interest rates singapore was down percent in the afternoon
wall street earlier provided weak lead where the dow jones index dropped
percent
traders mulled monday disappointing profit forecast from aluminium giant
alcoa the first of the blue chip us companies to release financial results
possible new us government fee or tax on financial institutions to help recoup
taxpayer bailout funds also weighed on banks
the dollar was mixed in asian trade as china policy moves sparked demand for
the safe haven greenback dealers said
the us unit gained to yen in tokyo afternoon trade from in new york
late tuesday the euro climbed to dollars from dollars and to
yen from
in singapore crude continued to fall from month highs posted earlier this
week on prospects of softening fuel demand in the united states the world
biggest oil consumer
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
fell cents to dollars
brent north sea crude for february delivery was down cents to dollars
hong kong gold ended lower at us dollars an ounce down from
tuesday close of dollars
in other markets
taipei closed down points or percent at on concerns
china may take further steps to prevent overheating dealers said
it may take the market day or two to digest the selling pressure said mars
hsu of grand cathay securities
manila closed percent or points down with the composite index
ending at
top traded philippine long distance telephone shed percent to pesos
wellington nzx index fell percent or points to
chinese peacekeepers missing in haiti quake state media
beijing jan afp
eight chinese peacekeepers were buried in rubble and others were missing
after massive earthquake in haiti china state run media reported wednesday
the report followed the strongest earthquake in more than century in the
impoverished caribbean nation on tuesday which toppled buildings including the
headquarters of the un mission
urgent chinese peacekeepers missing in haiti quake state media
beijing jan afp
eight chinese peacekeepers were buried in rubble and others were missing
after massive earthquake in haiti china state run media reported wednesday
alert
chinese peacekeepers missing in haiti quake state media
jal shares dive percent on bankruptcy fears
tokyo jan afp
japan airlines shares dived percent wednesday to just eight us cents as
investors rushed for the exit ahead of an expected bankruptcy filing by the
once mighty carrier crippled by huge debts
jal asia biggest airline is believed to be on the verge of seeking court
protection from creditors and delisting its shares from the tokyo stock exchange
to make it easier to restructure its debt and slash costs
the airline market value now stands at just million dollars having
plummeted by about billion dollars in just two days
while the government has pledged to do its utmost to ensure the airline keeps
flying during restructuring equity investors are expected to lose most or all
of their money if the company files for bankruptcy
jal share price dived by the daily limit of yen for second straight day
falling percent to hit record low of seven yen eight us cents after
percent drop on tuesday
the selling is unstoppable said hideaki higashi market strategist at smbc
friend securities
the market is driving the company to go under he said adding that the share
price could fall to just one yen
in fresh blow to jal the ratings agency moody downgraded the airline
long term debt rating to ca from caa
the lower rating which puts jal deeper into junk bond status means the airline
is seen as highly vulnerable to default
if the company files legal proceedings it will show greater likelihood of
defaulting on its bonds in addition to securing debt forgiveness from its
relational banks the agency warned in statement
jal stock has plunged percent over the past three months its highest share
price since it began merging operations with small domestic carrier japan air
systems was yen seen in
the government has pledged to avoid total collapse of the former state owned
carrier but has signalled likely bankruptcy proceedings which could aid jal
recovery efforts while leaving investors out of pocket
jal is hobbled by heavy costs stretching back to its days as flag carrier as
well as route network that includes flights to small domestic airports that
are often unprofitable to service
us carriers american airlines and delta air lines are in bidding war for
slice of the airline the largest in asia
american airlines its oneworld alliance partners and private equity company tpg
on tuesday lifted their proposed investment in jal to billion dollars from
previous offer of billion dollars
delta has offered jal one billion dollar financial package including
million dollar equity injection as the two airlines seek to increase their
share of the lucrative asian market
the japanese carrier is understood to favour tie up with delta because it has
stronger trans pacific flight network than american airlines
jal which lost about billion dollars in the six months to september is
seeking public aid in the face of mounting debts
according to japanese media jal is set to receive an injection of government
funds worth several hundred billion yen several billion dollars under
restructuring package that would see it file for bankruptcy
at the same time jal creditor banks are expected to be asked to forgive loans
worth several hundred billion yen
the airline is reportedly set to slash more than jobs and sell non core
assets such as hotels to stem massive losses
the government is said to be considering tapping kazuo inamori the year old
honorary chairman of electronics maker kyocera corp to become chief executive
of jal during the restructuring process
inamori told reporters wednesday he would consider positively any offer to
take the helm of the carrier
indian army vacates kashmir hospitals schools minister
srinagar india jan afp
the army has vacated all hospital school and college buildings in indian
kashmir in further bid to lower its profile in the volatile region defence
