AFP_ENG_20061221.0533

LONDON, Dec 21 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS press conference details ///

British police probing the killings of five prostitutes in Ipswich said they would make an announcement at 2215 GMT on Thursday.

As a legal deadline approached to either charge or release two suspects being held in connection with the enquiry, unconfirmed reports said that police would also hold a news conference.

Two men aged 37 and 48 were being questioned over the murders of five sex workers whose bodies were found in the countryside around the eastern port town over a 10-day period earlier this month, but no-one has yet been charged.

By Friday morning, police must charge or release a man they had arrested on Monday. Police have not named him but media reports have said he is 37-year-old supermarket worker Tom Stephens.

A second man, whom the media named as Steve Wright, 48, of Ipswich in Suffolk county, was also being questioned over the deaths and can be held until Saturday at the latest after being arrested on Tuesday.

Earlier, it emerged that officers working on the case had compared notes with a neighboring force trying to resolve sex worker murders dating back to 1992.

In Norwich, north of Ipswich in the county of Norfolk, mystery still shrouds the stranglings of Natalie Pearman, 16, in 1992, and Michelle Bettles, 22, who died 10 years later. Kellie Pratt, 29, vanished from Norwich's red-light district in 2000.

Inspector Jamie Ayers of Norfolk Police said that the three cases were still open, but that a senior police officer had now been assigned to each one.

"We carry on searching and if there is any help that we can possibly give to Suffolk we will endeavour to do our best," he said.

According to The Sun newspaper, which cited unnamed police sources, Wright was not cooperating fully with the inquiry.

"At the moment Wright isn't playing ball with us. He is exercising his legal right not to answer questions," the source told the tabloid daily.

Police have said the two men were suspected of murdering all five women, whose bodies were found around Ipswich between December 2 and December 12, but have formally declined to name them or say whether they knew each other.

The murdered women are Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29. Adams and Nicol were found in a stream while the other three were found in woodlands.

The cases have triggered comparisons with the "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe, convicted of the murders of 13 women between 1975 and 1980, and Jack the Ripper, who killed five east London prostitutes in 1888.

Cause of death has only been established in two of the five deaths in Ipswich -- Clennell died of "compression to the neck" and Alderton died from "asphyxiation".

None of the corpses showed signs of having been subjected to significant trauma or serious sexual assault before dying.

Almost 500 officers are working on what has become one of Britain's biggest-ever manhunts, with 350 drafted in from 31 police forces around the country, including Northern Ireland.

As police investigations continued, Britain's Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, warned the country's newspapers and broadcasters to show restraint in reporting the prostitutes' killings.

In particular he urged them to beware of prejudicing a future trial, by refraining from speculation about suspects or material which "asserts or assumes, expressly or implicitly" a person's guilt.

Dec 21 , 2006

Thursday

this month

Friday morning

Monday

Saturday

Tuesday

10 years

December 2 and December 12


XIN_ENG_20051102.0146

MACAO, Nov. 2 , 2005 (Xinhua)

China beats South Korea 78-67 in men's basketball in EAG

Yi Jianlian's 25 points led China to a 78-67 victory over South Korea in men's basketball at the East Asian Games here on Wednesday.

The 2.12-meter center also had a team high of 15 rebounds and 7 blocks for the team's sixth straight victory and forward Jiao Jian added 15 points and 8 rebounds.

"We played quite a good third quarter," said Yi. "We focused on playing inside and the game became easy for us."

The Chinese used a 8-2 run of its own to start the third quarter and finished it with a 12-4 run, which widen its advantage to 57-48.

Point guard Lee Kwang Jae led the South Korea with 22 points and Yang Hee Jong added 12.

China, who had entered the final stage with 12 points, is to compete with its last rival Hong Kong on Thursday.

Nov. 2 , 2005

Wednesday

a good third quarter

the third quarter

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20051104.0316

SANTIAGO, Nov. 4 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Chile freezes trade negotiations with Peru amid waters dispute

Chile suspended trade negotiations with Peru on Friday on account of a law passed by Peru that claims sovereignty over 35,000 square km of offshore waters which Chile says belong to it, a foreign ministry official said.

Carlos Furche, head of international economic relations for the ministry said, "we have considered it prudent to postpone negotiations for a better time, even though they were at a very advanced stage."

He cited the "well-known difficulties" between the two countries as the reason for the freeze.

On Thursday Peru's Congress unanimously approved a bill that claims sovereignty over a sea area covering 35,000 square km of the Pacific Ocean along the South American coastline, which is now controlled by Chile. Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo immediately signed it into law.

Meanwhile, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Friday pledged a diplomatic resolution to the dispute and chastised the media for sensationalizing.

"The diplomatic channels are open and we have to do the diplomatic thing," Lagos said, adding that the media had fuelled the conflict unnecessarily.

Regarding the issue, Peruvian President Toledo said at the sidelines of the fourth Summit of the Americas that "the ball is in play and we're clear of our rights ... but this mustn't damage our relationship with Chile."

Chile and Peru have strong business ties and many companies have cross-border investments, especially in mining, the backbone of both economies, but their relations are marred by mutual distrust that has its roots in a 19th century war in which Peru lost a swath of mineral-rich southern coast to Chile.

According to the Chilean government, Chile's border with Peru was already resolved in the 1952 and 1954 treaties. But Peru claimed that it never signed any maritime demarcation pact with Chile.

Nov. 4 , 2005

Friday

Thursday

now

Friday

19th century


AFP_ENG_20051216.0155

FRANKFURT, Dec 16 , 2005

ATTENTION - RECASTS, ADDS supervisory board source ///

Deutsche Boerse, operator of the German stock exchange, did not make an "informal" tie-up offer to rival group Euronext, which operates the Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon exchanges, a supervisory board member told AFP on Friday on condition of anonymity.

"There was nothing like that. If there had been, the supervisory board would have been informed," the source said.

Indeed, Deutsche Boerse's newly installed management team would likely wait before embarking on any tie-up projects, it said.

"At present, management's top priority is to remunerate shareholders."

On Friday, Deutsche Boerse announced that it expected to reach its goal of paying out 800 million euros (960 million dollars) to shareholders, most of them investment funds, by way of share buy-backs and dividends. And the group plans to dish out a total 1.5 billion euros to shareholders by 2007.

The French daily Le Figaro had reported in its Friday edition that the operator of the Frankfurt stock exchange had made an overture to Euronext last weekend with a view to a possible tie-up.

For its part, Deutsche Boerse declined to comment.

"I can't make a statement on that specific article," a Deutsche Boerse spokesman said.

"We've already said that we're open to cooperation on condition it is in the interest of Deutsche Boerse," he added, noting that talks were held regularly in the sector.

The German group has tried on several occasions to tie the knot with the London Stock Exchange. But its latest tie-up attempt ended in spectacular failure earlier this year with the ouster of the chief executive Werner Seifert.

Dec 16 , 2005

Friday

Friday

Friday

last weekend

earlier this year


XIN_ENG_20061129.0428

NEW YORK, Nov. 29 , 2006 (Xinhua)

U.S. stocks rise as economy grows faster than expected

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as the economy grew by 2.2 percent in third quarter, a better performance than expected.

In midday trading, Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 84.12, to 12,220.57. The Standard and Poor's 500 index gained 11.22 to 1, 397.94, and the Nasdaq composite index increased 19.56 to 2,432.17.

The U.S. economy grew 2.2 percent in the July-September period, a better performance than the estimated 1.6 percent rate, the Commerce Department reported on Wednesday.

The growth rate in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was considerably stronger than the 1.8 percent rate that economists had forecast, and less than half the blistering 5.6 percent rate recorded in the first quarter.

Nov. 29 , 2006

Wednesday

third quarter

the July-September period

Wednesday

the first quarter


AFP_ENG_20061209.0340

DOHA, Dec 9 , 2006, 2006

Malaysia's Koo and Tan win gold in doubles badminton

Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong won Asian Games gold in the men's doubles badminton defeating Indonesia's Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvent Yulianto Chandra.

The Malaysian underdogs were in complete control against the fifth seeds winning 21-13, 21-14 in just 27 minutes.

Indonesia's third seeds Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan shared bronze with Jung Jae Sung and Lee Yong Dae, the second seeds from South Korea.

Dec 9 , 2006

27 minutes


XIN_ENG_20051122.0242

SOFIA, Nov. 22 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Bulgaria sees bases deal with US next spring: defense chief

Bulgaria hopes to reach a deal with the United States on the deployment of US troops at Bulgaria's military bases by spring next year, Bulgarian Defense Minister Vesselin Bliznakov said on Tuesday.

"I hope all the details will be agreed and we can have a deal maybe in February or March," he said.

On Saturday, Lyubomir Ivanov, Bulgaria's chief negotiator and ambassador to NATO, said the two countries had agreed to jointly use the Novo Selo shooting range and the Bezmer airport, both in central Bulgaria.

Washington aims to pull about 70,000 troops out of Germany and Asia in the next decade and is planning to create small, flexible bases in Eastern Europe.

Bulgaria joined US-led NATO last year along with six other Eastern European nations. The United States is also in talks with Romania over the use of its military bases.

Nov. 22 , 2005

next year

Tuesday

February

Saturday

the next decade

last year


WSJ891030-0010
 = 891030
 891030-0010.
 CNW Acquisition Completed
 10/30/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 CNW
 TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)
TRANSPORTATION, TRUCK AND SHIP LINES, RAILROADS (TRA)
 CHICAGO

   CNW Corp. said the final step in the acquisition of the company has been completed with the merger of CNW with a subsidiary of Chicago amp North Western Holdings Corp.

   As reported, CNW agreed to be acquired by a group of investors led by Blackstone Capital Partners Limited Partnership for $50 a share, or about $950 million.


AFP_ENG_19970405.0310

WASHINGTON, April 5 , 1997 (AFP)

US shifts to daylight savings time

Most areas of the United States shift Sunday to daylight savings time, with clocks moving one hour ahead.

The change was to take place in the eastern zone at 2:00 a.m. (0700 GMT). Some areas of the country exercise local options not to join the summer time.

