across the nation eurozone inflation rose in december to percent
according to flash estimate from the the eurostat data agency well below the
european central bank target of below but close to percent
china officials blame western nations for global crisis
manila jan afp
chinese officials on thursday blamed the global financial crisis on western
nations excessive consumption and warned that borrowing would not help
troubled economies recover
andrew sheng chief advisor of the china banking regulatory commission said by
focusing on money making and not paying attention to steady growth exacerbated
the problem
he said excessive consumption in the anglo saxon countries financed
essentially through financial derivatives and located in the under regulated
shadow banking area was behind the worst financial slump since the great
depression
it happened in the core of global finance he told forum on the crisis
hosted by the asian development bank adb in manila
sheng said those countries that focused on the real sector did better than the
those who focused on the finance side
he added that many countries still had not yet learned the lesson and were
borrowing heavily adding you cannot leverage away your problem
he did not identify those countries
many western nations including the united states and britain have issued
hundreds of billions of dollars worth of bonds in order to pay for stimulus
measures aimed at digging their economies out of recession
he credited the large stimulus packages of various countries for easing the
crisis but warned that there may be double dip in many economies which
could make further measures necessary
speaking at the same forum zheng xiaosong director general of china ministry
of finance described the situation as crisis of derivatives crisis of
economic theory and also crisis of governance
he criticised the inadequate financial regulation and risk management as well
as mismanagement of macroeconomic policies of the major economies
he also assailed the ineffective surveillance by the international financial
institutions of the economic policies of the major developed countries
adb president haruhiko kuroda said the global crisis hit asian countries mainly
by cutting off demand in their key western export markets
in order for the export driven region to recover its overseas markets must
recover first he said
asia will be unable to fully return to its rapid pre crisis growth rates unless
recovery is sustained globally as well he warned
but kuroda also said economic growth must be rebalanced towards domestic and
regional demand instead of relying on the western warning that external demand
would likely remain sluggish
corrected german inflation at year low of percent official
frankfurt jan afp
german inflation averaged percent in its lowest level since the
country was reunified in final figures released on thursday by the
national statistics office showed
the figure confirmed an estimate first provided on december
in consumer prices gained percent in europe biggest economy
according to data provided by the destatis office
the low year on year rate of price increase in was characterised mainly by
price decreases for mineral oil products and food statement said
lower energy and food prices compared with peaks in have kept inflation
down in germany while rising unemployment has also prevented unions from
demanding substantially higher wages
the last time inflation was anywhere near this low was in when it reached
percent destatis said
inflation even dipped briefly into negative territory in the middle of this
year reaching minus percent in july the lowest rate since
across the nation eurozone inflation rose in december to percent
according to flash estimate from the the eurostat data agency well below the
european central bank target of below but close to percent
taiwan sets up asia first animal cancer research centre
taipei jan afp
taiwan top university thursday opened asia first animal cancer research
centre aiming to serve the island pet owners
the centre at the national taiwan university in taipei also hopes its research
into cancers affecting animals especially cats and dogs will contribute to
cancer research and therapy for humans
studies have indicated that dogs and human beings share common places in some
genes professor liu chen shuan told afp
cancer has emerged as the top killer of taiwan companion animals whose
average life span has increased to from seven years over the past years
he said
the university animal hospital treats up to cats and dogs year with
around diagnosed with cancer
there are about million cats and dogs in taiwan but it is not clear how
many die of cancer annually
wall street lead lifts asia shares
hong kong jan afp
renewed optimism over an improving global economic picture helped most asian
shares rise thursday following stronger lead from wall street but fears
lingered over china monetary policy
sentiment was boosted by strong australian jobs data and wall street more
positive outlook on the earnings season shrugging off earlier disappointment
after broad sell off in the previous session was sparked by beijing move to
hike the amount banks must hold in reserves china gained percent
the shanghai composite index closed up points at
shares were also lifted by plans to encourage consolidation between telecom
broadcast and internet firms
however hong kong reversed earlier gains to end percent lower as some
policy sensitive banks and property developers fell with worries over further
tightening at the forefront of investors minds
hong kong ended the day points off at
china banks and developers may still witness some selling pressure ahead as
china policy risks still prevail linus yip at first shanghai told dow jones
newswires
sydney closed percent higher with sentiment buoyed by stronger than
expected jobs data and record breaking quarterly iron ore sales from mining