minister antony said wednesday
he also revealed that india home ministry had ordered federal police to take
over security of key road connecting the kashmiri summer capital srinagar with
the rest of india from the military
the kilometre mile highway main conduit for military convoys
winds through the himalayan foothills and is prone to militant attacks
this has been done to reduce the visibility of the army without in anyway
diluting out counter militant grid said antony who was on visit to review
the security situation in the region
year insurgency against indian rule in the region has claimed more than
lives
the army had commandeered number of hospital and school buildings in kashmir
after it assumed counter insurgency duties in year after the insurgency
began
india has recently pulled troops out of kashmir following fall in
militant attacks in the muslim majority region bordering pakistan where the
strong military presence has alienated many moderate residents
the process of winning hearts and minds of people is never an easy one antony
said
americans split on obama first year poll
washington jan afp
new sheaf of opinion polls shows americans sharply divided on president barack
obama first year in office as his ratings on key issues like health care and
the economy hit new lows
polling also suggests independent voters are turning away from obama as he nears
the anniversary of his january inauguration though in sign of hope for
his administration he remains more popular than his policies
in new quinnipiac university poll released wednesday us voters were split
on whether obama first year was success or failure
when voters were asked in cnn opinion research survey published tuesday to
rate obama performance during crisis marred first year in the oval office
percent judged it failure and percent saw success
obama first year after he accepted challenging legacy from ex president
george bush has seen him battle the worst economic crisis in years
juggle two wars and contend with botched al qaeda terror attack on us
airliner on christmas day
cbs news poll showed obama job approval rating at percent marking the
first time he had polled below percent in the survey
the cnn poll meanwhile showed obama approval rating at percent but that
was down three points in month
quinnipiac had obama job approval disapproval split at percent for the
first time
president obama report card from the american people on his first year in
office is mixed one said peter brown assistant director of the quinnipiac
university polling institute
he gets better grades on his personal qualities than his policies
in the quinnipiac poll there was narrow margin among respondents
percent on whether the united states would have been better off had obama
republican opponent john mccain won last year election
the percent job approval barrier is traditionally seen as crucial one for
presidents affecting their political standing and ability to attract support
for their policies in congress
those results suggested that one of obama prime goals bridging political
divides in the united states had failed during his first year in office
though the president democrats accuse opposition republicans of serial
obstruction
after bitter year long debate obama and democrats in congress are moving
closer to passing sweeping health care reform bill but the polls show their
efforts have extracted painful political price
just percent of americans approve of obama handling of health care down
from percent in december and percent in october cbs said
in the cnn survey percent of those polled backed obama handling of health
care and percent disapproved in october percent approved and as far back
as last march percent of those polled endorsed his approach
new gallup poll however found that support among americans for health care
legislation had risen slightly since november
forty nine percent of americans now want their member of congress to vote for
such legislation compared to percent who want no vote the poll found
obama also faces challenging ground on the economy
forty four percent of those asked by cnn approved of obama stewardship of the
economy with unemployment at percent and credit squeeze still tight
new low for that survey
cbs news found percent backed obama economic management another new low
quinnipiac found only percent backed his handling of the economy percent
approved of his efforts to create jobs and percent approved of obama
handling of health care
but the surveys found better news for obama on national security despite
withering republican attacks on his record following an al qaeda attempt to
bring down us bound jet carrying people on december
according to cnn percent backed obama handling of terrorism cbs news put
that figure at percent and found that percent approved of the way obama
had managed the christmas attack compared to percent who disapproved
the keys to possible obama recovery after the likely passage of health care
reform and if the economy recovers were also evident in the polls
some percent of those asked by cnn said obama had the personality and
leadership qualities required of president
but the white house will be concerned by the cbs finding that obama standing
among independent voters whom he attracted in his election triumph has
fallen to percent decline of points in the last few months alone
philippine transsexuals arrested in japan for fake marriages
tokyo jan afp
police near tokyo said wednesday they had arrested three japanese men and their
transsexual wives from the philippines for faking their marriage
registrations
the philippine nationals used the identification papers of women in their home
country to pretend they were born as females so they could marry their japanese
partners police said
one couple year old japanese firefighter and his year old transsexual
partner allegedly submitted marriage document to the ota city government
north of tokyo in using the real name of philippine woman
the marriage allowed the transsexual person from the philippines to obtain