April 5 , 1997


AFP_ENG_20061220.0210

GENEVA, Dec 20 , 2006, 2006

2006

Natural and man-made catastrophes caused global economic losses of about 40 billion dollars (30 billion euros) in 2006, but less than a third was covered by insurance, the reinsurance company Swiss Re said on Wednesday
Thirty thousand people worldwide were estimated to have lost their lives in catastrophes over the year, the company said in a statement on preliminary estimates of losses for the year.

Typhoons and earthquakes hit mainly at newly industrialising countries in 2006, where insured values are relatively low, and so the impact on the industry was "quite mild" the company said.

Only 15 billion dollars' worth of the 40 billion dollars in losses were covered by insurance, it added.

"After years of record losses, property insurers appear to be getting off lightly in 2006," Swiss Re said.

"Catastrophe losses of only 15 billion dollars will allow them to replenish their risk capital, depleted by record payments for hurricane damage in 2005 and 2004," it added.

Reinsurers were hit with costs in excess of 75 billion dollars last year, according to Swiss Re's German peer, Munich Re.

Hurricane Katrina, which pummelled the southern United States and caused widespread flooding in New Orleans, accounted for around 45 billion dollars alone, according to estimates released by Munich Re at the end of 2005.

In 2006, three events racked up losses for insurance companies over one billion dollars; two tornados in the United States and one typhoon in Japan, according to Swiss Re.

Over the last 20 years, this makes 2006 the third-lowest year for insurance losses after 1997 and 1988, it added.

The United States had a quiet hurricane season, Europe suffered no expensive catastrophes, and nor was any major industrialised region hit by earthquakes.   Very expensive man-made disasters such as major air crashes or large-scale fires were also conspicuous by their absence, the company noted.

Dec 20 , 2006

Wednesday

Thirty

the year

the year

last year

the end of 2005

the last 20 years

season


XIN_ENG_20051108.0205

GUANGZHOU, South China, Nov. 9 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Olympic gold medalist Taufik quits China Open badminton

Athens Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia quit the 250,000-dollar China Open badminton championships which started here on Tuesday.

Taufik, who also claimed the title at this year's world championships, did not appear at this afternoon's first round match and was then automatically out of the tournament.

A coach from the Indonesian team said that Taufik's right foot hurt. But an organizer said that although Taufik, the fourth seed, had registered for competing in the China Open, he did not arrive in Guangzhou.

Last week at the Hong Kong Open, Taufik was unceremoniously bundled out of the mens singles in the third round by Malaysian Wong Choong-hann.

In today's other matches, third-seeded Bao Chunlai from China cruised through, beating Persson Joachim of Denmark 15-2, 15-1, while world No.1 Lin Dan from China, second-seeded Jonassen of Denmark enjoyed byes.

More than 237 atheltes from 13 countries and regions participated in the tournament here.

Nov. 9 , 2005

Tuesday

this year

Last week

today


ed980111.1130.0089
 NEWS STORY

 The lights are out and the heat is off and those vital signs are not likely  to change much over the next several days for p- people in parts of the northeastern US and eastern Canada.

 A powerful ice storm continues  to maintain its grip.

 Yesterday New York governor George Pataki toured five counties that  have  been declared under a state of emergency. He added one more today.

 Helicopters  are flying over northern New York today trying  to locate people stranded without food, heat or medicine.

 In Maine, about a half million people still don't have power and they 're going to have  to live without it for a while.

the next several days

Yesterday

today

today

a while


XIN_ENG_20051117.0096

SINGAPORE, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Singapore shares end further higher

The shares prices in Singapore closed further higher on Thursday with the benchmark Strait Times Index (STI) rising 7 points to close at 2,261.5 points.

The overall volume stood at 654 million shares worth 697.9 million Singapore dollars (about 410.5 million US dollars).

Losers led gainers by 252 to 235 with another 648 remained unchanged.

On Wednesday, the benchmark Strait Times Index rose 14 points to end at 2,254.5 points.

Nov. 17 , 2005

Thursday

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061118.0039

BEIJING, Nov. 18 , 2006 (Xinhua)

university graduates

China's Ministry of Personnel on Saturday began its annual national employment service for millions of university graduates, with more than 480,000 positions up for grabs online and at job fairs around the country.

A total of 121 local human resources departments and job service websites and 26,000 employment units will take part in 126 job fairs across the country including those held over the Internet.

Employment experts will be invited to university campuses and job fairs to offer job seeking tips to students due to graduate next July.

According to the ministry, the most sought-after positions are in marketing, administration, computer science, machinery, architecture, finance, chemistry, human resources, foreign languages and medicine.

Statistics show that 4.13 million students graduated from higher education institutions this year, 750,000 more than last year.

About 1.24 million Chinese college students will graduate next year without immediate job offers.

The ministry encourages university graduates to work in the rural areas in West China region with favorable policies such as guaranteed salaries and medical care, and subsidies for those who go to undeveloped and remote rural areas,

Statistics show China is facing a severe employment crisis with 34.5 million people expected to come on to the labor market from 2006 to 2010.

About 25 million new job-seekers would enter the market this year, of whom 11 million might find jobs in the urban areas, leaving 14 million unemployed.

The unemployed in China are mainly composed by laid-off workers, college graduates, redundant rural laborers and those returned from overseas study, or "haigui" which means a "sea turtle" -- a Chinese pun for overseas returnees.

A random sample survey of 1,500 Chinese returned from recent overseas study shows that more than 35 percent of them have employment problems, said Lin Zeyan, researcher with the human resources study training center of the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Lin said their job difficulties are mainly resulted from their high expectations of salaries as they want their huge overseas educational investment pay off by finding a "lucrative" job.

Nov. 18 , 2006

Saturday

next July

this year

last year

next year

this year


XIN_ENG_20061127.0203

HONG KONG, Nov. 27 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Applications for importing ROK poultry suspended in HK

The Hong Kong Center for Food Safety announced Monday that the processing of applications for importing poultry and poultry products from the Republic of Korea would be suspended with immediate effect.

"The decision was taken following confirmation of an outbreak of avian influenza H5N1 in a poultry farm there," a spokesman for the center said.

"We will seek further information about the case from the relevant authorities," he said.

Hong Kong imported some 900 tons of frozen poultry meat/offal from ROK from January to August this year.

Nov. 27 , 2006

Monday

January

August this year


AFP_ENG_20061201.0062

MOSCOW, Dec 1 , 2006, 2006

Indonesian president to meet Putin for trade talks

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday for talks on trade links, officials said.

"The priority in negotiations will be questions of increasing the turnover and diversification of trade cooperation," a Kremlin official said ahead of the meeting.

Trade turnover between the two countries rose from 366.3 million dollars (276 million euros) in 2004 to 551.2 million dollars in 2005 and amounted to 300.9 million dollars in the first half of 2006, the official said.

Ten documents are set to be signed during Yudhoyono's visit, the Kremlin official said, including cooperation in nuclear energy, space technology, arms sales and tourism.

The Kommersant daily cited officials as saying that Indonesia intends to buy Russian arms, mainly submarines and fighter jets, and will be given one billion dollars (755 million euros) in credit to do this.

"The most important document is set to be an agreement on the development of military technical cooperation for 2007-2010," Kommersant said, adding that Indonesia was particularly interested in buying two Amur submarines.

Yudhoyono was impressed by the Russian military technology he saw on display at the Indo Defence 2006 arms fair that took place in Jakarta last week, Kommersant said.

Indonesia, once a major purchaser of Soviet weaponry, bought fighter jets, military helicopters, armoured personnel carriers and Kalashnikov assault rifles in 2003, Kommersant added.

Indonesia and Russia will also sign an agreement for Russian energy firms Gazprom and Lukoil to take part in oil and gas projects on the island of Borneo and for Russia to build Indonesia's first nuclear reactor, Kommersant said.

Yudhoyono has already visited the northern Russian city of Saint Petersburg during his visit and on Friday is set to address a business forum and receive an honorary diploma from a Russian foreign ministry academy.

Dec 1 , 2006

Friday

the first half of 2006

last week

Friday


XIN_ENG_20051119.0130

SHANGHAI, Nov. 19 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Masters

David Nalbandian came out the first Argentine to reach the final of a year-ending championship for 31 years after the eighth seed beat top Russian Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets here on Saturday in the semifinals of the ATP tennis Masters Cup.

Last time a tennis player from Argentina being a finalist is in 1974 when Guillermo Vilas won the title.

With the victory of 6-0, 7-5 in 1 hour 26 minutes and 43 seconds, Nalbandian set up a final matchup with world number one Roger Federer as the superlative Swiss made short work of his semifinal clash against seventh seed Gaston Gaudio 6-0, 6-0 earlier the night.

The 23-year-old cracked 2 aces, none of double-fault and 21 winners against 13 unforced errors for the win.

Davydenko, who has taken the place of Marat Safin to be the highest ranked Russian in the world and playing on his debut in the season-ending event, had been attempting to become the first Russian reaching the final since Yevgeny Kafelnikov was runner-up at the ATP Tour World Championship in 1997.

The 24-year-old, however, made 29 unforced errors throughout the match though winning 4 aces and 17 winners.

Davydenko, who had made his Masters Cup debut on Monday by defeating all-time great Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-2 in his first round robin match, held a chance of coming back in the middle of the second set when he broke Nalbandian in the sixth game, beating his Argentine opponent to no answers.

But Nalbandian, ranked 12th in the world, soon broke back after the seventh-ranked Davydenko wasted three game points on his own serve.

Again the Argentine made a successful break in the eleventh game before turning two match points into win in the following.

Nov. 19 , 2005

31 years

Saturday

1 hour 26 minutes

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061119.0080

LAGOS, Nov. 19 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Five airlines grounded in Nigeria

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended airline operating certificates of five domestic carriers to sanitize the ailing aviation industry, local media reported on Sunday.

The affected airlines are Sosoliso, IRS, Space World, Fresh Air and Dasab. The NCAA revoked ADC's certificate on October 30 after its B737-200 aircraft crashed in Abuja one day earlier, killing 98 people.

The NCAA at the weekend withdrew the certificates for what it described as their "flouting safety rules, (and) operation of one airplane."

Sosoliso was specifically accused of using bad tires in the fleet of its aircraft which recorded an air crash on Dec. 10, 2005 which killed 108 people, including more than 60 teenage students.

Managing Director of Sosoliso Airlines Oscar Ikwuemesi confirmed the suspension, but explaining that the airline's management was meeting with the NCAA to resolve the problem.

