blamed Honduran police for Saturday’s death of the man identified by friends as 23-year-old Pedro Madriel Munoz Alvarado. The body was found next to a coffee field, bearing knife gashes and signs he had been beaten. A protestor told AFP that Munoz lived in
Colonia San Francisco, a workingclass neighborhood of the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. Witnesses on Friday saw police arresting the man after he participated in pro-Zelaya demonstrations, reported Radio Globo, one of the few media outlets critical of the military-backed interim regime. But police said the man was arrested for smoking marijuana and not for po-
litical reasons. “Others are paying for the mistake of one man,” Zelaya said after learning of the man’s death, in comments addressed at interim leader Roberto Micheletti. “We are organizing the resistance,” he said upon arriving in the border town of Las Manos, standing some 100 meters (yards) from Honduras. Rows of Honduran soldiers and police were visible from the Nicaraguan side of the line. “We are not afraid. Onward with social reform, the presidency of the republic and expelling the coup leaders.”
US envoy holds Syria talks amid new peace push Agence France-Presse
DAMASCUS - US Middle East envoy George Mitchell said he had “candid and positive” talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday as Washington began a flurry of diplomacy in the region aimed at pushing foward the peace process. Mitchell arrived overnight for his second visit to Damascus since June and was due to head on to Israel later on Sunday, as Defence Secretary Robert Gates was also due in the region. “I have just completed a very candid and positive conversation with President Assad,” Mitchell said. “I discussed with President Assad the prospects for moving for-
ward on our goals of comprehensive peace in the region and improved bilateral ties between Syria and the United States,” he said. US President Barack Obama is determined to reach a comprehensive peace between Israel and all its Arab neighbours in order to guarantee “stability, security and prosperity” in the region, he said. “If we are to succeed, we will need Arabs and Israelis alike to work with us to bring about comprehensive peace. “We will welcome the full cooperation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic in this historic endeavour.” Obama has moved to re-engage
Damascus as part of a bid to breathe new life into the faltering Middle East peace process. Syria and Israel held four rounds of preliminary negotiations through Turkish mediators last year but Syria broke them off in December amid Israel’s deadly offensive against the Gaza Strip. The new Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since rejected Syria’s minimum condition for a peace treaty — the return of the strategic Golan Heights which Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community.
AP Photo/CCTV
This undated image made from video and released by Central China Television shows pandas at the Wolong National Nature Preserve in Sichuan, China. A female panda named You You gave birth to a new cub Thursday morning at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in southwestern Sichuan. It is You You’s third baby, and the 10th panda cub born at Wolong this year. Panda researchers said Friday that they believe it’s the first successful live birth worldwide using frozen panda sperm.
China announces first panda from frozen sperm Associated Press Writer
BEIJING – For the first time, a giant panda cub has been born in China after being conceived using frozen sperm, officials announced Friday — an innovation scientists hope will help the endangered species avoid extinction. The new cub’s birth Thursday means breeders will no longer be forced to rely on semen from China’s few virile males, and may even be able to bring in sperm from zoos in San Diego, Mexico City or elsewhere. That’s key to promoting a healthy panda population because too much inbreeding can lead to birth defects that would further threaten the survival of the species. The new cub, born to You You, a female panda at the Wolong Giant Panda Research Center in southwestern Sichuan, is the tenth born at the breeding facility this year. It was You You’s third successful pregnancy. Just after dawn, the pinkish, hairless cub emerged, and its mother was shown licking the tiny wiggling creature to clean it on footage broadcast by the state television channel CCTV. Panda researchers said Friday it was the first successful live birth worldwide using frozen panda sperm. “We did try before but it failed,” said Huang Yan, a deputy research technician with the China Panda Preservation Research Center. He declined to provide specifics
