AFP_ENG_20051212.0028

MANILA, Dec 12 , 2005

by US

Jose Maria Sison, the exiled founder of the Philippines' decades-old communist insurgency, said Monday he fears he could be abducted by the United States in its fight against international terrorism.

The US State Department and western allies have designated the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which Sison established in 1968, and its armed wing the New People's Army (NPA), as "foreign terrorist organizations".

Sison, who lives in exile in the Netherlands where he is seeking political asylum, accused President Gloria Arroyo's government of implicating the CPP-NPA in terrorism to justify his arrest by Washington, Manila's top military ally.

Arroyo has suspended peace talks with the CPP-NPA after the rebels refused a government demand for a nationwide ceasefire. The insurgent leadership also wants Manila to get the group off the West's terrorist watchlist.

"My Philippine, European and American lawyers are looking into the possibility that the US and Arroyo governments are fabricating stories and intelligence dossiers against me in order to lay the ground for my 'rendition' by the CIA and other operatives of the US," Sison said in a statement.

Sison equated the term "rendition" with "kidnapping".

The term "rendition" refers to allegations that the US government is flying terrorist suspects to secret bases and third countries for interrogation.

Dec 12 , 2005

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061113.0260

ANKARA, Nov. 13 , 2006 (Xinhua)

recommendations: Annan

Visiting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan revealed Monday that the world body had decided to establish a suitable mechanism for implementing the recommendations by the high-level group of the Alliance of Civilizations.

Annan made the remarks at a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luiz Rodriguez Zapatero after the alliance's high-level group meeting held in Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey.

The alliance, launched in November 2005 by Spain and Turkey, aims to encourage dialogue between Western and Islamic societies.

Annan told the reporters that the Alliance of Civilizations could be activated as soon as the difficult situations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine were resolved.

Existing foreign troops in Iraq and Afghanistan would not remain there forever, which would have to leave after a certain time, Annan said.

For his part, Zapatero highlighted significance of the meeting for both Muslim and Western worlds, saying the participates had reached an important agreement that everyone should be respectful to different religions by acknowledging their importance and existence.

"People from different cultures have waged a war against fanaticism and intolerance. We will fight against fanaticism and intolerance through tolerance and dialogue. We will prevent acts of fanatics," he vowed.

Zapatero left Turkey after the press conference.

Nov. 13 , 2006

Monday

November 2005


XIN_ENG_20051129.0113

HONG KONG, Nov. 29 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Two Chinese taikonauts meet HK youths

Hong Kong's young people on Tuesday questioned two taikonauts of China's second manned space mission, trying to find a personal image of the two, who have been hailed as "heroes" by local press.

"Most Hong Kong youth are very practical when choosing profession, how can you make up minds to be a taikonaut when China 's aerospace industry still at the beginning?" asked a young female accountant at a forum.

The one-hour session was attended by the two taikonauts, Fei Junlong and Nie Haijun, and more than 100 Hong Kong young professionals from all walks of life.

Both Fei and Nie encouraged the young people to devote to their careers even the results not clear. "The commitment is achievement itself," said Fei.

Compared to the glorious titles such as "Space Hero Duet" given by Hong Kong press, the young people preferred to know the two taikonauts from a more personal prospect.

Many questions focused on how the two designed their career development and how they dealt with stress coming from life and work.

"I've never felt more stress than now. I'm so nervous to know what is the next question," said Fei, whose answer triggered out laughter and applause from the audience.

Among 15 people asking questions, most were curious about how the two taikonauts maintain good relations with their families while pursuing their career of being a taikonaut, one of the 14 in whole China.

"I couldn't have made today's achievement without the support of my families. I thank them for their unselfish support," Nie answered.

Nie, who orbited the Earth in mid-October with Fei, spent his 41st birthday while exploring the space. A live TV broadcast then showed an overwhelmed Nie with tears when his daughter sang him a Happy Birthday Song by satellite telephone.

Nie and Fei are on a three-day visit to Hong Kong with engineers of the Shenzhou-6 manned space mission, named after the capsule.

During their stay in Hong Kong, the two taikonauts attended variety show, gave science presentations and communicated with the public at various forums. They will leave for Macao on Wednesday morning.

Nov. 29 , 2005

Tuesday

now.

today

Wednesday morning


AFP_ENG_19970429.0131

KAMPALA, April 29 , 1997 (AFP)

Ancestral spirits aiding Sudanese rebels: Museveni

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is claiming that it is ancestral spirits -- not Ugandan soldiers -- who are aiding south Sudanese rebels fighting the military regime in Khartoum.

Museveni, not a man known for strong religious or superstitious beliefs, told parliamentarians Monday that the spirits had been invoked by Ugandan prayers.

Tongue firmly in cheek, he went on: "I don't want to go into details, because if you expose them, they may be unhappy. Once the spirit prays, practical help comes from other sources."

Spirits seem to be at work in the army, too.

Museveni said hundreds of "ghosts" were drawing army pay and food allowances, costing the barracks in the northern town of Gulu 40,000 dollars a month.

Meanwhile, local newspapers reported that the Ugandan army has paraded 114 Sudanese prisoners in war before a crowd at a stadium of 3,000 in Gulu on Monday.

The military said the Sudanese prisoners were captured while fighting alongside Lord's Resistance Army rebels in northern Uganda.

Sudan accuses Uganda of backing rebels who hav been fighting Khartoum since 1983.

April 29 , 1997

Monday

a month

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061101.0007

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 1 , 2006 (Xinhua)

House roof collapse kills 1, injures 5 in Pakistan

A house roof collapsed in Pakistan's largest port city Karachi, killing a baby and injuring five persons of the family that included her parents and two sisters, local private Geo TV reported on Wednesday.

Police said that the roof and walls of the dilapidated house of a junk dealer at Gharibabad of Liaquatabad area in Karachi came crashing with a bang to bury the whole family sleeping therein under the debris.

The neighbors hearing the thud of the collapsing roof came out rescuing six persons and shifted them to local hospital, where the doctors pronounced the five-month-old baby dead, according to the report.

Two girls were in serious conditions, the report said.

Nov. 1 , 2006

Wednesday


WSJ891030-0142
 = 891030
 891030-0142.
 Aetna Life amp Casualty
@  Profit Decreased 22%
@  In the Third Quarter
 10/30/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 AET
 EARNINGS (ERN)
INSURANCE (INS)
 HARTFORD, Conn.

   Aetna Life amp Casualty Co.'s third-quarter net income fell 22% to $182.6 million, or $1.63 a share, reflecting the damages from Hurricane Hugo and lower results for some of the company's major divisions.

   Catastrophe losses reduced Aetna's net income by $50 million, including $36 million from Hugo.
Last year catastrophe losses totaled $5 million, when net was $235.5 million, or $2.07 a share.
The year-earlier results have been restated to reflect an accounting change.

   The insurer has started processing claims from the Northern California earthquake nearly two weeks ago.
But because these claims are more difficult to evaluate and have been coming in more slowly, the company has no estimate of the impact of the earthquake on fourth-quarter results.

   In New York Stock Exchange composite trading Friday, Aetna closed at $60, down 50 cents.

   In the latest quarter, Aetna had a $23 million loss on its auto/homeowners line, compared with earnings of $33 million last year.
Profit for its commercial insurance division fell 30% to $59 million, reflecting higher catastrophe losses and the price war in the property/casualty market for nearly three years.

   However, Aetna's employee benefits division, which includes its group health insurance operations, posted a 34% profit gain to $106 million.

   Third-quarter results included net realized capital gains of $48 million, which included $27 million from the sale of Federated Investors in August and a $15 million tax credit.

   In the nine months, net rose 4.3% to $525.8 million or $4.67 a share, from $504.2 million, or $4.41 a share, last year.

third-quarter

Last year

year-earlier

nearly two weeks ago

fourth-quarter

Friday

the latest quarter

last year

nearly three years

Third-quarter

August

the nine months

last year


AFP_ENG_19970414.0479

ADDIS ABABA, April 14 , 1997 (AFP)

Supermarket hit in new Ethiopia bomb attack

Unidentified attackers exploded a device in a supermarket in central Addis Ababa on Monday, the third such attack in the Ethiopian capital in three days, witnesses said.

An unspecified number of injured were taken to hospital as police cordoned off the area following the blast in the large Le Tana supermarket which went off at around 5:00 p.m. (1400 GMT).

It was not immediately known if there were any deaths.

On Saturday, an Ethiopian barmaid was killed and 42 other people injured, including four Britons and two French nationals, when attackers threw grenades into two restaurants.

Those attacks have not yet been claimed.

In January last year, three people were killed and some 20 others injured when a bomb exploded in the capital's luxury Ghion hotel.

That attack was claimed by Al-Itihad Al-Islam, a group of ethnic Somalis fighting for the independence of Ethiopia's southeastern Ogaden region.

April 14 , 1997

Monday

three days

Saturday

January last year


AFP_ENG_20061213.0368

ABUJA, Dec 13 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS more quotes, background ///

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi said Wednesday that OPEC had "a little more work to make the market even more stable", a hint the oil exporters' group needed to reduce its output further.

His comments could mean a further cut in OPEC production target, currently at 26.3 million barrels per day, or greater compliance from OPEC members, some of whom are suspected of producing more than their allocated amount.

"The fundamentals of the market are much better than they were in October and I think the market is moving towards better stability.

"We probably have a little more work to make the market even more stable," he said as he arrived here.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose members regulate their oil exports to control the price of oil, took a decision in Qatar in October to cut their output by 1.2 million barrels per day.

The cut has helped to lift prices since, but analysts believe that actual production has been cut by far less, with the real reduction estimated at between 500,000-800,000 barrels per day.

OPEC members have appeared uncertain in recent days about the need for another cut in the production target, with Nigeria, Algeria and Iran seemingly in favour of a further reduction. Libya has shown more reticence.

The comments by Nuaimi, the most influential of the 11 OPEC representatives, indicate that he believes the market is still over-supplied.

Analysts had suggested before the start of the meeting that the issue of overproduction and quota cheating would figure at the gathering.

"We made a good decision in Doha," Nuaimi said, referring to the decision to cut production at the OPEC meeting in the Qatari capital in October.

He added: "I think the market is in much better situation than it was in October, but we need to do a little more."