giant rio tinto
the benchmark amp asx index gained points to on bigger than
expected fall in australia unemployment rate to percent in december down
from november revised figure of percent
tokyo closed up percent as troubled carrier japan airlines jal pulled out
of tailspin after several days of heavy losses
the nikkei index climbed points to
jal shares rose one yen to close at eight yen following plunge of almost
percent over the previous two days sparked by signs that the debt ridden carrier
is close to filing for bankruptcy protection and delisting its stock
seoul closed percent higher with the kospi up points at
asia followed wall street lead after the dow jones industrial average rose
percent to close at
the us market shook off disappointing earnings report from aluminium giant
alcoa earlier this week while the federal reserve beige book report which
said the economy is seeing broader improvement in activity also boosted
sentiment
the euro was higher in asia as investors anticipated upbeat factory data from
the eurozone ahead of monetary policy meeting by the european central bank
the euro firmed to dollars in tokyo trade from in new york late
wednesday it also gained to yen from the dollar edged up to
yen from
oil rebounded in asia after an overnight plunge on key us department of energy
report that indicated weaker demand in the united states
new york main futures contract light sweet crude for delivery in february
rose cents to dollars per barrel and london brent north sea crude
gained cents to dollars
hong kong gold closed higher at us dollars from wednesday
finish of dollars
in other markets
singapore closed percent or points higher at
asian media giant singapore press holdings was up cents or percent at
dollars day after reporting that its financial first quarter net profit
nearly doubled from year ago
taipei closed up points or percent at
the bourse recovered much of the ground lost in the previous session indicating
the upward trend of the market remains unchanged said chen yu yu of capital
securities
indonesia gained percent or points to
late profit taking by foreign funds in resources related shares offset some
gains of the main index trader said
bank danamon advanced percent to rupiah while car distributor astra
international gained percent to rupiah
in malaysia the kuala lumpur composite index gained points or
percent to close at tracking gains on wall street
lower liners again dominated trade while latex glove makers continued to
attract strong buying interest dealer said
among major stocks glove maker top glove gained percent to ringgit
malaysia airports rose percent to while malaysia airlines was down
percent to
manila closed percent or points higher at
the market was buoyed by advances on wall street and regional bourses first
philippine holdings rose percent to pesos while philippine long
distance telephone gained percent to pesos
wellington ended flat with rises in sydney supporting an otherwise
lacklustre market
the nzx index rose points to
us envoy urges korea to improve rights record
seoul jan afp
top us envoy on thursday urged north korea to drastically improve its
appalling human rights record warning it was crucial to securing better
relations with washington
robert king the us special envoy on human rights in north korea on the last
full day of visit to south korea told local internet users he saw no quick fix
to improving the rights situation
improvement in human rights conditions will not happen overnight but we need
to continue to press for better human rights conditions king said in an online
chat with locals organised by the us embassy
but we also need to be patient
the envoy reiterated that the communist state must improve its rights record if
it wants better relations with the united states
improved relations between the us and north korea will have to involve
greater respect for human rights by north korea he said
on monday the first full day of his fact finding visit king said north korea
was one of the worst places in terms of lack of human rights the situation is
appalling
during his stay in seoul king talked to government officials north korean
defectors family members of abductees held in the north and non governmental
organisations he is due to leave for japan on friday
at hearing of the united nations human rights council in geneva last month
the north faced demands from western countries to open up to international
organisations and independent monitors
countries also raised concerns about serious human rights violations including
reports of child labour executions the detention of political prisoners and
torture
pyongyang representative rejected many of the allegations as fabricated
eurozone crisis brews as ecb governors meet
frankfurt jan afp
the eurozone faces an unprecedented internal crisis as european central bank
governors meet on thursday with financial woes in greece and other bloc members
putting interest rate talk on the back burner
markets are sure the bank main rate will stay unchanged at record low of
percent said deutsche bank economist mark wall
arguably the most eagerly awaited aspect of the january press conference is
what ecb president jean claude trichet says about greece he added
athens is not the only eurozone capital causing alarm in frankfurt however
the credit rating agency moody has warned that portugal economy also faces
slow death unless it becomes more competitive and officials collect more tax
revenues
across europe moody said ratings will likely be scrutinised even more
closely than usual this year
it warned its own assumptions about those countries that will be able to
restore their economic and fiscal health and those that will not be able to
particularly in the aa range will be tested
that includes greece which moody downgraded last month to from
with negative outlook