but said the Wolong team had improved its thawing techniques, making frozen sperm more viable. Sperm samples are deep-frozen using liquid nitrogen, and in the past, only 20 to 30 percent of the sperm survived. But this time the center managed to raise viability to about 80 percent, he said. Scientists carried out the artificial insemination in March, and You You was found to be pregnant in June during an ultrasound. The sperm from male panda Lu Lu had been frozen for “a number of years,” said Huang. The sex of the baby panda is not yet clear, so it hasn’t been named, Huang said. The technique, if it can be replicated, will be a boost for panda conservation efforts, said Matthew Durnin, regional science director in the Asia-Pacific and North Asia for The Nature Conservancy, a U.S.based conservation organization. “In the past, they’re limited to using semen from a few virile, reproductive males. If you’re using only one male at a time, you start to get lower and lower diversity. This can help with issues of genetic di-
versity among your captive population,” he said. Besides preventing inbreeding, genetically diverse panda populations are generally healthier, meaning they will also have a better chance of thriving if released in the wild, he said. Dr. Barbara Durrant, a reproductive physiologist at San Diego Zoo, said the success in China opens the way for frozen semen exchanges between zoos. “The ideal situation would be to get semen from every male in captivity and freeze the sperm,” she said. “Exchanging frozen semen between zoos is definitely in the plan,” she added, noting this means “much less stress for the animals,” than shipping them to other zoos, often thousands of miles away, to mate. Panda females have only three days a year in which they can conceive — one reason their species is endangered. Ensuring that the male and female pandas are interested and able to mate during that short window is a challenge, and Durrant said some males never succeed at natural breeding. As a result, artificial insemination has become common practice when breeding captive pandas. In 2006, 34 pandas were born through artificial insemination in China and 30 survived — both record numbers for the endangered species.
A model shows a creation of fashion designer Claes Iversen during the Amsterdam International Fashion Week (AIFW) in the Zuiveringshal in Amsterdam, 25 July 2009.
ANP ADE JOHNSON
AP Photo/Andy Wong
A model poses next to Chinese automaker Geely’s new model Panda on display at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing Sunday, July 26, 2009.
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Sport
Monday, July 27, 2009
International
LE MONT VENTOUX - Spain’s 2007 champion Alberto Contador said Saturday he will not join up with Lance Armstrong in a team next year, after virtually securing his second Tour de France crown here. The Spaniard will go into Sunday’s final stage to Paris with a lead of 4min 11sec and 5:24 respectively on Andy Schleck and Lance Armstrong. Contador then revealed he will not be joining up with Armstrong, currently his teammate at Astana, at the American’s new team RadioShack. “It’s certain,” said Contador, who has endured a tough Tour campaign due to the presence in Astana of the seven-time champion. “I will be in a different team from Lance next year but whether it’s a new project based around me or me joining an existing team, I don’t know. It’s still too early to say.” Contador won the race in 2007 and in 2008, after winning both the Tour
of Italy and the Tour of Spain, joined an elite club of riders to have won all three major three-week Tours. Having won a host of different one-week stage races the 26-yearold added that Armstrong’s record of seven consecutive wins was not on his radar. “Records are not something I really focus on too much,” he added when asked if interested in matching Armstrong’s achievement. “I try to enjoy everything I do as a cyclist and I like to win lots of different races. I’m 26, and maybe in the future I will try to win some (one-day) classics. “The Tour de France will always be among by big objectives although that won’t stop me from having
Cleri gets revenge to land 25km world title
AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito
Valerio Cleri Agence France Presse
ROME - Italy’s Valerio Cleri made up for his 10km disappointment by winning the gold medal in the men’s 25km open water event in 5hr 26min 31.6sec at the World Championships here on Saturday. Australian Trent Grimsey took silver 19sec back with Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia coming in third almost three minutes down in a race that was made tougher by wind and big waves. Cleri had finished fourth in the 10km competition on Wednesday after the International Swimming Federation (FINA) dismissed an Italian team appeal against bronze medallist Francis Crippen of the Unites States. Crippen had missed the gate to the finishing straight and had ducked under a perimeter rope before touching home just ahead of Cleri.