The high level of oil stocks in OECD countries, the biggest oil consuming nations in the world, was one of the reasons given for falling oil prices in September and October.

Commenting on developments since Ocotober, Nuaimi said: "Already 50 (million barrels) has been taken out of the market."

Dec 13 , 2006

Wednesday

October

October

recent days

October

October

September

October


AFP_ENG_19970429.0681

WELLINGTON, April 30 , 1997 (AFP)

Opening round of battle for toothfish in Antarctic by Michael Field

A strange metre (yard) long fish may have sparked a long-feared resources battle in the wild and rugged Antarctica which for decades has been dismissed as little more than a scientific playground with no global strategic significance.

Toothfish (Dissostichus) was only identified as a rich commercial catch two years ago but in the last couple of months at least 40 large fishing ships mainly from Spain and Norway have headed into the Southern Ocean to take it.

France has sent three warships to its Southern Ocean territory of Kerguelen Island to combat what diplomatic sources here say is "extreme" illegal fishing which is plundering the fish worth between 5,000 and 7,000 US dollars a tonne.

New Zealand Associate Foreign Minister Simon Upton warned Tuesday they would be taking action to protect the Ross Dependency in Antarctica from the armada and official sources said the message had gone out to fishing nations that New Zealand defence forces would be watching.

Australia has a profound problem as its polar waters are likely to be the next major target, but the area is at the maximum extreme of its fisheries protection services.

The struggle comes ahead of a 43 nation conference next month in Christchurch on setting up environmental controls in the continent and re-defining the 1961 Antarctic Treaty which covers the area south of 60 degrees South latitude.

The treaty, originally signed by 12 countries, demilitarised Antarctica, promoted scientific research and suspended the territorial claims over the region by Australia, Argentina, Chile, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Forty three countries have now signed the treaty.

In the early 1980s Malaysia launched an assault on the treaty system and called for Antarctica to be transferred to United Nations jurisdiction.

A Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Studies paper published last month said the treaty would be always prone to challenge as it was based on a remarkable assumption -- that a small group of countries could unilaterally set in place a system of governance for such a vast continent.

The paper was written by Stuart Prior, head of the government's Antarctic Policy Unit.

"While the treaty is open to signature by any state, the treaty parties must acknowledge that the basis of the treaty regime is still not wholly accepted internationally," he wrote.

Any military protection of the region is handicapped by the vast distances involved and influenced by the role of the gateway countries, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina and South Africa.

The United States Navy has played a key role in the continent from a base in Christchurch. But Washington, for budget reasons, has said the US Navy will withdraw by 2000.

The oceans around the continent are protected by the 1980 Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) which is an annex of the treaty. But conflicting international rules, including the Law of the Sea, mean CCAMLR's role is difficult.

"The jurisdictional regime applying in Antarctic matters is complex," Prior wrote. "Enforcement relies solely upon member states."

Countries which have signed the treaty agree to higher standards than the Law of the Sea, but those who have not signed can regard polar waters as high seas and thus fish without controls.

The UN Straddling Stocks rules might apply but scientists do not know yet whether toothfish is a migratory species covered by the new convention.

Not much at all is known of the fish, first named five years ago as the "Patagonian toothfish".

It is a long fish with a large mouth and is believed to be bottom dwelling, living off cod. It lives for up to 25 years.

Upton said Tuesday that at least 40 ships re-flagged to countries including Vanuatu had in the last couple of months taken 30,000 tonnes of toothfish. Diplomatic sources here say the sudden emergence of so much fish on world markets had depressed prices in the short term and much of the catch has been stockpiled.

But the rewards are apparently so great that New Zealand will legally, under CCAMLR regulations, send a fishing expedition into the Ross Dependency next month -- the height of the polar winter.

Fishermen have occasionally pulled up toothfish and regarded them as an oddity. But recently declassified United States satellite photos have revealed Southern Ocean bathometry. To the trained eye the photos show where fish are likely to be and thus European boats, struggling in the face of the collapse of North Atlantic fishing, have gone south in a new gold rush.

April 30 , 1997

two years ago

the last couple of months

Tuesday

next month

the early

last month

five years ago

25 years

Tuesday

the last couple of months


AFP_ENG_20061204.0435

BRUSSELS, Dec 4 , 2006, 2006

EU agrees to recognize previous convictions in other states

European Union justice ministers agreed Monday that courts in EU countries should take into account a person's previous convictions anywhere in the bloc when they are being tried.

Under the agreement, a criminal court in a member state will have to take into account previous rulings when someone is held in detention, convicted or punished in another of the 25 EU countries.

The ministers decided the reform was necessary because some states only take into account convictions made within their own jurisdictions, which has allowed some criminals to slip through the legal cracks in other countries.

The aim is to avoid a repeat of incidents such as that involving French serial killer Michel Fourniret, who was able to work in a Belgian school kitchen without Belgian authorities being aware of his previous convictions in France for raping minors.

EU members linked up their criminal records networks last year making the practical implementation of the decision much easier.

Dec 4 , 2006

Monday

last year


AFP_ENG_19970422.0269

HONG KONG, April 22 , 1997 (AFP)

British army holds last HK exercise as Chinese soldiers settle in by Paul Harrington

British troops held their final field exercise in Hong Kong on Tuesday as an advance party of China's army settled in at the barracks here as the handover of sovereignty nears.

Soldiers of the elite Scottish regiment the Black Watch set up positions on the banks of streams, in bushes and in the hillsides, firing blanks from SA-80 assault rifles to repulse an imaginary invasion from eastern Hong Kong.

The day before, 40 unarmed Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers drove into the British army headquarters to prepare for the changing of the guard on midnight June 30 after 156 years of British rule.

The PLA's arrival revived memories here of the 1989 crackdown on the mainland pro-democracy movement, but the Black Watch's commanding officer voiced confidence in the incoming Chinese troops.

"The PLA, when they move in here, know it's a window on the world and they've been training very hard and very seriously for it and I think they are going to have very good troops here," said Lieutenant-Colonel Alasdair Loudon, leading the exercise in the forest land of the New Territories.

"I don't think people in Hong Kong have anything to fear from the sort of people and the command element that is coming here," he told AFP.

"They know how important it is, a mirror on the world. They know that the profile they set here in Hong Kong is going to be highly visible and how China and the army are judged in general."

"They are very pragmatic. I think it's going to be fine," Loudon said.

The Chinese troops are obviously well drilled.

"They've been walking around in single file, and in their buses on the way in yesterday they were all sitting at attention," said one British army official.

The advanced party's arrival Monday was the most tangible sign yet of the change of sovereignty on July 1.

The British troops on display Tuesday admitted they would miss Hong Kong, one of the choice postings in the shrinking foreign circuit of the British Army.

"It's a historical event and a great honour to be the last ones here. But it's very sad as well," said Captain James Houghton, daubed in camouflage paint.

"I'll miss it greatly," said Corporal John Lyon, 28.

The consensus was that the Chinese troops, housed alongside their British counterparts at the Prince of Wales Barracks and on the former British naval base at Stonecutters Island, would keep a lower profile.

"We'll find out how good they are on whisky, but we don't expect to see them up Lan Kwai Fong," one captain said, referring to the raucous club and bar area in central Hong Kong.

The troops will be paid a pittance compared to the British, with the commanding officer on a reported salary of just over 1,000 Hong Kong dollars (130 US), little more than a quarter of the monthly earnings of local maids.

"I don't think that they are going to mix in with the civilian community as the British Army has done," Loudon said.

"I suspect that they will be much more low-profile and probably not meet as many people, but I would expect them to be efficient, high quality troops."

"They are going to be very self-contained, they are going to be sharing the recreational facilities and any help that we can give in terms of letting them use our facilities, talking to them, answering questions we'll do."

"It's in everybody's interests to have that kind of relationship."

April 22 , 1997

Tuesday

midnight June 30

156 years

yesterday

Monday

July 1

Tuesday


AFP_ENG_20061219.0439

LONDON, Dec 19 , 2006, 2006

BBC defends interview with Ipswich murders suspect

The BBC on Tuesday defended their decision to broadcast an interview with a man suspected of murdering five British prostitutes.

Media lawyers said the broadcast could prejudice a jury trial if the man was charged and went to court, but the deputy director of BBC News, Adrian Van Klaveren, said it was "in the public interest" to play the tapes.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering the prostitutes from the eastern English port town of Ipswich in a case which has gripped the nation since the first naked corpse was found in the countryside earlier this month.

The police have not named the suspects but the first one nabbed has been widely reported in national media as supermarket worker Tom Stephens, who spoke to the Sunday Mirror newspaper and the BBC before his arrest Monday.

The BBC recorded the interview for background but once Stephens was arrested, the corporation decided to broadcast the footage.

The BBC considered whether the transmission "could be prejudicing any potential legal action" but decided that this was "not the case", explained Van Klaveren.

"We then had to think about the ethical issues around actually deciding to release a conversation which had been done on a different basis.

"We felt in these very extraordinary and very rare circumstances there was actually a justification for doing that."

Lawyer Christopher Sallon branded the decision to broadcast "absolutely wrong" on the grounds that it was "contrary to the Contempt of Court Act" and "contrary to the spirit" of that legislation.

"It can only encourage speculation and in my view, having seen the interview, prejudice the trial," he told BBC television.

Defence lawyer Julian Young added: "The ultimate public interest must be a fair trial."

The Daily Telegraph newspaper's legal editor Joshua Rozenberg said juries were always told to forget anything they read in the press about the case and most take up to a year to reach the courts.

"But if there has been a huge amount of publicity, cumulative publicity, and something unusual like an interview, or lots of photographs, then it might be quite difficult for the jury to ignore that and the impression it creates," he told BBC radio.

Dec 19 , 2006

Tuesday

earlier this month

Monday


XIN_ENG_20051108.0073

BEIJING, Nov. 8 , 2005 (Xinhua)

China's heat supply price starts to float with coal price

The State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) and the Ministry of Construction jointly issued a circular recently allowing the heat supply price to fluctuate with the coal price change, an SDRC source announced on Monday.

Despite China's general evolution from a planned economy to a market economy, the prices of some resource products monopolized by state-owned enterprises, including electricity, water, oil and heat supply, are still set by the government and do not fluctuate according to the supply and demand relations in the market.

