tsunami which was officially put at five metres high but with some reports of
metre high wall of water
on september last year devastating tsunami swept along coasts in the
pacific islands of samoa and tonga killing people and wiping out entire
villages
villages and resorts in samoa american samoa and northern tonga were flattened
by the giant waves generated by the massive earthquake the strongest in
nearly century
japan airlines shares soar on credit lifeline
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares skyrocketed on monday after the government agreed to
expand financial lifeline to the troubled carrier easing fears that it might
file for bankruptcy
jal stock soared yen or percent to by the lunch break as investors
welcomed tokyo decision at the weekend to double state backed loan to asia
largest carrier to billion yen billion dollars
there was talk about the company operating funds drying up unless it secured
bigger credit line by january suppose that worry eased said makoto
sengoku market analyst at tokai tokyo securities
but investors were still wary of the risk of jal filing for bankruptcy
protection
the future outlook is still uncertain sengoku said
jal shares had nosedived wednesday the final trading day of losing
percent to yen after local media reported that bankruptcy was possibility
for the beleaguered airline
cabinet ministers including transport minister seiji maehara and vice prime
minister naoto kan agreed on the increased credit line from the state backed
development bank on sunday the day before the tokyo market resumed trading
jal battered by the global recession and swine flu pandemic is scrambling to
slash costs and is seeking its fourth government bailout since in the face
of mounting losses
local media have reported that the state backed enterprise turnaround initiative
corp etic which is overseeing jal restructuring is considering the
possibility of the carrier filing for protection from creditors
the body is expected to decide on financial package for the carrier in mid
january
jal president haruka nishimatsu said in an interview with the asahi shimbun
daily published on sunday that he was opposed to any bankruptcy filing
legal liquidation gives an image that will affect us and reduce the number of
our clients he said
the airline which lost about billion dollars in the six months to
september has said it plans thousands of job cuts and drastic reduction in
routes as part of its efforts to return to profitability
jal has been offered financial assistance by both american airlines and delta
air lines which are competing to take minority stake in the japanese carrier
eyeing its coveted asian landing slots
the asahi shimbun quoted nishimatsu as saying that he was in favour of the
airline switching to delta global alliance skyteam from the oneworld group of
american airlines
singapore economy shrinks percent in fourth quarter
singapore jan afp
singapore economy shrank percent in the fourth quarter to december from
the previous three months but the slowdown was less than expected for the whole
year the trade ministry said monday
the decline in gross domestic product gdp was attributed to weakness in the
key manufacturing sector which shrank percent on seasonally adjusted
quarter on quarter annualised basis it said
the slide in manufacturing dramatic reverse from the percent growth of
the third quarter was mainly due to fall in output from pharmaceuticals and
transport engineering the ministry said releasing preliminary estimates
singapore banking giant dbs said in research note that the global demand for
pharmaceuticals is dissipating as the effects arising from the flu
outbreak wears off
the trade ministry said that other manufacturing segments such as electronics
chemicals and precision engineering posted positive growth
outside manufacturing the services sector which covers tourism and financial
services was up percent quarter on quarter while construction climbed
percent
compared with the previous year however overall gdp rose percent in the
fourth quarter
the ministry confirmed prime minister lee hsien loong new year eve
announcement that the economy contracted percent in after being
hammered by the global economic crisis but less than originally feared
lee said the economy was expected to grow between and percent this year
dbs said it was unlikely that weakness in the manufacturing sector pillar of
the trade reliant economy would derail the economic rebound
the growth in services has provided an encouraging evidence to support our
prediction that the services sector will pick up the slack from manufacturing to
become the key driver of growth in dbs said
overall the economy remains on track to achieve our growth forecast of for
it added
singapore economy became the first in asia to slip into recession in the third
quarter of after the fall of us investment bank lehman brothers sparked
crisis that led to collapse in global consumption
the government declared the recession over in november but cautioned that the
strength of its recovery would depend on the pace of rebound in singapore
major trading partners such as the united states the european union and japan
with the economy contracting less than feared singapore escaped what could have
been its worst recession since independence in thanks in part to
billion singapore dollar billion us government stimulus package
singapore worst recession on record is the percent contraction in its gdp
following the collapse of the technology bubble in
grenade attack on home of philippine massacre suspect
cotabato philippines jan afp
the home of philippine politician due to go on trial this week over the
massacre of people was attacked with grenade police said on monday
the grenade exploded behind mosque in the compound of andal ampatuan snr in
the southern city of shariff aguak late sunday said provincial police commander