The Italians appealed claiming Crippen had broken the rules but FINA found in the American’s favour and Cleri missed out on a medal. But he triumphed here in front of his home crowd, winning Italy’s first gold medal of these championships, as a powerful surge in the final kilometres took him clear of Grimsey. The pair had separated from the pack some time before that and looked to be heading for a grandstand finish until Cleri pulled away, even having time to celebrate down the final straight and take his time before touching home. “I’m smiling inside. I’m enjoying thinking about all the people who were happy for what happened the other day,” Cleri told Rai Sport. “It went well, I trained well, but I already knew that after the 10km. Today my nervous energy enabled me finish fresher than normal. “Is this a revenge after the 10km? No. I don’t feel that way. I did two great races. I felt better prepared for the 25km than the 10km. “In fact I’m fresher now than three days ago. I wanted to win this race and I had imagined the post race questions and I thought about many things, but now there’s nothing in my head.” Grimsey was delighted with his finish but revealed there were unwanted dangers lurking in the sea. “I didn’t expect this result, it was the first time for me to compete in the 25km event, it’s a boom,” he said. “The weather conditions weren’t so bad. Jellyfish were a big problem, I was really scared of them.”
ambitions elsewhere.” Armstrong launched his new team last week, virtually confirming his intention to race at the Tour next year. With a full year to prepare, the anticipated duel between the Texan, who will then be 38 years old, and Contador will be unmissable.
Alberto Contador of Spain, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, reacts as he crosses the finish during the 20th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 167 kilometers (103.8 miles) with start in Montelimar and finish on Mont Ventoux pass, southern France, Saturday July 25, 2009. Rear left is American seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
INDIANAPOLIS - Sam Querrey and practise partner Robby Ginepri will face off in an ATP final for the first time Sunday when they play for the title at the ATP Indianapolis Championships. Despite frequently training together, the friends have never faced off when it counted for more than pride. The 2005 champion Ginepri, back from an emergency appendectomy earlier this year, returned to the final with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of compatriot John Isner. Third seed Querrey dropped serve for the first time this week, but still ensured an all-American final with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Canada’s Frank Dancevic. Ginepri had to work for the win against Isner, playing his first event since getting over glandular fever. It took the winner four match points in the final game to advance. Isner said he’s still not on perfect form, but added: “Even if I’d been at 100 percent, Robby still would have beaten me today. He put enough pressure on me to make me crack.” Ginepri, ranked 95th, won the title four years ago with about the same ranking, then carried his momentum onto a Cincinnati Masters semi-final a few weeks later followed by a place in the final four of the US Open and a loss to Andre Agassi. “I spent nine days in hospital, it’s a blessing to be back playing,” Ginepri said of his spring health crisis. “This is the start of my hardcourt summer, I feel confident. “I’ve made a lot of progress this week. Sam is a great server and he will keep me on the run. But it’s good to be part of a US final.” Querrey, 21, claimed his lone ATP honour in Las Vegas in 2008. “It’s exciting to be back in a final. I’ve had three semis here and now I’ve finally gone past that. I’ve really improved my movement a lot from last season, that is key.” Querrey will be playing in back-to-back ATP finals after going down a fortnight ago in Newport on grass to Rajeev Ram. He is poised for a guaranteed move to 31st in the world, his career best.
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Agence France-Presse
AMSTERDAM - Thousands of people around the world held protests to denounce rights abuses in Iran following contested presidential elections and express support for opponents of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
AP Photo/Laurent Rebours
Querrey to face former champion Ginepri in all-US final Agence France Presse
Monday, July 27, 2009
Worldwide day of protest against Tehran regime
Contador keeps distances with Armstrong
Agence France Presse
News
International
Some of the biggest rallies on Saturday — the last day of a three-day “Iran Global Day of Action” staged in 85 cities worldwide — took place in Amsterdam, London and Stockholm, with more than 4,000 alone taking to the streets of the Swedish capital. Among the 1,000 people in Amsterdam was Iran’s Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi who led the crowd in chanting: “We want to live in peace. Long live peace”. In London, where more than a thousand gathered outside the Iranian embassy, organisers also spoke of supporting Iranians protesting against Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election. “This is symbolic, it’s a global day of solidarity,” said Potkin Azarmehr, one of the organisers. “We need to make sure the government pays a price for the way they’re treating the people in Iran.”