In recent years, although China's coal price has been rocketing, the price of electricity and heat supply did not follow such changes, making many power and heat enterprises witness serious deficits due to increasing costs and stable sales prices.

According to the recent circular, when the coal price rises over 10 percent, heat suppliers have the right to adjust their heat factory price accordingly, the SDRC said.

Previously the government issued a circular to let electricity prices fluctuate with coal prices, which is decided mainly by market supply and demand.

Nov. 8 , 2005

Monday

recent years


XIN_ENG_20051115.0405

LIMA, Nov. 15 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Andean Community chief calls for Latin American unity

Allan Wagner, secretary general of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), called for unity among Latin American nations on Tuesday.

He said the unity among Latin American nations, a legacy left by South America's liberator Simon Bolivar, is a "great challenge" for the regional bloc.

"The great challenge for our nations is to obey Simon Bolivar's instruction to maintain the unity of Latin American people: nearly two centuries after he left it as a legacy," he said.

Wagner made the remarks in response to the statements made by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez during his weekend radio and television show on Sunday. Chavez said his country had more in common with the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) than the Andean Community, where Venezuela is a full member.

Mercosur, in which Venezuela is an associate member, is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Headquartered in Lima, the Andean Community groups Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Chile, which helped found the organization in 1969, quit in 1976.

Latin American countries are confronting a grave dilemma over how to solve the deep socio-economic divide, Wagner noted.

"This represents a serious situation: poverty, exclusion and inequality, far from improving, have worsened," the secretary general added.

Wagner said he is in favor of a new kind of international relations that will respond to development targets with "social equality."

"We should all be united in this task, because it is an enormous challenge," he said.

Wagner added that it is necessary to deepen the integration of the Andean countries with Mercosur and Chile to promote the development of the South American Community of Nations (CSN).

"We will all meet in the CSN and there we will grow in strength so that we can reach the targets, in terms of development and well-being, that our people are crying out for."

The CSN, established on Dec. 8, 2004, in the Peruvian city of Cuzco, groups Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Its establishment was considered as an important step toward South American integration.

Nov. 15 , 2005

Tuesday

nearly two centuries

Sunday

Dec. 8, 2004


AFP_ENG_20061226.0471

BEIJING, Dec 27 , 2006, 2006

China's number four bank may get 100 billion dollar cash injection

The Agricultural Bank of China, the country's fourth largest lender, may get a 100-billion-dollar cash injection in 2007 in preparation for an overseas listing, state media reported Wednesday.

Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the industry watchdog, told reporters at a finance forum there will be "good news" next year in terms of restructuring the bank, the China Daily reported.

The bank is the last of the four major banks to undergo a joint stock reform that may include, apart from the capital injection from the government, spinning off losses and setting up a joint stock company, the report said.

Agricultural Bank of China is widely seen as the most troubled of China's four state-owned commercial banks.

An official with a central government investment arm was quoted by the newspaper as saying the bank's massive bad loans may push reform costs up to 100 billion dollars.

This is a significantly larger amount than the cash injections received by the three other top state-owned commercial lenders before listing overseas.

The Bank of China and the China Construction Bank got 22.5 billion dollars each, while the Industrial Bank of China received 15 billion dollars.

A final decision on the bank's reform plan will not be confirmed until the Central Financial Work Conference expected to take place before next February's Chinese New Year holiday, the newspaper said.

Last year, 26.2 percent of the bank's 2.8 trillion yuan (356 billion dollars) loans were non-performing, the report said.

Dec 27 , 2006

Wednesday

next year

next February

Year holiday

Last year


XIN_ENG_20061104.0063

BEIJING, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

economic growth: Algerian president

BEIJING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)--- Africa and China need to expand trade and increase investment in order to boost their common economic growth, said Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika Saturday.

While expanding trade is one of the prior goals in Africa-China cooperation, investment is crucial in achieving these goals, particularly investment in agriculture, infrastructure, energy and new technology sectors, Bouteflika told Chinese and African delegates attending the High-level Dialogue and 2nd Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs, held on the sidelines of a historic China-Africa summit.

In contrast with China's rapid economic growth, Africa still faces challenges and obstacles in its own development, he said.

As a result of unbalanced economic growth and regional differences, some African regions have difficulties in employment, education, social security and health care, said Bouteflika, adding that African countries need Chinese companies' technologies, capital and management expertise.

The president marveled at China's reform and rapid economic growth, saying that China's experience is exemplary. He also called African and Chinese business people to play a larger role in boosting bilateral exchanges and serving their mutual best interest.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao proposed at the entrepreneurs' conference that China and Africa should bring their trade volume to 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2010.

In the first nine months of this year, China-Africa trade surged to 40.6 billion U.S. dollars, up 42 percent over the same period of 2005.

At the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation that opened Saturday morning, Chinese President Hu Jintao said China will provide 3 billion U.S. dollars in preferential loans and 2 billion U.S. dollars of preferential buyer's credits to Africa over the next three years and establish a special fund of 5 billion U.S. dollars to encourage Chinese investment in Africa.

Bouteflika is among 41 African heads of state or government, senior officials from 48 African countries and delegates from regional and international organizations to attend the two-day summit, the largest gathering between Chinese and African leaders.

Prior to his departure for China, Bouteflika said the summit will become an effective platform for enhancing mutual understanding among the developing countries.

Nov. 4 , 2006

Nov. 4

the first nine months

this year

the same period of 2005

Saturday morning

the next three years


XIN_ENG_20051103.0161

MACAO, Nov. 3 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Japan outshines China on Day Three of athletics in EAG

Japan bounced back to outshine its arch rival China Thursday on Day three of the athletics competition at the East Asian Games, pocketing 10 out of 13 gold medals at stake.

China, which bagged 18 gold medals over the last two days against Japan's four, picked up the three other, in the men's javelin, men's long jump and women's 1,500m.

In a demonstration of its depth in sprinters, Japan swept both 4x100m relay events.

China had to replace Jin Ke with triple jumper Gu Junjie in the men's relay team after Jin injured his leg in Tuesday's 100m final.

The makeshift Chinese team finished a disappointed third in 39. 90 seconds, just 0.01 second behind runners-up Chinese Taipei. Japan crossed the line in 39.61.

"The four of us never ran a relay together," said Hu Kai, who was crowned the EAG fastest man Tuesday.

"We tried our best, so we don't really regret for it," added the 23-year-old student in China's prestigious Tsinghua University.

In the women's relay, Japan came from behind to win in 44.88 seconds, while China surrendered its lead in the third leg before crossing the line in 45.37.

"I feel great pains in my right leg, so I couldn't run fast," said Ni Xiaoli, who ran China's third leg.

"But I tried my best," she added.

Early in the morning, Doi Hiroaki started the flurry of Japanese gold in the men's hammer throw, winning with a toss of 70. 35 meters. South Korea's Lee Yoon-chul was second with 66.40m. Hou Fei grabbed the bronze for Macao with a distant 37.14m throw.

Toshinari Fumimoto then narrowly beat South Korean Huh Jang-kyu in the men's half marathon, clocking 1 hour 08 minutes 14 seconds. Huh was just three seconds behind.

Another South Korean Eom Hyo-seok finished third in 1:08.38.

Yoshiko Ichikawa won the women's half marathon in a time of 1: 16:31, ahead of South Korean Lim Kyung-hee in 1:16:33 and DPR Korean Jong Yong-ok in 1:18:48.

Yoshitaka Iwamizu led a 1-2 Japanese finish in the three-man 3, 000m steeplechase, winning in 8:40.16. Teammate Yasunori Uchitomi came second in 8:45.47 and Wu Wen-chien of Chinese Taipei was third in 8:50.41.

Japanese Takuro Mori won the weirdest pole vault in the world as he cleared 5.00 meters with the other two competitors scoring no mark, which means no medal for them.

Mori, whose personal best is 5.30 meters, flew over the 5-meter bar in his first attempt and failed three times at 5.20.

Zhang Hongwei of China and Satoru Yasuda of Japan, who both have a better record than Mori, skipped the 5m mark and faced up to 5.20.

Both failed, and thus no medal.

Asami Tanno grabbed another gold for Japan by winning the women ' s 400m final in 52.69.

China's Tang Xiaoyin and Xie Qing finished second and third respectively.

Japan also won the men's 400m and 1,500m, which Chinese competitors didn't enter.

Three-time Asian champion Hi Rongxiang underscored his No. one status in men's javelin as the 33-year-old Chinese veteran threw 79.75 meters to win the title. His fellow countryman Chen Qi took silver in 76.96m, and South Korea's Chu Ki-young had bronze in 75. 59.

In the men's long jump, China's Song Jian won gold with a leap of 7.77m, a result that was not enough to earn a bronze medal at last month's Chinese National Games.

Japan's Kenji Fujikawa came second in 7.73, with South Korean Oh Sangwon third in 7.72.

China defended its dominance in women's long-distance running events when Xie Sainan clocked 4:20.54 to win the 1,500m final.

Japan's Kaori Kumasaka had silver in 4:21.77, and South Korean Bae Haejin bronze in 4:30.56.

Nov. 3 , 2005

Thursday

Day three

the last two days

Tuesday

Tuesday

44.88 seconds

the morning

three seconds

a time of 1: 16:31

last month


XIN_ENG_20051118.0270

TEHRAN, Nov. 18 , 2005 (Xinhua)

chief Iranian nuclear negotiator voices optimism about IAEA meeting

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said on Friday that he was optimistic that a coming UN nuclear watchdog meeting will yield a favorable outcome for Iran.

"If the Europeans want to make a wise decision, they have to respect Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). I think the result of this meeting will be positive and favorable for Iran," Larijani was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying.

Larijani referred to the IAEA's Board of Governors meeting due on Thursday, during which the governors will discuss Iran's nuclear program based on a report submitted by the agency's chief Mohamed ElBaradei.

Larijani said that he assumed ElBaradei will deliver a " rational and clear report" on Iran because the IAEA was "taking positive steps" recently on the Iranian nuclear case.

However, Larijani warned that Iran will "resort to other means" if the European Union (EU) "wants to waste opportunities" by prompting a resolution against Iran at the IAEA meeting.