spain and ireland have also gotten recent downgrades from other agencies while
portugal has been told it could be next
international monetary fund imf experts have begun week long mission at
greece invitation meanwhile to mentor the government on how to plug huge
hole in its public finances
although the nation eurozone is no longer in recession the financial crisis
exacerbated fiscal disparities among its members presenting the ecb with
patchwork quilt of problems that is fraying at the seams
germany should manage to hammer its bloated deficit back into shape while
peripheral members like greece ireland portugal and spain must step up
budget consolidation far more than the core countries commerzbank chief
economist joerg kraemer warned
the situation is such that wall expected trichet to be asked whether and under
what conditions greece could be put under pressure to voluntarily choose to
exit the eurozone
an ecb paper published last month concluded there was little chance of member
leaving or being forced out but the fact the bank produced such document at
all raised eyebrows in financial markets
ecb chief economist juergen stark known for orthodox fiscal positions told an
italian newspaper last week the markets are fooling themselves if they think
that at some point the other eu member states will put their hands in their
pockets to save greece
unicredit analysts said that on thursday in regard to greece the ecb will
never openly support bailout but trichet will probably sound less explicit
than stark
on wednesday greek prime minister george papandreou told news conference
there is no way we will leave the euro or seek recourse to the imf we do not
need to
the greek public deficit rose to percent of the nation total output last
year towering above the percent ceiling permitted to countries that share
the single currency
greek debt was estimated at percent of output meanwhile and will likely
climb to more than double the european union limit of percent
korea signs deal to build nuclear reactor in jordan
seoul jan afp
south korea has agreed to build jordan first atomic research reactor just two
weeks after winning landmark billion dollar deal in the united arab
emirates officials said thursday
the contract estimated at billion won million dollars is to build
five megawatt reactor in jordan by the south korean science ministry said
the consortium that won the deal is led by the state run korean atomic energy
research institute and daewoo engineering and construction
jordan will use the reactor for scientific research before building its own
nuclear power plants the ministry said
the deal came two weeks after another south korean consortium led by state
utility korea electric power corp kepco landed contract to build four
nuclear power plants in the united arab emirates
the kepco consortium won the deal against competition from two rival groups that
included consortium of french companies and another composed of the us company
general electric and japan hitachi
south korea with few natural energy sources operates commercial reactors to
provide percent of its electricity needs
amnesty international criticises uae sheikh acquittal
dubai jan afp
rights group amnesty international has sharply criticised the acquittal of
united arab emirates sheikh accused of torture and rape calling the verdict
very questionable
we were not in court and so cannot be certain as to the judge reasoning but
this does appear to be very questionable verdict the organisation middle
east and north africa director malcolm smart said in statement late wednesday
sheikh issa bin zayed al nahayan who is the brother of uae president and abu
dhabi ruler sheikh khalifa bin zayed al nahayan was acquitted on sunday of
charges of torturing an afghan trader in
his lawyer said sheikh issa was cleared on the basis that he was drugged and
therefore not responsible for his actions his lawyer said on sunday
the verdict will do little to dispel concern that the sheikh position as
member of abu dhabi ruling family may have been the decisive factor in
ensuring his acquittal said amnesty smart
allegations against the sheikh emerged after video aired in april
appeared to show him beating man with whips electric cattle prods and
wooden plank with protruding nails
assisted by policemen sheikh issa is seen to pour salt in the man wounds and
run over him with sports utility vehicle
the victim needed months of hospital care following the incident he was
reportedly an afghan trader who lost consignment of grain worth dollars
the court decision has also come under criticism from the us close uae
ally
it not credible verdict senior us official who asked not be identified
by name said on monday
us state department official crowley said we welcome careful review
of this decision to ensure that the demands of justice are fully met in this
case
bur wd ak bpz
man jailed for attacking ex malaysian pm mahathir lawyer
kuala lumpur jan afp
malaysian court thursday sentenced businessman to six months in jail for
injuring former prime minister mahathir mohamad with pepper spray in
according to his defence lawyer
the magistrate court in northeastern kelantan state found nik sapeia nik
yusoff guilty of injuring four people including mahathir nik sapeia
lawyer zainal abidin mustaffa told afp
we have filed an appeal and the court has granted us stay of execution of the
sentence pending the hearing of the appeal in the high court said the counsel
my client maintains his innocence zainal added
mahathir was hit with pepper spray shortly after he arrived in kelantan amid
scuffle between two factions of his supporters over whose vehicles would be used
to transport the former prime minister during his visit
nik sapeia was reportedly the leader of one of the factions and veteran member
of the ruling united malays national organisation umno he quit umno in
and joined ppp another party in the ruling coalition