The affected airlines' billboards had been removed from their counters at the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode said on Friday at his maiden interactive forum with journalists that he was going to be firm in the area of aviation safety, adding that he would give the aviation regulatory body "all the necessary backing to sanitize the industry."

Fani-Kayode said he was happy that the NCAA autonomy bill had been signed into law by President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday. He, however, reiterated that more domestic carriers would be giving internationally lucrative routes, noting that the airlines would only grow if they were given choice routes.

Nov. 19 , 2006

Sunday

October 30

Abuja one day earlier

the weekend

Dec. 10, 2005

Friday

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061123.0188

BAGHDAD, Nov. 23 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Urgent: Four explosions rock Baghdad's Sadr City

Four explosions, including a car bomb at the 55th Square, in Baghdad's Shiite slum of Sadr City, took place on Thursday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

Nov. 23 , 2006

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20061106.0369

BAGHDAD, Nov. 6 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Three U.S. soldiers killed in western Iraq

Three U.S. soldiers, including two marines, have been killed in Iraq's western province of Anbar, the U.S. military said on Monday.

One marine, assigned to Regimental Combat Team 5, died Saturday from wounds sustained due to enemy action while operating in Anbar province, the U.S. military said in a statement.

A second marine from the same combat team, died Sunday from wounds sustained due to the same reason, the statement added.

One U.S. soldier assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division was also killed Sunday by enemy fire while operating in Anbar province, the military said.

Since the U.S.-led war in Iraq broke out in March 2003, more than 2,820 U.S. soldiers have been killed in the country, according to media count.

Nov. 6 , 2006

Monday

Saturday

Sunday

Sunday

March 2003


XIN_ENG_20061112.0170

ROME, Nov. 12 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Italian first division league top scorers

Following are the top scorers of the Italian first division league after the soccer matches played on Sunday:

8 Christian Rigano (Messina)

6 Eugenio Corini (Palermo)

Amauri (Palermo)

Rolando Bianchi (Reggina)

5 Mario Frick (Siena)

Giorgio Corona (Catania)

Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)

Cristiano Doni (Atalanta Bergamo)

Igor Budan (Parma)

Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria)

Tommaso Rocchi (Lazio)

David Di Michele (Palermo)

Gionatha Spinesi (Catania)

4 Nicola Ventola (Atalanta Bergamo)

Francesco Totti (AS Roma)

Hernan Crespo (Inter Milan)

Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan)

Massimo Oddo (Lazio)

Luca Toni (Fiorentina)

Vincenzo Iaquinta (Udinese)

Nov. 12 , 2006

Sunday


XIN_ENG_20061127.0052

BEIJING, Nov. 27 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Beijing youth are heavier, suffer poorer eyesight: survey

The eyesight of young students in Beijing gets worse as their school careers advance according to a recent survey, which shows that 86 percent of students in colleges and 31 percent in primary schools have poor eyesight.

Tong Zhiyan, an official with the Beijing sports administration, said the city's rate of young with poor eyesight and who are overweight continues to grow and is the worst in the country.

Tong said governments and schools should take measures to curb the deterioration of eyesight and the weight of students.

A total of 32,879 people between the ages of three and 69 were surveyed in 2005.

The 2005 survey found 22.1 percent of Beijingers were "very" physically fit, up 4.2 percentage points from 2000, and 27.2 percent were classified as "good," a drop of 0.3 percentage points since 2000.

A nationwide survey on student health conducted by the Ministry of Education in 2004 found that 80 percent of Chinese college students suffered from poor eyesight and that the older the students, the poorer their sight.

Nov. 27 , 2006


XIN_ENG_20061118.0096

BEIJING, Nov. 18 , 2006 (Xinhua)

China issues porky gold bars to commemorate Year of the Pig

China Gold Coin Corporation issued a series of gold bars made of 99.99 percent gold on Friday to commemorate the forthcoming Year of the Pig.

The total volume of gold bars being issued in China this year is 3,000 kg, at a price of 175 yuan per gram in Bejing, the first city to issue them to the public. They can be bought in weights of 1000g, 500g, 200g, 100g and 50g.

Sales of the gold bars are expected to be boosted due to the Year of the Pig being the last year in the 12-year rotation of the Chinese lunar calendar making it a lucky and rich year, according to traditional superstition.

Add to the fact that out of the five Chinese elements - metal, wood, water, fire and earth - 2007 is the year of metal, or gold, and people are expected to snaffle up the pig bars.

China first issued the gold bars to commemorate the lunar new year in 2002, the Year of the Sheep. The wooly gold bars were sold for 92 yuan per gram.

Nov. 18 , 2006

Friday

forthcoming Year

this year

last year

rich year

the Year


XIN_ENG_20051111.0334

BUSAN, South Korea, Nov. 12 , 2005 (Xinhua)

S. Korea's Busan to use APEC to become international convention city

South Korea's second largest city, Busan, is aiming to become an international convention host city through the successful hosting of this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, city planners said Saturday.

Busan, also the country's largest port city, was designated by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as an international convention city last month, and city authorities plan to update infrastructure to make Busan even more attractive for conventions. The new status allows the city to receive central government assistance and legal support.

"Conventions are a high-value-added business that can also help transform the city's image from a bustling port to one where people can hold meetings while taking the time to enjoy scenic vistas," a Busan city official said.

He added that if the city can play host to the leaders of 21 economies and countless officials and reporters, as well as host sideline events, it can hold any convention in the world.

Other experts said the city has great growth potential, with attractive beaches in Haeundae and Gwangalli, as well as parks including Yongdusan and Taejongdae and the Eulsukdo Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

In addition, to splash new green space o the urban landscape, three new parks have been opened to celebrate the hosting of the 2005 APEC summit. They are the Dongbaek Park, APEC Naru Park and Peace Park.

The city, which is one of the five busiest ports in the world, has an international airport for easy access and is linked to Seoul by air and the KTX, the country's bullet train service.

The city boasts first-class hotels in both the downtown area and Haeundae district and at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center(BEXCO). BEXCO has an exhibition space of 26,508 square meters and an additional 13,233 square meters for outdoor displays.

The facility has a convention hall that can hold 5,800 people and has played host to various international events, including the official draw for the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea.

In addition, the new Nurimaru APEC House is expected to become a tourist attraction and valuable asset in terms of getting people to hold conferences in the city. The structure near Haeundae Beach, the venue for the second summit session for APEC leaders on Nov. 19, has a striking view of the ocean.

Nov. 12 , 2005

this year

Saturday

last month

Nov. 19


AFP_ENG_20051210.0391

ROME, Dec 10 , 2005

ATTENTION - RECASTS with late match ///

Fiorentina edged struggling Treviso 1-0 on Saturday to move up to second in Italy's Serie A.

Stefano Fiore headed the only goal six minutes into the second half as the Florence club returned to winning ways after their 2-1 defeat at home to leaders Juventus last week which ended their six-match unbeaten run.

Fiore's winner saved the blushes of Serie A's leading scorer Luca Toni whose first half penalty was saved by Adriano Zancope.

After their 15 matches played, Fiorentina have 32 points, seven less than Juventus who entertain Cagliari on Sunday.

Treviso, promoted from Serie B last season, could drop to bottom of the table on Sunday if fellow strugglers Lecce take at least a point from their fixture away to Udinese.

Fiorentina were awarded a penalty on the half hour when Alberto Giuliatto fouled Alessandro Gamberini as a free-kick came into the area.

Toni, who has scored 16 goals this season, stepped up only to see his spot-kick tipped away by Zancope's outstretched fingers.

But the home side made the breakthrough in the 51st minute.

Giampaolo Pazzini exchanged passes with Christian Brocchi before floating a cross to the back post from the right and Fiore headed in from close range.

Treviso had a golden opportunity to equalise for the visitors shortly afterwards but Dino Fava blasted wildly over the bar from a good position.

Siena climbed two places up to 12th after defeating Tuscan rivals Empoli 1-0 in Saturday's early match.

Albanian striker Erjon Bogdani scored the only goal in the second minute, sliding in to stab home Simone Vergassola's low left-wing cross.

Empoli's fourth straight defeat left them in 13th place on 17 points, one behind Siena.

Dec 10 , 2005

Saturday

last week

Sunday

Sunday

the half hour

the 51st minute

Saturday

the second minute


XIN_ENG_20061126.0191

LONDON, Nov. 26 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Newcastle beat Portsmouth 1-0

Antoine Sibierski scored his first Premiership goal of the season on Saturday to award Newcastle a 1- 0 win over Portsmouth.

The home side were on top from the start and were unfortunate to see Obafemi Martins' first-half goal ruled out for a marginal offside decision.

Newcastle saw more chances go astray before Charles N'Zogbia crossed for substitute Sibierski to slot home in the 69th minute.

Portsmouth offered little going forward and only some fine saves from David James stopped the Magpies adding more.

The win was still a welcome one for Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder as, for all his side's heroics in the UEFA Cup, their domestic form had been a serious cause for concern.

This was their first victory on home turf in the league since the opening day of the season - and Sibierski's goal was only their ninth in 14 top-flight games.

They were never going to get it all their own way here either.

Nov. 26 , 2006

Saturday

the 69th minute

the opening day of the season


AFP_ENG_20061211.0480

SANTIAGO, Dec 11 , 2006, 2006

Chile president defends decision to deny Pinochet state funeral

Chilen President Michelle Bachelet on Monday defended her decision to deny ex-dictator Augusto Pinochet a state funeral, saying the move was made for the good of the country.

"In any society, in any country, when there are not norms, or predetermined laws for a particular situation, it is up to the leaders, the government, to make decisions in the best interests of the people," she said.

"Over the past several hours we have seen divisive acts that we don't like, but as a society and as a country we have to have the ethical strength to overcome this challenge," she said.

Bachelet, together with her parents, suffered torture during the Pinochet regime. Pinochet, 91, died Sunday a week after suffering a heart attack, escaping years of charges against his 17-year regime of human rights violations, including torture and murder.

After Bachelet's decision that the ex-dictator would be buried with military honors, rather than a state funeral and without a period of national mourning, Pinochet's relatives said representatives from the government would not be welcome at the late dictator's burial service.