Following charges of fraud in the June 12 presidential election, Tehran became the scene of mass street protests that shook the pillars of the Islamic republic. Iranian official reports say at least 20 people died and more than 1,000 were arrested in demonstrations. Dozens of reformist leaders, journalists and human rights activists have also been jailed in the wake of the election that the opposition says was rigged. Chanting “Freedom ...Now,” hundreds of demonstrators marched in New York demanding the release of all political prisoners and democracy in Iran. A crowd estimated at 600 by police and at 2,000 by the organisers waved green flags symbolising Iran’s Green movement supporting opposition leader and defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
He fired a dozen aces while holding the powerful Dancevic to just one in the 73-minute contest. Querrey also struck 27 winners and stayed cool as the Canadian staged a brief fightback in the second set. Dancevic began a recovery from a set and 4-0 down, breaking Querry twice but failing to carry through the momentum.
AP Photo/Jacques Brinon Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP
Sam Querrey celebrates his win over Frank Dancevic of Canada during the semifinals of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships on July 25, 2009 at the Indianapolis Tennis Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
People protest during a demonstration against Iran’s clampdown on opposition activists, at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Saturday, July 25, 2009. Protesters across the world on Saturday called on Iran to end its clampdown on opposition activists, demanding the release of hundreds rounded up during demonstrations against the country’s disputed election.
They filed past Iran’s UN mission and read out a message from Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate Ebadi urging all nations to support “the freedom fighters who stand for the democratic institutions. “Done this way, the sapling of democracy will bear the flower of freedom,” the message said. In a park in Tokyo’s busy Shibuya district, demonstrators carried a placard declaring: “Ahmadinejad is not Iran’s president.” In Paris, a rally of some 600 people, mostly Iranians, denounced the “electoral coup d’etat” in Iran. Many wore green in support of Mousavi who was Ahmadinejad’s closest rival. Others carried pictures of a young Iranian woman, Neda Agha-Soltan, who was shot dead during a demonstration and has become a symbol of the opposition’s struggle. “We want the United Nations to intervene, an inquiry into the systematic human rights violations in Iran,” said the group United for Iran. In Melbourne, one of the five Australian cities where protests took place, about 50 members of the Iranian community waved their homeland’s flag and banners reading “Stop Torture” and “Iran election was a fraud”. Fariba Marzban, who was jailed in Tehran for eight years as a political prisoner following the 1979 revolution, said in London times were changing in Iran. “The people are now speaking — for 30 years, people were quiet, now they are talking,” she said. “Our ambition is free speech, liberty.” Demonstrations also took place in Berlin, Copenhagen, Vienna and Geneva, where protesters gathered outside the United Nations’ European headquarters. In Vienna, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran urged companies such as Siemens and Nokia which do business in Iran to put pressure on Tehran. Iranian opposition leaders Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Khatami on Saturday urged the country’s clerics to intervene to help stop the spread of “oppression” by the authorities. In a statement on Mousavi’s website Ghalamnews, the three accused the regime of “savagery” and said its “interrogation methods are a reminder of the dark era of the Shah” Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was toppled in the 1979 revolution.
AP Photo/Office of the Supreme Leader
This photo released by an official website of the Iranian supreme leader’s office shows Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sitting under a portrait of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 20, 2009
Iran’s Ahmadinejad suffers blow as VP sacked Agence France-Presse
TEHRAN - Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad caved in to hardliners and sacked his controversial deputy on Saturday, in a first major blow to forging a new government since his disputed reelection. Ahmadinejad said in a letter to the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie had stepped down as first vice president, a little over a week after he was appointed, the state news agency IRNA said. “I am sending you the letter of Rahim Mashaie announcing he is stepping down from the post of the vice president,” Ahmadinejad said, according to IRNA. The agency later reported that Ahmadinejad named Rahim Mashaie as his advisor and head of his office, describing him as “trusted, devoted and pious.” “I appoint you as the advisor and head of the presidential office,” Ahmadinejad said in a letter carried by IRNA. Rahim Mashaie’s appointment as vice president triggered opposition from hardliners and plunged Iran into a fresh political turmoil, as it remains engulfed in the worst crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Widespread protests after the June 12 re-election of Ahmadinejad left at least 20 people dead and have shaken the pillars of the Islamic republic. Khamenei had ordered the sacking of Rahim Mashaie, who caused a stir last year when he said Iran was a “friend of the Israeli people.” The appointment was against the best interest of Ahmadinejad and the government, and it would cause “division and frustration