Iran resumed uranium conversion activities, a preparatory step for uranium enrichment, in early August, a move scuttling nuclear negotiations with the EU which started after Tehran suspended all activities related to uranium enrichment in November 2004.

In response, the IAEA in late September urged Tehran to re- suspend all enrichment-related activities in a EU-drafted resolution, saying Iran's refusal will risk a referral of its case to the UN Security Council.

Larijani in early November forwarded a letter to foreign ministers of the European trio of Britain, France and Germany, calling for resuming bilateral nuclear negotiations, but the EU insists that Iran implement the IAEA resolution before the reopening of nuclear talks.

The United States accuses Iran of developing nuclear weapons secretly, a charge rejected by Tehran as politically motivated.

Nov. 18 , 2005

Friday

Thursday

early August

November 2004

late September

November


XIN_ENG_20061130.0209

BEIJING, Nov. 30 , 2006 (Xinhua)

"Colorful Africa"

Gao Qiufu, former vice president of Xinhua News Agency, recently published his prose collection, titled "Colorful Africa-- A Mysterious Continent written by Xinhua journalist".

The collection, published by the Xinhua Publishing House, is one of the a few Chinese-language writings focusing on Africa.

The collection, in 240,000 words, consists of more than 70 prose, written by Gao during 1980 to 2003, on the natural conditions, social customs and history of the Sub-Sahara Africa.

Gao worked in Africa for more than seven years. He traveled and made reports in numerous African places. As a journalist and expert specialized in African issues, he presents his experiences and understanding on Africa's culture and social customs in his prose.

Nov. 30 , 2006

recently

more than seven years


XIN_ENG_20061122.0163

BEIJING, Nov. 22 , 2006 (Xinhua)

system after duck egg contamination scandal

The Chinese government should encourage food processing and logistics firms to set up systems for the recall and traceability of problem food, said a senior National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) official on Wednesday.

NDRC deputy director Zhang Guobao said China should continue the food safety market access system to build consumer confidence in food safety.

The 11th Five-Year plan on the national food industry highlighted an urgent need to improve the country's food safety.

"The fact that some food processing enterprises use illegal additives and raw materials cannot be neglected and downplayed. Food chains from farm fields to table are polluted from time to time and environmental pollution has a bad impact on food sources, " according to the plan.

His call follows a scandal this month in which red-yolk salted duck eggs were found containing the carcinogenic industrial dye, Sudan-IV, raising nationwide concern over food safety. The country's food watchdog traced to the source of the contaminated eggs, destroyed the contaminated eggs and ducks, and tightened food safety supervision.

China has yet to establish a clearly defined food recall system, but some big cities are considering their establishment.

Shanghai started a food recall system on Aug. 1.

Nov. 22 , 2006

Wednesday

this month

Aug. 1


XIN_ENG_20051113.0230

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 13 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Argentine press bemoans soccer loss to England

England's surprise 3-2 victory over Argentina in a pre-World Cup friendly played in Geneva roiled the Argentine press on Sunday.

Argentina was leading 2-1 in the 88th minute, when England international Michael Owen, scored two goals from two headers in the last two minutes of the game.

Buenos Aires sports paper Ole howled in disappointment.

"It was like bedding the woman of your dreams, closing your eyes for a moment and waking up to find you have been talking to your pillow all along," said the paper in an editorial.

England's Swedish manager Sven Goran Eriksson "demonstrated intelligence and maturity by attacking when it had to do so; neither too early nor too late. And that is a quality we have not seen in Argentina in any way," the paper said.

Daily paper La Nacion said that the score was a "harsh punishment" because Riquelme and Ayala had not cleared the ball from Argentina's goalmouth effectively.

Argentina had deserved a win until the final "accident", the paper argued.

"There was a battle of style between the English tradition of long balls...and the closely woven football of Argentina's old school. And ours was clearly superior. Until the last minute accident," said La Nacion, before heaping praise on match-winner Michael Owen.

"Michael Owen, who had gone unnoticed for nearly all the game, suddenly became the man of the night. That is how good goalscorers are: cold, lethal and merciless with careless rivals," the paper said.

Nov. 13 , 2005

Sunday

the 88th minute

the last two minutes

the last minute


AFP_ENG_20051205.0387

ABUJA, Dec 5 , 2005

Darfur talks restart in bid to solve power-sharing dispute

The African Union was due to bring all the delegates to peace talks on the crisis in the Sudanese region of Darfur back together Monday after a 72-hour break to allow the parties to resolve a dispute over a power-sharing deal to end the conlfict.

Mediators said they hoped the plenary session would find a solution to the row, which has pushed the seventh session of the talks close to collapse, but rebel representatives warned that they were still not ready to compromise on certain key issues.

"The government of Sudan does not want to concede the vice presidency to the south nor to Darfur. It also does not want Darfur to be considered a single region," said Ahmed Hussein Adam, spokesman for the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

"This is the crux of the matter as these are the issues that are of paramount importance to our people," he added.

Government spokesman Omar Amin conceded that these issues were "difficult ones" but expressed confidence that the plenary talks session would resolve the issue.

The row over the power-sharing agreement comes just a week after the long-running talks restarted and is the first sign that this round could fall into the same stalemate as all previous attempts to resolve a 33-month-old crisis which has left 300,000 civilians dead.

Previous negotiations were undermined by regular ceasefire violations, and the United Nations has warned the Darfur region is falling into chaos, with murder, robbery and rape on the increase.

War broke out in February 2003 when the rebels began fighting what they say is the political and economic marginalisation of the region's black African tribes by the Arab-led regime in Khartoum.

The African Union has deployed a small peacekeeping force to monitor a shaky ceasefire, but a series of peace conferences over the past year has made little progress towards a settlement.

Dec 5 , 2005

Monday

a week

February 2003

the past year


AFP_ENG_20051205.0336

JAKARTA, Dec 5 , 2005

ATTENTION -  RECASTS with reshuffle ///

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Monday announced a cabinet reshuffle, dismissing three ministers, shifting three others including his top economy minister and bringing in three new faces.

Former finance minister Budiono was installed as coordinating minister for the economy, replacing Aburizal Bakrie, who has shifted to be coordinating minister for people's welfare, Yudhoyono said in Yogyakarta, Central Java.

The president had last week announced the inclusion of Budiono, who served as finance minister under former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, in his new cabinet -- a move welcomed by financial markets.

Yudhoyono said Friday he had asked Budiono, 62, to help him "rearrange" his economic team, whose performance has been heavily criticised by analysts since his government came to power in October 2004.

Indonesia's economy has taken a beating this year, with soaring global fuel prices putting a major dent in public coffers and pushing down the rupiah as the government scrambled to keep paying out expensive domestic fuel subsidies.

In other changes, national development planning minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati replaced finance minister Yusuf Anwar, while Indrawati's place was taken by Paskah Suzetta.

Suzetta is a Golkar party MP who heads the parliamentary commission dealing with finance, development planning, banking and non-banking financial institutions.

Industry minister Andung Nitimihardja was replaced by manpower minister Fahmi Idris, while Idris was replaced by Erman Suparno, another MP who is currently deputy chair of the parliamentary commission dealing with transportation, telecommunications, civil work and housing.

Dec 5 , 2005

Monday

last week

Friday

October 2004

this year

currently


XIN_ENG_20051111.0049

GUANGZHOU, South China, Nov. 11 , 2005 (Xinhua)

World's top mixed doubles pair ousted from China Open badminton

Non-seeded Zheng Bo/Zhao Tingting from China upset world No.1 Widianto Nova/Natsir Liyana of Indonesia 15-9, 17-15 for the semi-finals at the China Open badminton here on Friday.

"It's very normal for us to win or lose," said Zhao Tingting, "The key point is the actual pefermance and luck on court."

Zhao Tingting used to pair with veteran Chen Jiqiu, and it's first time for Zhao and Zheng to be partners after Chen retired from national team.

The winning Chinese duo will next meet England's fifth-seeded Nathan Robertson/Gail Emms, who beat Anthony Clark/Kenneth Kellogg of Denmark in the third round.

Second-seeded Lee Jae Jin/Lee Hyo Jung of South Korea beat Daniel Shirley/Runesten-Petersen of New Zealand 13-15, 15-4 and 15-4.

Nov. 11 , 2005

Friday


XIN_ENG_20061108.0233

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 , 2006 (Xinhua)

U.S. media hails Democrats' control of House

U.S. media hailed on Wednesday the Democrats' control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1994 and meanwhile urged the Democrats to " provide a clear idea."

"Six years of nearly unbroken one-party rule have not been healthy for the country. The apparent Democratic takeover of the House of Representatives yesterday is a good thing," the Washington Post said in its editorial.

"Voters yesterday expressed their anger at President Bush and their frustration with the war in Iraq, as well as their disgust with the arrogant misbehavior of House Republicans," the editorial said.

Nonetheless, the editorial said that the Democrats won not because voters necessarily agreed with their program but because of the missteps of the Republicans. "Democrats do not have capital from voters; at most, they enjoy a line of credit," the editorial said.

The New York Times, in its editorial, said the result showed that "a government that performs badly is supposed to be punished by the electorate."

"And this government has performed badly on so many counts," the editorial said, adding that the Democrats "won a negative victory, riding on the wave of public anger" about the Republicans.

The House Democrats will have to shift from the role of tactical opposition to show government, and also provide a clear idea of what their party will do if it were really in control, the editorial said.

The Democrats seized control of the House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm legislative elections, but it still needs several seats to take control of the Senate from the Republicans.

The unpopular Iraq war, the Republicans' scandals in the Capitol Hill and the declining approval rating for U.S. President George W. Bush are considered the main factors to drive voters to turn to the Democrats, according to polls conducted by U.S. media.

Nov. 8 , 2006

Wednesday

Six years

yesterday

yesterday

Tuesday


AFP_ENG_20061212.0134

DOHA, Dec 12 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - REFILES to fix typo in headline ///

China's Olympic diving champion Guo Jingjing was revelling Tuesday in becoming the most successful female diver in Asian Games history.

Guo, who has already announced she will retire after the Beijing Olympics, took the women's 3-metre synchronized springboard title here with Li Ting to add to the three golds from previous Asian Games.