senior superintendent alex lenesis
few minutes later mortar shell exploded near petrol station in the same
city but both blasts were small and no one was hurt said lenesis
the police said the attacks could have been carried out by the moro islamic
liberation front muslim rebel group which is longtime enemy of the ampatuan
clan
we suspect it was the work of milf rebels out to get even with the ampatuans
lenesis said but added that police were not ruling out lawless elements
outside the milf
ampatuan snr is the patriarch of powerful muslim political clan being
investigated for its role in the massacre of people in maguindanao province
on november
the murders allegedly carried out to keep rival from running against one of
his sons in elections this year shocked the world and prompted president gloria
arroyo to declare martial law in the province from december to
several ampatuans including andal ampatuan snr have been arrested in
connection with the massacre amputuan jr is due to go on trial on tuesday
charged with multiple counts of murder
korea seeks turning point in ties with north
seoul jan afp
south korea said on monday it was seeking turning point in relations with
north korea and again urged its communist nuclear armed northern neighbour to
disarm
president lee myung bak remarks followed call by north korea on friday for
an end to hostile relations with south korea key ally the united states and
nuclear free peninsula
this year south korea and north korea should create turning point in their
relations lee said in nationally television new year address suggesting
the establishment of an inter korean dialogue body
inter korean ties have been strained since the conservative leader took office
in and linked the south massive aid and economic cooperation to progress
in the north nuclear disarmament
lee also repeated his call for north korea to return as soon as possible to
the six party nuclear disarmament talks that pyongyang quit nine months ago so
that the two neighbours can improve their relationship
for this there needs to be standing dialogue organisation between the south
and the north lee said without elaborating on the proposed body
wish north korea can sincerely open their heart and walk on the path of
dialogue and cooperation
on new year day north korea in policy setting joint editorial of its state
newspapers called for an end to hostile relations with the us and vowed to work
towards nuclear free peninsula
the fundamental task for ensuring peace and stability on the korean peninsula
and in the rest of asia is to put an end to the hostile relationship between the
dprk north korea and the usa the editorial said
it is the consistent stand of the dprk to establish lasting peace system on
the korean peninsula and make it nuclear free through dialogue and
negotiations
north korea left six party nuclear disarmament talks in april last year in
protest at international censure over its launch of long range rocket in may
it staged its second nuclear test since
us envoy stephen bosworth visited the communist nation last month and reached
common understanding on the need to resume the talks which group the two
koreas japan china russia and the united states however no date has been
fixed
japan airlines shares soar on credit lifeline
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares skyrocketed on monday after the government agreed to
expand financial lifeline to the troubled carrier easing fears that it might
file for bankruptcy
jal stock soared yen or percent to by the lunch break as investors
welcomed tokyo decision at the weekend to double state backed loan to asia
largest carrier to billion yen billion dollars
there was talk about the company operating funds drying up unless it secured
bigger credit line by january suppose that worry eased said makoto
sengoku market analyst at tokai tokyo securities
but investors were still wary of the risk of jal filing for bankruptcy
protection
the future outlook is still uncertain sengoku said
jal shares had nosedived wednesday the final trading day of losing
percent to yen after local media reported that bankruptcy was possibility
for the beleagued airline
cabinet ministers including transport minister seiji maehara and vice prime
minister naoto kan agreed on the increased credit line from the state backed
development bank on sunday the day before the tokyo market resumed trading
jal battered by the global recession and swine flu pandemic is scrambling to
slash costs and is seeking its fourth government bailout since in the face
of mounting losses
local media have reported that the state backed enterprise turnaround initiative
corp etic which is overseeing jal restructuring is considering the
possibility of the carrier filing for protection from creditors
the body is expected to decide on financial package for the carrier in mid
january
jal president haruka nishimatsu said in an interview with the asahi shimbun
newspaper published on sunday that he was opposed to any bankruptcy filing
legal liquidation gives an image that will affect us and reduce the number of
our clients he said
the airline which lost about billion dollars in the six months to
september has said it plans thousands of job cuts and drastic reduction in
routes as part of its efforts to return to profitability
jal has been offered financial assistance by both american airlines and delta
air lines which are competing to take minority stake in the japanese carrier
eyeing its coveted asian landing slots
the asahi shimbun quoted nishimatsu as saying that he was in favour of the
airline switching to delta global alliance skyteam from the oneworld group of
american airlines
korea seeks turning point in ties with north
seoul jan afp
south korea said on monday it was seeking turning point in relations with