among your supporters,” Khamenei said in a letter. “It is necessary that the appointment be cancelled,” he said according to state television. The sacking comes as a blow to Ahmadinejad, who had defended his deputy and described him as “like a pure source of water.” Independent analyst Mohammad Saleh Sedghian told AFP that Rahim Mashaie “is one of Mr Ahmadinejad’s inner circle of trustees.” “His appointment was to have total supervision of the cabinet, especially control over sensitive sectors like oil, economy and central bank...,” he said. “His appointment was aimed at having total control over the cabinet over the next four years so there would be absolutely no opposition.” Ahmadinejad’s re-election has been hotly disputed by his main challenger, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says his victory was a result of massive vote rigging. Hundreds of thousands of Iranians poured into Tehran streets to protest their “stolen votes” before security forces launched a crackdown in which at least 20 people died and more than 1,000 were arrested. The crisis has ricocheted all the way up the state structure, with Khamenei denouncing protesters, giving unconditional support to Ahmadinejad and declaring the poll legal. But powerful cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani sees the Islamic regime as having lost the trust of the people, while reformists such as fellow former president Mohammad Khatami have called for a referendum to end the crisis. hundreds of people gatherings in such cities as Amsterdam, London, Stockholm and Tokyo in support of his opponents.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
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Agence France Presse
PRETORIA - Emmanuel Adebayor failed to score on his debut as Manchester City fell 1-0 to Kaizer Chiefs Saturday in the Vodacom Challenge final.
Agence France-Presse
BANGKOK - Thousands of supporters of Thailand’s fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra gathered at temples across the country Sunday to celebrate his 60th birthday, police said.
Palin exit ANCHORAGE - Gov. Sarah Palin gained fame and to some infamy - since she embarked on a vicepresidential bid less than a year ago. Her surprising departure from Alaska’s top office is gaining her something else: questions over her motives and next big move. She leaves office Sunday.
Media under fire ISLAMABAD - The militants wore masks, carried weapons and came by the dozens. Still, they let the reporter’s relatives leave the house before they bombed it. As Pakistan tries to stave off a Taliban insurgency, journalists have been threatened, attacked and killed, and even their relatives have faced harm.
Vaccine fast LONDON - In a drive to inoculate people against swine flu before winter, many European governments say they will fast-track the testing of a new flu vaccine, arousing concern among some experts about safety issues and proper vaccine doses. Source: ap
porters. They can sign up to wish him happy birthday or monitor his movements,” Noppadon said. In a note posted on his Twitter page, under the user name “Thaksinlive”, Thaksin said his birthday wishes were “to see reconciliation happen” in the country and for Thailand’s king to have a long, healthy life. Since Thaksin was ousted, Thai society has been wracked by divisions between his “Red Shirt” supporters among the largely rural poor, and the powerful Bangkok cliques in the palace, military and bureaucracy. The opponents of Thaksin, known as “Yellow Shirts”, staged protests last year that led to a nine-day blockade of Bangkok’s airports and left more than 300,000 visitors stranded, badly denting the kingdom’s tourist-friendly image. The “Red Shirts” stormed a key Asian summit in the Thai coastal resort of Pattaya on April 11, forcing its cancellation, before rampaging through the capital, leaving two people dead and 123 injured. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared emergency rule and protesters clashed with security forces in Bangkok over two days, but finally dispersed after troops surrounded them and threatened to move them by force. Thaksin fled abroad in August 2008, shortly before being sentenced to two years in prison for conflict of interest concerning a cut-price land purchase by his then-wife Pojaman.
AP Photo/Themba Hadebe
Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor, left, vies for the ball with Kaizer Chiefs’ David Mathebula, right, during a pre-season exhibition soccer match at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, South Africa, Saturday, July 25, 2009.
Real Madrid coach mulls over final squad Agence France Presse
AP Photo/David Longstreath
Thai Buddhist monks chant prayers during religious ceremonies to honor the birthday of ousted former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Sunday, July 26, 2009, at Wat Kaew Fa on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand. Thaksin, who has been living in self imposed exile faces jail time on corruption charges should he return to Thailand. He however remains the most popular Thai politician in recent memory.