"I have never thought about beating any record," said the 25-year-old, who is the reigning Olympic champion in the 3m springboard and 3m synchronised springboard and a multiple world champion.

"The Asian Games means a lot to me."

But Guo, whose private life has caused as much of a splash as her performances in the pool, will not defend her 3m springboard title here.

"I don't feel sorry for giving up a third consecutive title. I have competed a lot this year and I need a rest. I'd like younger teammates to have more chances," she said.

Her next goal is the world swimming championships in Melbourne in March.

"We have less than three months to go for the worlds, I hope to defend my titles there," she said.

The photogenic Guo started training in competitive diving at the age of seven, winning a place on the national team when she was 11, and has competed in three Olympic Games.

She hit the headlines last year when she was romantically linked with former diving team-mate Tian Liang. Tian was later thrown off the national team for pursuing too many commercial endorsements.

China has dominated the diving competition in Doha, winning all four titles so far.

Dec 12 , 2006

Tuesday

this year

March

three months

last year


AFP_ENG_20051210.0197

BERLIN, Dec 10 , 2005

Germany delighted by World Cup draw

The German media all agreed Saturday that the 2006 World Cup hosts could not have asked for a kinder finals draw after being paired with Costa Rica, Ecuador and Poland in Group A.

Germany host minnows Costa Rica in the opening World Cup match on June 9 in Munich and manager Jurgen Klinsmann was pictured with a broad grin in the press.

"Klinsmann is right to smile after that draw," said the Kolner Express. "There is no real major obstacle to the last sixteen."

Bild daily, the country's biggest selling newspaper, concurred: "Klinsmann you are certainly lucky!"

Klinsmann, who won the 1990 World Cup with West Germany, admitted the draw could have been much worse but insisted his team would not underestimate anyone.

"Of course we could have a had a much more difficult group," explained Klinsmann. "But every opponent will provide a challenge for us and the onus will be on us to attack as hosts."

Klinsmann has set the target of lifting the World Cup on July 9 in Berlin despite not defeating a recognised top nation since a 1-0 win over England in 2000.

Dec 10 , 2005

Saturday

June 9

July 9


XIN_ENG_20061106.0343

BEIRUT, Nov. 6 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Top Lebanese leaders resume crucial dialogue

Rival Lebanese leaders resumed roundtable talks on Monday to discuss possible government changes amid an abyss between Shiite Hezbollah group and the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority that could lead to street protests.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, describing Monday's session an "ice breaker," said Lebanon's top leaders would meet again on Tuesday morning, Lebanon's local media reported.

"We agreed to a news media truce," Berri told the local reporters after the four-hour meeting at parliament building in downtown Beirut which began at 11:00 a.m.(0900 GMT).

This was a reference to the political bickering between Hezbollah and its allies from one side and the Lebanese parliament majority, or March 14 Forces on the other, which was highlighted by threats from both sides to take to streets.

All 13 "first-rank" politicians attended the dialogue amid tight security, except for Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah for safety reasons.

However, Nasrallah was represented by cabinet minister Mohammed Fneish as well as parliament members Mohammed Raad and Hussein Hajj Hassan.

Earlier, Berri has called for the resumption of the stalled national talks among Lebanon's rival leaders to consider a national unity government and the adoption of a new electoral law to end the political stalemate.

The dialogue, launched in early March, was last scheduled for July 25. But the outbreak of the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah conflict on July 12 has prevented the resumption of the talks, said the report.

Nov. 6 , 2006

Monday

Monday

Tuesday morning

March 14

March

July 25

July 12


XIN_ENG_20061115.0200

LINGSHI, Shanxi, Nov. 15 , 2006 (Xinhua)

1st Ld-Writethru: 34 confirmed dead in north China colliery fire

All 34 miners trapped in Sunday's coal mine fire in north China's Shanxi Province were confirmed dead after rescuers recovered eight more bodies on Wednesday.

The eight bodies were found in a pond close to the mine shaft, where rescuers assumed the victims had tried to shelter from fire and smoke.

Another 26 bodies were retrieved from the pit Tuesday night.

The miners either suffocated or drowned at Nanshan Colliery in Wangyu Village of Lingshi County, where explosives illegally stored in a shaft caught fire at 7:40 p.m. Sunday.

Sixty-six people were in the pit when the fire broke out, according to the latest statistics released by the emergency rescue headquarters. Thirty escaped and two were saved in the search-and-rescue operation.

Rescuers found two storage sites in the shaft. One of them caught fire and the other, about 20 meters from the first, contained about four tons of explosives, all of which were ignited by the flames, said Feng Kaicheng, vice head of Lingshi County and head of the rescue operation.

By Tuesday noon, the flames in the shaft had been put out and toxic gas levels dropped by midday on Wednesday.

The State Council set up an investigation task force, headed by Zhao Tiechui, director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision, on Wednesday to investigate the tragedy.

Zhao blamed poor management of the coal mine and slack supervision of the local government for the accident.

The production licence of the village-run Nanshan Coal mine expired at the end of last year and rescuers found it had neither a gas monitoring system nor a lifesaving appliance in the shaft.

Zhao also found it was designed to produce 90,000 tons a year but its actual annual production was around 30,000 tons, and the mine employed 139 people, instead of 120 according to a management declaration.

According to the province's regulation on coal mine management issued last year, coal mines whose annual production is lower than 90,000 tons should be closed, said Zhao.

"How could this coal mine be in operation illegally for nearly one year?" said Zhao.

"Those who are found to be responsible for the accident will receive due punishment," he said.

Zhao ordered the local government to strengthen its management and supervision of the production of medium and small coal mines and to publicize a "black list" of the collieries which should be closed by the end of November.

Police are chasing several of the coal mine managers, including the mine head Geng Runyu who fled after the accident.

Most of the miners were migrant workers from eastern Shandong Province and southwestern Sichuan Province and some of their families have arrived at the coal mine.

Families of each of the dead will be given at least 200,000 yuan (25,440 U.S. dollars) in compensation.

Wednesday also saw the death toll climb to 41 in another coal mine tragedy, also in the coal-rich province of Shanxi Province, which occurred on Nov. 5 at Jiaojiazhai Colliery in Xinzhou. Six more are feared dead.

Nov. 15 , 2006

Sunday

Wednesday

Tuesday night

7:40 p.m.

Sunday

Tuesday noon

Wednesday

Wednesday

the end of last year

a year

last year

nearly one year

the end of November

Wednesday

Nov. 5


AFP_ENG_19970429.0376

MADRAS, India, April 27 , 1997 (AFP)

Indian regional party decides to join government

An Indian regional party Tuesday joined the country's minority government, which would pave way for former finance minister Palaniappan Chidamabram to be back in his finance post.

The Tamil Manila Congress' (TMC) decision was taken by the party chief, G.K. Moopanar, in the southern city of Madras after the party's think-tank met late Tuesday.

"The decision was taken in the national interest and in view of the expectations of the people," Moopanar told reporters.

"The earlier decision to stay away from the coalition was also reversed by me after considering the part TMC played in the preparation of the federal budget. The budget needs to be implemented," Moopanar said.

Chidambaram, one of the architects of India's free-market reforms, was forced to quit his post after TMC leader G.K. Moopanar lost a bitter leadership battle in the ruling United Front coalition to Gujral and pulled the party out of the Front.

Gujral, who decided not to hand out the finance portfolio when he named his cabinet, had urged Moopanar to reverse his decision.

Chidambaram drew up the previous United Front government's Indian budget for 1997-98 which is to be approved by parliament this week. Gujral has adopted the same budget.

Business leaders have also pleaded for Chidambaram, regarded as a key architect of the country's free-market economic reforms, to return to the helm.

April 27 , 1997

Tuesday

late Tuesday

this week


XIN_ENG_20051115.0026

BAGHDAD, Nov. 15 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Car bomb kills two policemen in Baghdad

A car bomb attacked a Iraqi police patrol east of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two policemen, police source said.

"A car bomb hit a police patrol consisting of three cars at the al-Mashetal crossing in the morning. Two policemen were killed and another six were injured," the source told Xinhua.

A police car was also damaged in the blast, the source added.

Insurgents frequently target Iraqi police and government officials in a bid to topple the Shiite-dominated government.

Nov. 15 , 2005

Tuesday

the morning


AFP_ENG_20051216.0578

DUBLIN, Dec 16 , 2005

by Andrew Bushe

A senior member of Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Army's political wing and the biggest Catholic party in Northern Ireland, caused shock Friday by admitting he had been a British agent for two decades.

Denis Donaldson's admission drew an incredulous reaction from Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, and could complicate Irish and British efforts to broker the restoration of Catholic and Protestant power-sharing government in Belfast.

Donaldson, 55, a Sinn Fein member for more than 30 years, told Irish state RTE television that British intelligence had begun paying him in the 1980s after he had compromised himself during a "vulnerable time" in his life.

"I deeply regret my activities with British intelligence and RUC/PSNI (Royal Ulster Constabulary/Police Service of Northern Ireland) Special Branch," said a gaunt-looking Donaldson, reading a statement at a Dublin hotel accompanied by his solicitor.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said earlier that Donaldson, who has now been expelled from the party, had confessed to two Sinn Fein members after police told him his life was in danger.

"He was going to be outed," Adams said.

The admission by Donaldson -- a respected party member who was Sinn Fein's head of administration during the brief life of the now suspended Northern Ireland Assembly -- sent shock waves across the British province and beyond.

It came barely a week after Domaldson and two other men were acquitted of charges of spying for the IRA on the British government at Stormont, the seat of the power-sharing government in Belfast.

The charges were dropped when, due to lack of evidence, the trial was no longer seemed in the public interest.

That spying scandal, known as "Stormontgate", led to the suspension in 2002 of the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly, where power was shared between Protestants and Catholics, and the restoration of direct rule from London.

In his brief statement, Donaldson said: "I was not involved in any republican spy ring in Stormont. The so-called Stormontgate affair was a scam and a fiction, it never existed, it was created by Special Branch."

Ahern, speaking to RTE television from the European Union summit in Brussels, was nonplussed by the developments.

"Stortmongate never made much sense to me and the dropping of the charges made less," he told RTE.

"This is just a bizarre twist. If what we are being asked to believe is that the senior administrator in Stormont turns out to be an agent of the British security services that takes some twist of even my imagination," Ahern said.