"I don't want acts of hypocrisy, out of respect to my mother and my family" Marco Antonio Hiart, the youngest of Pinochet's five children, told Chilean television, as he blasted the government for failing, in his view, to accord his father the honor befitting a former leader.

Pinochet's body lied in Santiago's Military School Monday. Defense Minister Viviane Blanlot had been expected represent the government at the ex-dictator's funeral Tuesday.

The death of the former general, whose US-backed coup in 1973 toppled the Socialist government of Salvador Allende, struck a chord in this country where many suffered under his regime while supporters hailed him as Chile's savior from communism.

Dec 11 , 2006

Monday

Sunday a week

Monday

Tuesday


AFP_ENG_19970425.0016

NEW DELHI, April 25 , 1997 (AFP)

India disowns criticisms of Saudis after Mecca blaze

India has disowned a foreign ministry official's allegations that Indian pilgrims who died in last week's Mecca disaster could have been saved, newspapers reported Friday.

The Hindustan Times said the foreign ministry had rejected the allegations by India's Consul General Afzal Amanullah in Jeddah following a blaze on April 15 which left at least 343 dead.

Amanullah claimed Indian pilgrims had been locked in their camp by their Saudi guides, condemning them to their fate. More than 100 Indians are believed to have died in the fire.

But a foreign ministry official said the consul general views appeared to be based on "information provided by a few of the injured relating to the conduct of an individual gatekeeper."

He said no pilgrims had made a complaint about a locked gate to an investigating team from India and it would be "premature to approportion blame."

He added: "No broad generalisations about the tragic accident can be drawn on this basis."

Saudi officials say the fire killed at least 343 people and left more than 1,500 wounded during the annual Moslem pilgrimage to Mecca known as the hajj.

A preliminary Indian investigation, however, has indicated 600 may have died. Most of the victims were from Asian countries, notably India and Pakistan.

The Saudi authorities said the blaze, which incinerated 70,000 tents, was started accidently by the explosion of a gas canister used for cooking in the Pakistani pilgrims' camp.

Amanullah reportedly said there had been time to save the pilgrims, adding: "You do not prevent your own pilgrims from rushing out to safety. You do not confine them to a small space and certain death."

The Hindustan Times said the foreign ministry announcement had been made "apparently in deference to Saudi clout."

The Asian Age, in an unsourced front page article, accused the Indian government of a "soft approach", arguing India did not want to offend Saudi Arabia since many of its nationals worked there and it also relied on Saudi oil supplies.

April 25 , 1997

last week

Friday

April 15


AFP_ENG_19970410.0524

GENEVA, April 10 , 1997 (AFP)

Denmark defies Beijing with resolution slamming rights abuses by Jacques Boyer

Denmark, backed by the United States and 13 other countries, filed a resolution Thursday denouncing Chinese human rights abuses, despite threats from Beijing and deep European divisions over the issue.

Danish Ambassador Tyge Lehmann waited until literally the last minute before presenting the resolution to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva at 1559 GMT in order to muster maximum support.

The 53-members of the commission will vote on the text next Tuesday, but diplomats believed that, as on all previous occasions, the anti- China resolution would be defeated through skillful Chinese lobbying.

Denmark's motion received support from nine fellow EU members, the United States, Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland.

But, for the first time, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Greece all withdrew their support, ending EU unity on the issue.

Australia, which had co-sponsored the anti-China resolution for six years without success, was also among the countries withholding support for Thursday's motion.

"Governments not confortable with not showing solidarity have promised to support the resolution as such and to move to defeat the non-action motion," Lehman said.

However, diplomats said the resolution had little chance of being adopted.

China has faced a similar resolution every year since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Denmark stepped in Saturday and announced it would put forward the motion after the European Union failed to agree on a joint position on the annual human rights debate.

China had stepped up the pressure on Denmark in a last-gasp effort to prevent the Danish-sponsored resolution from being presented.

"This motion will be like Denmark lifting a rock only to drop it on its own head," foreign ministry spokesman Shen Guofang warned earlier Thursday.

"It will be a heavy loss for Denmark as the leader of the pack usually suffers the brunt of the attack," he added.

Diplomats said no Asian country was willing to back the text after the defection of Japan, and African and South American countries also held back.

Lehmann said he hoped all the countries who had withheld support would return to back the motion next Tuesday.

All previous resolutions have been defeated as a result of intense lobbying by Beijing, which presents the debate as a clash between North and South.

Denmark's motion criticised violations of fundamental liberties and called for the respect of all human rights, impartial administration of justice, the release of political prisoners and the protection of Tibetans' cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious identity.

In Beijing, the Danish embassy confirmed that it and other EU member missions had been summoned by the Chinese foreign ministry for a dressing down over their support for the resolution.

"They explained their objections and we explained our position," Danish Ambassador Christopher Bo Bramsen said.

Arguing that Beijing had taken major steps in improving human rights over the past few decades, Shen accused western nations of turning a blind eye to China's progress.

"Some are also blind to human rights abuses in their own countries, and yet they still seek to impose their values on others," he said.

Highlighting the social and cultural differences between countries, Shen said the only way to resolve human rights disputes was through dialogue based on the principles of mutual respect and equality.

Defending Canberra's decision not to support the draft, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia was only interested in effective action on human rights.

"The only way we believe that in our human rights diplomacy with China we can be remotely effective is by establishing some kind of dialogue," Downer said, pointing to a Sino-Australian agreement to hold a formal bilateral dialogue on the issue.

April 10 , 1997

Thursday

the last minute

Tuesday

six years

Thursday

every year

Saturday

Thursday

Tuesday

the past few decades


XIN_ENG_20061103.0238

BEIJING, Nov. 3 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Madagascar invites Chinese businesses: president

Madagascan President Marc Ravalomanana Friday said he hopes more Chinese companies enter Madagascar to expand cooperation with local businesses in infrastructure construction, agriculture, personnel training, health care and environment protection.

In a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing, the president referred to China as an important partner and sincere friend.

Madagascar faces an arduous task in boosting national development and is implementing a new blueprint, he said.

Hu said China and Madagascar have maintained close high-level contacts and initiated cooperation in infrastructure construction and agriculture.

The Chinese president expressed hope that the two governments establish a more effective communication and coordination mechanism in order to hold timely discussions on ways to boost bilateral relations.

"We should implement trade and economic cooperation projects we have agreed upon and tap potentials for further cooperation," he said.

Meanwhile, it is also important to cement multilateral cooperation. "China supports the active role Madagascar has played in the Indian Ocean regional affairs," said Hu.

Ravalomanana arrived in Beijing Friday morning for the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation slated for Nov. 4- 5.

So far, 47 delegations of the 48 African countries that have diplomatic ties with China, including 41 heads of state or government, have arrived for the summit featuring "friendship, peace, cooperation and development".

China and Madagascar forged diplomatic relations on Nov. 6, 1972. Bilateral trade amounted to 197 million U.S. dollars in 2005.

Nov. 3 , 2006

Friday

Friday morning

Nov.

Nov. 6, 1972


AFP_ENG_20051214.0560

NEW YORK, Dec 14 , 2005, 2005

Amnesty labels conviction of would-be Bush assassin 'flawed'

Amnesty International challenged Wednesday the conviction of an Arab-American man for conspiring to assassinate President George W. Bush, saying the court had failed to take into account torture allegations.

A US jury last month found Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 24, guilty on nine counts, including conspiracy to kill Bush, conspiracy to hijack a plane and offering to aid Osama bin Laden's terror network.

Amnesty argued the verdict was flawed because the jury was not allowed to hear evidence supporting claims by Abu Ali that his videotaped confession, on which the prosecution relied almost exclusively, had been obtained following torture in Saudi Arabia.

Abu Ali said he was flogged and beaten by security service agents under the Saudi interior ministry and forced to confess.

"It's seriously concerning that the trial of Abu Ali may set a precedent in US courts by which statements obtained by torture and ill-treatment are accepted as evidence," said Susan Lee, Amnesty Internationals Americas Programme Director.

Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, in the federal court in Washington, ruled that only evidence that related directly to Abu Ali's interrogation would be admissible, thus denying the defence the opportunity to present relevant contextual evidence.

"Equality of arms before the court is a fundamental principle of fair trial standards," said Lee.

"The apparent absence of this fundamental right in Abu Ali's trial, especially where it considerably weakens a defendant's ability to prove that his confession was obtained through torture, has cast a dark shadow over the fairness of the trial," she added.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 17, with the defendant facing a possible life sentence.

The indictment against him said Abu Ali and another conspirator discussed two options for assassinating Bush -- either shooting him the street or using a car bomb.

Born in Texas, Abu Ali's parents were Jordanian. The family lived in Falls Church, Virginia, a Washington suburb, until Abu Ali went to study at the Islamic University of Medina in Saudi Arabia.

He was detained in Medina in a sweep following bomb attacks in Riyadh on May 12, 2003 that left 34 dead.

Dec 14 , 2005

Wednesday

last month

February 17

May 12, 2003


AFP_ENG_20061213.0135

IPSWICH, England, Dec 13 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

Police grappled Wednesday with the grisly task of identifying two new bodies found near a quiet English town gripped by fears of a prostitute serial killer, as the death toll rose to five.

Detectives stepped up the search for forensic evidence after the discovery Tuesday near Ipswich of two corpses believed to be those of missing prostitutes Paula Clennell, 24, and 29-year-old Annette Nicholls.

The finds bring to five the number of bodies found in less than two weeks near the eastern port town.

They have evoked thoughts of one of Britain's most notorious serial killers, east London's elusive Jack the Ripper, who murdered five prostitutes in 1888 and was linked to several other killings.

They have also revived more recent memories of Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", who preyed on prostitutes and murdered 13 women and attacked seven others between 1975 and 1980.

All the corpses have been found in the countryside around Ipswich, some 80 miles (130 kilometres) northeast of London, prompting one of Britain's biggest ever murder inquiries.

"This is a most unprecedented inquiry. Nothing like this has ever happened," said Alastair McWhirter, chief constable, or head, of Suffolk Police.

"If you think back to the Yorkshire Ripper, the murders there took place over a long period of time ... We're responding to it effectively and as well as we possibly can."

The corpses of the first two murdered prostitutes, Gemma Adams, 25, and 19-year-old Tania Nicol, who both went missing from Ipswich's red light district, were found on December 2 and 9 respectively.

