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International & Continuation
Monday, September 20, 2010
SAfrica Typhoon injures 45 in minibus Japan extends China taxi kills 22 ship captain detention Taiwan, heads to China crash Malawians
TAIPEI: A typhoon injured 45 people, canceled flights and cut power to tens of thousands in Taiwan on Sunday, keeping officials on high alert to stop any repeat of a deadly storm last year that damaged the president's reputation. Typhoon Fanapi, Taiwan's most severe storm so far in 2010, brought 162 kph (101 mph) maximum wind gusts that caused injuries by toppling scooters, breaking glass and blowing down signs, the National Fire Agency disaster response center said. Gusts and sustained winds of up to 126 kph grounded 120 domestic and 36 international flights. They also kept Taiwan's main port of Kaohsiung closed into the evening, though the No.2 port in Keelung had reopened in the afternoon. More than 63,000 house-
holds lost power on Sunday, the disaster center said. But Taiwan's top high-tech firms, a backbone of the economy, reported no major impact from the storm. Government officials are on extra-high alert after Taiwan's worst typhoon in five decades triggered mudslides that killed about 700 people in August 2009. That prompted a cabinet reshuffle amid citizen accusations that Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou had reacted too slowly. Sunday's storm began to abate in the late afternoon, losing strength as it tracked toward southeast China, including Hong Kong, according to forecasting website Tropical Storm Risk (http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com). Taiwan officials were still
watching parts of the island for heavy rainfall that could set off mudslides or sever roads. "The typhoon is getting gradually weaker, but heavy rain from its outer layers could still affect Taiwan's southern regions, and that's something we need to pay attention to," a disaster center media liaison official said. Fanapi, initially a category 3 typhoon on a 1-5 scale, was expected to reach China's Guangdong province as a category 1 or a tropical storm, which is one level below the weakest typhoon. Typhoons regularly hit China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan in the second half of the year, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean or South China Sea before weakening over land.-Reuters
JOHANNESBURG: A crowded minibus taxi collided headon with a truck early on Saturday in South Africa, killing 22 Malawians who were travelling back to their home country, the South African Press Association said. Among the dead were the minibus the driver and three children, SAPA said on Sunday, citing local police in Cape Town. Three adults and three children survived and were in serious condition at a hospital, SAPA said. The truck driver was also seriously injured. Millions of mostly black South African use minibus taxis, which are often dangerously overcrowded, to travel between townships and cities. Many of the vehicles are barely roadworthy and fatal accidents are common.-Reuters
Pope recalls Nazi terror in WW2 BIRMINGHAM: Pope Benedict told a Mass in England on Sunday the world felt "shame and horror" at suffering inflicted by his German homeland in World War Two and recalled a key air battle that saved Britain from invasion. At the same mass in a park in the British midlands where the pope spoke of the war, he beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman, one of the most prominent English converts from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. But in his sermon, on the last day of a four-day visit, before a crowd of more than 50,000 people attending the open-air mass under an intermittent drizzle, he spoke first of the war. On Sunday Britain com-
memorated the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the summer and autumn air conflict which prevented Hitler's planned invasion of Britain. "For me as one who lived and suffered through the dark days of the Nazi regime in Germany, it is deeply moving to be here with you on this occasion, and to recall how many of your fellow citizens sacrificed their lives, courageously resisting the forces of that evil ideology," he said. "Seventy years later, we recall with shame and horror the dreadful toll of death and destruction that war brings in its wake, and we renew our resolve to work for peace and reconciliation wherever the threat of conflict looms," he said.