the case caused sensation as it came amid bitter row between mahathir and
his handpicked successor abdullah ahmad badawi some local umno politicians
were opposed to mahathir visit due to his criticisms of abdullah
mahathir retired in after years in power while abdullah was forced to
resign last year after lacklustre term in office during which he was
criticised as weak and ineffective
abdullah was succeeded by current prime minister najib razak
pakistani taliban says leader escapes us drone strike
peshawar pakistan jan afp
pakistani taliban leader hakimullah mehsud escaped us drone strike on
militant camp thursday that killed people the militia said after reports he
may have been among the dead
hakimullah mehsud who has led the tehreek taliban pakistan since august had
been in the lawless tribal area bordering afghanistan where the missiles hit but
he left before the attack ttp spokesman told afp
hakimullah mehsud was present at the same place in shaktoi where the drone
attack took place the spokesman azam tariq said from an undisclosed location
but he had left the area already when the drone attack took place he is alive
and completely safe
his comments came after local television stations carried unconfirmed reports
that mehsud may have been killed in the strike on the border of north and south
waziristan the seventh on pakistan lawless northwest tribal belt this month
we are receiving reports about his death but we are not percent sure
senior security official told afp requesting anonymity
tariq did not say when mehsud left the area which pakistan security officials
described as very remote
hakimullah mehsud assumed leadership of the group blamed for the deaths of
thousands of people in attacks in pakistan after his predecessor baitullah
mehsud was killed in us drone strike on august
the ttp denied baitullah mehsud death for weeks apparently amid fierce
infighting over his succession
on january hakimullah mehsud appeared in video clip alongside jordanian who
blew himself up on us military base in afghanistan last month killing seven
cia agents and his jordanian handler
the jordanian claimed the attack was to avenge the death of baitullah mehsud
and sources close to intelligence services said us efforts to track down
hakimullah mehsud had been stepped up since the cia bombing
thursday assault took place in pasalkot village in remote area of north
waziristan close to the border with south waziristan where pakistan military
are battling taliban fighters
it was us drone strike at least people mostly militants have been
killed in the missile strike said local intelligence official the targeted
site was militant training camp
senior security official confirmed the death toll and said four missiles were
fired from unmanned planes in the remote area
all seven strikes this year have hit north waziristan bastion of al qaeda
fighters the taliban and the haqqani network which launches attacks on the
us and nato troops fighting the taliban in neighbouring afghanistan
the administration of us president barack obama has put pakistan at the heart of
its fight against al qaeda and islamist extremists and says the war in
afghanistan cannot be won without islamabad help but tensions simmer
the strikes fuel anti american sentiment in the muslim nation and draw public
condemnation from the government but us senator on wednesday scolded
islamabad for privately supporting strikes while publicly denouncing them
what troubles me is the public attack on these drone attacks when at the same
time they ve privately obviously not told us that we must stop said senator
carl levin chairman of the us senate armed services committee
pakistan leaders not only understand and acquiesce but in many cases
privately support the drone attacks levin said adding that the minimum we
should expect is silence on their part rather than public attack on us
on wednesday pakistani foreign minister shah mehmood qureshi said that the
controversial drone strikes were source of tensions with washington
the united states is increasing pressure on islamabad to tackle militants who
use its soil to launch attacks in afghanistan and american officials have said
that the highly secretive drone programme has eliminated some top fighters
more than people have died in drone strikes since august
korea proposes talks on resuming tours state media
seoul jan afp
north korea on thursday proposed talks with south korea to resume cross border
tours which were suspended in amid icy ties state media said
the proposal was sent by the asia pacific peace committee the north
government agency in charge of inter korean exchanges to south korea
unification ministry said pyongyang official korean central news agency
the committee called for two day meeting on january it said there was
no immediate response from south korea
icrc sets up webpage to unite haiti families
geneva jan afp
the international red cross said thursday it has set up special webpage to
help haitians locate family members from whom they have been separated during
the deadly earthquake
the aim of the family links website is to accelerate the process of restoring
contact between separated family members said robert zimmerman deputy head of
the icrc central tracing agency and protection division
at this stage the website allows people in haiti and abroad to register the
names of relatives with whom they want to restore contact it will incorporate
responses to those queries as they become available he said
list of people who have registered is shown on the website
http www icrc org familylinks
those who want to inform relatives of their whereabouts can register their
names while those who have been unable to find relatives on the list can fill
in form to seek information about them
the international committee of the red cross said plane carrying staff
members from geneva was expected in the haiti capital port au prince later
