AFP_ENG_19970415.0624

UNITED NATIONS, April 16 , 1997 (AFP)

UN envoy's departure unlikely to break momentum on Cyprus by Anne Penketh

The resignation of the UN special envoy for Cyprus is unlikely to break the momentum toward the first direct talks between the two communities in almost three years, diplomats say.

Han Sung Joo of South Korea made the surprise announcement late Monday that he was stepping down after a year in the post which is at the centre of efforts to end the eastern Mediterranean island's 23-year division.

"Given the growing level of intensity ... I thought it would be in the best interests of the parties concerned for the UN to have someone who can devote more time to handling the Cyprus issue," he said.

Han, who has academic commitments in his native South Korea where he has been based, reported progress in efforts to resume direct peace talks between Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides and the breakaway Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash.

The two leaders have not met since October 1994.

Both Cypriot and Turkish diplomats at the United Nations said that Han's departure should not make a difference to the negotiating process in which UN chief Kofi Annan has taken a personal interest since taking office in January.

Annan's representative in Cyprus, Gustave Feissel, has been mediating proximity talks since March between the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot leaders, in a bid to lay the groundwork for direct talks by the middle of the year.

Annan, in a statement issued in Rome on Monday, praised Han's contribution and stressed that he was "determined to press ahead with an intensified effort to bring about a comprehensive settlement in the island."

He repeated that he hoped for direct talks "within the next two or three months."

The United Nations is leading international efforts to build a bi- zonal, bi-communal federation in Cyprus.

The island has been divided since 1974 when Turkish mainland troops invaded the northern third of Cyprus in the wake of a coup in Nicosia backed by the right-wing junta then ruling Greece.

Western diplomats said that Annan would have the difficult task of finding a replacement for Han who is familiar with the issues while being acceptable to both the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriot communities.

And in the light of ethnic unrest which has hit the island since last summer, "things could be disrupted" along the road to a summit, one diplomat said.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- are expected to discuss Cyprus at Russia's suggestion later this month.

But diplomats cautioned that the Security Council was unlikely to take any initiatives on the issue.

"The next qualitative step will be when the (UN) secretary-general issues invitations to the direct talks," one western diplomat said.

April 16 , 1997

three years

Monday

a year

October 1994

January

March

the middle of the year

Monday

the next two or three months

last summer

later this month


XIN_ENG_20051129.0324

ROME, Nov. 29 , 2005 (Xinhua)

AC Milan close to Italian Cup quarters

AC Milan came close to a berth to the quarterfianls of Italian Cup after beating Serie B side Brescia 3-1 in their fourth round first-leg match on Tuesday.

Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa scored one goal and laid on another to steer Milan to the home victory.

Milan, playing without a number of first-team regulars, opened the scoring at 26 when Rui Costa fired home from the edge of the area after being set up by Georgian defender Kakha Kaladze.

Italian striker Alberto Gilardino headed in the second as he converted a corner from Rui Costa five minutes before the break.

Lithuanian Marius Stankevicius brought Brescia back into the tie with a 48th-minute header from a cross by former Inter Milan midfielder Luigi Di Biagio.

Carlo Ancelotti's Milan restored their two-goal advantage in the 69th minute after a well-taken shot from inside the area by Christian Vieri.

Other first leg matches of Italian Cup fourth round kick off on Wednesday when Parma host Inter Milan and Serie B side Atalanta are at home to Udinese

And on Thursday, third-placed Serie A side Fiorentina take on champions Juventus before the remaining four ties take place next week with the return legs in the second week of January.

Nov. 29 , 2005

Tuesday

the 69th minute

well-taken

Wednesday

Thursday

next week

the second week of January.


XIN_ENG_20061109.0420

YANGON, Nov. 10 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Myanmar punishes over 1,200 service personnel for malpractices in 2 years

The Myanmar government has punished 1,247 service personnel for malpractices in 2005 and 2006 as part of its measures to turn the administrative mechanism into a clean one, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported Friday.

"In order to make administrative mechanism more effective, the government remarkedly increased the salaries of the service personnel and reconstituted or dissolved the organizations as necessary after making thorough reviews on constitutions and functions of the governmental department and enterprises," Prime Minister General Soe Win was quoted by the report as saying.

"The government is taking measures constantly to ensure effective and clean administrative mechanism to serve the interest of the nation and the people and to win respect and reliance of the people," Soe Win told an annual general meeting of the Union Solidarity and Development Association in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw Thursday.

He urged service personnel on their part to safeguard the people without discrimination against or in favor of them in accordance with the law, rules and regulations, anticipating that the people will extend a helpful hand to the service personnel in return.

He maintained that by so doing then only will it be possible to set up a discipline-flourishing and genuine democracy to ensure harmony between administrative mechanism and the people.

In the first half of this year, there also existed some cases with high-ranking customs officials in connection with corruption, earlier reports said.

Meanwhile, the Myanmar government announced for the first time on Thursday allowing of the country's people to make complaints of malpractice by service personnel of any rank of the Ministry of Home Affairs in a bid to remove such practice and improve the image of the government mechanism.

The phone numbers of some high-ranking officials of the ministry and the e-mail address of the office of the ministry at the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw were published by official media for the public to dial or e-mail such complaints.

The announcement said "If any service personnel of any rank who are from the Ministry of Home Affairs commit malpractices involving money, property and opportunity and oppress the people in administrative and economic and social affairs, making improper use of the rights which are not in conformity with the existing laws and procedures can complain to the minister, deputy minister and deputy director-general".

Nov. 10 , 2006

Friday

Thursday

this year

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20061116.0408

BANGKOK, Nov. 17 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Bombs hit southern Thailand, 14 injured

Three bomb explosions rocked Thailand's southern border province Narathiwat Friday morning, injuring three soldiers and 11 civilians, the Thai news network The Nation reported.

A unit of soldiers was on their routine patrol duty in the province's Sungai Padi district when the first bomb exploded at about 7 a.m. (0000 GMT). Three soldiers were injured and they were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

One hour later, two bomb blasts occurred at a coffee shop in the province's capital seat, injuring 11 civilians who were drinking coffee and chatting there. The injured were transported to Narathiwat Rachanakarin Hospital, the report said.

The insurgency-related unrest continued unabated in Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani, the three southernmost provinces of Thailand with a majority population of Thai-Malay ethnic group. Over 1,700 peoples have been killed in a new wave flared there since January 2004.

Nov. 17 , 2006

Friday morning

7 a.m.

One hour

January 2004


XIN_ENG_20051118.0201

BANGKOK, Nov. 18 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Southerners protest insurgent violence; policeman shot dead in Yala

Suspected insurgents gunned down a policeman in Thai violence-plagued province of Yala today, while demonstrators were calling for the cessation of violence in nearby Songkhla.

Sgt. Sophon Maichan, 55, was shot three times in the chest while riding his motorcycle to work in the Yala municipality. Seriously wounded, he nonetheless returned fire, but apparently missed his assailants, according to the official Thai News Agency.

Police investigators said that two men dressed as university students followed and opened fire on the police officer. Sgt. Sophon returned fire, but missed. The gunmen escaped and the police officer was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police believe the attackers were insurgents wishing to extend the atmosphere of fear by shooting government officials, said the report.

Meanwhile, about 500 demonstrators gathered at Songkha's city hall to submit a petition to the governor, denouncing the murder of a former militant and his family in Narathiwat on Wednesday.

People in Songkhla condemned the family massacre as being " inhumane and barbaric", according to the statement, which said " the persons who did the attack could not be true believers in any religion, or they would not have committed the killings. They killed even children, women, and the innocent."

The statement called for persons from all walks of life to join forces to quell the violence and create peace in the three southernmost provinces.

The petitioners said they hoped the brutal killings would never be done again. Friday's gathering in Songkhla follows a mass protest at Yala municipality's youth center Thursday.

About 10,000 people in Yala had protested against the killers who systematically gunned down former militant Sudeng Awaebusa and eight members of his household, including a baby.

The demonstrators included the community grouping Network of People, women's groups, government officials, traders, students, and member of the general public.

Placards condemning the insurgent attack were displayed at the site. One said Yala residents opposed the insurgency, while pamphlets denouncing violence by insurgents were also distributed.

Nov. 18 , 2005

today

Wednesday

Friday

Thursday


AFP_ENG_19970424.0239

LONDON, April 24 , 1997 (AFP)

Fears of strong pound's damage to exporters rise after ICI profits slump

Fears of damage to British exporters caused by the pound's large gains heightened on Thursday after Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) reported a dramatic slide in profits, which it blamed partly on sterling's strength.

The British chemicals group said that the strong pound, as well as intense competition, had caused pre-tax profits (before exceptional costs) in the first quarter of 1997 to slump almost 68 percent to 65 million pounds (105.3 million dollars), from 202 million in the same period of 1996.

Turnover in the three-month period fell five percent to 2.44 billion pounds.

ICI's chairman, Sir Ronald Hampel, said: "Sales volumes were generally strong and we achieved further productivity savings, but profits were reduced by intense price competition and the strong pound."

The rise in the value of the pound had wiped 40 million pounds off the company's profits in the first three months of 1997, ICI said, warning that this squeeze would continue into the second quarter of the year.

The disappointing news led financial analysts to downgrade their full- year profit forecasts for one of Britain's major companies, and provoked a slide of over three percent in ICI's share price, which fell 24 pence to 696.5.

Since last August, the British currency has risen 22 percent against the German mark and more than five percent against the dollar. A rise in the value of the pound makes British exports more expensive for overseas buyers.

Dealers said that London-based investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Benson had downgraded its full-year profit forecast for ICI to 500 million pounds, from the previous estimate of 590 million pounds.

Another major exporter, British Steel, has also suffered from the gains of the pound, particularly because much of its exports are destined to Germany.

The company, which last month said it had decided to accelerate job cuts in Britain because of sterling's sharp rise, has had its profit forecasts for the year to March 1998 slashed by over half.

Glaxo-Wellcome, the world's largest drugs company, for its part has warned that if the pound remained at its current high levels, this would have a "significant impact" on sales and profits.