visa and an alien registration photo id card under the filipina name
another couple year old japanese man and year old transsexual were
arrested in similar case said spokesman at saitama prefectural police north
of tokyo
the two couples have been indicted for faking documents but their trials have
not yet started the police official said
the couples met at transsexual bars and had been living together until they were
arrested last month he said
the transsexuals wanted to live without difficulties while working in japan
the police official said
third couple were arrested last year and convicted of faking the documents
receiving suspended prison terms
yemeni forces kill al qaeda kingpin governor
sanaa jan afp
yemeni security forces have killed an al qaeda kingpin in shabwa province in
intensive operations against the group believed behind the botched bombing of
us airliner an official said on wednesday
abdullah mehdar was killed last night by security forces which had besieged the
house he hid in provincial governor ali hassan al ahmadi told reporters
mehdar was the leader of an al qaeda cell in al houta region in the province of
shabwa kilometres miles east of sanaa
security forces were hunting for the remaining members of the cell ahmadi said
the al qaeda branch in yemen claimed responsibility for the failed christmas day
attack on us airliner with the united states accusing the group of training
the alleged perpetrator umar farouk abdulmutallab
ahmadi had told afp tuesday that security forces arrested four al qaeda
suspects two of them wounded in firefight
tribal source said that suspects in the same area managed to escape
police raid and fled to neighbouring mountain
the yemeni government had sent military reinforcements over the past few weeks
to some eastern provinces as it intensified its fight against al qaeda
militants
separately two policemen were killed and four wounded in an ambush by unknown
gunmen in the area of al nuqbah in shabwa ahmadi said
the governor had on sunday announced that dozens of al qaeda fighters including
saudis and egyptians who have fled afghanistan are hiding in shabwa
among them he added are the leader of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap
nasser al wahishi his number two saeed ali al shehri saudi and radical us
yemeni cleric anwar al awlaqi
yemen foreign minister abu bakr al kurbi renewed on tuesday an offer to talk to
the al qaeda loyalists provided they lay down their arms but he warned that the
government would hunt them down if they spurn the offer
yemen insists it can win the war against the militants without us military
intervention but analysts fear it cannot tackle the jihadists on its own
yemen is under pressure to rein in the extremists with the united states and
britain announcing plans to fund the country counter terrorism unit
but us president barack obama has said he has no intention of sending american
troops to yemen or neighbouring somalia
radical yemeni cleric abdulmajeed al zendani branded by the united states as
global terrorist warned on monday that any us military intervention in yemen
to fight al qaeda would be considered an occupation
yemen insists it is winning the war against the jihadists pointing to two
separate air raids in december that killed more than suspected al qaeda
militants
week ago officials announced the capture of key al qaeda leader mohammed al
hanq and two other militants believed behind threats against western interests
in sanaa that caused embassies to close for several days
saudi analyst anwar eshki said al qaeda militants have been fleeing to yemen
after coming under tremendous pressure in afghanistan and pakistan and because
of crackdown in neighbouring saudi arabia
the network is trying to establish itself in yemen eshki head of the jeddah
based middle east strategic studies centre told afp
with china in mind clinton launches fourth asia tour
honolulu hawaii jan afp
us secretary of state hillary clinton was due thursday in papua new guinea as
washington broadens ties with asia in bid to play stabilizing role as the
power of china and india grows
clinton will leave hawaii wednesday and cross the international dateline for
talks with officials in png on how to manage the expected windfall from oil and
gas promote economic development and fight climate change aides said
with her brief stop in port moresby clinton begins her fourth tour of asia
since she became secretary of state months ago what the state department
says is an unprecedented number of visits to the region by chief us diplomat
clinton said the administration of us president barack obama who calls
himself the first pacific us president as he was born and grew up in hawaii
plans to engage broadly and deeply with the region
in speech tuesday at the east west center in honolulu clinton said the obama
administration would work more closely with asian countries and regional
organizations than in the past
half of diplomacy is showing up she said in dig at the previous
administration of president george bush which skipped high level meetings of
the association of southeast asian nations asean
want to underscore we are back to stay she said
she said president barack obama visit to japan singapore china and south
korea in november last year also reinforced the point of the united states re
engaging in asia
this followed her own moves to deepen ties with asean and other regional
organizations
all of that was strong signal and there was sigh of relief said clinton
everybody is aware that china is rising power of the st century she said
but people want to see that the united states is fully engaged in asia so that
as china rises there is presence of the united states as force for peace
and stability as guarantor of security clinton said
for her first overseas trip as chief diplomat clinton visited japan indonesia
south korea and china last february she traveled to india and thailand in july
then singapore and the philippines in november