thursday
some are feared to have perished in the magnitude earthquake that
struck on tuesday
leaders hold crisis talks amid scandal in ireland
london jan afp
the leaders of britain and ireland will hold urgent talks thursday in bid to
resolve row over policing in northern ireland after scandal prompted first
minister peter robinson to step aside
british prime minister gordon brown and irish taoiseach brian cowen are meeting
at brown downing street office in london for the first time since robinson
temporarily quit on monday over his wife affair with teenager
robinson is facing questions over whether he knew his wife obtained
pounds euros dollars from two developers to help her then
year old lover kirk mccambley to set up cafe in belfast he denies it
iris robinson who is currently receiving psychiatric treatment in belfast
formally quit as lawmaker for the couple democratic unionist party dup
wednesday
while the talks are under way in london lawmakers in belfast will continue
negotiations on when policing and justice powers should be transferred from
london to belfast the final piece in the devolution jigsaw
failure by the dup and sinn fein ex foes turned partners in power sharing
devolved government to resolve the sensitive issue has raised questions about
whether their administration could survive even before the robinson scandal
the british and irish governments which helped broker the good friday
agreement which largely ended northern ireland years of civil unrest
argue the recent crisis could focus minds on resolving it
it is thought that the issue of how to deal with parades by the strongly
protestant orange order frequent flashpoint in the past is key sticking
point
despite standing aside to attend to his family issues robinson has pledged to
remain in charge of dup negotiations on policing
flights disrupted after tokyo airport glitch
tokyo jan afp
more than flights to and from tokyo haneda airport were disrupted thursday
after computer glitch hit new air radar system hours after it was installed
the transport ministry said
the malfunction slowed data transmissions from am gmt until shortly
before noon and flights were cancelled while another flights were still
delayed as of pm an official said
the government is currently investigating the cause of the system trouble
including whether it was due to the new system being installed he said few
more flights may yet be affected today
the new radar system was installed early thursday at haneda where fourth
runway is due to be completed in october
haneda now handles domestic flights and routes to and from shanghai seoul and
hong kong while the outlying narita airport serves other international routes
and connecting domestic trips
japan government plans to upgrade haneda into hour international hub
chinese net users mourn at google hq
beijing jan afp
scrawled messages flowers and offerings of fruit outside google beijing
headquarters mourned the passing of loved one thursday as internet users
expressed defiance against china web censorship
don know what ll do without google ve come here to pay my respects to
google said one of several paper messages left thursday under rocks outside
the sleek modern building in high tech park
goodbye google you can build the wall but you can separate the hearts of
the people we want to see the other side of the wall said another apparently
referring to the authorities great firewall of china
freedom wrote one supporter in english and chinese on message nestled
near bouquet of flowers bottle of chinese baijiu liquor and some apples
and oranges typical offering when loved one has died
google vowed tuesday to stop bowing to chinese internet censors and risk
banishment from the lucrative market in protest against highly sophisticated
cyberattacks aimed at chinese human rights activists
the authorities in the world most populous nation regularly block content and
websites they deem politically objectionable
china on thursday insisted the internet was open and said foreign web firms
were welcome to do business in the world third largest economy according
to law
year old employee at an internet company who only gave his surname zhang
said outside the google headquarters that the chinese authorities had gone too
far in their policing of the web
in the last few years it has become harder and harder to go around the great
firewall you have to spend more time and money he told afp
if google leaves china think that china has the capability to block all
google sites inside china they will make lot of people unhappy
zhang said the government often cited the dangers of pornography as its main
reason for policing the internet but said he believed they were really
concerned about political content
they talk about pornography but with billion people who has not seen
pornography he said
not everyone at the google site was supportive
man surnamed cui worker at software company in the area said while he
used google search engine every day he did not think the company should be
able to flout china laws
every nation restricts the internet china has its laws if you want to leave
china it your own business but you have to respect the laws here he said
urgent korea proposes talks on resuming tours state media
seoul jan afp
north korea on thursday proposed talks with south korea to resume cross border
tours which were suspended in amid icy ties state media said
koreas agree on talks to revamp industrial estate
seoul jan afp
north and south korea will hold talks next week on ways to revitalise joint
industrial estate in further apparent sign that the north wants to improve
relations it was announced thursday
the two sides will discuss ways to follow up last month joint survey of
overseas industrial parks seoul unification ministry said
they will meet on tuesday at the seoul funded industrial estate in kaesong just