In parliament earlier this week, British Prime Minister Tony Blair categorically denied that the decision not to prosecute Donaldson and the other two was politically motivated.

Adams said he would be shocked if Blair "was part of any plot to take down a power-sharing executive he had spent a considerable amount of time along with the rest of us putting in place."

However, Adams said he had been suspicious at the way Donaldson was acquitted at a special Belfast court hearing along with his son-in-law Ciaran Kearney and another Catholic public servant, William Mackessy.

"The collapse of the power-sharing government was blamed on allegations of a Sinn Fein spy ring at Stormont," said Adams in a statement.

"The fact is that this was a carefully constructed lie created by the (British police) Special Branch in order to cause maximum political impact."

Adams blamed the failure of the political institutions, where Catholics and Protestant deputies shared power from December 1999 to October 2002, on those in charge of British intelligence and policing.

"The fact is that the key person at the centre of those events was a Sinn Fein member who was a British agent," said Adams.

Dec 16 , 2005

Friday

two decades

more than 30 years

now

now

a week

this week

December 1999

October 2002


XIN_ENG_20051108.0211

BEIJING, Nov. 8 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Six parties gather in Beijing for nuclear talks

With the arrival of the US delegation in Beijing, all negotiators to the fifth round of six-party talks converged here Tuesday for a peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

The delegation of the Republic of Korea (ROK) arrived here Monday, and other delegations, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Russia, Japan and the United States arrived here successively on Tuesday.

US chief negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters upon his arrival in Beijing that the first step in the way ahead is to look at the issue of the denuclearization in the Korean Peninsula and begin to see how the agreements and the principles can be put into practices.

ROK chief negotiator Song Min-soon said in Beijing Monday afternoon that the upcoming fifth round of the six-party talks will lay the groundwork for carrying out the first joint statement reached during the fourth round of the talks.

"There will be intensive consultations in this round of the six-party talks," Song told Xinhua. He and his delegates were the first to arrive in Beijing for the talks, scheduled for Nov. 9.

Aiming at resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, China hosted four rounds of six-party talks with the latest one adopting the first joint statement in September this year.

The DPRK pledged in the statement to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and return, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in exchange for energy aid and security guarantees.

The fifth round of the six-party talks is expected to discuss how to follow through on the statement.

Kim Gye-gwan, head of the DPRK delegation to the six-party talks, said at Pyongyang's Sun-an Airport before departure to Beijing earlier Tuesday morning that his country is willing to make sincere efforts to fulfil the joint statement at the upcoming fifth-round talks.

"The DPRK cherishes the joint statement formed in the previous round. We are willing to make sincere efforts at this round of the talks to fulfil the spirit of the joint statement," he said.

The DPRK delegation head said the talks have already had a clear direction, which guides the six parties all the way forward like a lighthouse.

"But the lighthouse is too far away from the DPRK and becomes less visible sometimes as the sea is always full of fogs," Kim said.

However, he said, all the parties involved could pool their wisdom and work together for further progress.

Russia's chief negotiator Alexander Alexeyev said Tuesday upon arrival in Beijing that Russia will cooperate with the DPRK in a bid to make substantial result in the new round of the six-party talks.

Sasae Kenichiro, head of the Japanese delegation, said here Tuesday that Japan is particularly interested in the implementation of the agreement already reached by all sides, especially the process of denuclearization.

Japan will also express its views on future actions in the talks, he noted.

The fifth round of six-party talks will open on Nov. 9 and is expected to last for three days as the first phase. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan said earlier that "holding the talks by phases in the new round could have a better result," as the chief negotiators of some parties might also attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit slated for mid-November in Pusan, ROK.

Nov. 8 , 2005

Tuesday

Monday

Tuesday

Monday afternoon

Nov. 9

September this year

Tuesday morning

Tuesday

Tuesday

Nov. 9

three days

mid-November


AFP_ENG_19970417.0455

CHICAGO, April 17 , 1997 (AFP)

Reports that Indiana man died of "mad cow" disease unfounded: officials

Grain and cattle prices bounced back on Chicago's future markets here Thursday a day after slumping on an unsubstantiated report that the death of an Indiana man was linked to "mad cow" disease.

Wednesday's market plunge had been sparked by a newspaper report that Joseph Gabor, a 62-year-old farmer from Schererville, a small Indiana town just south here, had died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

Indiana veterinary officials insisted that CJD, a fatal brain-wasting disease that afflicts humans, is not the same disease as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow" disease.

An epidemic of BSE in Britain last year sparked worldwide concern about beef consumption and led to a European Union ban on British beef imports.

"There are those who have alleged the two are connected, but scientific research has never positively established a link," said Indiana State Veterinarian Bret Marsh.

"We hope the market gets some logic back because it was purely overreaction and emotional hype. There was no scientific basis for this to happen," Denise Derrer, a spokeswoman for the Indian State Board of Animal Health, told AFP.

Chicago's futures market seemed to agree Thursday. "The scare is over, Grain and cattle prices are back up," said Chicago Mercantile Exchange spokeswoman Annette Wallace.

"We had the same situation last year when (talk-show queen) Oprah Winfrey did a show on the mad cow scare in Britain."

Victor Lespinasse, vice president of the Chicago brokerage firm Dean, Witt Reynolds, dismissed the mad cow link as a "ridiculous story" and an "overblown thing."

The report carried by the Times newspaper in Hammond, Indiana, said Gabor, a retired electrician who used bone meal to help fertilize his rose garden, had been diagnosed with CJD three weeks before his death.

There has been speculation that prions, a distorted protein molecule, could be transmitted from sheep or cows to humans through bone meal made from infected animals.

"Regardless of what Gabor died from, he could not be BSE, because humans do not get that disease and it (BSE) does not exist in the United States, let alone Indiana," Derrer said.

Dr. Danae Bixler of the Indiana State Department of Health meanwhile pointed out that a human dying of CJD in Indiana was not unheard of.

"Indiana has experienced about five deaths per year from CJD in the last few years. The case rate (for the disease) worldwide is about one case per million people."

Indiana officials said state statistics showed that since 1933 all but one CJD death had occurred in individuals over 55 years age and therefore the death of 62-year-old Gabor did not arouse suspicion.

US federal officials confirmed that extensive monitoring of the US cattle population had not identified a single case of BSE in the United States.

And since 1989, strict import rules on live animals and animal products have been implemented to protect the country's beef and dairy industries.

April 17 , 1997

Thursday

Wednesday

last year

Thursday

last year

Times

three weeks

the last few years

55 years


XIN_ENG_20051110.0322

NEW YORK, Nov. 10 , 2005 (Xinhua)

World oil prices plummet as demand drops

World oil prices plummeted as the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for world oil demand for a fourth straight month.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, shed 1.13 dollars to 57.80 dollars a barrel, its lowest close since July 21.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for December delivery dived 1.20 dollars to end at 55.68 dollars a barrel.

The Paris-based IEA, which coordinates energy policy for many European governments, revised downward its forecast of global oil demand for 2005 from 83.4 million barrels per day to 83.3 million barrels per day. The agency also cut its estimate for 2006 world oil demand to 85.01 million barrels a day, down 140,000 barrels. Consumption is expected to rise 1.5 percent this year and 2 percent in 2006.

IEA said global oil supply rose by 865,000 barrels per day to 84.4 million barrels per day on increases from North America, the North Sea, countries in the former Soviet Union and Brazil.

The restart of storm-damaged refineries in the Gulf of Mexico continues. The US Minerals Management Service, which manages offshore oil and gas exploration, said Thursday 49.09 percent of daily oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was still not operating, which amounts to 736,279 barrels per day. Less than 50 percent of the gulf's gas production still remained offline, at 40.16 percent or equal to 4.016 billion cubic feet per day.

Nov. 10 , 2005

a fourth straight month

December

July 21

December

this year

Thursday


AFP_ENG_20061201.0325

WASHINGTON, Dec 1 , 2006, 2006

xxx as sent. Here is a corrected repetition: ///

US President George W. Bush warned against expectations he will lay out plans for "a graceful exit" from Iraq, as news reports Friday said the independent commission looking into Iraq policy will call for a 2008 withdrawal of US combat troops.

The White House has ordered a government-wide reassessment of US policy in Iraq amid soaring sectarian violence, fears of all-out civil war, and mounting domestic pressure to bring US troops home after opposition Democrats took control of the US Congress in the November 7 elections.

High hopes for designing an exit strategy are being placed on a bipartisan commission created by the US Congress known as the Iraq Study Group, a 10-member panel of Washington notables co-chaired by former US secretary of state James Baker.

The panel's advice is a major chance for the president to overhaul his Iraq policy, even though the recommendations are nonbinding.

The panel -- which also includes former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former top Clinton aide Leon Panetta, and until recently defense secretary nominee Robert Gates -- have written a report to be delivered to the president on December 6. Details however have been leaking to the press for days.

The report will call for a withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq by early 2008, while leaving behind soldiers for training and support, the Washington Post reported Friday.

The date is not firm, but rather a goal based on circumstances on the ground, according to the Post, citing sources familiar with the proposal.

"It's really about transitioning from a combat to a support role, and basically making very clear that this is no longer an open-ended commitment and we're going to get this done whether the Iraqis like it or not," one of the sources told the Post. "Everybody understands that we're at the end of the road here."

The Post also said the document calls for embedding US soldiers directly with Iraqi security units as early as January to improve their efficiency.

It will also recommend withdrawing 15 US combat brigades in Iraq -- the bulk of the US fighting presence -- but leaving 70,000 or more American trainers, logistics experts and members of a rapid reaction force, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The United States currently provides the vast majority of the 160,000-strong multinational force in Iraq.

Asked when Bush would reach a decision on implementing the advice, US national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters on Thursday: "It's going to be weeks rather than months," but offered no further details.

Separately, the Washington Post reported that US officials are looking into ending reconciliation efforts with Sunni insurgents -- a move strongly opposed by US ambassador in Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and top military commanders, who believe that bringing the Sunni insurgents into the political process is key to stabilizing the country.

The proposal, presented by the State Department, follows an internal review that says US efforts to reach out to Sunni dissidents have failed, and perhaps even backfired and alienated Iraqi Shiites, the Post reported.