during her talks tuesday with japan foreign minister katsuya okada clinton
stressed the centrality of the us japanese alliance that has underpinned
security in asia for years
she said it was more important than even dispute over the relocation of us
air base on the japanese island of okinawa
senior state department official said in the most of the asian
organizatons were trans pacific but that there are new forums that are
essentially pan asian such as the east asia summit and asean plus three
the east asia bloc is made up of japan china south korea the members of
the association of southeast asian nations asean india australia and new
zealand
obama and clinton have indicated they want to rejoin the conversation at some
of these venues the official told reporters on the condition he not be named
asian allies want deeper american engagement in asia at time of enormous
tumult and change rising china uncertainty about economic performance
the arrival of india as key player he said
for all of those reasons asian friends are comforted by stronger american
engagement he said
during her visit to papua new guinea the first by chief us diplomat since
madeleine albright visited in clinton will have talks with prime minister
michael somare and foreign minister sam abal
there will be an event in which mangroves are planted to signal ways to cope
with climate change problem for low lying islands across the pacific
clinton will also highlight efforts to give women larger public role in the
impoverished country echoing theme that improving the lot of women is key
to economic development
later the same day clinton will travel to auckland new zealand for talks on
climate change international security and economic issues
she travels january to melbourne and canberra australia
in canberra clinton and us defense secretary robert gates will hold the th
australia united states ministerial consultations with their counterparts
foreign minister stephen smith and defense minister john faulkner
she returns to washington on january
togo attack wins notoriety for angola forgotten conflict
johannesburg jan afp
cabinda once forgotten separatists won new notoriety with their deadly attack
on togo football team embarrassing angola government which has long tried
to quell the movement analysts said
the gun attack killed two members of togo squad and left third in intensive
care just as the world attention was turning to the country hosting of
africa top football tournament
the africa cup of nations was always going to be bigger than just the soccer
it very intimately linked to national pride this was angola coming out
party after decades of civil war said nomfundo ngwenya of the south african
institute of international affairs
the kind of attack they suffered in cabinda is egg on their face it
humiliating she said
in country where media is tightly controlled the separatists struck just as
angola was allowing in scores of foreign press to cover the tournament
the attack obtained what they wanted which was to draw international attention
to their forgotten conflict in angola said alex vines from the british think
tank chatham house
the front for the liberation of the enclave of cabinda flec has claimed the
region independence since colonial power portugal withdrew in arguing
that it had never been administered as part of angola
the dispute has an outsize importance for territory just one third the size of
wales as it pumps percent of the oil that has made angola the top producer in
africa while most of the residents live in poverty
but the long conflict had fallen off the radar overseas as the separatists
fractured into small groups whose individual actions became less visible and
angola sharply limited access to the province
divisions among the guerrillas complicate efforts to end the conflict
peace deal with the government was signed by only one group flec renovada
whose members are now seen as sell outs by rivals
the internal squabbling erupted again over the shooting that killed togo
assistant coach and media spokesman as two separate groups claimed they were
behind the attack
the aim was to attack the angolan security forces escorting the togolese team
said rui neumann specialist on cabinda and reporter for the portuguese news
network
he said the separatists no longer have the forces they commanded during the
when they controlled up to percent of the territory
flec uses military strategy of deployments in small groups commandos who
are still very much present in the mayombe forest neumann told radio france
international
their attacks rarely reported in the media still target mainly security
forces and the angolan armed forces and pressure foreigners working in the oil
industry he said
chevron maintains large staff base in cabinda
limited access to cabinda curbs the flow of any information about violence
there allowing luanda to paint the province as peaceful region ready to
welcome its seven matches in the nations cup this month
despite togo decision to withdraw from the tournament after the attack
president jose eduardo dos santos refused to move any matches from cabinda
if they decide to move the matches then it will mean they are playing into the
rebels hands said thatisi machaba an historian at the university of pretoria
the message they are communicating now is that we have this under control
analysts expect major crackdown in cabinda rather than new effort at
negotiations
the angolan authorities are expected to react with new offensive against the
separatists after the football tournament vines said
for the time being their focus is on security on the football stadium
ukraine at glance
kiev jan afp
ukraine which holds the first round of presidential elections sunday is the
second largest country in mainland europe after russia
following is factfile on ukraine
geography ukraine lies in eastern europe north of the black sea and is
bordered by ex soviet belarus moldova and russia and new eu members hungary
poland romania and slovakia
it covers square kilometers square miles