During the early 1940s, the former Joseph Ratzinger was briefly a member of the Hitler Youth when membership was compulsory. During the war, he was assigned to an anti-aircraft battery in Bavaria and then sent to Austria. After returning to Bavaria, he deserted. At the end of World War Two, he was a US prisoner of war. The pope has said that as devout Catholics, his parents rejected Nazi ideology. Sunday was the occasion for the religious centrepiece of the trip -- putting Newman, who is venerated in both the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, one step closer to sainthood. Newman, who lived from 1801 to 1890 and became a Catholic in 1845, was a central figure in the Oxford Movement, which tried to
move the Church of England closer to Rome. In his homily, the pope praised Newman, a towering theologian and prolific writer whose work was very influential in 20th century Church history, for defending "the vital place of revealed religion in civil society." One of aims of the trip, only the second by a pope to Britain, was to remind one of Europe's most secular countries to beware what he has called "aggressive secularism" and "extreme atheism" that tries to shut God and religion out of public life. During the trip he made one of his strongest apologies to victims of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests and met five adults who were molested as children.-Reuters
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the worst performers this year so it's normal to see them attracting more liquidity now," Shurrab said. Dubai outperformed Abu Dhabi ADI on Sunday. Abu Dhabi advanced 1 per cent to 2,632 points. "Since the crash in June 2008, Dubai was the worst performer in the whole region, lagging the other markets," Shurrab said. In the coming weeks, investors will hope to at least consolidate the current levels, although Shurrab warns too much retail activity could trigger some pressure on the market's performance. Kuwait's Burgan Bank eased from Thursday's 20 month high after the lender appointed a new chief executive, mirroring declines in other local banks as investors booked profits. Burgan Bank fell 3 per cent. The lender, the commercial banking arm of Kuwait Projects Co (KIPCO), has appointed Eduardo Eguren as its chief executive officer. KIPCO slid 2.2 per cent. Gulf Bank dropped 2.9 per cent, Al Ahli Bank lost 3.5 per cent and Kuwait Finance House dipped 1.7 per cent. The banking index fell 1.5 per cent, easing from Thursday's 21-month peak. Banks had surged ahead of a $104 billion government development plan that is expected to be part funded through state-backed bank loans. The main index KWSE fell 0.7 per cent to 6,792 points, its first decline in nine sessions. Oman's benchmark MSI advanced 0.5 per cent to 6,392 points. -Reuters
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as compared to a turnover of around 142 million shares a week earlier. Average daily turnover stood at 89.3 million shares indicating an increase by 35.4 million shares from an average volume of 53.9 million shares during the previous week. Out of total 395 active issues, 245 advanced and 133 declined while 17 issues remained unchanged.
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Scores of people at occupied Srinagar's main hospital pleaded with security forces to be allowed to go to their homes to bring medicines and water for the patients but their pleas were ignored. Locals living near the hospitals have been distributing free food among the attendants, while patients continue to get food from the hospital. But there are no life-saving medicines and drinking water. -Agencies
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rather than leading the fight. US troops still get involved in combat, despite the change in their primary focus. Insurgents are also trying to exploit political tension six months after a March 7 election that produced no outright winner and which has yet to yield a new government. Shi'ite-led, Sunni-backed and Kurdish factions appear to have made little progress in negotiations to form a coalition government. An official in the National Security Ministry said one of its offices was hit in the blast at Aden square in northwest Baghdad on Sunday. "It was a car bomb targeting our building. This explosion damaged the building and we lost one of our staff," the official said, asking not to be identified. The building used by the ministry was destroyed, a Reuters photographer said at the scene. At least four nearby houses were severely damaged and ambulance drivers said there was at least one body in the rubble. The second car bomb in the western district of Mansour was outside an Asiacell office and across the street from the popular Zarzour kebab restaurant, officials said. The blast demolished around 37 vehicles, an official at the Baghdad security command said.-Reuters