On Wednesday, the main employers' organisation, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said it was "concerned" about sterling's steep rise, after releasing a survey that showed deepening pessimism among exporters.

It called for the next British government after May 1 general elections to raise taxes, rather than tighten monetary policy, which would further strengthen the pound.

April 24 , 1997

Thursday

the first quarter of 1997

the same period of 1996

the first three months

the second quarter of the year

last August

last month

the year

March 1998

Wednesday

May 1


XIN_ENG_20051108.0306

MADRID, Nov. 8 , 2005 (Xinhua)

BenQ-Siemens agrees to sponsor Real Madrid from 2006 to 2010

BenQ Mobile has agreed to become the main sponsor of Spanish football club Real Madrid, the team's official website said on Tuesday.

Jose Angel Sanchez, head of marketing at Real said the club was "very happy with its new main sponsor": a joint venture between Chinese Taipei-based BenQ Corporation and German technology firm Siemens AG.

Clemence Joos, president of BenQ said that Real Madrid's most important and attractive features were its professionalism, quality and teamwork.

Nov. 8 , 2005

Tuesday


XIN_ENG_20051118.0151

BEIJING, Nov. 18 , 2005 (Xinhua)

China expected to become second largest trade country by 2010

China's foreign trade volume is expected to reach 2.5 trillion US dollars by the year 2010, making it the second largest trade country in the world, said Zhang Lichuan, director of the statistical division of the General Administration of Customs (GAC) here Friday.

If trade continues to grow at the annual rate of 7 percent after 2010, the figure will hopefully rise to 5 trillion in 2020, 10 times that of 2001, predicted Zhang at an on-going international forum on productivity development in China.

China's export already ranked third in the world by the end of 2004. In the next 15 years foreign trade is to grow in a more favorable macroeconomic environment with the positive impact of China's entry into the WTO, she said.

China will continue to attract foreign investments, and domestic enterprises will explore more opportunities for investing overseas in such areas as resource development, information transmission, and computer services, she said.

She also listed several unfavorable factors. Export growth may be constrained by the slowdown of world economy and the possible stagnation of market expansion, and export tax rebate may further add to the country's fiscal burdens, she said.

Nov. 18 , 2005

the year 2010

Friday

the end of 2004

the next 15 years


XIN_ENG_20051107.0061

HANOI, Nov. 7 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Vietnam's stock market posts highest point since early 2005

Vietnam's stock market index, VN- Index, increased 1.44 points, or 0.45 percent, to 322.59, the highest point so far this year, on Monday with 126,660 million Vietnamese dong (VND) (8 million US dollars) worth of shares, bonds and investment certificates being traded.

A total of 606,760 shares worth 22,953 million VND (nearly 1.5 million dollars), and 993,740 bonds totaling 101,984 VND (over 6.4 million dollars) changed hands at the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Trading Center on Monday. Meanwhile, 162,600 investment fund certificates valued at 1,723 million VND (109,000 dollars) were traded.

Now, Vietnam has 30 kinds of listed shares, 289 kinds of listed bonds, mostly government bonds, and one listed investment fund, with combined face value of more than 36,432 billion VND (2.3 billion dollars).

Nov. 7 , 2005

this year

Monday

Monday


WSJ891102-0003
 = 891102
 891102-0003.
 International:
@  Finland, Big Creditors
@  To Set Up Company
@  To Complete Ships
 11/02/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 EUROP CCL
 BANKRUPTCIES (BCY)
TRANSPORTATION, TRUCK AND SHIP LINES, RAILROADS (TRA)
 STOCKHOLM

   The Finnish government and major creditors of bankrupt shipyard Waertsilae Marine Industries Oy agreed in principle  to form a new company  to complete most of the troubled shipyard's backlog of 15 ships.

   The new company  will attempt  to limit the shipyard's losses, participants said.
"The situation is that the bankruptcy court  will get out of the shipbuilding business.
Everything  will  be taken over by the new company," said Christian Andersson, executive vice president of Oy Waertsilae, former parent of Waertsilae Marine.

   Once its ownership  is finalized, the new company will open talks with state-appointed receivers  to buy or lease Waertsilae Marine's shipyard facilities.
Subcontractors  will  be offered a settlement and a swift transition to new management  is expected  to avert an exodus of skilled workers from Waertsilae Marine's two big shipyards, government officials said.

   Under an accord signed yesterday, the government and Union Bank of Finland would become major shareholders in the new company, each injecting 100 million Finnish markkaa ($23.5 million).
Oy Waertsilae is  to contribute 200 million markkaa, most of it as subordinated debt, and take a minority stake in the new company.

   Customers holding contracts for Waertsilae Marine's undelivered ships  are expected  to subscribe most of the remaining 170 million markkaa in share capital, government officials said.

   Waertsilae Marine's biggest creditor is Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines Inc. Carnival, which has three ships on order from Waertsilae Marine, presented claims for $1.5 billion damages in the bankruptcy court this week.

   Waertsilae Marine's bankruptcy proceedings began Tuesday in a Helsinki court.

yesterday

this week

Tuesday


AFP_ENG_20061220.0066

BAGHDAD, Dec 20 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - UPDATES with second attack ///

A suicide attacker ploughed a car bomb into a police checkpoint protecting Baghdad University on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 30 more, medical officials said.

Shortly afterwards another car bomb killed four people and wounded seven when it exploded outside a government passport office in the Kasr neighbourhood in the north of the city, according to a security official.

Medics at the war-torn Iraqi capital's Yarmuk and Ibn Nafis hospitals said most of the casualties in the campus attack were students, while a security official said three national police officers were killed and seven wounded.

"People were hopping over and treading on bodies as they scattered to get away," said a young man who fled the scene.

The explosion took place on a major road leading through the Karrada area, a once prosperous part of Baghdad which was known as one of the most mixed areas of the city but is now increasingly dominated by Shiites.

Baghdad's universities have come increasingly under attack from Sunni extremist groups, and last week an Internet statement purportedly from the Ansar al-Sunna militant organisation explicitly threatened students.

Both attacks came as Baghdad remained trapped in a vicious cycle of sectarian killings led by warring Sunni insurgent groups and Shiite militias.

Dec 20 , 2006

Wednesday

now

last week


AFP_ENG_20061227.0264

ADDIS ABABA, Dec 27 , 2006, 2006

delay'

The African Union on Wednesday told Ethiopia to pull out thousands of its troops from Somalia "without delay."

"We are calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops without delay," AU Commission chairman Alpha Omar Konare said in the body's headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Dec 27 , 2006

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20051108.0309

LONDON, Nov. 8 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Eriksson to stay beyond World Cup, his assistan says

England assistant coach Tord Grip has hinted Sven-Goran Eriksson will stay as head coach after next summer's World Cup finals.

The England boss has a contract until 2008 but many believe he will quit the job immediately after Germany 2006.

However Grip was quoted by BBC Radio Five Live as saying that Eriksson is in no rush to leave and added: "I can see him staying.

"I think so because he likes his job, that's for sure. For me, it would be absolutely perfect, I love my job."

Grip's also revealed that he expects John Terry to be the England skipper one day, although Beckham will almost certainly retain the captain's armband next summer.

"I see him as a very good player, very good defender, and he's a very good captain for Chelsea, so why shouldn't he be captain of the England team?" added the Swede.

"He is the captain in Chelsea and Rio (Ferdinand) is sometimes the captain at Manchester United, so we just have David Beckham for us and he will be the captain in the World Cup, that's for sure."

Eriksson has guided England to three successive major tournaments but has received criticism for not showing emotion on the sidelines during games.

Commenting on the manager's approach in the dressing room, Grip said: "He is not screaming. He is just calm and telling people what to do, it's not necessary to scream and shout."

Last week Eriksson insisted there is no get-out clause in his England contract as he declared he had never considered leaving his post after the finals in Germany.

Asked about the existence of any clause in his current deal, he said: "Absolutely not. My contract runs until 2008. It's not true."

Nov. 8 , 2005

next summer

Germany 2006

armband next summer

Last week

current


XIN_ENG_20051123.0165

JERUSALEM, Nov. 23 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Urgent: Israeli president inks decree to dissolve parliament

Israeli President Moshe Katsav inked a decree on Wednesday to dissolve the Knesset (Parliament) and call a snap election.

Nov. 23 , 2005

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061127.0111

SINGAPORE, Nov. 27 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Vietnam's sugar output to rise in 2007

HANOI, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) Vietnam is expected to produce nearly 1.26 million tons of sugar in the 2006-2007 sugarcane crop, up from 970,000 tons in the previous crop, according to the Vietnam Sugarcane Association on Monday.

The country's sugar demand is estimated at 1.37 million tons in the 2006-2007 crop, which will end next July, posting a year-on- year rise of 1.48 percent, said the association.

Under Vietnam's commitments to the World Trade Organization ( WTO), the country will place a quota of 55,000 tons on sugar imports in 2007, which annually increases by five percent in the following years.

Meanwhile, the country will impose import tax of 25 percent on brown sugar and 40 percent on white sugar. However, the tariffs will gradually decrease to six percent at most by 2012.

Vietnam will also lower sugar tariffs to 30 percent in 2007 and 5 percent in 2010 under the roadmap of the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Area.

Vietnam imported nearly 80,000 tons of sugar in the first five months of this year, increasing 15 times over the same period last year, said the sugarcane association.

Nov. 27 , 2006

Nov. 27

Monday

next July

the following years

the first five months

this year

the same period last year


XIN_ENG_20061102.0344

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 2 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Portugal beats Uruguay 5-4 in beach soccer World Cup

Portugal beat Uruguay 5-4 on Thursday in the Group C opener of the second World Cup for beach soccer, which runs until Nov. 12 on Copacabana Beach, in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro.

"The Uruguay team played a typically South American game and knows how to neutralize our moves efficiently. But my men showed their patience and waited for the best moments to launch decisive attacks," Ze Miguel, Portugal's manager told media after the game.

Portugal had to fight hard for the three championship points: opening scoring with an Alan goal in the second minute, only to see their advantage evaporate as Uruguay's Ortiz struck back.