Police confirmed Tuesday that the strangled body of a third woman found in woods Sunday was 24-year-old Anneli Alderton.

Later that day, a member of the public found a fourth body and a police helicopter crew member called out to survey the scene spotted the fifth shortly afterwards.

The streets of Ipswich were virtually deserted overnight -- the 30 or so prostitutes who usually work the red light district seemed to heed police advice to stay indoors, while the streets were all but empty of revellers during the normally busy Christmas party season.

Pairs of police officers carried out patrols to reassure local people for the second night running, while motorists were being stopped and questioned.

Suffolk Police, a rural force more used to dealing with illegal raves than fast-moving murder cases, has faced questions from the media about whether it is equipped to cope.

But senior officers insist they are handling it well and have requested assistance from forces around Britain, as well as enlisting a behavioural analyst to help them understand who might have committed the crimes.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, in charge of the investigation, told BBC television that an extra 70 officers would be drafted in Wednesday to help the 100 police already working on the case.

He has described it as "almost a crime in action", adding that "the facts speak for themselves" in terms of similarities between the killings.

The two latest bodies, which remain where they were found, were likely to be identified formally Wednesday, although Gull was cautious in formally confirming this would happen.

No other prostitutes are currently reported missing.

Dec 13 , 2006

Wednesday

Tuesday

less than two weeks

December 2

Tuesday

Later that day

Wednesday

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061124.0327

BEIJING, Nov. 25 , 2006 (Xinhua)

China starts annual civil servant recruitment exam

China started a nationwide examination on Saturday to recruit civil servant for the Central Government in 2007, with 42 people competing for each job on average.

The exam is held simultaneously in 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions nationwide where more than 530,000 people will compete for about 12,700 jobs, said a spokesman of the Ministry of Personnel, the exam organizer.

The ministry said the exam includes two sessions, with the administrative aptitude test (AAT) in the morning and the essay test in the afternoon, according to the exam schedule.

Since 1994, China has organized 13 consecutive civil servant recruitment examinations for departments of the central authorities and regional units of these departments.

Nov. 25 , 2006

Saturday

the afternoon


AFP_ENG_20061205.0069

MANILA, Dec 5 , 2006, 2006

US demands custody of marine convicted in Philippines rape case

The United States has demanded interim custody of a US marine sentenced to 40 years in jail for raping a Filipina woman, the Philippines foreign department said Wednesday.

The US embassy in Manila filed a diplomatic note invoking the right of the US military authorities to exercise custody of the marine in keeping with the provisions of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the two countries.

Dec 5 , 2006

Wednesday


AFP_ENG_20061229.0450

SAO PAULO, Dec 30 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

A former shoeshine boy who rose from abject poverty, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 61, has given up his once fiery leftist rhetoric but not his image as a champion of the underdog.

The bearded leader will take office on Monday after his overwhelming reelection with more than 60 percent of the vote on October 29, thanks largely to support from the millions of Brazilians who survive on less than two dollars a day.

His electoral victory in the run-off marked a clear rebound since claims of campaign dirty tricks had thwarted his bid to win reelection in the first round of voting on October 1, when he fell 1.4 percentage points short of the simple majority needed for outright victory.

At campaign rallies, he showed great pride in his humble background, reminding cheering crowds that unlike his opponent, a trained doctor, he has no university degree.

Born on October 6, 1945, in the dirt-poor northeast of Brazil, Lula learned to read when he was 10.

As a child, he worked as a shoeshine boy and a peanut vendor before getting a job as a metal worker at the age of 14. He lost a finger in a work accident in the 1960s.

A trade unionist and strike leader, he came to symbolize opposition to the military dictatorship in the 1970s and early 1980s. He founded the leftist Workers Party (PT) in February 1980.

In 1986, he was elected to Congress, and three years later he launched his first bid for the presidency. He tried again in 1994 and 1998 before winning by a landslide in 2002.

His victory was in part attributed to the fact that he dramatically toned down his once fiery leftist speech and moved the PT closer to the political center.

"I don't know how many elections I've lost to get to where I am now," Lula said in an October interview. "But I do know how many insults and prejudices I've had to overcome to get there.

"That's why my only objective now is to show that I'm more competent than many of the people who've been runnning this country."

He insists Brazil has made great strides forward since he took office, saying poverty has gone down 19 percent since he took office.

His government pumped billions of dollars into social projects, including an ambitious program that subsidizes 11 million impoverished families, and which has gained widespread popularity.

His electoral triumph four years ago rocked financial markets that feared he would lead the country to economic ruin. Lula eventually gained the markets' trust, as he kept the economy stable and achieved the budget surplus required by agreements with the International Monetary Fund.

"In four years, I have learned a lot," he says.

His popularity plummeted in 2005 amid a wave of corruption scandals involving members of his cabinet and his party. He quickly bounced back, but a new scandal that erupted two weeks before the first round of voting again eroded his support, which has surged once more in recent weeks.

Lula fired top government and party officials, and insists he had no prior knowledge of the wrongdoing.

He has distanced himself from the brand of radicalism advocated by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who in his recent address to the UN General Assembly called US President George W. Bush "the devil."

An avowed admirer of the Cuban revolution, he nonetheless recently criticized Cuba's ailing President Fidel Castro.

"I only regret that Fidel Castro did not carry out a process of political opening," he recently told the Folha de Sao Paulo daily.

"I think that our (Cuban) comrades missed their chance to move closer to democracy," he said.

Lula is married and has three children.

Dec 30 , 2006

Monday

October 29

October 1

October 6, 1945

the 1960s

the 1970s

February 1980

three years

the presidency

now

four years ago

four years

two weeks

recent weeks

daily


AFP_ENG_19970415.0299

WASHINGTON, April 15 , 1997 (AFP)

US consumer prices up 0.1 percent in March

US consumer prices rose 0.1 percent in March, following a 0.3 percent increase in February, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

Analysts widely had forecast a 0.2 percent rise in the department's consumer price index (CPI).

The CPI core rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent last month.

Over the past 12 months ending in March, the CPI has climbed 2.8 percent and core prices have risen 2.5 percent.

For the first three months of 1997, the CPI was up 1.8 percent.

April 15 , 1997

March

February

Tuesday

last month

the past 12 months

March

the first three months


AFP_ENG_20051221.0178

JENIN, West Bank, Dec 21 , 2005

URGENT  Local Hamas chief shot dead in West Bank

A local leader of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas was shot dead Wednesday by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Jenin, medical sources said.

Dec 21 , 2005

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061130.0405

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 30 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Mexico's president-elect names last cabinet ministers

Mexico's president-elect Felipe Calderon, of the ruling National Action Party (PAN), named on Thursday the last four cabinet ministers who will assist him in his six-year term to start on Dec. 1.

Calderon named Eduardo Medina Mora as Attorney General, Genaro Garcia Luna as Public Security Minister, Guillermo Galvan Galvan as Minister of National Defense and Mariano Francisco Sainez Mendoza as Navy Minister.

Twelve other cabinet ministers were appointed earlier this week.

The appointment of Francisco Javier Ramirez Acuna as Interior Minister sparked controversy as there have been allegations of heavy-handed policing during his previous term as governor of the western Mexican state of Jalisco.

Human rights groups have accused Ramirez of turning a blind eye to allegations of abusive and aggressive tactics by Jalisco police.

His most prominent appointment, Finance Minister Agustin Carstens, was former number three at the International Monetary Fund.

Only one official was ratified in his post: Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo.

Nov. 30 , 2006

Thursday

Dec. 1

earlier this week


XIN_ENG_20061116.0387

QUITO, Nov. 16 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Ecuador begins WTO process against EU over banana tariff

The Ecuadorian government on Thursday sent a letter to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to appeal against the European Union's tariff on imported bananas.

The letter said the EU tariff of 176 euros per ton, which took effect on Jan. 1, had reduced Ecuador's market share in Europe by 6.4 percent, though the total tonnage of bananas has increased.

The letter is the first step of an arbitration process. WTO procedures usually give two conflicting sides two months to reach a compromise before a group of referees are authorized to arbitrate.

The EU has already reduced its tariffs from the initial 230 dollars per ton when faced with similar arbitrage processes.

According to statistics of Ecuador's central bank, the world's largest banana exporter sold bananas worth nearly 1.1 billion dollars to Europe in 2005, up 6 percent from the previous year.

Nov. 16 , 2006

Thursday

Jan. 1

two months

the previous year


XIN_ENG_20061124.0262

BAGHDAD, Nov. 24 , 2006 (Xinhua)

1st LD: U.S. helicopters fire into Baghdad's Sadr City, 2 wounded

Two U.S. helicopters opened fire on a funeral in Sadr City in eastern Baghdad on Friday, wounding two people, an Interior Ministry official told Xinhua.

Residents in Sadr City attended a funeral for victims who were killed in Thursday's deadliest bombings and some people fired into the air when two U.S. Apache helicopters flow over, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The choppers fired into the crowd, wounding two people, the official said, adding it seemed to be an accident, not clash.

Earlier in the day, Doha-based al-Jazeera English channel reported that armed clashes erupted on Friday evening between U.S. forces and Shiite militiamen in Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad.

On Thursday afternoon, at least 200 people were killed and more than 250 others were injured in four coordinated bombings in Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City.

It was the deadliest bombing attacks since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Nov. 24 , 2006

Friday

Thursday

Friday evening

Thursday afternoon


WSJ891030-0181
 = 891030
 891030-0181.
 Dutch Firm Seeks
@  To Buy Up to 25%
@  Of Nashua's Stock
@  ----
@  By Lawrence Ingrassia
@  Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
 10/30/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 NSH
 TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)
BUYBACKS, REDEMPTIONS, SWAP OFFERS (BBK)
 NASHUA, N.H.

   Nashua Corp., rumored a potential takeover target for six months, said that a Dutch company has sought U.S. approval to buy up to 25% of Nashua's shares.

   Nashua immediately responded by strengthening a poison-pill plan and saying it will buy back up to one million of its shares, or 10.4% of the 9.6 million outstanding.

   Nashua, whose major business is selling copiers, facsimile machines and related supplies, said Reiss amp Co. B.V. of the Netherlands filed a request with the Federal Trade Commission under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act for permission to buy more than $15 million of Nashua's stock but less than 25%.