north korea and again urged its communist nuclear armed northern neighbour to
disarm
president lee myung bak remarks followed call by north korea on friday for
an end to hostile relations with south korea key ally the united states and
nuclear free peninsula
this year south korea and north korea should create turning point in their
relations lee said in nationally television new year address suggesting
the establishment of an inter korean dialogue body
inter korean ties have been strained since the conservative leader took office
in and linked the south massive aid and economic cooperation to progress
in the north nuclear disarmament
lee also repeated his call for north korea to return as soon as possible to
the six party nuclear disarmament talks that pyongyang quit nine months ago so
that the two neighbours can improve their relationship
passengers face tougher checks on us bound flights
washington jan afp
us officials sunday toughened security measures for all us bound airline
passengers and warned those traveling from or via terror linked nations
will undergo mandatory enhanced screening
the new measures came in the wake of the botched christmas day bombing of
northwest airlines plane heading from amsterdam to detroit which has forced many
airports and airlines to boost already tight security
all passengers flying into the united states from abroad will be subject to
random screening or so called threat based screens the transport security
administration tsa said in statement
but it further mandated that every individual flying into the us from anywhere
in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of
terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced
screening
the tough rules go into effect from midnight sunday gmt monday and follow
the failed plane attack blamed on year old nigerian who had recently
traveled to yemen to train with al qaeda
suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab reportedly boarded the flight at amsterdam
schiphol airport after flying in from lagos nigeria
cuba iran sudan and syria are currently the only four countries designated
state sponsors of terrorism by the state department
but senior administration official told afp the mandatory stringent measures
which would include pat downs and enhanced screening would apply to all
passengers traveling from or via total of countries including afghanistan
libya nigeria pakistan somalia and yemen
he refused to reveal the remaining four nations on the list but the new york
times and washington post quoted government officials naming them as algeria
lebanon saudi arabia and iraq
according to us prosecutors abdulmutallab tried to bring down the northwest
airlines airbus using device containing the explosive petn also known as
pentaerythritol
stitched into his underwear it was not spotted by the traditional metal
detectors it failed to go off properly but sparked an on board fire put out by
passengers
dutch officials have said they now plan to put full body scanners into use
within three weeks and british prime minister gordon brown said sunday british
airports were also going to gradually introduce such equipment
we have recognized that there are new forms of weapon that are being used by
al qaeda so we ve got to respond accordingly brown said
britain has called for top conference on dealing with the terror threat from
yemen to be held in london on january
us president barack obama who vowed to act swiftly to close any security gaps
has accused al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap yemen based cell of
osama bin laden group of targeting the northwest jet
but amid questions over the failures in us security obama top counter
terrorism advisor john brennan said there had been no evidence which would have
unmasked the plot sooner
there was no smoking gun there was no piece of intelligence that said this guy
is terrorist and is going to get on plane none whatsoever brennan told
fox news sunday
it was failure to integrate the bits and pieces of information
the united states and britain meanwhile closed their embassies in the yemeni
capital on sunday as brennan told cnn there were indications al qaeda is
planning to carry out an attack against target inside of sanaa possibly our
embassy
but brennan indicated to fox news sunday the united states was not opening new
front against al qaeda in yemen and has no plans to send troops there
wouldn say we re opening second front this is continuation of an
effort that we had underway as said since the beginning of the
administration said brennan
he also told cnn the united states would continue to repatriate guantanamo
detainees to yemen with about still held at the us military base in cuba
some of these individuals are going to be transferred back to yemen at the
right time and the right pace and in the right way he said
the terror scare has prompted obama to order two reviews of intelligence and
security operations and he will meet with spy chiefs and top officials tuesday
to discuss the findings
meanwhile the family of abdulmutallab who is the son of wealthy banker have
said they will travel from northern nigeria to detroit to attend his arraignment
due on friday
us tightens security for us bound air passengers
washington jan afp
us officials tightened security measures for us bound airline passengers sunday
including mandatory enhanced screening of all travellers from nations some
on terrorism blacklist
ten days after failed al qaeda bid to blow up northwest flight from
amsterdam to detroit us transport officials said the new measures were part of
drive to put in place long term sustainable security measures
all passengers flying into the united states from abroad will be subject to
random screening or so called threat based screens the transport security
administration tsa said in statement
but it further mandated that every individual flying into the us from anywhere