panic. An incident like this is something worrying but nothing to panic about," said Shiela Dikshit, Delhi chief minister. India remains jittery about a perceived threat of Islamist attacks Continued from page 1 No #7 from Pakistani territory. It accuses its neighbour of failing to act been sought in humanitarian appeals this year, which the UN against militant groups. -Reuters said was the most since they started in 1991. The UN launched an appeal for 460 million dollars for Pakistan Continued from page 1 No #4 villages. Earlier, on Saturday political administration assisted by on August 11 and this is now 80 per cent funded, officials said. members of local tribal jirga held a ceasefire after mediation The new appeal includes this sum. The floods have affected more than 10 per cent of Pakistan's between the two groups.-Agencies population spread over an area bigger than 160,000 square kiloContinued from page 1 No #5 meters (62,000 square miles). Some 1.9 million homes have been last week in clashes with Indian security forces in three differ- damaged or destroyed. -Agencies ent districts of IoK, a police spokesman said. Continued from page 1 No #8 Government forces have been battling months of demonstratroops were detained by Iranian guards in a southeastern tions in the mainly Muslim region that were ignited by the province of the country ... Two Iranians accompanying the troops police killing of a 17-year-old student on June 11. were also arrested,� Fars had said. A total of 105 protesters and bystanders - including children No other news agency reported the incident, which Fars said have been martyred, mostly by security forces firing on demon- occurred in Sistan-Baluchestan, an impoverished province that strators after being pelted with stones. One policeman has also borders Pakistan and Afghanistan. - Agencies died. Continued from page 1 No #9 On Saturday, police and paramilitary forces fired on fresh Qamar said. anti-India demonstrations in IoK, killing 3 protesters and injur"The Finance Ministry will give State Oil about 20 billion ing over a dozen. rupees next week to save it from default," he said. "I have told the 15 police and paramilitary forces were also injured during finance ministry the crisis is worsening and these patchwork soluday-long clashes in IoK. tions won't help." -Agencies Authorities briefly relaxed the strict curfew on Saturday in Continued from page 1 No #10 most parts of IoK to allow locals to stock up on food and medand Balochistan and issued directives to restore the supply of icine. Clashes erupted between Indian police and protesters at three the commodity to all the filling stations forthwith. Hundreds of petrol pumps are shut in Punjab and Balochistan places, police said, but no casualties were reported. On Sunday, police sealed neighbourhoods with barbed wires due to acute shortage of petrol, posing huge problems for the citizens. The petrol shortage continued for several days now, has and asked residents to stay indoors. badly impacted the lives of the citizens. "Anyone violating the curfew will be dealt with sternly," PM ordered Federal Petroleum Minister Naveed Qamar to take roared announcements made by loud-speaker fitted police vehiimmediate steps to address the situation and restore the fuel supcles in occupied Srinagar. ply. -Agencies
TOKYO: A Japanese court on Sunday extended the detention of a Chinese captain of a fishing boat that collided with two Japanese coastguard ships near disputed isles, prompting Beijing to warn of "strong countermeasures." The spat has flared since Japan arrested the captain, accusing him of deliberately striking a patrol ship and obstructing public officers near islets in the East China Sea claimed by both sides. "China demands that Japan immediately release the captain without any preconditions," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn) after Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that the detention period had been extended until September 29. The Japanese court could not be reached for comment. "If Japan insists on making one mistake after another, the Chinese side will take strong countermeasures, and all the consequences should be born by the Japanese side," Ma added. Sino-Japanese ties have long been plagued by feuds over wartime history and
rivalry over territory, resources and military intentions, although they have improved since a chill in 2001-2006, as deep economic ties raise the risk from rows. The Chinese captain, Zhan Qixiong, has remained in custody after a Japanese court approved for the first time on September 10 an extension of his detention. Prosecutors can hold him for up to a total of 20 days while deciding whether to take legal action. The latest feud over the uninhabited isles -- called the Diaoyu islands in China and the Senkaku islands in Japan - has stirred mutual distrust over sovereignty and control of potentially valuable oil and gas reserves. GAS FIELD ROW China has repeatedly demanded Japan free the captain and has shown its anger by cancelling planned talks with Japan over natural gas reserves. On Saturday, about a hundred Chinese protesters in several Chinese cities demanded Japan free the boat captain. Police presence was still heavy at the Japanese embassy in Beijing on Sunday but there were no signs of protests. The Nikkei business daily