capital kiev population nearly three million other main cities kharkiv
dnipropetrovsk donetsk odessa
population million over percent of the population is ukrainian with
russians making up the largest minority minority of muslim tatars lives on
the crimea peninsula while other minorities include poles and romanians
language ukrainian is the country sole official language russian however
is the main language in daily life in the east south and the crimean
peninsula
religion the majority of the country is orthodox with followers split
between the moscow patriarchate and the kiev patriarchate greek catholicism is
widely practiced in the west of the country
history much of modern day ukraine was part of the russian empire under the
tsars although its northwest belonged to the austro hungarian empire
forced collectivization of agriculture under stalin in the early led to
famine in which millions died and is remembered today in ukraine as the
golodomor death by starvation
after the russian revolution ukraine became part of the ussr as the ukrainian
soviet socialist republic it was occupied by the nazis in world war ii after
which the western territories became part of the country
crimea formerly part of russia was given to ukraine in by soviet leader
nikita krushchev
growing opposition to soviet rule culminated in the supreme soviet
ratification of declaration of independence on august confirmed by
referendum on december
the world worst nuclear accident took place in ukraine on april at
the nuclear power station at chernobyl killing people in an explosion and
further died of related illnesses
political situation the first president of post independence ukraine was
leonid kravchuk soviet reformer who championed independence in the early
following political crisis he was defeated in elections by leonid kuchma in
july kuchma was then re elected for second and final five year term in
kuchma threaded wily course between russia and the west but opposition grew
amid allegations of corruption and fury over the killing of journalist georgy
gongadze
the election pitted the pro western viktor yushchenko against kuchma ally
viktor yanukovich after official results showed yanukovich had won yushchenko
launched mass protests saying the election was rigged
the supreme court agreed and ordered re run ballot on december which
yushchenko won in what became known as the orange revolution
economy ukraine agricultural riches accounted for percent of the soviet
union agriculture output by value heavy industry and coal mining plays
leading role in the national economy especially in the east
currency the hryvna introduced in august which lost percent of its
value in the recent economic crisis
defence after the soviet collapse ukraine was the world third largest
nuclear power but signed treaty with moscow and washington in under which
it handed over its warheads to russia as part of us russian disarmament
under yushchenko ukraine had targeted nato membership but this is vehemently
opposed by his opponents
ukraine nation divided ahead of vote
bilogorshcha ukraine jan afp
it is an unlikely location for major monument and debate over national
identity field next to quiet road outside ukraine western city of lviv
where only the crows disturb the peace
but it was here on march that ukrainian nationalist leader roman
shukhevych perhaps the single most controversial ukrainian figure of world war
ii was shot dead by soviet secret police after years in hiding
in march the local authorities opened statue of the rebel commander that
has served not just to commemorate his death but also to create another symbol
of deep divisions that still fracture ukraine
and its east west divide will be shown up again on sunday when ukraine goes to
the polls to elect new president
commander of the nazi trained nightingale battalion and then of pro independence
ukrainian insurgent army upa shukhevych is regarded with adulation in
ukraine west and equally impassioned dislike in its east
he led rearguard insurgency against the soviets after this region the
former austro hungarian province of galicia became part of the ussr after the
war
costing tens of thousands of dollars the statue shows shukhevych in military
uniform emblazoned with ukraine trident symbol and draped in cloak like
roman emperor staring out over the hills
glory to the heroes reads plaque on nearby house where shukhevych hid
from the soviets for half decade in pro western president viktor
yushchenko posthumously bestowed on him the award of hero of ukraine
not all agree mps from the east of ukraine furiously protested the statue as
celebrating fascism and demanded that the glorification of such figures be
made illegal
and while nationalist historians vehemently deny shukhevych and the upa were
anti semitic nazi collaborators western experts accuse the rebel forces of
brutal ethnic cleansing of the local polish population in the
memorials to upa figures are conspicuous by their absence in the east of the
country where the majority of people use russian rather than ukrainian as their
first language and the soviet past is remembered much more fondly
inhabitants of the western region main city of lviv whose beautiful civic
architecture betrays its austro hungarian past boast that it was the first
soviet city aside from the baltic states to dismantle statue of lenin
rather than lenin lviv can now claim new statue of stepan bandera another
wartime nationalist leader whose controversial legacy is underlined by the
hour police guard the monument receives
by contrast larger than life statue of the ussr founder still proudly
dominates lenin square in the centre of the eastern city of donetsk the
heartland of ukraine coal mining industry
in western cities like lviv russian is rarely spoken and the main language both
in public and private is ukrainian distinctly gentler tongue that although
written in cyrillic has much in common with polish
for example whereas russian sticks with the latin names of months ukrainian