Alan scored again, but Matais and Oli scored one each to put Uruguay ahead. Madjer equalized for Portugal just before the first half whistle, but Uruguay opened the second half with Saranasi Sobral's scorpion kick to goal.

Hernani and Madjer fought back with a goal each to secure a 5-4 victory for the Portuguese.

The next Group C games are Portugal versus Cameroon and Uruguay versus the Solomon Islands, both on Saturday.

Portugal finished second at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and the last European Cup.

Nov. 2 , 2006

Thursday

Nov. 12

the second minute

Saturday


WSJ891026-0134
 = 891026
 891026-0134.
 Dominion Textile Rights Plan
 10/26/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 T.DTX
 EARNINGS (ERN)
 MONTREAL

   Dominion Textile Inc. holders adopted a shareholder-rights plan at the annual meeting.

   The so-called poison pill took effect Aug. 9 pending ratification by holders.
Rights attached to the company's common shares were issued that are triggered if a hostile bidder acquires more than 20% of the shares outstanding.
Once triggered, the rights allow holders to buy additional shares at 50% of the then current market price or, at the board's discretion, to receive securities or assets.

   Separately, Dominion Textile posted net income of 4.7 million Canadian dollars ($4 million), or 12 Canadian cents a share, for the fiscal-first quarter ended Sept. 30.
The company had a net loss of C$2.3 million, or 14 Canadian cents a share, a year ago.
Sales were C$348.2 million compared with C$307.2 a year earlier.

Aug. 9

then current

the fiscal-first quarter

Sept. 30

a year ago

a year earlier


XIN_ENG_20061101.0298

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 , 2006 (Xinhua)

U.S. military charts movement of conflict in Iraq toward chaos: report

A classified briefing prepared two weeks ago by the U.S. Central Command portrays Iraq as edging toward chaos, in a chart that the military is using as a barometer of civil conflict, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

A one-page slide shown at the Oct. 18 briefing provides a rare glimpse into how the military command that oversees the war is trying to track its trajectory, particularly in terms of sectarian fighting, the report said.

The slide includes a color-coded bar chart that is used to illustrate an "Index of Civil Conflict." It shows a sharp escalation in sectarian violence since the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra in February, and tracks a further worsening this month despite a concerted American push to tamp down the violence in Baghdad.

In fashioning the index, the military is weighing factors like the ineffectual Iraqi police and the dwindling influence of moderate religious and political figures, rather than more traditional military measures such as the enemy's fighting strength and the control of territory.

The conclusions the Central Command has drawn from these trends are not encouraging. The slide shows Iraq as moving sharply away from "peace," an ideal on the far left side of the chart, to a point much closer to the right side of the spectrum, a red zone marked "chaos." As depicted in the command's chart, the needle has been moving steadily toward the far right of the chart, according to the Times, which obtained a copy of the slide.

An intelligence summary at the bottom of the slide reads "urban areas experiencing 'ethnic cleansing' campaigns to consolidate control" and "violence at all-time high, spreading geographically. "

According to a Central Command official, the index on civil strife has been a staple of internal command briefings for most of this year. The analysis was prepared by the command's intelligence directorate.

John Abizaid, who heads the command, warned publicly in August about the risk of civil war in Iraq, but he said then that he thought it could be averted.

Nov. 1 , 2006

two weeks ago

Wednesday

Oct. 18

February

this month

this year

August


AFP_ENG_20061230.0355

GLASGOW, Dec 31 , 2006, 2006

by Martin Stirling

Under-fire Rangers manager Paul Le Guen says he would rather take the flak for the Ibrox side's dreadful run of form instead of his players.

The Frenchman's team followed up their shock 2-1 loss away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle last Wednesday with a lame 1-1 draw at home to St Mirren on Saturday.

These results enabled Celtic to stretch their advantage over Rangers to 17 points - who are one behind second placed Aberdeen - despite drawing their last two games against Dundee United and Motherwell.

And the Rangers fans made their feelings known at the end of the St Mirren game by booing their side off the pitch.

However, Le Guen has called on the Gers support to direct their displeasure at him while giving their support to the players.

The former Lyon manager said: "There was too much pressure on the players on Saturday after the Inverness game and you could see it affected some of them against St Mirren.

"I feel the pressure and I'm aware of it but I'm ready to take the criticism as I know our results are not good enough.

"I would prefer the pressure to be on me rather than on the players.

"Of course there are problems as we are so far behind in the league but I can cope with the criticism."

On Tuesday Rangers will play away to Motherwell, who drew at home to Celtic on Saturday after Darren Lee Smith cancelled out Derek Riordan's first goal for the Parkhead club, and Le Guen acknowledged his side would find it hard.

He said: "Any game is hard for us now the way we are playing so we know it will be difficult.

"Motherwell had a good result against Celtic and played very well but each point is important for us and we will be trying our best to get a victory."

Rangers' Croatian striker Dado Prso was missing from the Inverness and St Mirren games due to a groin injury but Le Guen is hopeful he will be fit to face Motherwell.

He said: "I hope Dado will be back. He was an important player for us in our victories over Hibs and Aberdeen, and in the draw against Celtic, so it would be useful to have him available."

In Saturday's game Rangers fell behind to St Mirren in the 14th minute after Richard Brittain's first-time strike from 22-yards rocketed past Allan McGregor into the roof of the net.

But five minutes later Rangers were back on level terms when Charlie Adam's corner was headed home by Kris Boyd from six-yards out.

Earlier in the day Celtic had drew 1-1 at Motherwell and the home side's manager Maurice Malpas believed his team should have won.

"My players were magnificent today," Malpas told Setanta Sports 1.

"I was delighted. We told them before the game that they had to get the ball and do something with it.

"I think at the end we deserved the goal. I'll be greedy and say we should have got the win."

Despite the draw Celtic still managed to stretch their lead at the top of the SPL to 16 points over Aberdeen, who lost 3-1 away to Dundee United, and 17 over Rangers.

And they will be further boosted by the news new signing Steven Pressley is set to make his debut on January 2 in the home match against Kilmarnock.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan confirmed: "He's got a good chance. We'll try to cram in a month's training on Sunday."

Dec 31 , 2006

last Wednesday

Saturday

Saturday

Tuesday

Saturday

Saturday

the 14th minute

today

January 2

Sunday


XIN_ENG_20051118.0194

PARIS, Nov. 18 , 2005 (Xinhua)

official

China Focus: China's oil import growth continues to fall in 2006, official

By Xinhua writer An Bei

BEIJING, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- China will import less oil and oil products in 2006 than previous years, an official with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said recently.

Lu Jianhua, Director of Foreign Trade Department of the MOC, told the Asian Business Forum held recently, that it is unfair to blame China for rising international oil prices.

According to statistics, China imported 105 million tons of crude oil in the first ten months of this year, rising 5.7 percent year on year, and 25.69 million tons of refined oil, down 16 percent from a year ago.

It is estimated that China will import 130 million tons of crude oil in 2005, rising only six percent year on year. This means the rate of growth of oil imports has dropped 30 percent, said Lu.

The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) closed at 56.35 dollars per barrel Thursday, it's lowest since July.

It is reasonable for the price of oil to fall and there's room for it to drop even further, Lu predicted.

This summer the world saw crude oil prices hovering at 60 US dollars per barrel and even surge to a record of 70 US dollars.

Such high oil prices can be attributed to financial speculation rather than the normal market forces of supply and demand.

According to statistics released by BP this year, 2004 witnessed a growth in global oil demand of 3.4 percent, which was lower than that year's growth in production capacity of 4.5 percent. This indicates that China should not be blamed for rising oil prices.

"The world's capacity to supply is still greater than the demand and that has not changed," said Zhou Dadi, Director of the Research Institute of Energy, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) at a forum on petroleum held last week.

"So it is not valid to say that China's oil imports are the cause of rising international oil prices," said Zhou.

In 2004, China accounted for 11 percent of that year's global energy output, according to statistics of the NDRC. The country produced 1.956 billion tons of coal. Adding its oil, natural gas, and other energy output, it produced a total of 1.85 billion tons of primary energy in terms of standard coal.

China's primary energy consumption in 2004 was 1.97 billion tons of standard coal equivalent and its domestic energy supply capacity reached as high as 94 percent, which is among the highest in the world.

In order to enhance China's security of oil supply it should try to reduce its dependency on oil imports to about 30 percent and not exceed more than 50 percent, said Xu Shoubo, an academic of Chinese Academy of Engineering.

China imported 120 million tons of crude oil in 2004, accounting for 40 percent of its oil consumption.

The Chinese government says reducing the country's energy demand and improving energy efficiency is extremely important.

In the proposal for the 11th Five Year Program, the blueprint for the economic and social development of the country from 2006 to 2010 issued last month, the government made clear the goal to reduce its per unit GDP energy consumption by 20 percent at the end of 2010.

China will continue to make coal it main method of producing energy allowing it to meet its energy demand from domestic sources, said the proposal.

Currently nearly 70 percent of China's energy demand is met by coal. Petroleum accounts for just over 20 percent of its energy supply.

Developing new and renewable resources, improving the country's energy efficiency and keeping its demand for imported oil at a moderate rate of growth will sustain China's energy consumption, said Xu Shoubo.

Nov. 18 , 2005

Nov. 18

previous years

the first ten months

this year

a year ago

year

Thursday

July

This summer

this year

last week

last month

the end of 2010


AFP_ENG_20061215.0508

VIENNA, Dec 15 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS quotes, details, background ///

Iran is ready to hide its uranium enrichment and continue with the sensitive nuclear work if threatened with military attack, a senior Iranian official said Friday.

"We have a large country, 1 million 600 thousand square kilometres and for centrifuge machines (which enrich uranium) the room of this size is enough," Iran's ambassador to the UN watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ali Asghar Soltanieh told a seminar in Vienna in a medium-sized conference room.

Centrifuge machines "could be done, could be performed, could be installed anywhere and could be protected," he told a gathering at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs.

Soltanieh was speaking as the UN Security Council debates in New York whether to impose sanctions on Iran for failing to honor a Council ultimatum to suspend uranium enrichment, which makes what can be fuel for civilian nuclear reactors or the raw material for atom bombs.