Queen Elizabeth told ‘denial’ sparked global downturn Agence France-Presse
LONDON - Eminent economists have told Queen Elizabeth II that the global financial downturn was brought about by a “psychology of denial” among the financial and political elite, a report said Sunday. In a three-page letter, the experts said “financial wizards” completely failed to “foresee the timing, extent and severity” of the credit crunch, according to
The Observer newspaper, which said it had obtained a copy of the letter. The letter was signed by political historian Peter Hennessy, and Tim Besley, a London School of Economics (LSE) professor and an external member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee. It spoke of the “psychology of denial” that gripped the political and financial world in the build-up to the crisis. The economists said financial
experts convinced themselves and the world’s politicians that they had found clever ways to spread risks across the markets. “It is difficult to reall a greater example of wishful thinking combined with hubris,” the letter said, adding that it was “principally a failure of the collective imagination of many bright people, both in this country and internationally, to understand the risks to the system as a whole.”
During a visit to the LSE in November, Queen Elizabeth asked Professor Luis Garicano about the credit crunch, saying: “Why did nobody notice it?” A spokeswoman for the monarch’s Buckingham Palace official residence would not discuss correspondence but said: “The queen always displays an interest in current issues and is kept abreast of current issues. Obviously the recession is very topical.”
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Debutant Adebayor fires blank as City lose final
Thousands celebrate former Thai PM Thaksin’s birthday Around 60 temples were expected to hold Buddhist ceremonies in his honour, with the largest taking place at Kaew Fah temple in central Nonthaburi province. “More than 10,000 people have gathered at the temple since the early morning,” Police Colonel Songsak Soisuwan told AFP. “We have around 100 police officers taking care of security. So far the situation is peaceful,” he said. Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in September 2006 and is now living abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption, later made a phone-in address to Kaew Fah to thank his followers. “I believe the good karma we make today will bring me back to serve the nation soon,” he told them. The ceremony, at which the redclad crowds gave alms to over 100 monks as part of the Buddhist tradition of “merit-making”, was presided over by Thaksin’s brother-in-law and former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat. “What we did today was not violating any laws or making any trouble. Everything was done by groups of people who love Thaksin,” Somchai told the crowds, adding that the large turn-out was a “big surprise”. Thaksin also marked the occasion by launching accounts on the social networking websites Twitter and Facebook, according to his close aide and former lawyer Noppadon Pattama. “It’s another channel for Thaksin to communicate with his sup-
Monday, July 27, 2009
MADRID – Real Madrid still has still not determined what its final squad and its starting 11 will be for the upcoming season, new coach Manuel Pellegrini said Saturday. The Spanish giants spent over 200 million euros on new players in the pre-season, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka, and earlier this month Pellegrini said he hoped to have the final squad ironed out by July 27 when all of the club’s internationals returned from holidays. “I said that, but I added that it was important not to make mistakes, that we should make the right decisions. We’ll wait longer if we must,” the Chilean coach told a news conference ahead of Real’s friendly at home Sunday against Saudi Arabian side AlIttihad. “I wish the squad was tighter by now, but it isn’t a big deal. We train normally and there is a good atmosphere in the team. Every player tries to do his best. Our duty is to do the same job with every footballer we have and we’ll keep on doing so,” he added. Real’s spending spree has left it with an overcrowded dressing room as the club has been less successful at offloading players than it has been at recruiting new ones. Pellegrini repeated Real’s desire to sell its Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has been linked with a move to Stuttgart and more recently
with Tottenham. “I’ve spoken to every player and Huntelaar knows what I want. We have many strikers on the team and they can’t all stay. Everybody knows how good he is. We have an excess of strikers right now and he knows there is no place for him,” he said. Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze is also on the “for sale” list, but the size of his wage packet is proving an obstacle. Marseille were interested in the player but cooled off when confronted with a 4.2 million euro price tag. Pellegrini included Ronaldo and Benzema in his 20-man squad for the match on Sunday against Al-Ittihad. If Ronaldo is sent on the pitch it will be the first time that he plays for Real at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium since his record-setting transfer from Manchester United last month. “We haven’t started to try out a defined starting 11 yet. Ronaldo will sometimes play down the wing and will sometimes be positioned as a striker. He is comfortable anywhere in attack,” said Pellegrini. “These are friendly games in which we aren’t looking for a starting lineup,” he added. Ronaldo made his debut for Real last week as they eked out a 1-0 victory over Shamrock Rovers in Ireland. Benzema scored the winner. The 24-year-old Portuguese winger was taken off at half-time having failed to sparkle against some muscular defending.