reported earlier on Sunday that Japan may start drilling near a gas field in disputed waters of the East China Sea if China does the same. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his foreign minister said Tokyo will take "countervailing steps" if China starts drilling at the Chunxiao gas field to which Beijing recently sent equipment, Nikkei said, adding that Tokyo had looked into possibly taking the case to the international maritime court. The two countries are at odds over China's exploration for natural gas in the East China Sea, while Beijing is also involved in territorial feuds with Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea over an area rich in energy and key to shipping. The Sino-Japanese row centres on where the boundary between the two sides' exclusive maritime economic zones falls. In 2008, the two countries agreed in principle to solve the feud by jointly developing gas fields. Estimated net known reserves in the disputed fields are a modest 92 million barrels of oil equivalent, but both sides have pursued the issue because there may be larger hidden reserves.-Reuters
Still dangerous Hurricane Igor closes in on Bermuda HAMILTON: Bermuda hunkered down on Sunday for a direct hit from Hurricane Igor, which the Atlantic island chain's premier called "one of the worst hurricanes to ever threaten our shores." The hurricane was downgraded to a still dangerous Category 1 storm early on Sunday, with sustained winds of 85 mph, down from as high as 100 mph on Saturday. Hurricane-force winds extended out about 90 miles, the US National Hurricane Center said, generating large swells as far away as the US East Coast. Squalls were spreading across Bermuda as the center of the storm moved to within 235 miles of the British overseas territory. It was moving northwest at 12 mph toward what local forecasters called a "direct hit" on the wealthy hub for the global insurance industry. "It's a ghost town out there," said Tipper Raven from London on a two-week vacation in Bermuda, referring to the shuttered shops in Hamilton, the capital. The Hurricane Center said Igor's center would pass over or near the island late on Sunday night. Conditions would deteriorate on Sunday morning, with hurricane conditions expected as early as Sunday afternoon. Igor was "expected to
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remain a dangerous hurricane" as it approached Bermuda, the Miami-based Hurricane Center said in its 5 a.m. (0900 GMT) advisory. It predicted total rainfall of 6 to 9 inches over Bermuda and said the storm's surge could produce significant coastal flooding and large, destructive waves, particularly along the southern coast. "Our country and our people have throughout our history rarely faced the full fury of a storm of this magnitude," Bermuda Premier Ewart Brown told a news conference. Most shops and restaurants in the capital were boarded up and many residents were buying up supplies such as fuel, batteries, food and candles. "The shutters are up, I've put tape across the windows and I've got a lot of buckets ready," said Eddie DeSilva, a 64-year-old cleaner. Bermuda's buildings are some of the most weatherproof in the world, weather forecasters and analysts say, which could help mitigate any storm damage. The Bermuda government has warned residents to prepare for an impact similar to that of Hurricane Fabian in 2003, which killed four people and caused millions of dollars of damage. Authorities closed the island's international airport
and were monitoring winds to determine whether to a close off a causeway linking the airport to the rest of Bermuda. Joe Bastardi, a hurricane expert with the private US forecaster AccuWeather, said Bermuda should be prepared for a "several-day siege of damaging winds and waves." East of Igor, Tropical Storm Julia posed no threat to land and its 50 mph winds were seen weakening over the next two days. In Mexico, the remnants of Hurricane Karl, now a tropical depression, dissipated over the mountains of south central Mexico. Emergency workers reported at least eight people had been killed by the storm in three states. The port city of Veracruz was cut off by flooding from the rest of hard-hit coastal Veracruz state. Damage to the city was minimal but large sections remained without power. Nearby villages in lowlying areas remained flooded, with hundreds of people evacuated to government shelters. Karl appeared to have spared Mexican oil operations from major damage after sweeping through the Bay of Campeche, where Mexico produces more than two-thirds of its 2.55 million barrels per day of crude output.-Reuters
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take stock of the mechanism for allowing the private sector to import sugar, and will submit its report for approval to the ministerial committee. On the flip side, Chairman Pakistan Sugar Mills Association Iskandar Khan said that government could save about $100 million by importing refined sugar instead of raw one. He said that as there is zero-per cent duty on refined sugar while there is 25 per cent import duty on raw sugar, added that such conditions would help drain precious foreign exchange away from the country.
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4000 tons per day is being produced by the local refineries hence there will be no shortage of petrol. -Agencies
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million and sold $11.8 million, resulting in net buying of $5.1 million during the week. Furthermore, mutual funds remained on the buying side with shares worth $1.73 million. On the other hand, biggest weekly net selling were witnessed from banks, individual investors which sold $25.51 million of shares in the local bourse against the buying of $16.66 million, thus turning the net selling worth of $8.84 million. Moreover, NBFC also net ejected $0.24 million.