   Previously, an affiliate of Unicorp Canada disclosed a stake of less than 5% in Nashua, according to Daniel M. Junius, Nashua's treasurer.

   Nashua's stock has fluctuated sharply on takeover speculation, rising to a high for the year of $42.875 a share in June from $29.75 in March.

But the company has had weak results so far this year, with earnings declining 43% to $13.7 million, or $1.43 a share, on a 4% decline in revenue to $713.5 million through the first nine months of the year.

Its stock has slumped recently , closing unchanged Friday at $29 a share in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange; at that price, the company has a market value of about $278.4 million.
Nashua announced the Reiss request after the market closed.

   Mr. Junius said Nashua's "intention is to remain an independent public company."
The company said it amended its shareholder rights plan by reducing to 10% from 20% the level of ownership by an outsider that would trigger the issuance to other holders of rights to buy additional shares of Nashua common at half price.

   In addition, the company's board authorized the purchase of up to an additional one million shares.
Under a program approved by the company in 1987 that did n't specify a share amount, Nashua had purchased 481,000 shares through Sept. 29.

   Alex Henderson, an analyst at Prudential-Bache Securities, said that while Nashua's performance this year has been "atrocious," the company nonetheless is attractive as a "classic breakup candidate because there's no similarity between its {four} businesses."
He estimated the breakup value at $55 a share.
In addition to selling Japanese-made photocopiers and facsimile machines in Europe and copier supplies in the U.S., Nashua has three other major businesses: labels and tapes, data storage disks for computers and mail-order photofinishing.

six months

the year

June

March

this year

first nine months

the year

recently

Friday

Sept. 29

this year


XIN_ENG_20061114.0018

MANILA, Nov. 14 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Philippines to deploy 7,000 policemen for ASEAN summit

The Philippines will deploy some 7, 000 policemen for the Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) Summit to be held in Cebu City, the police chief said on Tuesday.

Police forces will secure the arrival and the departure of all the delegates of the summit in December, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Calderon told reporters in a press conference at Camp Crame, PNP headquarters in the capital.

Calderon said that the police could not rule out the possibility that international and local terrorist groups might take advantage of the event.

"But with the preparations we've been conducting, there will be no threat. And as of now, there is no threat. Cebu is safe like Metro Manila," he said, referring to the second largest city of the country.

The Philippines is now the yearly chairman country of ASEAN and the host of the 12th ASEAN Summit and its related meetings scheduled in early December.

Nov. 14 , 2006

Tuesday

December

early December


XIN_ENG_20051129.0108

BEIJING, Nov. 29 , 2005 (Xinhua)

China asks Malaysia to probe assault cases against Chinese citizens

China has asked Malaysia to conduct immediate investigation into and punish offenders involved in the assault and humiliation of Chinese citizens in Malaysia, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said here Tuesday.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and Embassy in Malaysia have expressed grave concern about reports of Chinese citizens being assaulted and humiliated in Malaysia, and made strong representations to the Malaysian government, demanding immediate investigation into and stern punishment of the offenders, said spokesman Liu Jianchao.

Among the cases, a woman, believed to be a Chinese national, was forced to do squats in front of a woman in police uniform in a room with some lookers. The scene was videotaped and shown to Malaysian ministers and parliament members as evidence, Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported on Friday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had reportedly asked the police authorities not to "hide" any facts in the probe into the videofootage. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak also said that Malaysia would carry out a thorough investigation into the video evidence and would not protect the perpetrators, according to Bernama.

"The Chinese government has always considered it important to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens from being violated," Liu said at a routine press conference.

The Chinese side has noticed the promise of senior Malaysian officials to investigate the cases earnestly, Liu said.

He stressed "China will continue to urge Malaysia to investigate and deal with these cases in a serious and just manner and bring the trouble makers to justice so as to really protect the dignity and safety of Chinese citizens and prevent such cases from recurring."

In response to a question on Malaysian Minister of Interior Azmi Khalid's possible visit to China, Liu said the two countries have been discussing details for the "important visit" on an date that is proper for both sides.

China welcomes Khalid to come for a visit, which will play a positive role in pushing forward bilateral cooperation in certain fields, the spokesman said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced last Thursday that Premier Wen Jiabao will pay an official visit to Malaysia in mid-December.

Nov. 29 , 2005

Tuesday

Friday

last Thursday


AFP_ENG_20051213.0645

MANILA, Dec 14 , 2005

US Fed hike may halt peso rally: Philippines central bank

A strong rally by the Philippine peso may be nearing its end after the US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates by another 25 basis points, Filipino central bank chief Amando Tetangco said Wednesday.

The US Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to raise the benchmark federal funds target rate by a quarter-percentage point to 4.25 percent, its highest level since May 2001.

"Its immediate implication for the Philippines is on interest rate differential and the possible downward effect on the domestic currency," Tetangco told reporters.

The peso, which traded at 53.695 to the dollar on Tuesday afternoon, has been hovering at two-and-a-half-year highs against the dollar in recent sessions, boosted by brisk remittances from the millions of Filipinos who work abroad.

Tetangco said the US Fed move was not likely to push Philippine consumer prices to rise sharply.

He said the US rate increase was expected but did not say whether the Philippine central bank will follow suit.

"The monetary board will make a full assessment that would include the inflation outlook, liquidity growth, external sector developments and other relevant factors when it meets tomorrow," Tetangco said.

The central bank has raised its overnight interest rates three times this year, by a total of 75 basis points to 7.50 percent for borrowing and 9.75 percent for lending.

Dec 14 , 2005

Wednesday

Tuesday

May 2001

Tuesday afternoon

tomorrow

this year


AFP_ENG_19970429.0132

TEHRAN, April 29 , 1997 (AFP)

Record 238 candidates sign up for Iran's presidential vote

A record 238 people have signed up to contest next month's presidential election in Iran, but only a small number are expected to be approved, the interior ministry announced on Tuesday.

The ministry said it forwarded the list of hopefuls -- including several women -- to the 12-member Council of the Guardians, which will vet them to ensure they meet legal and ideological requirements.

Once a list of eligible candidates is released, they can launch a 12-day campaign for the May 23 polls, Interior Minister Ali Mohammad Besharati said. Campaigning will have to stop 24 hours before the election.

The names of the hopefuls have not been published, but, according to newspapers, nine women have signed up for the first time in a presidential election since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

The Iranian constitution is vague on whether or not women can run for president, and it is up to the council to decide based on its interpretation of the law.

The council, composed of six senior clergymen and six jurists, has a duty to ensure laws and their implementation conform to the constitution and Islamic regulations.

However, the overwhelming majority of the hopefuls are expected to be rejected, as the constitution states the president should be a political and religious authority.

The two main candidates are parliamentary speaker Ali Akbar Nategh- Nuri, who is backed by the ruling clergy, and former culture minister Mohammad Khatami, supported by Islamic moderates and leftwingers. Both are clerics.

It will be the seventh presidential election in Iran since the revolution. President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani has served two four- year terms and is not allowed to run again.

April 29 , 1997

next month

Tuesday

May 23


AFP_ENG_19970418.0150

TOKYO, April 18 , 1997 (AFP)

Matsuzakaya profit soars 62.9 percent

Japanese department store operator Matsuzakaya Co. Ltd. Friday said its parent company pre-tax earnings leapt 62.9 percent from a year earlier to 5.5 billion yen (45 million dollars) in the year to February.

The Nagoya-based company said consolidated sales climbed 1.7 percent to 435.6 billion yen in the same period, forecasting an even higher profit of 5.8 billion yen for the current year on increased sales of 444 billion yen.

"Although demand from corporate clients was sluggish, sales of women's clothing and personal effects showed steady gains," a statement said.

"We can expect new demand as a result of deregulation and administrative reforms in the current year. But concerns remains over stagnant personal spending following the April 1 consumption tax hike."

Sales of clothing rose 1.8 percent to 180.3 billion yen and sales of personal effects edged up 0.6 percent to 37.3 billion yen. Sales of household utensils fell 4.2 percent to 45.3 billion yen.

Sales of foodstuffs rose 1.7 percent to to 89.1 billion yen and sales of sundry goods were up 2.7 percent at 65.3 billion yen. Revenue from restaurant and coffee shop businesses rose 1.6 percent to 10.0 billion yen with other sales up 47.1 percent at 8.1 billion yen.

April 18 , 1997

Friday

a year earlier

the year to February

the same period

the current year

the current year

April 1


AFP_ENG_19970423.0655

HONG KONG, April 24 , 1997 (AFP)

10 Vietnamese arrested in China while trying to sneak into Hong Kong

Ten Vietnamese men have been arrested in southern China while trying to sneak into Hong Kong to look for jobs, it was reported Thursday.

The 10 Vietnamese, aged between 20 and 40, were held in coastal Wuchuan city in Guangdong province, while preparing to sail to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong branch of China News Service said.

They told Chinese authorities that they paid 10 billion dong (800 US dollars) to human smugglers to take them to Hong Kong where they were promised work, the report said.

The Vietnamese illegal immigrant left Nan Dinh in north Vietnam for Hong Kong on April 12.

April 24 , 1997

Thursday

April 12


XIN_ENG_20061128.0473

GUANGZHOU, Nov. 29 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Schools must not expel juvenile students, violent TV banned

South China's Guangdong Province is mulling legislation to ban schools from expelling students during the nine-year compulsory education period.

Poor grades, puppy love or skipping classes will no longer be a sufficient pretext for schools to kick out primary and junior high school students, according to the draft law on juvenile delinquency prevention being deliberated in Guangzhou, the provincial capital.

Though no official figures are available regarding the percentage of students expelled, it is common knowledge that some Chinese schools kick out children with poor grades in order to improve their performance and compete more successfully with other schools, said Wang Xudong, an official with the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, the provincial legislature.

If a school wants to expel a child for consistently bad behavior, it will have to file records with the local education authority within 15 days of the date of dismissal, according to Wang.

"The legislation will prevent schools from giving up too soon on unruly students, and help decrease juvenile delinquency," said Xu Daosheng, deputy director of the Civil Affairs and Judicial Commission of the Provincial People's Congress.

Expelling a problematic kid from school just makes it more likely that he or she will become a juvenile delinquent, he said.