The 25-million-pound signing from Arsenal came closest early in the second half at Loftus Versfeld when he pounced on a clearance and rounded a defender only to fire over. Other new strikers Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz were not used by City while ex-Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry was the only player from the big-spending English Premiership outfit to have a first-half shot on target. Chiefs won a lively match through a 42nd-minute goal from defender Jeffrey Ntuka with some City players claiming he controlled the ball with a hand before firing home. City manager Mark Hughes gave starting places to goalkeeper Shay Given and defender-cum-captain Richard Dunne for the first time on the eight-day tour to the 2010 FIFA
World Cup host nation. Republic of Ireland international Given was hardly troubled before Ntuka struck while Dunne was substituted by Pablo Zabaleta after 37 minutes on a chilly, clear winter afternoon in the Highveld city. The first half looked set to end goalless until Chiefs went ahead after Given dived low to his left and pushed away a Nkosinathi Nhleko shot at the expense of a corner. City failed to clear the third corner forced by the South Africans and the ball took a deflection off a head to Ntuka lurking at the far post and he drove the ball into the opposite corner of the net. After forcing their only corner of the half a minute before the break, City substitute Ben Haim headed wide while Togolese Adebayor committed a stoppage-time foul
when he battled for possession in the goalmouth. In the second half it took City just two minutes to force a corner as they sought an equaliser and Adebayor should have done better on 55 minutes than blazing over from an acute angle when a rebound fell into his path. Hughes brought on Brazilian Robinho for Bulgarian Martin Petrov, but Chiefs held their own as they sought to end a Premiership dominance of the trophy after Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur won the last two editions. Reigning African Footballer of the Year Adebayor had a half chance 12 mintues from full-time when he connected with a deep cross, but his timid header was comfortably held by well positioned Itumeleng Khune. The Premiership club lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates in Polokwane and won 1-0 against Chiefs in Durban in earlier matches on their first visit to South Africa in 16 years.
Besiktas hold Lyon to 1-1 draw in Peace Cup Agence France Presse
MADRID - Turkish champions Besiktas held French side Lyon to a 1-1 draw Saturday in the Peace Cup. Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom opened the scoring for Lyon, who started the match as favourites, with a well-struck shot from outside the penalty area. But Brazil’s Marcio Nobre
equalized for the Turkish side with just six minutes remaining with a header. Kallstrom almost scored from a free kick in the 77th minute, but his effort struck the crossbar. Only about 300 people watched the game at Huelva’s Nuevo Colombino stadium despite the discounts of around 50 percent offered on last-minute ticket sales. Twelve teams from around the
globe, including Juventus, Sevilla and Aston Villa, are taking part in the fourth edition of the pre-season tournament which got underway on Friday. There are four groups with three teams in each. The top team in each group goes through to the semi-finals which will be played on July 31. The final takes place two days later in Seville.
Olympic Lyon’s Govou Sidney, top, and Besiktas’ Serdar Ozkan, bottom, vie for the ball during the Peace Cup Andalucia 2009 soccer tournament at the Colombino Stadium in Huelva, Spain, Saturday, July 25, 2009
AP Photo/Angel Fernandez
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Monday, July 27, 2009
Full probe launched into Massa accident
Macau ex-minister chosen to lead gambling hub
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Monday, July 27, 2009 In this photo taken on Saturday, July 25, 2009, a truck hang on the collapsed Chediguan Bridge in Wenchuan county, southwest China’s Sichuan Province. A landslide in China’s southwest killed several people early Saturday and damaged the bridge that is a key link for reconstruction in areas hit by a devastating earthquake last year, a state news agency said.