in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of
terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced
screening
the tough rules go into effect from midnight sunday gmt monday and follow
the botched christmas day bombing blamed on year old nigerian who had
recently traveled to yemen to train with al qaeda he boarded the flight at
amsterdam schiphol airport after flying in from lagos nigeria
cuba iran sudan and syria are currently the only four countries deemed by the
state department to be state sponsors of terrorism
but senior administration official told afp the stringent measures would
include all passengers traveling from or via total of countries including
afghanistan libya nigeria pakistan somalia and yemen
he refused to reveal the remaining four nations but the new york times and
washington post quoted government officials identifying them as saudi arabia
algeria lebanon and iraq
all travelers from or via the targeted countries would be subjected to extra
security measures including body pat downs advanced screening and property
inspections
imaging and explosive detection technology might also be used he said
tsa said the new measures were being introduced because effective aviation
security must begin beyond our borders
it added they were developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and
our domestic and international partners
nigerian suspect umar farouk abdulmutallab is due to be arraigned in detroit
on friday following the botched plane bombing in which he was badly burned
he is allegedly to have tried to blow up the airliner as it approached detroit
by setting off explosives stitched into his underwear and which were not
detected by the metal detectors
the failed attack has led to security jitters around the world and on sunday
the united states and britain closed their embassies in the yemeni capital
sanaa
president barack obama top counter terrorism advisor warned al qaeda could be
planning another assault
there are indications that al qaeda is planning to carry out an attack against
target inside of sanaa possibly our embassy john brennan told cnn
obama has directly linked al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap yemen
based cell of osama bin laden group to the failed bombing of the northwest
jet carrying people
he has ordered two reviews into the security lapses which nearly led to another
tragedy in nation still scarred by the al qaeda attacks of september
obama who was due to end his christmas vacation in hawaii later sunday to
return to washington will huddle with his top security advisors on tuesday to
review the findings of the investigations
tokyo stocks rise percent by midday
tokyo jan afp
japanese stocks rose percent in morning trade on monday starting on
an upbeat note as exporters got boost from weaker yen and worries eased over
the financial woes of japan airlines
the tokyo stock exchange benchmark nikkei index climbed points to
by the lunch break
the broader topix index of all first section shares advanced points or
percent to
the mood on the first day of trading this year is good kenji shiomura market
analyst at daiwa securities told dow jones newswires
the nikkei direction this month is likely to be determined by the market
reaction to monthly us jobs data due later this week shiomura said
japan airlines jal shares soared by as much as percent after the government
on sunday agreed to double state funded loan to the cash strapped carrier to
billion yen billion dollars
jal shares had plunged percent on the last trading day of on fears the
company might file for bankruptcy protection
the tokyo stock exchange introduced new faster trading system on monday
stepping up its efforts to stay ahead of rival asian bourses following series
of technical problems in recent years
the tse next generation trading platform called arrowhead can process
orders in seconds much faster than the previous technology and on par
with the dealing systems in new york and london
nba bosh reaches team record in raptors win over spurs
toronto jan afp
chris bosh scored points and became the leading scorer in club history sunday
as he led toronto to nba victory over san antonio
bosh nailed jump shot from the top of the key with remaining in the third
quarter to surpass vince carter franchise record of of points
bosh who now has points was honored with video tribute and standing
ovation at the end of the quarter
bosh also grabbed rebounds while jarrett jack scored points andrea
bargnani had and demar derozan for the raptors who have won six of seven
and ended the spurs winning streak at five games
tony parker scored points and tim duncan had points and rebounds in
rare appearance off the bench
duncan came off the bench for just the second time in his career and the first
time since no reason was given before the game for the decision which
came after duncan scored points in minutes in saturday victory at
washington
toronto took lead into the final period but duncan three point play
with remaining cut the gap to
jack and parker both scored before bosh driving layup made it
with seconds to play and keith bogans three pointer narrowed the gap to
with seconds remaining
bosh marco belinelli and antoine wright made two free throws apiece in the
final seconds to seal the win for toronto who avenged loss to the
spurs on november
manu ginobili scored points for san antonio in that game bas held to just
five points on sunday
new year revellers stranded in snow hit british hotel
london jan afp
some revellers were forced to drink beer and play cards for three days after
they became stranded in british pub cut off by snowstorms on new year eve
the guests had booked in to celebrate the new year at the tan hill inn
england highest pub standing feet metres above sea level in the
northern yorkshire dales