Officially US policy is to support a unified Iraq. Washington would not drop the goal, but instead would let the Iraqis take leadership in reconciliation efforts, the Post reported.

Sunnis, favored during Saddam Hussein's regime and for centuries the backbone of the ruling elite and middle class, make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population.

"We'll be in Iraq until the job is complete," Bush said Thursday after talks in Amman, Jordan, with embattled Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

"There's a lot of speculation that these reports in Washington mean there's going to be some kind of graceful exit out of Iraq. We're going to stay in Iraq to get the job done, so long as the government wants us there," he said.

"This business about 'graceful exit' just simply has no realism to it at all. We're going to help this government," said Bush.

Maliki told ABC television Thursday that Iraqi forces will be ready to take charge of security in the country in June 2007.

"I can say that Iraqi forces will be ready, fully ready, to receive this command and to command its own forces, and I can tell you that by next June our forces will be ready," Maliki said, speaking through a translator.

Senator Carl Levin, in line to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee, said US moves toward withdrawal will alleviate the violence in Iraq, contrary to Bush's assessment.

"I believe the announcement of a date to begin the redeployment of US forces from Iraq would increase the pressure on Iraqis to reach the political settlement that is essential to ending the sectarian violence," he said.

Dec 1 , 2006

Friday

November 7

recently

December 6

early 2008

Friday

January

Thursday

currently

Thursday

Thursday

Thursday

June 2007

next June


AFP_ENG_20061212.0057

JERUSALEM, Dec 12 , 2006, 2006

Israel minister urges silence on nuclear capability

An Israeli minister on Tuesday urged silence on the country's nuclear capability one day after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's remark placing the Jewish state among the world's nuclear powers.

"I would suggest that all those who want to talk about the issue, for God's sake and for the sake of Israel's security, stop it," Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben Eliezer told army radio.

On Monday, Olmert said in an interview to German television station N24 Sat1 that Israel was among the states that possess an atomic bomb, breaking a decades-long silence from Israeli officials on the issue.

"Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as France, America, Russia and Israel?" he asked.

Ben Eliezer said he did not believe that Olmert's slip broke the country's "policy of nuclear ambiguity."

"I support the policy of ambiguity and I don't see Olmert's statement as a declaration that Israel has nuclear weapons," he said.

Israel is nevertheless believed to be the only nuclear power in the Middle East, and according to some estimates possesses some 200 nucealr warheads.

Dec 12 , 2006

Tuesday

Monday


XIN_ENG_20051104.0324

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 , 2005 (Xinhua)

World's largest brain research center inaugurated

The world's largest neuroscience research center, the McGovern Institute for Brain Research (MIBR), formally opened Friday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), reports reaching here said.

The center is founded with an aim of exploring human learning and communication through interdisciplinary research, it was reported.

"I am hopeful that the scientific research done at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research can make significant contributions to advancing human learning and communication within the next 20 years," said Patrick McGovern Jr., founder and chairman of the International Data Group.

In 2000, he and his wife, entrepreneur Lore Harp McGovern, pledged 350 million US dollars over 20 years for the creation of the new institute and its operation.

The research at the new institute will combine and extend the results of recent breakthroughs in three major, interrelated areas: systems and computational neuroscience, imaging and cognitive neuroscience, and genetic and cellular neuroscience.

The 140,000 square feet (13,006.42 square meter) institute houses the world's largest collection of magnetic systems to study the brain. One system is operational and the two others are planned.

The research center is led by Prof. Robert Desimone, former director of The National Institutes for Mental Health's Intramural Research Program, the largest mental health research center in the world. He is also a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts of Sciences.

The faculty of the institute includes two Nobel laureates and one National Medal of Science winner. As put by Desimone, it boasts "the talent and teamwork of 16 world-class scientists. This is scientific collaboration at the highest level."

Desimone said the institute has "a mandate to lead the world into a new era of systems neuroscience, the study of brain systems and behavior."

Nov. 4 , 2005

Friday

the next 20 years

20 years


XIN_ENG_20061107.0162

HONG KONG, Nov. 7 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Gold price lower in Hong Kong -- Nov. 7

The gold price in Hong Kong went down 7 HK dollars to 5,764 HK dollars per tael on Tuesday, according to Bank of China (Hong Kong).

The price is equivalent to 622.02 U.S. dollars a troy ounce, down 1.20 U.S. dollars at Tuesday's exchange rate of one U.S. dollar against 7.7785 HK dollars.

Nov. 7 , 2006

Tuesday

Tuesday


WSJ891101-0008
 = 891101
 891101-0008.
 Business Brief -- Rally's Inc.:
@  Shareholder Rights Program
@  Is Set by Fast-Food Firm
 11/01/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 RLLY

   Rally's Inc. said it adopted a shareholders rights plan to protect shareholders from an inadequately priced takeover offer.

   The plan provides for the distribution of one common stock-purchase right as a dividend for each share of common outstanding.
Each right entitles shareholders to buy one-half share of common for $30.

   Earlier this month, a group led by three of the company's directors, Burt Sugarman, James M. Trotter III and Willam E. Trotter II, indicated it had a 45.2% stake in the Louisville, Ky., fast-food company and that it planned to seek a majority of seats on Rally's nine-member board.

   The company said it was " concerned about the announced intent to acquire control of the company" by a Sugarman-led group.

Earlier this month


AFP_ENG_20051216.0374

BERLIN, Dec 16 , 2005

= (PICTURE) =

US boxing legend Muhammed Ali arrived in Berlin on Friday to receive a major German peace prize for his efforts to promote civil rights and the work of the United Nations.

The former world heavyweight champion will on Saturday accept the Otto Hahn peace medal, named for a German nuclear physicist, the German Society for the United Nations said.

Ali has been selected "for his lifelong engagement in the American civil rights movement and the global cultural emancipation of blacks as well as his work as a UN Goodwill ambassador," Christine Kalb, the regional president of the society, told a press conference.

The 63-year-old Ali, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, attended the conference but left it to his wife Lonnie to speak to journalists.

"Boxing allowed him to travel the world. Even then he was already an ambassador for peace," she said, adding that her husband was doing well.

The prize is awarded every two years. Previous winners include former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal.

Otto Hahn (1879-1968) won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1944 and after the war became a vocal nuclear arms control advocate.

After receiving the prize, Ali was due to attend a boxing match in Berlin pitting his daughter, unbeaten boxer Laila Ali, against Sweden's Asa Maria Sandell.

"He is very proud of his daughter, even though as a Muslim and a man, he has reservations about female boxing," his wife said.

"He will be happy if Laila claims her 22nd victory," she added.

Dec 16 , 2005

Friday

Saturday

every two years


AFP_ENG_19970412.0213

SARAJEVO, April 12 , 1997 (AFP)

Police foil apparent attempt to kill pope

Police in Sarajevo on Saturday foiled an apparent attempt to kill Pope John Paul II, discovering 23 landmines wired to explode under a bridge the pope was set to cross later in the day.

The apparent attempt on the pope's life was found hours before the pope was set to arrive in the Bosnian capital for an historic two-day visit aimed at boosting reconciliation in Bosnia.

On arrival at the bridge on the main road into the city, "Bosnian police and the (UN) International Police Task Force found 23 mines connected to a detonator with additional plastic explosives and a remote control," said UN spokesman Alexander Ivanko.

The mines had apparently been planted there Friday night.

Police said they had arrested a man Saturday claiming he wanted to kill the pope. The pontiff was due to arrive in the city at around 5:30 p.m. (1530 GMT).

It was not clear whether the arrest of the man, whose name was not immediately released, was linked to the discovery of the explosives.

April 12 , 1997

Saturday

the day

Friday night

Saturday

5:30 p.m.


XIN_ENG_20061115.0456

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Nuggets' Martin ends NBA season for surgery

Denver Nuggets' forward Kenyon Martin underwent season-ending surgery on his right knee, the National Basketball Association club announced Wednesday.

Arthroscopic surgery had revealed more significant damage than was indicated on an earlier MRI, signaling an end to Martin's season and the loss of a key teammate for Carmelo Anthony.

Martin collected 19 points and 20 rebounds in the first two games of the season, but swelling in the right knee forced him to miss last Wednesday's game against the New York Knicks.

Last season, Martin was limited to 56 games due to soreness in the left knee and averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Obtained from New Jersey for three first-round picks, Martin signed a seven-year contract worth 90 million dollars in July of 2004. Martin helped the Nets reach the NBA Finals twice in his first four NBA season.

Martin underwent microfracture surgery on his left knee after averaging 15.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in his first season with the Nuggets.

Nov. 15 , 2006

Wednesday

the first two games of the season

Wednesday

Last season

July of 2004

four NBA season


XIN_ENG_20061104.0073

MOSCOW, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Russia wants Georgia's "concrete deeds" to mend ties: FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that Georgia must back up its desire to mend relations with Russia with "concrete deeds."

The Russian top diplomat said Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili spoke about Georgia's desire for normalization of relations with Russia at their meeting on Wednesday.

"We accepted these assurances, as we already have for the past two years. But we want to see concrete deeds," Lavrov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Bezhuashvili's meeting with Lavrov was seen as a bid to mend ties that nose-dived in late September after the Caucasus nation briefly detained four Russian officers on spying charges.

Moscow, infuriated by the arrests, has imposed an economic blockade on Tbilisi by cutting transport and postal links, and has deported Georgians accused of staying in Russia illegally.

Ties between Moscow and Tbilisi have been strained by tensions over Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and the country's bid to join NATO since President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power in 2003.

Nov. 4 , 2006

Saturday

Wednesday

the past two years

late September


AFP_ENG_19970425.0270

TOKYO, April 25 , 1997 (AFP)

US relief group questions lavish ceremonies in North Korea

A US-based Christian relief group, just back from famine-hit North Korea, appealed here Friday for prompt food aid to save the Stalinist state but questioned its lavish spending on state memorials.

Dean Hirsch, president of World Vision, told a news conference here that unless food aid reaches North Korea's 2.4 million children under age six within the next 30-60 days "the future of North Korea is very grim."

"We must respond now. We are running out of time. If North Korea does not receive massive humanitarian assistance between now and July, it will be too late," Hirsch said.