Iran insists on its right to enrich uranium as part of a peaceful drive to generate electricity but the United States charges that Tehran is hiding secret work on making nuclear weapons.

Experts have warned that attacking Iran's known atomic facilities might only drive the Iranian program underground and Soltanieh's comments were among the first from Iranian officials that they would do exactly that.

"Iran has got the technology, the know-how of enrichment and it is authorized by the IAEA. If therefore the Americans say hurry up, pass resolutions, let's have a military attack to stop Iran they are making a mistake," Soltanieh said.

"Iran is not a small island that with a Katrina (referring to the hurricane that devastated New Orleans) would disappear," he said.

In Tehran, Iran's top nuclear official warned Western powers they would face "painful measures" by the Islamic republic if sanctions were imposed.

"If the aim of the West is to erode our will by depriving us of our nuclear rights, we will have to employ painful measures against the West," Ali Larijani told reporters.

"If they want to use the weapon of threats, they will have to expect pressure in return," he added.

The head of parliament's foreign affairs committee, Alaedin Boroujerdi earlier said Tehran could curb IAEA inspections of its atomic facilities if sanctions were imposed.

Soltanieh said: "Is it not wise (to maintain) the situation... that all centrifuge machines (at Iran's enrichment facility in Natanz) are under 24 hours cameras of the IAEA and almost every week or two weeks the inspectors are there and everything is full transparent."

"Let this course of action continue," Soltanieh said.

Dec 15 , 2006

Friday

every week or two weeks


XIN_ENG_20051102.0275

TEHRAN, Nov. 2 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Iran to cede state companies' shares to poor

The Iranian government on Wednesday approved a plan to cede shares of state-owned companies to the poor people, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The newly approved bylaw stated that the government would cede state-owned companies' stocks to the poor strata of the society and pay off the cost of the shares under a 20-year installment, the report said.

It added that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance was assigned to draw up practical procedure for the ceding, while the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security would be responsible for identifying the beneficiaries in two months.

According to official statistics, nearly 15 percent of the Iranians live under the poverty line, but some unofficial estimates were fixed around 40 percent.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised during his election campaign to improve social welfare to provide a better life for the poor, which greatly contributed to his win.

Nov. 2 , 2005

Wednesday

two months


AFP_ENG_19970421.0600

LONDON, April 21 , 1997 (AFP)

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates 71st birthday

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 71st birthday with a quiet day at Windsor Castle Monday.

Never one to make a fuss, the queen spent the day in private with members of the royal family.

At noon in London's Hyde Park, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired a 41-gun salute. An hour later, a 62-gun salute was fired by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London.

Ceremonies for the sovereign's birthday will take place this year on Saturday June 14.

April 21 , 1997

Monday

An hour

this year

Saturday June 14


XIN_ENG_20061125.0052

DAR ES SALAAM, Nov. 25 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Zanzibar attracts more investment this year

The Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar has witnessed increased investment as both foreign and local investors have enhanced their inputs in the first 10 months of this year.

Thirty-one investment projects worth 93 million U.S. dollars have been registered with the Zanzibar Investment Promotion Agency (ZIPA), according to reports reaching here on Saturday.

ZIPA Director Salum Khmis Nassor said 21 of the investment projects had been signed up by companies from such countries as Belgium, Britain, Kenya, Norway and South Africa while the remaining 10 investment projects had been signed by local investors from mainland Tanzania and from the isles.

The new investment projects cover areas including agriculture, fisheries, industries, tourism and air and marine transport.

Tourist hotels and restaurants drew the largest share of investment with 71 million dollars followed by industries (2.79 million dollars), air and marine transport (2.78 million dollars), fisheries (1.41 million dollars) and agriculture (910,004 dollars).

ZIPA is a government agency specializing in promoting foreign and local investment in the development of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Nov. 25 , 2006

the first 10 months

this year

Saturday


XIN_ENG_20061113.0326

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Bush meets with panel on Iraq strategy

U.S. President George W. Bush met on Monday with a bipartisan panel reviewing the administration 's Iraq strategy, and said he was looking forward to seeing the group's recommendations.

Bush said he was not sure what the report the Iraq Study Group was expected to submit next month was going to say, but he was " looking forward to seeing it."

"I'm not going to prejudge" the report, he told reporters after meeting with the group at the White House.

The president said the U.S. goal in Iraq remained "a government that can sustain, govern and defend itself and serve as an ally in this war on terror," and he was impressed by the questions the panel asked.

The group, headed by former secretary of state James A. Baker III, a Republican, and Lee Hamilton, a Democratic former congressman, was to meet Bush and members of his foreign policy team, including Vice President Dick Cheney, the president's national security adviser, secretaries of the state and defense departments, and the national intelligence chief and the CIA chief, to begin its final round of interviews.

The group would also interview British Prime Minister Tony Blair by videoconference and meet with Democratic foreign policy leaders on Tuesday, and was expected to make recommendations on the government's Iraq policy next month or early next year.

Democratic leaders in the Senate have vowed to use their new congressional majority to press for troop reductions in Iraq within months.

Democratic Senator Carl Levin, who was to become chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee when the 110th Congress convenes early January next year, said on Monday that group's report would have "an impact on whatever action might be possible in this Congress and in the next Congress."

The first priority for the Armed Services Committee would be to find a way forward to "change the course in Iraq," he said at a news conference.

Nov. 13 , 2006

Monday

next month

Tuesday

next month or early next year

January next year

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061124.0094

MANILA, Nov. 24 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Philippine police attack Abu Sayyaf Group, killing one

A member of the Abu Sayyaf Group was killed while his brother, who is also linked to the terrorist group, was arrested in two separate operations by Philippine authorities on Thursday night, the police said on Friday.

A report by Western Mindanao police office head Chief Supt. Jaime Caringal identified the killed Abu Sayyaf man as Joselito Nazara, alias Abu Sufian or Kirrs, while the arrested brother of Nazara was Jayrold, alias Kobe.

Caringal said operatives of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Division swooped down at the village of Ayala in Zamboanga City to serve an arrest warrant against a group of terrorists.

The Abu Sayyaf members resisted arrest and resulted in a brief gunfight and the killing of Joselito Nazara, said Caringal.

Jayrold Nazara was arrested by the same operatives in a follow- up operation at an Abu Sayyaf safe house at the village of Pamucutan, also in Zamboanga City, the officer said, adding that Jayrold Naraza did not resist arrest.

Also seized in the Pamucutan operation were ammunition and group documents, SIM cards, and several pieces of the police's Special Action Force camouflage uniform, according to the police report.

Nov. 24 , 2006

Thursday night

Friday


XIN_ENG_20051115.0156

HONG KONG, Nov. 15 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Hang Seng China Enterprises Index higher -- Nov. 15

Hong Kong's Hang Seng China Enterprises Index rose 44.84 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 4,979.88 on Tuesday.

The index, initiated in August 1995 and re-based on Sept. 6, 2004, tracks the overall performance of 40 Chinese mainland state- owned enterprises listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index rose 8.92 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,880.28.

The index tracks the performance of 30 locally listed companies with a significant equity interest held by entities in the Chinese mainland.

Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index rose 11.36 points, or 0.63 percent, to close at 1,819.47.

Introduced on Oct. 3, 2001, Hang Seng Mainland Composite Index gauges the performance of 95 Hong Kong-listed companies with principal places of business in Hong Kong and the mainland.

Nov. 15 , 2005

Tuesday

August 1995

Sept. 6, 2004

Oct. 3, 2001


XIN_ENG_20061117.0070

LUSAKA, Nov. 17 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Foreign-funded Banks (10)

Article 34 An operational foreign-funded bank applying to engage in the types of RMB businesses within the scope of business as prescribed in article 29 or 31 of these regulations, shall satisfy the following requirements and be subject to the approval by the banking regulatory agency of the State Council:

(1) having opened business within the territory of the People's Republic of China for at least three years prior to the application;

(2) having been profitable for two consecutive years prior to the application; and

(3) other prudential requirements prescribed by the banking regulatory agency of the State Council.

Where a foreign bank branch changes into a wholly foreign-funded bank solely funded by its parent bank, the time limit as prescribed in subparagraph (1) or (2) of the preceding paragraph shall be calculated starting from the date when the foreign bank branch is established.

Chapter IV Supervision

Article 35 An operational foreign-funded bank shall, in accordance with relevant provisions, develop the operating rules, improve management systems for risk management and internal control, and ensure the compliance with such rules, policies and procedures.

Article 36 An operational foreign-funded bank shall comply with the unified accounting rules of the State and the provisions of the banking regulatory agency of the State Council on information disclosure.

Article 37 An operational foreign-funded bank shall comply with the relevant provisions of the State when issuing external debts.

Article 38 An operational foreign-funded bank shall determine its deposit and loan interest rates and the rates of various service fees in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Article 39 An operational foreign-funded bank to engage in deposit-taking business shall deposit required reserves in accordance with the provisions of the People's Bank of China.

Article 40 A wholly foreign-funded bank or Chinese-foreign joint venture bank shall comply with the asset/liability ratio requirement prescribed in the Law of the People's Republic of China on Commercial Banks. A wholly foreign-funded bank changed from a foreign bank branch and solely owned by its parent bank, or a wholly foreign-funded bank or Chinese-foreign joint venture bank established before these regulations take effect shall, where its asset/liability ratio fails to meet the requirement, satisfy such requirement within the time frame prescribed by the banking regulatory agency of the State Council.

The banking regulatory agency of the State Council shall have the power to require a wholly foreign-funded bank or Chinese-foreign joint venture bank identified with high risks or weak risk management to increase its capital adequacy ratio.

Article 41 An operational foreign-funded bank shall draw loan loss reserves in accordance with relevant provisions.

Article 42 A wholly foreign-funded bank or Chinese-foreign joint venture bank shall comply with the provisions of the banking regulatory agency of the State Council on corporate governance. (more)

Nov. 17 , 2006

at least three years

two consecutive years


AFP_ENG_20061224.0239

LIVERPOOL, England, Dec 24 , 2006, 2006

Cahill pledges to return fitter and stronger

Hobbling Everton midfielder Tim Cahill believes he will return from his lengthy, injury-enforced absence a better player.