but the heavy relentless snowstorms that have swept through parts of britain
trapped them inside unable to get to their cars and leaving the roads home
impassable
there was lovely community atmosphere despite the fact nobody could get
home said landlord tracy daly
suppose there are worse places to be snowed in than pub
gritter and snowplough finally broke through the seven foot snow drifts that
had sealed off the hotel on sunday ending the revelry dubbed britain
longest running new year eve party by newspapers on monday
daly said she her husband and two staff had kept the guests entertained
and fed and offered rooms for knockdown price of pounds euros
dollars per night
we had the rule that the bar could only open at pm the guests were all very
well behaved though she said
the landlady added the guests were lovely we were pretty under staffed and
they kept giving us breaks so we didn get too tired
nathan martin one of group from leeds university cross country club stuck
in the pub described the experience in the guardian newspaper as the ultimate
lock in
hong kong shares open percent higher
hong kong jan afp
hong kong shares opened up percent on monday with the benchmark hang seng
index rising points in early trading to stand at
new york area terminal on lockdown amid security scare
new york jan afp
terminal at major airport serving new york was locked down late sunday when
member of the public triggered security scare officials told afp
the alert happened at terminal at new jersey newark international when man
apparently passed into the so called sterile area without being screened
transportation security administration tsa spokeswoman sari koshetz said
man was observed entering the sterile area of the airport from the exit lane
and we immediately froze operations she told afp
the alert came on the same day that tsa toughened security measures for all
passengers on us bound flights following the christmas day failed attack on
northwest airlines plane flying into detroit
working with law enforcement agents newark officials pulled out the security
tapes to see if they could identify the man who triggered the scare around
pm gmt it was not clear almost four hours later whether he had been
tracked down or not koshetz said
but all passengers waiting to board flights at the terminal mainly served by
continental airlines were being re screened as officials reviewed the security
tapes
to be cautious we wanted to make sure that everybody who gets on plane
tonight has been screened koshetz added
under the new tsa rules all passengers arriving from abroad on us bound flights
could face random screening while travelers from terror linked countries
will also have to undergo mandatory enhanced screening
the scare at newark one of three international air hubs in new york was adding
to flight delays already caused by high winds and freezing temperatures but the
airport other terminals were not affected
newark press office did not immediately reply to request for information
from afp
hong kong gold opens lower
hong kong jan afp
hong kong gold opened lower monday on the first day of new year trading at
us dollars an ounce compared to thursday close of
dollars
tokyo bourse launches new trading system
tokyo jan afp
the tokyo stock exchange plagued by series of technical problems introduced
new faster trading system on monday stepping up its efforts to stay ahead of
rival asian bourses
the tse next generation trading platform called arrowhead can process
orders in seconds much faster than the previous technology and on par
with the dealing systems in new york and london
its launch on the first day of trade in follows series of software
glitches in recent years that have hindered the exchange efforts to maintain
its status as asia top bourse
in the tokyo bourse was forced to suspend trading in all shares for the
first time ever because of software problem tarnishing its reputation in the
face of growing competition from the hong kong and shanghai exchanges
since then the tokyo exchange has been devoting resources to improving its
technology
the tse new system competes with any other bourse in the world tse
president atsushi saito said ahead of the market opening
we will do the best to keep our position as one of the world financial
centres he said
the tokyo exchange struggling to stem an exodus of foreign companies has
signed strategic alliances with the new york and london exchanges as it hopes to
overcome global competition
the technical problems together with financial difficulties have forced the
tse to delay its own initial public offering
the tse which had been aiming to list its own shares in is now hoping for
flotation some time after april
japanese stocks started on an upbeat note rising sharply on optimism about
the economic outlook as well as news that the government has expanded credit
line to troubled japan airlines
the benchmark nikkei index had brisk start to the first day of trading
this year rising points or percent to by mid morning
heavy snow grounds planes in korea
seoul jan afp
heavy snow grounded dozens of planes at major airports in south korea on monday
and caused havoc in the centre of the country including the capital seoul
officials said
the weather office said it issued heavy snow alert for seoul and surrounding
areas where just over centimetres almost seven inches of snow fell in just
four hours
gimpo airport in seoul hub for south korea domestic flights was forced to
cancel total of outgoing and inbound flights because of the snowfall
airport officials said
incheon airport the main international airport west of seoul also reported
four cancellations and delayed flights they said
the snow also disrupted traffic on the streets of seoul and other cities and
roads and highways elsewhere in the country
some ministers were late for cabinet meeting which was forced to begin later