The draft also bans violence, horror and atrocities from Guangdong radio and television programs. No crime-related video content can be screened from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and no overseas animation content is allowed from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The draft will be reviewed by the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress on Dec. 1.

Nov. 29 , 2006

15 days

Dec. 1


XIN_ENG_20061120.0062

BEIJING, Nov. 20 , 2006 (Xinhua)

delays

Sections of five Beijing and eight Tianjin highways are currently closed after thick fog smothered north China from Sunday night.

The highway from Beijing to Shenyang, capital of China's northeastern Liaoning Province, didn't reopen until 9:33 a.m on Monday.

The closure of highways caused congestion and a slow crawl of vehicles on National Route 107, said an official from the Dujiakan toll station.

Passengers for Baoding and Shijiazhuang, the two largest cities in northern Hebei province, were waiting in Liuliqiao bus station on Monday morning for their buses -- delayed by the closure of the highway -- to leave.

The Beijing Municipal Observatory and neighbouring Tianjin Municipal Observatory issued yellow fog warnings on Monday.

City roads were also affected by fog, with police called out repeatedly to deal with congestion and accidents.

Visibility was reported to be as low as 500 meters in Beijing.

Visibility is between 300 meters and 600 meters on average and as low as 10 meters on some road sections, said Zhao Jinghong, a weather forecaster with Tianjin Municipal Observatory.

Visibility at Beijing Capital International Airport fell to 600 meters, resulting in some flight delays, especially flights for eastern Shandong Province, according to the Beijing Municipal Observatory.

The airport has launched an emergency fog plan to avoid mass congestion at the airport. It increases intervals between flights and reminds travelers to check times before going to the airport, said an airport official.

There was some air pollution on Monday. People should scale back outdoor activities and go out with a respirator, said the local environmental bureau.

The price of tomatoes rose from 1 yuan to 1.8 yuan per kilo as vegetables from Shandong and Henan provinces, two major sources for Beijing's dinner tables, were kept out of the city by the fog.

There were 30 percent more faucitis, rhinitis and respiratory infection patients than usual at major Tianjin hospitals.

High humidity and little wind over the past week has caused the fog, said He Lifu, a meteorologist with the National Meteorology Center.

Cold air late on Monday night will bring fairly strong winds to north China and disperse the fog, the Beijing Municipal Observatory said.

Visibility in parts of east China's Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, north China's Beijing and Tianjin municipalities and northeastern China's Liaoning Province was a mere 200 meters.

More than 40 flights from Taoxian airport in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, were delayed Sunday.

Nov. 20 , 2006

Sunday night

Monday

Monday morning

Monday

Monday

the past week

Monday night

Sunday


AFP_ENG_20061218.0057

OSLO, Dec 18 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS production levels, quotes, background ///

The Norwegian oil company Statoil is to take over the oil and gas activities of Norsk Hydro and create the largest offshore production group, the two groups said on Monday.

The new company will be 62.5 percent state-owned and given a new name, which was not disclosed.

Both companies' boards as well as the government have approved the takeover, which is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2007.

The merged entity will have a combined production of 1.9 million barrels per day in 2007 and proven oil and gas reserves of 6.3 billion barrels of oil equivalents.

"This is the start of a new era. We are creating a global energy company and strengthening Norway's oil and gas industry," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement.

"The government sees the recommended merger as industrially and strategically well founded," he said.

The state is expected to eventually raise its stake to 67 percent.

Norsk Hydro will continue to operate as an aluminium company under its existing name.

Norway is the world's third largest oil exporter, behind Russia and Saudi Arabia.

phy/po/wai

"By combining forces, the new company will be a highly competent and financially strong Norwegian-based energy champion, well positioned to ensure continued domestic excellence and pursue international business opportunities for long-term growth," said Jan Reinaas and Jannik Lindbaek, the chairmen of the Board of Directors of Hydro and Statoil, respectively, in a joint statement. "The industry faces an increasingly challenging international landscape. To merge now makes perfect sense."

Hydro will continue as a leading, focused global aluminium company.

Dec 18 , 2006

Monday

the third quarter of 2007

now


AFP_ENG_20051216.0342

LONDON, Dec 16 , 2005

Nearly 700 'gay marriages' in England and Wales next week

Nearly 700 "gay marriages" will take place in England and Wales next week when arrangements for new civil partnerships come into force, official statistics released Friday showed.

Some 687 same-sex couples will take part in ceremonies to legally recognise their relationships next Wednesday, when England and Wales lift the veil on "gay marriage", the General Register Office (GRO) said.

The central London borough of Westminster leads the way with 20 all-male ceremonies.

The Civil Partnership Act comes into force on Monday in Northern Ireland and Tuesday in Scotland but no projected figures for first-day ceremonies were available, the equivalent bodies there told AFP.

The new legislation, which allows gay couples to obtain the same rights as heterosexual couples in areas such as employment, pension and inheritance, came into force on December 5.

To form a civil partnership, a couple must first register their intent, undergo a compulsory waiting period then go to a register office or other authorised place.

There they sign an official civil partnership document in front of a registrar and two witnesses. The ceremony is much like a civil wedding although the term "gay marriage" has no legal force and same-sex ceremonies are not allowed in church.

Dec 16 , 2005

next week

Friday

Wednesday

Monday

Tuesday

December 5


XIN_ENG_20061116.0044

HANOI, Nov. 16 , 2006 (Xinhua)

APEC ministers endorse Hanoi Action Plan for free trade, Investment

Miniters and representatives of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) here Thursday endorsed the Hanoi Action Plan for further free and open trade and investment.

The plan was endorsed at the two-day ministerial meeting closed here Thursday afternoon at the newly built Hanoi National Convention Center, announced the cochairman of the meeting, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem at a news briefing after the meeting.

The document, initiated by APEC senior officials, together with others, will submit for approval to the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting to be held here on Nov. 18-19.

The ministers and representatives at the meeting reaffirmed APEC's commitment to achieve the Bogor Goals in 2010/2020 and recognized that the Bogor Goals remain important for APEC today's fast changing trade and investment environment.

They endorsed the Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Busan Roadmap, which was agreed in 2005 to accelerate progress towards the Bogor Goals.

Under the Plan, member economies of APEC will take concrete actions in five key areas, in particular, the support for the multilateral trading system and the promotion of high-quality regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements.

Nov. 16 , 2006

Thursday

Thursday afternoon

Nov. 18-19

today


XIN_ENG_20051126.0147

ANKARA, Nov 26 , 2005 (Xinhua)

1st lead: Earthquake shakes Turkey's Malatya province

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5. 3 on the Richter scale shook Turkey's central province of Malatya on Saturday.

No casualty was reported.

Semi-official Anatolia News Agency quoted officials of an observatory center as saying that the quake occurred at 17:56 p.m. (1556 GMT) and that the epicenter of the quake was at the Poturge town of Malatya.

Malatya Governor Osman Derya Kadioglu was quoted as saying that there were no reports of any casualties or damage after the quake which was felt in Malatya and surrounding provinces.

Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey. A strong quake hit western Turkey in 1999, leaving more than 18,000 people dead.

Nov 26 , 2005

Saturday

17:56 p.m.


XIN_ENG_20061113.0432

SHENYANG, Nov. 14 , 2006 (Xinhua)

URGENT: Colliery flood traps 8 in northeast China

Eight people were trapped when a colliery was flooded in northeast China's Liaoning Province, the local government confirmed Tuesday.

The accident was reported at the Dahenan Colliery in Huazi Township in Dengta, a city about 50 kilometers south of the provincial capital Shenyang.

A spokesman of the provincial work safety administration said reports of the flood were received at 11:30 a.m. and it was not clear whether the victims were still alive.

He did not give the exact time of the accident.

Rescue work is underway and a team of reporters from Xinhua's Liaoning provincial bureau are on their way to the site.

Nov. 14 , 2006

Tuesday

11:30 a.m.


WSJ891027-0089
 = 891027
 891027-0089.
 Financing Business:
@  Healthdyne Inc.
 10/27/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 HDYN
 STOCK MARKET, OFFERINGS (STK)
INITIAL STOCK OFFERINGS (INI)

   HEALTHDYNE Inc., Atlanta, said its subsidiary, Home Nutritional Services Inc., registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission an initial public offering of four million shares of common.
The in-home health care services provider said it will sell 1.8 million of the new shares, while Home Nutritional Services will sell the remaining 2.2 million.
The company estimates the offering price at between $14 and $16 a share.
The company said it expects to use the proceeds to repay certain bank debt and for general corporate purposes, including establishing new operating centers and possible acquisitions.
Home Nutritional currently has 10 million shares outstanding.
It will have 11.8 million shares outstanding after the offering, with Healthdyne owning about 65% of the total.

currently


XIN_ENG_20061113.0301

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 13 , 2006 (Xinhua)

China, India boost Africa's growth: World Bank

Africa is reaping the fruits of a new "Silk Road" to the fast-growing Asian economies, notably through a sharp rise in trade and investments by China and India, a new study by the World Bank has found.

According to the study, "Africa's Silk Road: China and India's New Economic Frontier," 27 percent of African exports are sold in Asia, up from 14 percent in 2000 or three times the amount in 1990.

Europe, Africa's leading trade partner since the early independence days, has lost ground with a 50 percent fall between 2000 and 2005 in the share of African exports to European Union members, said a report of the study released here on Monday.

Approximately 47 percent of Africa's exports to Asia comprise oil and natural gas, which represent 12 percent of Africa's overall exports to the world. The leading non-oil mineral and metal products include gold, silver, platinum, iron, aluminum, iron ore, copper, and pearls.

The study finds that existing Chinese and Indian investment in Africa is concentrated on raw materials, notably in the mining and oil sectors.

However, the two Asian countries "are fast diversifying outside the natural resources sector into the apparel, food processing, retail, fisheries, commercial real estate, labor- intensive light manufacturing and the services sector in ways that could help Africa move away from over-reliance on a few export commodities which has left the continent so vulnerable to economic shocks," said the report.

China and India's foreign direct investments in Africa, although more modest than trade flows, are also growing very rapidly, the "Silk Road" study reveals, drawing parallels with the Silk Road used by traders from 100 B.C.

"This new Silk Road presents a significant, and to date, rare opportunity to accelerate Africa's growth, expand intra-African trade and hasten the continent's integration into the global economy," said Harry Broadman, World Bank's economic advisor in the African region and the author of the study

The study finds that in both Africa and Asia there are strong complementary relationships between foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade.