The Australian international, who is expected to return to the first-team in January, is stepping up his rehabilitation from a knee injury suffered against Aston Villa on November 11, and has kicked a ball again for the first time.

"I've not had one down moment throughout this injury, I've worked hard and looked at the positives," said Cahill.

"I've spent a lot of time with my family and with my boys because (in the past couple of years) I've not had the chance to have a proper holiday.

"There's a lot to my game that I need to think about and I've been working on other areas.

"Obviously it's hard being injured but you have to have high spirits for the lads."

Despite his absence, Cahill remains Everton's top scorer with seven goals and was playing a crucial role for the Merseysiders when he suffered the injury which was caused by a challenge from team-mate Lee Carsley.

"I want to come back fully fit and start where I left off," he told the Liverpool Daily Post.

"I scored a few goals and was playing well but the biggest thing was that I got injured.

"I have to look at the pluses and the plus is that I've had a bit of a rest and when I get back hopefully I'll be revived for the start of the New Year - I hope to be buzzing and scoring more goals."

Dec 24 , 2006

January

November 11


XIN_ENG_20061103.0103

CAIRO, Nov. 3 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Xinhua Middle East news advisory -- Nov. 3

The following are some of major Mideast news stories due to be covered or pursued by Xinhua News Agency on Friday.

-- Monitoring the situation in the Palestinian territories as the Israeli army launched a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip.

-- Monitoring the security situation in Iraq amid mounting violence in the country.

-- Monitoring the course of formation of a Palestinian national unity government.

Nov. 3 , 2006

Friday


XIN_ENG_20051104.0020

MANILA, Nov. 4 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Philippines searches for reportedly crashed plane

Philippine police and navy started the search on Friday for a reportedly crashed light plane in Ballesteros, Mindanao, south of the country.

Ballesteros police chief Joel Cumlad said a composite team from the police, fire department and navy has been searching the sea and shore for the plane, but authorities have yet to recover any aircraft debris that would confirm the crash.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing in the area with vessels and airplanes dispatched early Friday morning for the operations, officials said.

Local residents of Santa Cruz village in Ballesteros said that the plane, believed to be a two-seater Cessna, was cruising at a low altitude over the village when it suddenly hit treetops and then plunged into the sea at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night, according to the police.

However, Air Transportation Office (ATO) on Friday said no plane was flying at the time when the aircraft reportedly crashed at the supposed spot.

ATO chief Nilo Jatico said that the agency's records showed that all aircraft had been accounted for as of Friday morning.

"We have checked on our general aviation aircraft in Mindanao and no plane was flying at that particular time, including those that are privately owned," he said.

Local police earlier said they could not launch a thorough search at the coast due to strong waves.

Nov. 4 , 2005

Friday

Friday morning

7:30 p.m. on Thursday night

Friday

Friday morning


AFP_ENG_20061229.0001

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 , 2006, 2006

AirAsia tips record quarterly profits on strong ringgit, low oil

Budget carrier AirAsia tips record profits for the three months to December on the back of the strengthening ringgit and lower fuel prices.

"There are two major things going in favor of AirAsia: one is oil, the other is the ringgit, which has had a phenomenal appreciation," chief executive officer Tony Fernandes told Friday's The Edge daily.

"It is our best ever quarter and I want to stress that this is the first quarter that AirAsia has operated really on a level playing field."

AirAsia announced in November that its net profits fell by almost 35 percent in its first quarter to September to 5.65 million ringgit (1.5 million dollars) on lower average fares.

Fernandes said many industry analysts had failed to pick up on the fact that the ringgit had appreciated 6.0-7.0 percent and that this factor combined with lower oil costs had produced substantial savings.

Malaysia's currency is this month trading at its highest levels since the peg to the dollar was removed in 2005.

"About 70 percent of our cost is in US dollars and 6.0-7.0 percent makes a huge impact to our bottom line," Fernandes told the financial daily.

"We also never hedged our currencies because we felt the ringgit would strengthen and we are now benefiting from a stronger ringgit," he said.

Fernandes said AirAsia had hedged almost 100 percent of its fuel requirements for the rest of the financial year ending June 2007.

"We believe fuel will oscillate between 55 and 65 US dollars (a barrel) and, no matter what OPEC is doing, oil is going down," he added.

The AirAsia chief said the airline's strategy for next year would be to focus on consolidation rather than expansion, particularly on improving its services, driving down costs and increasing flight frequencies.

Dec 29 , 2006

the three months

December

Friday

daily

ever quarter

November

first quarter to September

this month

now

financial year

June 2007

next year


XIN_ENG_20061117.0367

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Olowokandi out of Boston's NBA games for at least two weeks

Nigerian star Michael Olowokandi will be out for the next two to four weeks due to an abdominal strain.

The 2.10 metre (7 feets) Boston Celtics centre Olowokandi has averaged 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.5 minutes over Boston's first six National Basketball Association games.

He had a season-high eight points in a 110-108 victory over Charlotte on Nov. 8 for one of only two wins on the season for the Celtics (2-6).

The first overall pick in 1998, 31-year-old Olowokandi has averaged 8.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 482 games with the Los Angeles Clippers, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Celtics.

Nov. 17 , 2006

the next two to four weeks

12.5 minutes

Nov. 8


AFP_ENG_19970414.0066

NEW DELHI, April 14 , 1997 (AFP)

New Indian coalition will only last six months: Hindu nationalists

India's Hindu nationalists said Monday a new coalition forged by its rivals would be "absurd" and was doomed to fall within six months.

Sushma Swaraj, spokesman of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian People's Party), said: "This is another experiment and the fate will be the same. The previous arrangement was an absurd one, whose value was zero. Now it will be worse.

"How long will this stave off fresh general elections? For another six months. As the tradition of Congress is to pull down governments, this will last for not for more than six months."

The comment came after H.D. Deve Gowda, who resigned as prime minister at the weekend after losing a confidence vote, said he was willing to quit as head of the United Front alliance to avoid new elections.

His departure has been demanded by the Congress (I) party as the price of their renewed support in parliament.

The Congress brought down the United Front minority coalition Friday, ending 10 months of support by voting with the BJP.

Swaraj said Deve Gowda's decision was "a victory for the Congress" and said it had won "a war of nerves" with the Front.

Both were intent on keeping the nationalists out of power, she added, but the BJP would win out in the end.

"After the new government fails, people will have a clear alternative. We will win any elections," she said. "It is a win-win position. Whatever the new arrangement, we will gain."

India's 545-seat lower house is almost evenly split between the BJP, the single largest party with 162 seats, the Congress and the United Front, an alliance of 13 leftist, centrist and regional parties.

Both the Congress and the Front refuse to work with the BJP, accusing it of mixing religion with politics.

The BJP still harbours faint hopes of forming a coalition of its own despite Monday's announcement.

While expected to make the major gains in new elections, the BJP said it could still try to form a government if regional parties from the United Front as well as small independent groups offered their backing.

Swaraj said this option was still open. "Any new ally is welcome to join the BJP in a new front, " she said, but conceded no one had yet responded to the offer.

April 14 , 1997

Monday

six months

another six months

more than six months

Friday

10 months

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061104.0031

LANZHOU, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

China's 16th medical team leaves for Madagascar

A 30-strong medical team on Saturday left Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province, for a two-year mission in Madagascar.

It is China's 16th medical detachment to the east African country since 1975.

Zhong Liangting, leader of the team and three-time veteran of Madagascar, said the members were chosen from medical organizations across Gansu, and included specialists in internal medicine, surgery, orthopaedics and gynecology.

The team would provide services to local people in four hospitals.

Gansu has sent 444 medical workers to work in Madagascar in the past 31 years, of whom 51 have been awarded national honors by Madagascar.

China has sent a total of 15,000 medical personnel to 47 African nations and regions since the dispatch of its first medical team to Algeria in 1963, according to the Foreign Ministry.

About 950 Chinese medical staff are currently working in 36 African nations.

Nov. 4 , 2006

Saturday

the past 31 years


XIN_ENG_20051111.0096

BANGKOK, Nov. 11 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Thai bourse down 3.99 points

The Stock Exchange of Thailand ( SET)index on Friday moved down 3.99 points to close at 690.45 points.

Some 2.29 billion shares worth 11.21 billion Thai baht (about 280.250 million US dollars) changed hands.

SET index lost 2.41 points to close at 694.44 points on Thursday.

Nov. 11 , 2005

Friday

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20051103.0054

BEIJING, Nov. 3 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Beijing

The fifth-round of the six-party talks will begin on Nov. 9 in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan announced at a regular press conference here Thursday.

Kong did not say how long the negotiation would last, but said that "holding the talks by phases in the new round could have a better result" as the chief negotiators of the six parties might also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit slated for mid November in Pusan of the Republic of Korea (ROK).

The experience in the last round of the talks has proved that it is a "good idea" to hold the talks by phases, the spokesman added.

"We hope the participants in the new round of negotiation could have an in-depth exchange of views on the consensus reached in the last round," said Kong.

The six-party talks, aiming at resolving the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula, group China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the United States, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan. The first round was held in August 2003 in Beijing.

"If all parties could take commitment to commitment and action to action based on the joint statement reached during the fourth round of the talks, and earnestly push forward the discussion and agree to take further steps, there would be positive result," Kong said.

The fourth-round six-party talks ended on Sept. 19 with the adopting of the first joint statement. The DPRK pledged in the statement to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and return, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The United States affirms that it has no nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula and has no intention of attacking or invading the DPRK with nuclear or conventional weapons, says the statement.

Nov. 3 , 2005

Nov. 9

Thursday

August 2003

Sept. 19


XIN_ENG_20061115.0231

LANZHOU, Nov. 15 , 2006 (Xinhua)

China

Rising temperatures have exacerbated shrinkage of glaciers in western China in the past 50 years, Chinese scientists have found.

China's glaciers are mainly distributed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and neighboring areas. These areas boast 46,377 glaciers.

About 82 percent of the glaciers in west China have been shrinking in the past 50 years as the temperature rose by 0.2 degrees Celsius per 10 years, according to the research results published by the Cold and Dry Zone Environment and Engineering Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Scientists with the institute selected 5,000 glaciers in the region and used remote sensing and geographic information system methods to monitor their changes in the past 50 years, said Liu Shiyin, an expert with the institute, who participated in the monitoring program.

The 5,000 glaciers account for one-fourth of the total acreage of glaciers in western China.

Liu said only a small number of glaciers were expanding and about 82 percent of the monitored glaciers shrank by 4.5 percent in the past 50 years.

Glaciers in the central and northwestern parts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau shrank slowly and those in the neighboring areas were shrinking faster, Liu said.

Liu said, 95 percent of the 170 glaciers on the northwestern slope of the Qilian Mountains have shrunk by 4.9 meters each year on average, and only 10 glaciers expanded during the 1956-2000 period.

Almost all the glaciers on the northern slope of and 69 percent of glaciers on the southern slope the Tianshan Mountains, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, are receding, and the glacier acreage shrank by 10 percent on the Pamirs in the past 50 years.

Glaciers on the northern slopes of the Kunlun Mountains and the Himalayas were also shrinking, Liu said.

Monitoring results show that water flow in some rivers in northwest China's dry regions has been increasing, a result possibly brought about by melting glaciers, Liu said.

However, Liu warned, if glaciers continued to melt fastly, water sources for local rivers would reduce and that would impose serious impact on local production and the life of local people.

Nov. 15 , 2006

the past 50 years

the past 50 years

10 years

the past 50 years

the past 50 years

each year

the 1956-2000 period

the past 50 years


XIN_ENG_20051119.0061

NAIROBI, Nov. 19 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Roundup: Kenyans to vote in disputed constitutional referendum

After several weeks of highly charged, divisive campaigns between those supporting the new constitution and those against, Kenyans will finally vote in the referendum this coming Monday.

According to the Electoral Commission of Kenya, 11.6 million registered voters are expected to turn out at 19,134 polling stations across the country.

ECK Chairman Samuel Kivuitu said polling centers across the country will open at 7 am (0400 GMT) until 5 pm (1400 GMT) during Monday's constitution referendum.

"We don't want people to vote at night. We want counting to be done during the day when voters can see," said Kivuitu.

He has however expressed concern that referendum committees have not submitted names of agents and is worried that this could open up the process to possible rigging.

"Even our officers may take sides. The dead might vote. Double voting might take place. That's why we want agents everywhere," said Kivuitu.

REFERENDUM UNDER DISPUTE

The referendum campaigns have been marked by tribalism, belligerent rhetoric, sporadic violence and the deaths of at least eight people, and is being widely viewed as a referendum on the government and a battle for power between the political elite.

President Mwai Kibaki says a new constitution is long overdue, but critics say the document perpetuates the immense powers of the president of the east African nation of 32 million people.

The document represents the first overhaul of Kenya's constitution since the current version, which was drawn up on the eve of independence from Britain in 1963.

Violence is dogging the debate, and each side is blaming the other. Protesters from both camps have taken to the streets and there have been clashes in recent months.

The government is leading the "Yes" campaign under the symbol of a banana while the opposition and a party in the ruling coalition are championing the "No" cause with their symbol of an orange.

The contest is expected to be tense and, whichever side wins, the country will bare divisions, with the process leaving a stain on a nation many hoped would take strides forward after historic 2002 elections.

In the run-up to the referendum, the Yellow Movement, a civil- society group allied to the "No" camp, challenged the proposed constitution in court.

They sought a declaration on whether the constitution-making process, including the November 21 referendum, was valid.

The constitutional court ruled on Tuesday in favor of the referendum, arguing that neither parliament nor the courts had the authority to stop the referendum because it involved the constituent power of the people to make a constitution.

The divisive campaigns have prompted church leaders to hold prayer services for a peaceful outcome with some diplomatic community in Nairobi also fear that the country might plunge into chaos after the vote.

The referendum is perceived to pitch two major ethnic communities against each other, with the Kikuyu largely behind the "Yes" vote and the Luo supporting the "No" vote.

None of the other ethnic groups are allied as solidly to a specific side, and many people now see the referendum as a popularity contest between Kibaki and his Roads Minister Raila Odinga.

TEST FOR GOVERNMENT

Analysts say the campaign could be a defining moment for Kibaki 's ruling National Rainbow Coalition (NARC).

The coalition won in 2002 on a wave of euphoria after 24 years of rule by Daniel Arap Moi, but now is in a precarious position because of growing public dissatisfaction.

Both camps agree that the existing constitution is outdated and oppressive but have failed to reach consensus on the new one, which has been the subject of debate since 1997.

A sharp rift, exposed early this year, over a new constitution seeking to curb President Kibaki's power, has now cast fresh doubts over whether the battered coalition will survive its current political crisis.

The most obvious split has been within Kibaki's shaky coalition, with at least seven ministers joining ranks with the opposition to campaign for a "No" vote, while the president and his supporters promote the "Yes" vote.

"The constitution process was supposed to bring us together but it has divided us further," says Maina Kiai, chairman of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

Critics say Attorney General Amos Wako incorporated the amendments introduced by parliament in July which sparked three days of violent demonstrations by Kenyans outraged at the handling of the constitution writing process.

But Wako has defended the proposed constitution, saying it captures the views of wananchi (citizens) as manifested in the Bomas draft, the former draft of the new constitution.

"My role was to use Bomas draft as a benchmark and incorporate some amendments passed by parliament and that is what I did," he said on Wednesday.

Contentious issues in the draft constitution, including reduction of presidential powers and creation of an executive prime minister's post, have been the reason for the split and political infighting within the ruling coalition.

Members of the "No" camp said that the document does not reflect the wishes of the people of Kenya as manifested in the Bomas Draft.

In particular, they say, the draft has glorified the powers of the president, making him a "king".

They are also unhappy with the devolution of powers, the conditions and voter thresholds for electing a president, the powers of the prime minister and the appointment of the cabinet.

The "Yes" camp argued that the presidential powers to prorogue and dissolve parliament have been taken away and that parliament will control its calendar. The authority to allocate land has also been handed over to an independent National Lands Commission. Presidential appointments under the new constitution will be subject to parliamentary approval.

Disillusion is already running deep among the majority of Kenyans who -- fed up with rising unemployment, crime and graft -- voted successfully for the first time for change and not for their ethnic group in the 2002 polls.

Some analysts warned that Kenya could be plunged into a dangerous political crisis whatever the outcome. But the ECK boss has appealed to Kenyans to respect each other during the campaigns, noting that the differences could tear the country apart if not checked.

"We are one nation. Whichever side wins we will still remain one nation," Kivuitu said.

"We have survived many national crises which could have torn us apart. But we resisted. Let that resilience remain our hallmark. Let us leave a legacy which will be the pride to our descendants," he cautioned.

Nov. 19 , 2005

several weeks

this coming Monday

Monday

night

recent months

November 21

Tuesday

now

24 years

now

early this year

July

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061110.0250

NAIROBI, Nov. 10 , 2006 (Xinhua)

FIFA probes Kenyan referees list

World football governing body FIFA has suspended a list of international referees submitted by Kenya last month after allegations of graft in their recruitment and ordered immediate investigations.

In a letter to Kenya Football Federation (KFF), FIFA deputy general secretary Michael Schallhart said the football world governing body had launched immediate probe into the exercise.

"The FIFA Referees Committee has decided to suspend the lists of nominations submitted by Kenya Football Federation (KFF) until further notice," Schallart said in a letter to KFF.

An investigation has been started. The graft allegations were revealed last month by Kenya Football Referees Association secretary-general G.M.T. Ottieno, a week after FIFA suspended the east African nation from international competition indefinitely.

The government dissolved the federation 10 days later and set up a caretaker committee to run the sport. FIFA has also dismissed the caretaker committee appointed by the government last week to oversee the running of the football.

The world's soccer governing body indefinitely suspended Kenya from international competition on October 24 for failing to respect signed agreements and for recurrent problems in the KFF.

While dissolving the federation, Sports Minister Maina Kamanda said he was compelled to take the radical action to restore order and normalcy in the management of football.

The seven man committee which comprises former lawmakers, journalists and sports administrators will oversee the country's football "re-birth".

Nov. 10 , 2006

last month

last month

week

the federation 10 days

last week

October 24


XIN_ENG_20061117.0217

BEIJING, Nov. 17 , 2006 (Xinhua)

suppliers

A Beijing court on Friday rejected a Chinese netizen's lawsuit against a software producer and its supplier for alleged "hooligan software" in the country's first verdict on this issue.

The Chaoyang District People's Court of Beijing rejected Dong Haiping's claim for an apology and compensation of 1,094 yuan (138 U.S. dollars) from Inter China Network Software (Beijing) Co., Ltd and the Beijing Alibaba Information Technology Co., Ltd, after he found he could not completely remove their software from his computer.

Dong said he downloaded and installed Yahoo Assistant, software designed to assist the running of Internet Explorer developed by the Inter China (Beijing) from the Yahoo China website and provided by Beijing Alibaba, last August.

Dong claimed that the software could not be fully uninstalled and it always started up automatically when he turned on his computer.

The remaining part of the software damaged the hard disk of his computer and affected its normal use, according to Dong.

The court ruled that Dong did not provide evidence that the software had resulted in the damage of his computer.

Dong's lawyer said they would appeal.

Dong has set up the China Anti-hooligan Software Federation to fight against "hooligan software", including adverts, spyware and malicious software like pornographic information, all of which may pop up uncontrollably and provide backdoors for viruses.

Nov. 17 , 2006

Friday

last August


XIN_ENG_20051113.0052

BUSAN, South Korea, Nov. 13 , 2005 (Xinhua)

By Huang Xingwei

The Pacific Rim leaders will send a "short but strong" political message at their annual gathering to bolster the stalled global trade talks, said South Korea's APEC Ambassador Kim Jong-hoo here Sunday

"We agree that the forthcoming APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting may be the last chance to provide impetus to the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization in Hong Kong next month, " Kim Jong-hoo told a press conference after ending the two-day Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting (CSOM ) for 2005.

The senior officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC) forum have reached an understanding on sending the political message backing the WTO Doha Development Agenda, said the ambassador.

The wording of joint statement has not been finalized, but it will be "strong" and "powerful," said the APEC SOM chair.

The Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations, first introduced at the fourth WTO biannual ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in 2001, collapsed in 2003 due to deep differences between the developed and developing members on market access, agriculture subsidies and tariff structures. The push by APEC leaders to keep the momentum going is seen as important because the region represents nearly half of the world trade.

But experts were not optimistic about the outcome of the WTO ministerial conference in Hong Kong next month.

"I don't think there is much hope for the Doha Round meeting in Hong Kong as there is no real movement on agricultural subsidies by the developed countries," Michel Yahuda, an expert on Asia- Pacific affairs at London School of Economics, told Xinhua.

In addition to advancing free trade, the two-day working-level meeting also focused on anti-corruption, natural disasters and steps to combat the potential bird flu pandemic.

APEC will hold a ministerial meeting on bird flu pandemic in Vietnam in the early part of next year and a symposium on containing the new contagious disease in China in April, said South Korea's APEC ambassador.

The APEC officials also agreed that member economies will come up with a model for the establishment of a free trade agreement by 2008, he added.

The statements prepared by the senior officials will be handed to the APEC ministers for discussion on Tuesday and Wednesday, before submitting to their leaders.

The CSOM is the final meeting of Senior Officials before the 17th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Nov. 15-16 and the 13th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting that will take place on Nov. 18-19.

APEC, established in 1989, currently has 21 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The chairmanship rotates among members, with South Korea holding the chair this year.

Nov. 13 , 2005

Sunday

next month

next year

April

Tuesday and Wednesday

Nov. 15-16

Nov. 18-19

currently

this year


AFP_ENG_19970430.0031

TOKYO, April 30 , 1997 (AFP)

Dollar moves narrowly in mid-afternnon Tokyo trade

The dollar moved in a narrow range against the yen in mid-afternoon trading here Wednesday, as activity slowed ahead of a long weekend in Japan.

At 2 p.m. (0500 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 126.97 yen, slightly up from 126.84 yen earlier in the day and 126.88 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon.

The dollar also traded at 1.7238, down from 1.7245 earlier and 1.7259 in New York Tuesday.

The US unit was lower against the mark on stop-loss dollar selling activated at the 1.7220-25 mark level, but with the declines likely to be recouped in European trading, dealers said.

The dollar's falls against the mark was also due to buying of the German unit against the yen as investors covered positions following the mark's recent falls against the yen, dealers said.

Activity was focused on the mark-yen cross with investors reluctant to take fresh positions in dollar-yen trading ahead of the long weekend through Monday in Japan, they said.

"Investors were encouraged to accelerate buying of the mark against the yen after the mark broke through technical upside resistance at the 73.60 yen level," said Tokai Bank dealer Masahiro Yamaguchi.

The mark traded at 73.66 yen mid-afternnon here.

"I think the mark will continue rising close to the 74 yen level and the dollar, in turn, is expected to continue falling against the mark," Yamaguchi said.

April 30 , 1997

mid-afternoon trading here Wednesday

Tuesday afternoon

Monday


AFP_ENG_20061229.0325

NAIVASHA, Kenya, Dec 29 , 2006, 2006

Trial for renowned environmentalist's murder opens in Kenya

The murder trial of four suspects accused of killing a world-renowned British environmentalist and wildlife filmmaker in her bed in Kenya earlier this year opened in Naivasha on Friday.

David Chege, Joseph Ndung'u, Philip Mutuku and Allan Githenji face charges of murdering and attempting to rob Joan Wells Root, 69, the daughter of a colonial-era British settler, in the Kenyan Rift Valley where she was raised and lived for many years promoting environmental causes.

The guardsman on duty during the January 13 incident in Naivasha, 90 kilometers (55 miles) northwest of Nairobi, told magistrate Nicholas Njagi that none of the men on trial were among those he witnessed killing the filmmaker.

According to the guard, Abdi Aziz Diba, two men carrying a gun and a machete approached Root's home before midnight in an attempt to rob the daughter of coffee farmer and photo safari guide Edmund Thorpe of 57,500 US dollars (43,600 euros).

Root was well known for her conservation efforts and kept several species of animals, including waterbucks, dik diks and birds, on her compound where hippos were known to gather, residents said.

With her ex-husband, Alan, she made several acclaimed nature documentaries in the 1960s, 70s and 80s including "Balloon Safari", in which they used innovative aerial techniques to capture Kenya's stunning wildlife and landscape.

Naivasha has been rife with animosity between foreign investors, mainly flower farmers, and the local population over access to resources, and has been the scene of several violent attacks on European residents, although Root's murder is the first in several months.

At least three other Europeans have been slain in violent robberies in the Rift Valley since September 2004, prompting great unease and major security fears in the expatriate community.

The magistrate adjourned the trial until January 23 next year.

Dec 29 , 2006

earlier this year

Friday

many years

January 13

the 1960s

several months

September 2004

January 23 next year


AFP_ENG_20061218.0041

PERTH, Australia, Dec 18 , 2006, 2006

by Scott Coghlan

The Ashes are gone but England captain Andrew Flintoff said his side would be out to regain lost pride in the last two Tests of the series.

A disappointed Flintoff said the England camp were hurting deeply after the 206-run loss in Perth that handed Australia an unbeatable 3-0 lead just three Tests into the most anticipated Ashes series ever.

While Flintoff said Australia undoubtedly deserved to win the series, he urged the Barmy Army and fans at home to stick with the side and he dismissed the need for wholesale changes to the team.

Having enjoyed the highs of the 2005 upset win, Flintoff found it hard to describe his emotions after the loss, but vowed his side would bounce back in the Melbourne and Sydney Tests.

"It hurts, it's hurting a lot for the lads, but we have to get over it because we have got two more Test matches to play," he said.

"We can't mope around, we've got two big Test matches still and we want to give a good account of ourselves.

"It is going to be a tough couple of days, but there is a lot of pride and character in our dressing room.

"There are a lot of lads who want to prove they can win a Test match in Australia and prove they can play against Australia."

While much has been made of the pressure he is under and his own indifferent form, Flintoff said he wanted to retain the captaincy for as long as possible.

"I am so proud to be England captain and I always will be," he said.

"It has its moments, but no regrets whatsoever -- as long as I get the opportunity to do so, I always will be."

Having needed to bat for more than two days to save the match or score 557 to record an unlikely win, Flintoff admitted there were times he thought they could achieve the impossible as they defied the Australian attack.

"We decided to go out there positive," he said.

"It was working for period and you dare to dream."

Flintoff said the English had played better than three straights defeats suggested, but hadn't been able to maintain pressure on the Australians at key stages of each Test.

"At the 'Gabba, Australia came out strong and put us on the back foot and it was hard to come back," he said.

"Adelaide was bitterly disappointing. In this game we bowled them out for 240, we were hoping to score at least 350 and try and apply some pressure to Australia, but fair play to them they didn't allow us to.

"They hit us hard, had the lead, and then (Adam) Gilchrist took the game away from us."

Despite the defeat, Flintoff said there were plenty of positives the English could take from the tour.

"At times, we have shown on the field how talented we are," Flintoff said.

"There have been some great things come out of this trip so far. The young lads have emerged, the likes of Alastair Cook scoring hundreds, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, the bowling of Matthew Hoggard and Monty (Panesar).

"But we've not been able to apply the pressure as much as we would have liked to have done.

"Every time we have had our foot in the door, they have closed it on us."

Dec 18 , 2006

the last two Tests

more than two days


XIN_ENG_20051115.0210

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 , 2005 (Xinhua)

US retail sales down slightly in October

The retail sales in the United States declined by 0.1 percent in October mainly because of the falling gasoline prices and the drop of car sales, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

The slight decline of overall US sales was significantly better than the 0.7 percent drop many economists had expected.

The report showed that the decline was led by a big 3.6 percent drop in auto sales, which have weakened with the removal of attractive discounts automakers had used during the summer.

Also working to hold back the US retail sales in October was a 0.8 percent decline in sales at gasoline stations, a drop that reflected a big retreat in pump prices.

However, excluding auto sale, US retail sales rose by a solid 0.9 percent last month as a result of big gains at specialty clothing stores and department stores, lifting the outlook for the upcoming holiday sales season.

Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for two-thirds of total US economic activity and retail sales account for about an half of the consumer spending in the country.

Nov. 15 , 2005

October

Tuesday

the summer

October

last month


AFP_ENG_20061226.0387

CRAWFORD, Texas, Dec 26 , 2006, 2006

detail ///

The United States on Tuesday called Saddam Hussein's confirmed death sentence "a milestone" for Iraqis and said the "tyrant" had received a fair trial.

"Today marks a milestone for Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law," Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman, said.

"Saddam has received due process and the legal rights that he denied the Iraqi people," he said.

"The Iraqis deserve praise for continuing to utilize the institutions of democracy to pursue justice," the spokesman told reporters traveling with President George W. Bush aboard the presidential jet Air Force One to Texas.

Bush was to spend the final days of the year at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Earlier Tuesday an Iraqi appeals court judge announced that Saddam would be hanged within 30 days, after confirming the former strongman's sentence for crimes against humanity.

Speaking to reporters in Baghdad, Judge Arif Shaheen said the verdict was final and legally binding on Iraq's government, which now has a month to get Saddam and two co-defendants to the gallows.

"This is an important day for the Iraqi people," Stanzel said without commenting on the sentence itself.

Stanzel said a written judgment against Saddam should be available "soon." "So we look forward, as does the rest of the world, to seeing that written judgment," he said.

The Iraqi confirmation of the death penalty for Saddam came as Bush, under pressure from surging violence in Iraq and rising American opposition to the war, prepared a new way forward for the country as it sinks closer to civil war.

Bush was due to announce a new US strategy for Iraq after January 1, the White spokesman reminded reporters.

"He continues to ask questions of his advisors and ... trying to make sure that all options and all ideas are given the due consideration they need, trying to think through the consequences of any actions and of those options."