Hirsch said, "we saw only two dogs during the entire trip. Through our conversations with our guide, we were convinced that most of the animals, including pet dogs, had been eaten."

His mission returned Thursday from a five-day visit to North Korea, hit by two years of floods, with video and still pictures of the devastatation and starvation.

World Vision claims to work in 103 countries including North Korea where it has provided 4.2 million dollars in food aid, seeds and medicines since 1995.

But Hirsch's group also watched Pyongyang's week-long preparations for Friday's "massive celebration" marking the founding of its million- strong military.

"I could not help but wonder how this major event would be seen by the people in the light of the scarcity of food in the country," he said.

Hirsch also noted he saw some 50,000 children from 30 schools taking part in mass gymnastics last Sunday, as part of ceremonies marking the 85th birthday of the late president Kim Il-Sung.

However, he said he was convinced that massive starvation would take place within 90 days based on government accounts that children had been surviving on only 100 grams 3.5 ounces of rice a day.

World Vision Vision along with the World Food Programme (WFP), a UN agency, were two of relief organizations appealing for a total of 126 million dollars worth of emergency aid to alleviate North Korea's acute food shortage.

Hirsh said that his group did not see starving children during their "limited visit."

In early April, North Korea said that 134 children died of malnutrition, an admission that belyed propaganda about the country of 20 million being the "workers paradise."

April 25 , 1997

Friday

the next 30-60 days

now

now

July

Thursday

two years

Friday

last Sunday

85th birthday

90 days

a day

early April


WSJ891027-0144
 = 891027
 891027-0144.
 Dime Savings Bank Purchase
 10/27/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 DME STPT
 TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)
SAVINGS AND LOANS, THRIFTS, CREDIT UNIONS (SAL)
 GARDEN CITY, N.Y.

   Dime Savings Bank of New York was cleared by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to acquire Starpointe Savings Bank of Somerset, N.J., the banks said.

   Starpointe holders, who approved the plan last April, will receive $21 in cash a share, or a total $63 million.
The FDIC cleared the move yesterday, and the banks must wait at least 30 days before closing the purchase.
A closing date has n't been set.
The thrifts agreed to the transaction in August 1988.

last April

yesterday

at least 30 days

August 1988


WSJ891102-0056
 = 891102
 891102-0056.
 Business Brief -- Elco Industries Inc.:
@  Fastener Maker Expects Net
@  In '90 to Be Below Forecast
 11/02/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 ELCN

   Elco Industries Inc. said it expects net income in the year ending June 30, 1990, to fall below a recent analyst's estimate of $1.65 a share.

   The Rockford, Ill., maker of fasteners also said it expects to post sales in the current fiscal year that are " slightly above" fiscal 1989 sales of $155 million.
The company said its industrial unit continues to face margin pressures and lower demand.

   In fiscal 1989, Elco earned $7.8 million, or $1.65 a share.
The company's stock fell $1.125 to $13.625 in over-the-counter trading yesterday.

the year

June 30, 1990

the current fiscal year

fiscal 1989

fiscal 1989

yesterday


XIN_ENG_20061121.0266

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 21 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Sudan shuts Danish minister out

The Sudanese government has pulled the plug on the Danish minister of development co-operation 's week-long visit to the Darfur province, said reports reaching here from Copenhagen on Tuesday.

In an apparent tit-for-tat measure after comments made by Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen last week, the Sudanese government has abruptly withdrawn its permission to allow a Danish fact-finding mission to war-torn Darfur province, the Copenhagen Post reported.

The minister of development co-operation, Ulla Toenaes, was scheduled to depart at the end of this week. She said she was blindsided by the last minute announcement.

"I'm surprised about this turnaround so soon before departure," she said. "We haven't received any reason for the cancellation."

Toenaes had expected to meet with government leaders about the escalating humanitarian crisis in Darfur and visit a camp for internally displaced persons. Some 200,000 people have been killed in the Darfur province in recent years.

Some observers suggested that Sudanese officials were angered by Rasmussen's comments last week that military intervention in Darfur might be necessary in order to bring the conflict under control.

Rasmussen told parliament that he felt it was a "disgrace" that the international community had done little to prevent violence in the region.

Nov. 21 , 2006

Tuesday

last week

the end of this week

recent years

last week


WSJ891102-0032
 = 891102
 891102-0032.
 Business Brief -- Dunkin' Donuts Inc.:
@  DD Acquisition Extended
@  Its $45-a-Share Takeover Bid
 11/02/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 UNI.A DUNK T.CAO
 TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)
RESTAURANTS, SUPERMARKETS AND DRUGSTORES (RFD)

   DD Acquisition Corp., a partnership of Unicorp Canada Corp.'s Kingsbridge Capital Group and Cara Operations Ltd., extended to Nov. 20 its $45-a-share offer for all Dunkin' Donuts Inc. shares outstanding.

   The offer, which was due to expire yesterday, is conditional on 50.1% of Dunkin' common shares, on a fully diluted basis, being tendered and on the withdrawal of the company's poison pill rights plan.

   Acquisition has launched a suit in a Delaware court seeking the withdrawal of Dunkin's poison pill rights and employee stock ownership plans, which it claims were put in place to deter bidders.
Acquisition said 2.2 million shares, or about 38.5% of the shares outstanding, have been tendered under its offer.
The partners said they already hold 15% of all shares outstanding.

   Dunkin' has set Nov. 10 as the deadline for the receipt of any competing bids.
DD Acquisition said the extension is to allow this process to be completed.
Dunkin' is based in Randolph, Mass.
Cara, a food services chain operator and Unicorp, a holding company, are based in Toronto.

Nov. 20

yesterday

already

Nov. 10


AFP_ENG_20061213.0018

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 , 2006, 2006

Kucinich joins 2008 presidential race

US Representative Dennis Kucinich, an outspoken opponent of the Iraq war, has entered the already-crowded field of possible contenders for the 2008 presidential election, announcing he will vie for the Democratic party nomination.

Kucinich was a candidate for the 2004 nomination, which was won by Democratic Senator John Kerry. Then as now, the centerpiece of his presidential bid is his strong opposition the the Iraq war.

Considered on the left flank of his party, the avowed pacifist is calling on Congress to cut off funding for the war.

"This is a moment for me to stand up, to show leadership," he told CNN television Tuesday.

A dark horse candidate, Kucinich did not win any primary states in 2004, but raised his profile in Congress and garnered a platform for his antiwar message.

With public disaffection for the Iraq war at an all time high, Kucinich said he believes his antiwar candidacy will resonate with a large number of Americans.

"It's easy in hindsight for candidates so say we shouldn't have gone there. I was right at the forefront," he said.

"People want someone who has that foresight and that's what a leader is about. I can say we can get out of Iraq right now," he said.

"I'm taking a strong stand on this and putting it on the line because I believe the American people want those troops brought home."

The five-time Ohio representative becomes the second Democrat to officially throw his hat in the ring, afer an announcement last month by Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack that he is seeking the nomination.

Several other leading figures are deemed possible candidates, but have yet to declare, including on the Democratic side, Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Evan Bayh, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden.

Dec 13 , 2006

now

Tuesday

now

last month


XIN_ENG_20061104.0128

BEIJING, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

friendship

A performing gala themed on "Ode to Friendship" was staged here Saturday evening to mark the Beijing Summit of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and facilitate cultural exchanges.

In one hour and a half, performers serve up a real feast to both eyes and ears for state and government leaders and high- ranking officials from more than 40 African countries, who are here for the two-day landmark gathering.

From traditional Peking opera, upbeat tropical dance and drum to acrobatics, African and Chinese artists demonstrated their exquisite skills and profound culture.

The summit, themed on "friendship, peace, cooperation and development", is regarded as the largest diplomatic event ever held between China and Africa.

Nov. 4 , 2006

Saturday evening


AFP_ENG_19970421.0266

NEW DELHI, April 21 , 1997 (AFP)

Indian budget saga set for April 30 climax

A long-running saga over India's national budget edged towards its climax Monday when India's newly-elected United Front coalition government pledged to push the tax-cutting proposals through at the end of the month.

Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, sworn into office earlier in the day, told a government committee meeting here that the widely acclaimed budget, proposed by the previous Front coalition, would be re-introduced on April 30.

It is likely to become law a few days after that date.

The budget was unveiled at the end of February by the previous United Front coalition headed by H.D. Deve Gowda. The government, however, was voted out of office before the finance bill could be ratified.

Its proposed measures won widespread support both from industry and political parties.

But India's stock markets and industry feared they could die with Deve Gowda, particularly if new general elections were called.

Gujral's rise to power, however, at the head of a virtual carbon-copy of the previous Front administration backed by Congress, ensured the measures would go through.

Ironically, the architect of the budget, former finance mininster Palaniappan Chidambaram, will not be at the helm when the budget debate begins.

He has been forced to quit his post after his regional party decided to withdraw from the new United Front government.

His budget slashed taxes, widened the tax net and promised to reduce the fiscal deficit. Personal taxes were cut from 40 to 30 percent and corporate taxes from 40 to 35 percent.

April 21 , 1997

Monday

the end of the month

April 30

the end of February


AFP_ENG_20061220.0278

DUBAI, Dec 20 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS quotes on talking to Islamists ///

Al-Qaeda's second in command Ayman al-Zawahiri vowed in a videotape aired Wednesday that the terror group will not stop attacks on US soil as long as the United States strikes Muslims on their land.

"If we are hit in our countries, we will not stop striking you in your country," Zawahiri said in the video broadcast on pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera.

He said US President George W. Bush was deceiving Americans by telling them he was going after terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to keep them away from the United States.

He also said the United States will ultimately talk with "the real forces" in the Islamic world in order to extricate itself from Iraq and Afghanistan, in a reference to Islamist extremists.

Dec 20 , 2006

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061116.0227

BEIJING, Nov. 16 , 2006 (Xinhua)

India: FM

"China insists on seeking a just and rational solution to the China-India border issue," said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu on Thursday.

"China maintains its stance that both sides should seek a rational solution through friendly consultation," Jiang said at a press briefing.

The two countries appointed special envoys in 2003 to draw up a resolution to the dispute. Since then, frequent diplomatic efforts on the border issue have been carried out, which led to an agreement on the "guiding principles" on how resolve the dispute signed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2005.

Nov. 16 , 2006

Thursday