"Chinese and Indian firms operating in Africa have been playing a significant role in facilitating these linkages between FDI and trade on the African continent," said the report.

Nov. 13 , 2006

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061117.0189

BAGHDAD, Nov. 17 , 2006 (Xinhua)

process

The Association of Muslim Scholars on Friday called on Sunni Arab politicians to withdraw from the government and parliament after the authorities issued an arrest warrant for the most prominent Sunni cleric, Harith al-Dhari.

"A call on the political groups to withdraw from the parliament and the government, which it has proved that is not a national unity government," the Association spokesman, Abul Salam al- Kubaisi, told reporters.

"The warrant was issued to cover the acts of the government's security forces that kill dozens of Iraqis every day," Kubaisi said.

On Thursday, Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said that al-Dhari, was trying to "spread division and strife among the Iraqi people and will be chased by our security agencies."

The arrest warrant was issued days after al-Dhari was accused by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki of "inciting sectarian and ethnic sedition."

Dhari, 65, who is safe from arrest in neighboring Jordan, reported the pan Arab al-Jazeera television on Friday, adding that the Iraqi government is "provoking crises" with him to cover its failure in facing up the militias loyal to government Shiite political parties.

Dhari, the secretary general of the Association of Muslim Scholars, described the arrest warrant of the Shiite-dominated government as "illegal" and that he would return to Iraq at the appropriate time.

However, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in the day that the Iraqi government has not ordered an arrest warrant for Dhari, but it was only to open a criminal investigation into his activities.

"There is an investigation warrant related to the activities of Sheikh Dhari and they are not final," Dabbagh told state-run Iraqia television.

"Iraqi government issued an arrest warrant is not accurate. We confirm that this news were out of context," Dabbagh said.

Al-Dhari is the top leader for Iraq's Sunni minority and reportedly is an outspoken critic of Al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government.

He often travels abroad and it is not clear whether he is in the country when the arrest warrant was issued late Thursday.

Nov. 17 , 2006

Friday

Thursday

Friday

late Thursday


XIN_ENG_20061117.0240

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 , 2006 (Xinhua)

costs: report

U.S. federal regulators will unveil "significant changes" in the coming weeks to make it less costly for companies to obey rules aimed at ensuring the accuracy of their financial reports, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Regulators "will unveil significant changes" aimed at ensuring internal-control audits are "top down, risk-based and focused on what truly matters" in ensuring the accuracy of corporate financial results, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox.

The changes apply to a provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-reform law known as Section 404, which requires companies to review their internal controls on financial reporting and then to have those controls tested by outside auditors.

Business groups have pressed the SEC and Congress for such changes, complaining that the way Section 404 is interpreted is overly broad and requires them to spend too much time and money, documenting things that have nothing to do with the integrity of their financial statements.

Critics also said that Section 404 is partly responsible for discouraging foreign companies from listing their shares on U.S. exchanges.

Speaking before the International Organization of Securities Commissioners in London on Thursday, Cox said that the changes "will provide guidance for both companies and their auditors to permit common-sense reliance on past work, and on the work of others."

The goal is to reduce the compliance costs, while increasing the benefits provided by the annual reviews, he added.

Nov. 17 , 2006

coming weeks

Friday

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20051104.0329

PARIS, Nov. 5 , 2005 (Xinhua)

9th day in France

Two warehouses in Seine-Saint-Denis, two other buildings in the suburb of Val d'Oise, and over 120 vehicles nationwide were set ablaze in France as the nation's worst unrest in decades dragged into the ninth day on Friday.

Firemen rushed to Val d'Oise to extinguish blazes on more than ten cars and two buildings, while flames flared up Friday in several other locations despite heavy police deployment.

At least 78 people have been captured overnight on Thursday around the suburban regions of Paris, the French National Police General Direction said Friday.

Days of arson attacks also put the authorities on fire. The French Communist Party on Friday urged Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy to step down, saying his policy is "a total failure."

"The interior minister's policy, recycling ideas of the far-right is more than a total failure: it stirs all the tensions and generates the results strictly contrary to what it pretends to obtain," the party said.

The party also called on the French government to recognize its failure in public and decide a radical change of its public security policy.

While determined to restore order and justice, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has acknowledged that people living in high-immigrant areas need security, recognition, hope, respect and future, promising further help with the youths in those areas in seeking jobs.

The government has also presented an initial report on an investigation into the deaths of the two teenagers, identified respectively as Bouna Traore, 15, born in Mauritania, and Zyed Benna, 17, of Tunisian origin.

Violence was sparkled by the accidental deaths of the two teenagers last week in Seine-Saint-Denis in northeast Paris, an area which is home to many poor Muslim immigrants from North Africa.

The two victims scaled the wall of an electrical relay station to flee a police identity check and were electrocuted near a transformer.

Young people in the suburban areas went on a rampage at the two deaths, while some others from the high-immigration neighborhoods joined in, protesting unemployment and other problems.

Riots first began in Seine-Saint-Denis, and have spread to areas surrounding Paris before flaring up also in Marseille, Dijon and in Normandy -- and even in central parts of the capital itself.

Heavy police deployment has seemed to be doing little help in quenching out the flames. Some 1,300 police officers have been sent to Seine-Saint-Denis, the place worst hit by the violence.

According to police estimates, over 1,260 vehicles have so far been torched and more than 200 people arrested amid fears that the country's racial and social divisions were fueling the violence, the worst seen since a 1968 student revolt.

Nov. 5 , 2005

Friday

Friday

Thursday

Friday

Friday

last week


XIN_ENG_20051103.0277

BERLIN, Nov. 3 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Merkel pledges to meet eurozone budget deficit rule by 2007

German chancellor-designate Angela Merkel pledged here Thursday to bring Germany's budget deficit down by 2007 to meet the 3-percent rule that the European Union stipulated for the 12-nation euro-zone.

"It is not just meeting the ... criteria - this is a question of justice for the future," said Merkel in a speech to business leaders.

Germany has violated the 3 percent of gross domestic product ( GDP) euro-zone budget deficit rule for a fourth year in a row in 2005 and many experts expect further violation next year.

Merkel said her government would make 35 billion euros (42 billion US dollars) of spending cuts in the coming months, but adding the need to reach the goal "rests on assumptions for which we have to do something first" and "rests on the assumption that we will have 1.8 percent growth and the hope that we will end the spiral of losing 1,000 full-time jobs per day".

Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/CSU alliance and outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democratic Party ( SPD) are negotiating on the formation of a grand coalition government with Merkel as the next chancellor. A new government is expected to be in place later this month.

The German government said last month that Germany's GDP will grow 1.2 percent next year, less than the 1.6 percent it predicted in its last official forecast in April. It also lowered its projection for growth this year to 0.8 percent from 1 percent.

Nov. 3 , 2005

Thursday

the future

a fourth year

next year

coming months

this month

last month

next year

April

this year


XIN_ENG_20061109.0302

NICOSIA, Nov. 9 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Cyprus expresses deep concern over increasing violence in Gaza

The Cypriot government expressed its deep concern on Thursday over the increasing violence in Gaza Strip after the killing of more than 60 Palestinians by Israeli troops.

"The Government of the Republic of Cyprus is deeply concerned with the increased violence in Gaza," the Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The indiscriminate Israeli military strike on civilian targets which resulted in the loss of several lives including women and children is against international humanitarian law and cannot be justified," the ministry added.

The Cypriot government called on both parties to refrain and adopt a spirit of moderation and responsibility, underlining that violence would further impede the efforts over restarting the peace process.

On Nov. 1, Israel launched a large-scale military operation, dubbed "Autumn Clouds" in northern Gaza Strip with the aim of stemming rocket attacks on southern Israel from the Palestinian side. More than 60 Palestinians were killed and more than 250 others wounded during the Israeli operation.

Only one day after Israel announced the end of the operation, the Israeli tank shells struck houses in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on Wednesday, killing at least 18 civilians and wounding dozens of others.

The attack was the deadliest on Palestinian civilians in the past several years, prompting a wave of strong censure across the Arab world and the international community.

Nov. 9 , 2006

Thursday

Nov. 1

one day

Wednesday

the past several years


XIN_ENG_20051116.0150

BEIJING, Nov. 16 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Schwarzenegger says US will benefit from China's progress

Governor of the US state of California Arnold Schwarzenegger said here Wednesday that the United States and the world will benefit from China's progress and scientific and technological advances.

Schwarzenegger said in a speech at prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing that China's economy has become an engine of human progress, lifting millions of people out of poverty.

"I often read that China's economy is likely to become the largest in the world over the next 50 years," Schwarzenegger said, noting that this is terrific.

Some in his country fear that China's development will overtake the Unites States' development, he said. "But I believe the United States and the world will benefit from China's scientific and technological advances," he noted, saying the US-China economic relations will become even closer in the years ahead.

"We should welcome China's investment in US firms." That would show that China has faith in the United States, he said.

The Austrian-born actor-turned-politician, who is very familiar to Chinese audiences as a movie hero, also educated Tsinghua students on the importance of seizing dreams. He used his own experiences, from bodybuilding to movie star to governor of one of the most important US states, to tell Chinese youth to make unswerving efforts to achieve their dreams.

Wu Xiao'ai from the university's medical school told Xinhua after the speech that Schwarzenegger's life experiences were very "admiring" and his speech today was very "encouraging".

Schwarzenegger also voiced concerns for Tsinghua student Zhou Guang's brother, who was injured in a car crash and is very depressed. Zhou said his brother is a fan of Schwarzenegger, hoping that Schwarzenegger would write some words for his brother to encourage him to regain faith.

Schwarzenegger said immediately after hearing Zhou's request that he would like to phone Zhou's brother to express his concerns.

When learning that it is not convenient to conduct a phone talks with Zhou's brother, the governor's assistant delivered Schwarzenegger's name card to Zhou, and Schwarzenegger said he will send Zhou a card to encourage Zhou's brother before leaving China.

Schwarzenegger and his economic and trade delegation will leave here Wednesday evening for Shanghai, China's economic hub in east China, to continue their China trip.

Nov. 16 , 2005

Wednesday

the next 50 years

the years ahead

today

Wednesday evening