Dec 26 , 2006

Tuesday

the year

Earlier Tuesday

30 days

now

a month

January 1


XIN_ENG_20051112.0158

LAGOS, Nov. 12 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Polio epidemic stops in 10 African countries: UNICEF

Polio has been kicked out of 10 west and central African countries as a result of mass immunization drives reaching as many as 100 million children across much of the region, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has said.

The previously polio-free countries, including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Togo, were reinfected by an outbreak in northern Nigeria following a vaccine boycott.

"The epidemic has paralyzed nearly 200 children for life since mid-2003, but no new cases have been reported in these countries since early June," according to a UNICEF statement made available on Saturday.

"At the same time, polio eradication efforts are intensifying in Nigeria, where extensive disease transmission continues, as part of a mass polio campaign across 28 African countries" beginning early this week, it added.

But a 200 million US dollars funding gap for 2006 must urgently be filled, and 75 million US dollars of which is needed by December, to ensure activities in the first quarter of next year can proceed, it said.

Since 1988, global eradication efforts have reduced the number of polio cases by more than 99 percent, from 350,000 annually to 1, 469 cases in 2005, but the target of wiping out the disease globally by 2005 will not be realized due to the ongoing polio transmission in part of Nigeria.

The northern Nigerian state of Kano and neighboring states stopped the immunization of their children for 10 months in 2003- 2004 on the allegation that the vaccine contained infertility agents purportedly planted by western nations to depopulate the area.

Experts say that at least a further year will be needed to finish the job in Nigeria, following the 10-month suspension. Five other countries, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Niger and Egypt, also remain polio endemic.

Nov. 12 , 2005

early June

Saturday

this week

December

the first quarter of next year

10 months


AFP_ENG_20061204.0648

HOUSTON, Dec 4 , 2006, 2006

US jury convicts driver in deaths of illegal immigrants

A US federal jury on Monday found a Jamaican man guilty in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants who perished in the truck he was driving in sweltering temperatures near the US-Mexico border.

Convicted on 58 counts of smuggling, Tyrone Williams now faces a possible death sentence under a 1994 law. The legislation allows for the death penalty if an illegal immigrant dies during a smuggling operation.

During the trial, US District Attorney Daniel Rodriguez said the 35-year-old Williams -- a Jamaican national living in the United States -- was a "vile and heartless truck driver who has no regard for human life."

He said Williams treated the 85 Hispanic immigrants in the sealed, refrigerated trailer he was hauling like cargo.

Witnesses said they pleaded for air and water and pounded on the sides as many suffocated and succumbed to heat stroke amid sweltering temperatures.

A five-year-old boy was among the 19 victims who died.

Williams' defense lawyer, Craig Washington, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the verdict.

Washington said he will argue to save his client's life when the sentencing phase of the trial begins on Wednesday.

"He was guilty of transporting. We admitted that from the very beginning but he's not the kind of person that would intentionally kill people," he said.

Washington said Williams did not know how many people were crammed inside the trailer, which he picked up at Mexico's border with the US state of Texas.   He said this was his client's second smuggling attempt and previously had transported only 17 people.

Williams abandoned the trailer in Victoria, Texas after discovering the dead bodies but was later arrested in Houston.

Dec 4 , 2006

Monday

now

Wednesday


WSJ891026-0016
 = 891026
 891026-0016.
 Dividend News:
@  Oneida Ltd.
 10/26/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 OCQ
 DIVIDENDS (DIV)

   ONEIDA Ltd. declared a 10% stock dividend, payable Dec. 15 to stock of record Nov. 17.
The Oneida, N.Y., maker of consumer, food-service and industrial products also declared a quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents a share, with the same payable and record dates.
The cash dividend paid on the common stock also will apply to the new shares, the company said.
The move rewards shareholders and should improve the stock's liquidity, Oneida said.
The company has about 8.8 million shares outstanding.
In New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday, Oneida's shares closed at $18.375 a share, unchanged.

Dec. 15

Nov. 17

yesterday


WSJ_20130322_159

March 22, 2013

Netanyahu Apologizes to Turkey for Deadly Ship Raid

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized on Friday to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a raid on a Turkish flotilla ship, a move that will help restore strained ties between the countries.

The call, which happened as President Barack Obama wrapped up his first presidential visit to Israel, was an unexpected outcome from a Mideast trip that seemed to yield few concrete steps.

Mr. Netanyahu's office confirmed that the Israeli leader, in a conversation with Mr. Erdogan, "agreed to restore normalization between Israel and Turkey, including the dispatch of ambassadors and the cancellation of legal steps against [Israeli Defense Forces] soldiers." Mr. Erdogan accepted the Israeli apology, the prime minister's office said.

Mr. Erdogan has long sought an apology for the raid in May 2010 on the Mavi Marmara, which was part of a flotilla that sought to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. An Israeli raid on the ship left nine passengers dead, all of them Turkish or of Turkish descent.

"In light of the Israeli investigation into the incident, which pointed out several operational errors, Prime Minister Netanyahu apologized to the Turkish people for any errors that could have led to loss of life and agreed to complete the agreement on compensation," the statement said.

Mr. Netanyahu told Mr. Erdogan that what happened on board the Mavi Marmara was "unintentional and Israel expresses regret over injuries and loss of life," according to the statement.

Mr. Obama said later at a news conference in Amman that he had spoken to both leaders over the past two years about how it was in the interests of both countries to restore normal relations.

He said he discussed the issue with Mr. Netanyahu during his visit to Israel this week, and that they agreed the timing was good for a discussion with the Turkish leader.

The incident was a subject of talks between Mr. Netanyahu and President Barack Obama during the president's trip to Israel this week, officials said.

March 22, 2013

Friday

May 2010

the past two years

this week

this week


AFP_ENG_20051212.0342

BELGRADE, Dec 12 , 2005

14 Serbs jailed for to up to 20 years over Croatia massacre

A judge at Serbia's war crimes court on Monday jailed 14 former soldiers for to up to 20 years over the massacre of more than 200 prisoners after the siege of the Croatian town of Vukovar in 1991.

The judge gave eight of the 16 defendants the maximum available sentence of 20 years in prison for murdering "at least 200 prisoners of war" in the hamlet of Ovcara near Vukovar after the three-month siege of the northeastern Croatian town.

The 16, including a woman, were charged with taking prisoners from Vukovar's hospital and executing them on a farm at Ovcara after Serb troops overwhelmed Croat defenders at the Danube River town.

Two defendants were cleared of all charges, the woman received a nine-year sentence and the remaining men were jailed for between five to 15 years.

"They are guilty as they, acting as members of the territorial defence from November 20 to November 21, 1991 at the Ovcara farm, tortured, inhumanly treated and murdered at least 200 prisoners of war," Judge Vesko Krstajic told the court in handing down the verdict.

Sentenced to 20 years in jail were Miroljub Vujovic, Stanko Vujanovic, Milan Lancuzanin, Predrag Dragovic, Predrag Milojevic, Ivan Atanasijevic, Djordje Sosic and Miroslav Djankovic.

Those jailed for 15 years were Jovica Peric, Vujo Zlatar Milan Vojnovic, while Predrag Madjarac got 12 years, Nada Kalaba nine years and Goran Mugosa five years.

The special prosecutor plans to appeal the two acquittals and some of the short sentences, according to spokesman Bruno Vekaric.

Still, he welcomed the guilty verdicts because "the crime (massacre), which had previously been denied, has been confirmed and proven."

The defence said it would also mount appeals.

Relatives of the victims were at Monday's ruling in Belgrade along with representatives of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the US and Croatian embassies in the Serbian capital, and human rights activists.

Foreign observers have been attending the trial in Serbia's special war crimes court since it opened in March last year. It was the first major war crimes case to be heard in the former Yugoslav republic.

Serbia set up the special war crimes prosecutor's office in 2003, backed by police and detention units, to deal with allegations arising from the wars of the 1990s in Bosnia, Croatia and the province of Kosovo.

Only six people were initially indicted over the Vukovar massacre; charges against another 11 were filed in March 2004. One of the accused died in custody earlier this year.

The defendants were all members of local territorial defense units, as well as volonteer units fighting along the soldiers.

Vukovar was captured by the Yugoslav army and Serb rebels in November 1991, at the end of the siege, in some of the most brutal fighting of Croatia's 1991-1995 war of independence from the former communist federation.

The town was razed and more than 1,000 civilians were killed, including those at Ovcara, 192 of whom have been identified.

The victims were machine-gunned in groups of about 10 and their bodies were buried in pits at a pig farm outside town, according to the prosecution. The massacre started on November 20 and finished early the next day.

After the war ended, the Vukovar region was put under UN administration and was reintegrated into Croatia in 1998.

The Hague-based UN war crimes tribunal has been trying three Serb officers -- Veselin Sljivancanin, Miroslav Radic and Mile Mrksic -- for suspected war crimes committed in Vukovar.

Dec 12 , 2005

Monday

20 years

five to 15 years

November 20

November 21, 1991

15 years

12 years

five years

Monday

March last year

March 2004

earlier this year

November 1991

November 20

the next day


AFP_ENG_20061214.0321

MUNICH, Germany, Dec 14 , 2006, 2006

Bayern confirm lucrative Dubai tournament

Bayern Munich have confirmed their participation in a lucrative four-team tournament in Dubai from January 5-14.

The German champions will be on a six-week winter break from the Bundesliga but have been given the chance to keep trim against some quality opposition over the festive period, and make some money into the bargain.

Bayern will face Portuguese side Benfica on January 8 with the winner facing Brazilian giants FC Santos or Italian outfit Lazio for the two million dollar prize money.

Bayern vice-chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: "We didn't have the best preparation in the summer but now we've found what we have been looking for for the past three years - two serious matches in the winter break that combine our sporting and economic interests."

Bayern lie fourth in the Bundesliga table, three points behind joint leaders Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, with just one game remaining before the winter break.

The Bundesliga resumes on January 26, with Dortmund's home game against Bayern kicking off the second half of the season.

Dec 14 , 2006

January 5-14

the festive period

January 8

the summer

now

the past three years

January 26