Sanglah hospital treats 20 Swine Flu sufferers, 31 suspects PAGE 8
Agence France Presse
BUDAPEST - A full investigation into the causes and repercussions of Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s dreadful freak accident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix was launched on Sunday. The investigation will be conducted by the sport’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation, with the Brawn GP team. Massa suffered skull and eye injuries, as well as brain concussion, when he was struck on the head by a spring that broke loose from compatriot Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car. The debris hit Massa’s helmet just above his left eye at around 275 kph. It knocked him unconscious and caused him to crash into a tyre barrier at Turn Four of the Hungaroring circuit. Massa was reported to be stable in hospital here on Sunday morning, his Ferrari team said, and he will have a further scan later in the day. The accident came just six days after Briton Henry Surtees, 18, the son of former world champion John Surtees, was killed after being hit on the head by a wheel from another car that crashed during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch in England. Massa, one of the sport’s most popular drivers, was examined first at the circuit medical centre and then airlifted to the AEK Hospital in Budapest where they carried out surgery and put him into an induced coma. Doctors at the hospital were said to be encouraged by his condition overnight, and reported that he had suffered no further complications.
Barrichello, a fellow-native of Sao Paulo and a close friend of Massa, visited Massa at the hospital on Saturday evening. Massa’s father, mother and pregnant wife were flying to Hungary from Brazil. Barrichello’s car suffered a rear suspension failure in Turn Three. The spring came off the car and bounced on the track until Massa’s Ferrari collected it four seconds later. Massa’s carbon-fibre helmet absorbed most of the energy from the spring and appeared to save his life. The incident brought back memories of the fatal accident that claimed the life of Ayrton Senna during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in 1994 when a piece of debris penetrated his racing helmet. Since then massive safety advances in Formula One have seen helmets improved - the latest generation are said to be twice as strong as their predecessors - and the sides of cockpits raised and strengthened. The drivers now also wear head and neck restraint devices to protect them from high G-forces in major accidents. Ross Brawn, boss of the Brawn team, said he would do all he could to find out exactly what had happened, but warned against knee-jerk reactions. A close friend of both drivers, having been in charge of them previously at Ferrari where Massa succeeded Barrichello as team-mate to German Michael Schumacher, he said a proper study was required.
AP Photo/MTI,Tamas Kovacs
Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa of Scuderia Ferrari is carried out of his car after his accident during the qualifying session at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, July 25, 2009. The Formula One Grand Prix of Hungary will take place on 26 July 2009. “We need to keep a perspective on it - from what’s been seen last weekend and this, we need to have a proper study to see if we need to do anything,” he said. “You can have covers or canopies but you have to be able to get at the driver and extract him (from the car) if there is an accident. And you don’t want anything that collapses down on a driver. “In the history of F1 it is a fairly rare occurrence, but we must take it seriously and see what we can do. We must make sure we don’t do something that makes the situation worse.” McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said the Surtees and Massa crashes should act as a safety wake-up call similar to that which followed Imola in 1994 when Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed. “Inevitably we all become complacent if we’re not confronted with a serious accident,” he said. “Obviously ’94 was a massive wake-up call for all of us in Formula One at the time. “It led to everyone, the FIA, teams, contributing to a lot of big steps forward in safety and I think we have to go again. For everyone involved we’ve got to make sure we do everything we can.”
Directors, actors geek out with fans at Comic-Con PAGE 12
Heavy rains kill 10 people in central China
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BEIJING - Heavy rains in central China have triggered landslides and floods that left 10 people dead and forced more than 110,000 others to flee their homes, a state news broadcaster said Sunday.
‘I dropped Facebook because of too many friends’: Bill Gates
The rains swept across five cities in Hunan province on Friday and Saturday, and in one badly hit area sent waves of mud tumbling onto a road, a river and several homes, China Central Television
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said in its midday bulletin. The broadcaster said 10 people died in Hongjiang, a district in the city of Huaihua. Continued on page 6
Agence France-Presse
NEW DELHI - Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates said he was forced to give up on the social networking phenomenon Facebook after too many people wanted to be his friend. Gates, the billionaire computer geek-turned-philanthropist who was honoured Saturday by India for his charity work, told an audience in New Delhi he had tried out Facebook but ended up with “10,000 people wanting to be my friends”. Gates, who remains Microsoft chairman, said he had trouble figuring out whether he “knew this person, did I not know this person”.
Continued on page 6
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks at a function organized by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in New Delhi, India, Friday, July 24, 2009. AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi