AFP_ENG_20061220.0085

BANGKOK, Dec 20 , 2006, 2006

governor ///

Thai share prices rebounded Wednesday after the military-installed government was forced to dump draconian capital controls that sparked a 15-percent collapse on Tuesday, dealers said.

The rebound helped the region as a whole recover from Tuesday's shock when Thailand, trying to protect export earnings from a rising baht, required 30 percent of most incoming foreign funds to be effectively impounded for a year.

The move spooked investors fearful that other regional countries with similar concerns over their export-led economies, might adopt similar measures to Thailand, the epicentre of the devastating 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

"Foreign investors cheered the government's decision to backtrack on the currency rules," said Sukit Udomsirikul, a senior market analyst at Siam City Securities.

"With the change, foreign investors can continue to invest in the Thai stockmarket. Sentiment is really positive," Sukit said, suggesting stocks could recover the 690 points level.

Amid calls for heads to roll over the debacle, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index was up 66.03 points or 10.61 percent in the morning session at 688.17. The market lost 15 percent Tuesday, at 23 billion dollars the biggest one day drop by value in the 31-year history of the bourse.

Despite the losses, central bank governor Tarisa Watanagase defended the capital controls Wednesday and rejected calls for her resignation.

"I don't want to answer this question," Tarisa said when asked by reporters about growing calls for her replacement.

She took the helm of the central bank in October after Pridiyathorn Devakula left the job to join the government as finance minister.

Tarisa, the first woman to head the central bank, also reassured investors that the Bank of Thailand had no plans to introduce new currency rules for now.

"The Bank of Thailand will not issue any new measure for some peroid of time," she said.

Pridiyathorn, who was forced to backtrack on the capital controls late Tuesday after the stock plunge, said he was pleased with the rebound Wednesday.

"We may not recover all of the 108 points but I am happy to see a 65-point rebound with some 500 billion baht of market capitalisation being recovered," he told reporters.

While the local press lambasted the disaster, with some blaming Pridiyathorn for the worst economic woes since the 1997 financial crisis, the finance minister insisted the measures were necessary to prevent the baht's further rise.

"If the central bank did nothing (on Monday), we could have seen the baht rising to 34 to the dollar and hurt our exporters' competitiveness," Pridiyathorn said.

The Thai baht, which hit a new nine-year high of 35.12 to the dollar on Monday, was at 35.67-70 in late early Wednesday trade.

Krungthep Thurakit, a leading business daily, said someone in the government, which came to power after a coup in September that ousted the business savvy premier Thaksin Shinawatra, should take responsibility.

"It was the most expensive economic lesson for Thailand since the financial crisis in 1997 and someone must take responsibility for this lesson," the financial daily said in an editorial.

Effective Tuesday, the central bank, under the supervision of the finance ministry, had ordered financial institutions to hold 30 percent of foreign inflows, except those related to exports.

If incoming funds were kept in Thailand for a year, the depositor would get all their money back but if they withdrew earlier, then they would not.

Tuesday's record losses in Bangkok were an unwelcome echo of the Asian financial crisis which was sparked when the government was forced to float the baht in July 1997 in a bid to bolster the country's then flagging exports.

The baht promptly crashed, took the Thai economy with it and sent a tidal wave of debt and default sweeping across the region which cost billions of dollars to put right.

The impact was so great that it has taken years for many regional stockmarkets to revisit pre-crisis levels. Despite recent gains, Thailand's own bourse still remains far below its all-time high of 1,753.73 in January 1994.

Dec 20 , 2006

Wednesday

Tuesday

Tuesday

a year

Tuesday

Wednesday

October

now

Tuesday

Wednesday

Monday

Monday

Wednesday

September

Effective Tuesday

a year

Tuesday

July 1997

January 1994


WSJ891101-0020
 = 891101
 891101-0020.
 Publishing Firm Hires
@  Financial Adviser
@  To Weigh Alternatives
 11/01/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 PSSP
 EARNINGS (ERN)
TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)
 LOS ANGELES

   Price Stern Sloan Inc. said it hired an investment banking firm to assist in evaluating restructuring or merger alternatives and reported a net loss of $8.1 million, or $2.14 a share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

   These results compare with net income of $1.8 million, or 44 cents a share, for the corresponding period last year.
This quarter's loss includes pretax charges of $4.9 million on the proposed discontinuation of the company's troubled British subsidiary, and $3.7 million of other write-offs the company said were non-recurring and principally related to inventory, publishing advances and pre-publication costs.
The publishing concern said it retained the investment banking firm of Donaldson, Lufkin amp Jenrette Securities Inc. to act as its financial adviser, assisting in the evaluation of various financial and strategic alternatives, including debt refinancing, raising capital, recapitalization, a merger or sale of the company.

   The company also retained attorney Martin P. Levin, a director of the company and former head of the Times-Mirror Publishing Group, as an adviser.

   Net sales for this year's third quarter were $14 million, down from $21.4 million last year.
The company attributed the decrease in part to the exclusion of the company's British sales from the current year's figures as a result of the subsidiary's status as a proposed discontinued operation and, in part, to lower sales in certain key foreign and domestic accounts.
U.K. sales for last year's quarter were about $3 million.

the third quarter

Sept. 30

the corresponding period last year

This quarter

this year's third quarter

last year

last year's quarter


AFP_ENG_20061230.0226

WASHINGTON, Dec 30 , 2006, 2006

US embassies advised to review security after Saddam's execution

The US State Department has advised its embassies to review their security measures in the wake of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's execution, a spokeswoman said Saturday.

"We did send a cable to all of our diplomatic missions simply asking them to look at their security stance in light of the execution," a State Department spokeswoman told AFP on condition of anonymity.

She said the message did not call for any "specific steps," noting that each embassy has its own set of security procedures.

Asked whether any threat precipitated the release of the message, the spokeswoman said she was not aware of any such danger.

Saddam was hanged for crimes against humanity for the execution of 148 Shiite civilians following an attempt on the then president's life in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad, in the early 1980s.

Dozens of Iraqis were killed and dozens more wounded in a series of bloody car bombings that caused chaos after the government's pre-dawn execution of the ousted dictator on Saturday.

Dec 30 , 2006

Saturday

the early 1980s

Saturday


XIN_ENG_20061111.0128

BEIJING, Nov. 11 , 2006 (Xinhua)

cultural relics

A senior Chinese official has urged women's federations of different levels to promote the collection of cultural relics involving women and children and the building of the national museum for women and children.

This was remarked here on Saturday by Gu Xiulian, vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) and chairperson of the All-China Women's Federation, at a national conference on collection of these cultural relics.

The museum, which serve as an educational base and a platform for international exchanges, is now being built, and meanwhile, people of different circles are working hard to collect relevant cultural relics under the guidance of experts, Gu said.

Shan Jixiang, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, also spoke at the meeting, calling on cultural heritage departments of all levels to help gather relics for the museum, which will be the first of its kind in the country.

Nov. 11 , 2006

Saturday

now


AFP_ENG_19970423.0654

LIMA, April 23 , 1997 (AFP)

Peru's Fujimori surveys aftermath, visits wounded of rebel rout by Sibylla Brodzinsky

Peru's president Wednesday surveyed the aftermath of the spectacular raid on the Japanese ambassador's residence, visiting the wounded hostages and inspecting the grisly scene at the mansion.

Fujimori was showered with international praise following Tuesday's bold daylight raid to free the 72 hostages from their four-month ordeal.

And he was certain to receive more congratulations from Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda, who was expected in Lima early Thursday accompanied by the relatives of several former hostages.

The Peruvian leader visited the military hospital to chat with some of the 25 former hostages wounded in the raid, including Foreign Minister Francisco Tudela.

Tudela underwent surgery for a bullet wound to the leg he sustained during the 40-minute operation, according to Fujimori. Two soldiers, one hostage and all 14 Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) hostage-takers were killed in the raid.

As Fujimori surveyed the scene, the remains of the rebels lay in plastic body bags on the lawn of the residence they had seized December 17. Three of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition, local television reported.

Gaping holes in the residence, shattered windows and splintered doors bore mute testimony to Tuesday's attack.

Details of the operation that emerged Wednesday showed elite troops secretly dug a network of tunnels and used coded messages as well as the element of surprise.

Fujimori said it took between 35 and 50 days to build the tunnels under the compound.

He also confirmed that the hostages had "a few minutes" warning of the attack but declined to say how the message had been passed.

A former agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation said security forces tipped off the hostages about the imminent raid by speaking to a captive who was retired officer via a concealed two-way radio.

"We will free you in three minutes," was the message sent to the hostage, Bob Taubert told CNN television.

The raid started just after 3 p.m. (2000 GMT) Tuesday, with heavily armed soldiers simultaneously emerging from the tunnels, through the main door and through a back entrance.

One group of soldiers blasted a hole in the ceiling, through which the hostages were freed.

All the hostages were on the second floor of the residence when the attack was launched, while most of the rebels were on the first floor playing indoor soccer.

An explosion underneath the living room killed five or six of the rebels immediately, while another group ran to the second floor, Fujimori said.

There, some of the rebels, including leader Nestor Cerpa, fired back at the troops, killing one soldier. Cerpa and his comrades were then gunned down by the soldiers.

The mediating team that sought to broker a peaceful end to the standoff was given no prior warning, Roman Catholic Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani told reporters.

Cipriani, along with Michel Minnig of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Canadian Ambassador Anthony Vincent and Japanese envoy Terusuke Terada, told reporters they had not expected the assault.

Cipriani wept as he read a joint statement in which the mediators said they "share the pain of those who lost a life from their family and we share the joy" of those who were reunited.

Friends, relatives and fellow hostages gathered Wednesday to mourn Supreme Court Justice Carlos Guisti, who died of a heart attack after he was shot.

World leaders applauded the end to the standoff, which Fujimori said showed Peru would "never cave in" to terrorism.

But the key praise came from Japan -- Peru's biggest single source of foreign aid -- which hailed the operation.

Twenty-four Japanese nationals, including Ambassador Morihisa Aoki, were among the captives.

Fujimori was cautious not to appear overly confident. Asked if the raid wiped out the MRTA, he pointed out that rebel leader Hugo Avellaneda Valdez was still at large, presumably in Peru's central jungle.

Fujimori's administration was widely criticized for declaring the fight against guerrillas was all but over just months before the siege at the Japanese ambassador's residence.

Tupac Amaru guerrillas elsewhere vowed to continue the fight of their comrades.

The deadly end to the hostage crisis only served to reaffirm the group's "decision to continue fighting for a society with peace and social justice," according to a statement posted in Spanish on the rebel group's website.

April 23 , 1997

Wednesday

Tuesday

December 17

Tuesday

Wednesday

50 days

three minutes

Tuesday

Wednesday

months


AFP_ENG_19970402.0094

KHARTOUM, April 2 , 1997 (AFP)

SPLA rebel faction fights of attack on its stronghold

A breakaway rebel faction inflicted heavy casualties on the Sudan People's Liberation Army which attacked its Wun Roj stronghold in south Sudan's Bahrel Ghazal state last week, it was reported Wednesday.

Faustino Obanj, spokesman of the SPLA rebel Bahrel Ghazal group, said its forces had "repulsed the attackers, inflicting heavy casualties, in the form of soldiers and weapons," the independent Alwan daily newspaper reported.

Wun Roj, about 112 kilometers (70 miles) north of Qoqriyal is held by the rebel faction headed by Kerbino Kuanyen.

Obanj said the SPLA unit's commanding officer Silva Metok and his second in command James Lual were both injured. He said his men also captured 100 SPLA soldiers as well as 315 automatic rifles and 17 mortars.

"Most important of all, our forces seized Ajak airport, outside Wun Roj, which was built by foreign organizations and which is equipped with modern communications devices and lighting systems," Obanj said.

The Kerbino faction broke away from the SPLA in April last year, switched allegiances and signed an agreement with the government in Khartoum. It now fights the SPLA for the government in Bahrel Ghazal state.

He said the rebels were willing to fight for the government against "agents and mercenaries" seeking to destroy Sudanese unity, Obanj said.

April 2 , 1997

last week

Wednesday

April last year

now


XIN_ENG_20051128.0138

NEW DELHI, Nov. 28 , 2005 (Xinhua)

India seeks higher coal imports for power generation

India is set to significantly increase its coal imports to match its growing domestic requirement for power generation, a top official said here Monday.

"We started coal imports last year to meet the requirement for power generation. So far this year we have imported around seven million tons of coal, which is set to reach about 14 million tons by March," Indo-Asian News Service quoted Power Secretary R.V. Shahi at the ongoing India Economic Summit 2005 as saying.

"We are preparing to import 20 million tons of high calorific value coal in 2006-07, when we are expecting about 30 million tons shortage," Shahi told the annual summit organized jointly by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Though one of the world's largest coal producers, India's coal has a high ash content leading to a growing shortfall in production as against the demand, particularly by the power industry.

The current requirement of coal for power sector is about 365- 370 million tons.

The import option is being pushed in addition to the captive coal mining to ensure that shortage does not lead to unutilized power generation capacity, which was witnessed last year.

"This year with 14 million tons of coal imports, as of now we will not be losing generation due to coal shortage," the official said.

Nov. 28 , 2005

Monday

last year

this year

March

last year

now


AFP_ENG_19970411.0478

MIAMI, Florida, April 11 , 1997 (AFP)

Spanish executive denies "trading with the enemy"

A Spanish businessman charged with illegally exporting US food products to Cuba pleaded not guilty at a hearing here Friday.

The United States has accused Javier Ferreiro -- a resident of Cuba -- of selling US products in Havana via the Dominicna Republic and Panama between March 1994 and January 1996.

Ferreiro has said he bought the US goods directly in the Dominican Republic not the United States, which would free him from the charges.

The charges against Ferreiro, 49, include five counts of money laundering, one count of conspiracy and eight counts of "trading with the enemy" under the embargo Washington has had clamped on Cuba since 1963.

Among the goods Ferreiro allegedly exported were disposible diapers (nappies), mustard and ketchup.

He was detained April 1 on a visit here to friends and relatives.

April 11 , 1997

Friday

March 1994

January 1996

April 1


XIN_ENG_20051128.0091

BEIJING, Nov. 28 , 2005 (Xinhua)

China's exhibition industry grows about 20 percent yearly: official

The total turnover of China's exhibition industry has been growing at an annual rate of about 20 percent for years, said Vice Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei here on Monday.

Jiang made the remark at the second seminar on China's exhibition economy. China has become an important country in Asia in size of exhibition industry, and will gradually become a regional "exhibition center" in Asia, said he.

China now has over 160 large-sized exhibition halls with exhibition area of 2.8 million square meters, according to Jiang.

Every year, China holds about 3,000 exhibitions of different types at home, and 800 exhibitions overseas, attracting participation of 5 million enterprises and 20 million visitors, he said.

Some nation-level exhibitions, such as the China Export Commodities Fair in Guangzhou, High-technology Trade Fair in Shenzhen and Investment and Trade Fair in Xiamen, have become well-known and influential exhibitions in the world, he said.

Although China has made remarkable progress in developing its exhibition economy, some problems still exist in this area, such as nonstandard market order and overheated exhibition hall construction, he said.

China's exhibition industry output is about 10 billion yuan (1.2 billion US dollars), accounting for 0.07 percent of the gross national product. In developed countries, this ratio is around 0.2 percent, he said.

Nov. 28 , 2005

Monday

now

Every year


XIN_ENG_20061128.0420

AMMAN, Nov. 28 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Jordanian king reiterates support for Lebanon

Jordanian King Abdullah II reiterated on Tuesday that Jordan will continue its support for Lebanon, the official Petra news agency reported.

During a phone talk with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora, the king said that all Lebanese people should unify their efforts and work to preserve unity of Lebanon in critical circumstances in order to face challenges.

Seniora briefed the king on the latest developments in Lebanon and efforts to surmount the current political crisis, while appreciating Jordan's support.

Nov. 28 , 2006

Tuesday


AFP_ENG_20061228.0375

CARDIFF, Dec 28 , 2006, 2006

Wales' Williams free for Six Nations

Wales flanker Martyn Williams will be available for the start of this season's Six Nations Championship after avoiding a lengthy ban following a disciplinary hearing here Thursday.

The Cardiff back-row was sent-off for butting Neath-Swansea scrum-half Jason Spice during a Celtic League match last Saturday.

But Welsh Rugby Union disciplinary officials decided Williams's offence only merited a three-week suspension, which means the 64-times capped Wales forward can play again from mid-January.

He must now miss Cardiff's Celtic League clashes with Llanelli and the Borders, as well as the European Cup match away to English giants Leicester at Welford Road on January 13. But he will be available for the European tie with French side Bourgoin a week later.

Wales begin the 2007 Six Nations at home to Ireland on February 4.

"It was the first time I have been shown the red card in 12 seasons of playing rugby at senior level," said Williams.

"Consequently, I feel it was out of character and obviously I regret the incident. I would like to apologise to all concerned.

"I was disappointed with my reaction in the match, but I fully accept the findings of the (WRU) disciplinary sub-committee."

Dec 28 , 2006

Thursday

last Saturday

now

January 13

February 4

12 seasons


AFP_ENG_20061203.0529

CARACAS, Dec 3 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - RECASTS; UPDATES with exit poll  ///

Venezuela's firebrand anti-US President Hugo Chavez headed to reelection Sunday, according to an exit poll conducted for the government in voting marked by a large turnout.

Evans/McDonough said the leftist leader's advantage over state governor Manuel Rosales was comparable to the institute's previous voter intention surveys that had Chavez leading by up to 19 percentage points.

The US pollsters conducted the exit poll on behalf of a company owned by the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) group, which is headed by the country's energy minister.

Chavez underlined the high turnout and said he expected "democratic results."

The controversial president, who has been in office for eight years, has pledged to consolidate his self-styled revolution and launch a new socialist era in the oil-rich but poverty-plagued South American country.

A former paratrooper who once led a failed military coup, Chavez, 52, has survived a two-day ouster, a recall referendum and a massive oil strike aimed at forcing him to step down.

Flush with petrodollars, he has vowed to boost social programs that have kept him popular among the millions of impoverished Venezuelans who played a key role in giving him a landslide electoral victory in 1998 and again in 2000.

He has cultivated his image as a virulent critic of US President George W. Bush, whom he called the devil incarnate before the UN General Assembly.

At the same time, Venezuela exports about half its daily oil production of more than three million barrels a day to the United States.

After voting on Sunday, Chavez insisted Venezuela wanted the best relations with all countries, "including the United States," and hailed as a good signal a statement by a US State Department official recognizing that the South American country waged its political battles through democratic institutions.

A close ally of Cuban President Fidel Castro, the leftist leader had accused Washington during his campaign of seeking to sew discord in Venezuela, and denounced his electoral rival as a lackey of the "US empire."

Rosales, for his part, claimed Chavez planned to turn Venezuela into a communist state and called him "a puppet seated on Castro's lap."

The opposition candidate, who temporarily stepped down as governor of Zulia state to run in the election, said he stood for "a new social democracy, with liberty and social justice" and wanted to distance Venezuela from US foes, including Iran.

Sixteen million people were eligible to vote in the presidential election, which capped a busy electoral year in which five leftist presidents were voted into office or won another term in Latin America.

Chavez, who had been accused of meddling in some of the Latin American elections, hailed the recent leftist victories, which he said would give impetus to his plan for regional integration he hopes will further lessen US influence in the region.

Voting concluded in some areas shortly after 4:00 pm (2000 GMT) although by law polling stations cannot shut their doors before the last person in line has voted.

Dec 3 , 2006

Sunday

eight years

Sunday


XIN_ENG_20051102.0312

LONDON, Nov. 2 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Arsenal into knockout stage after win over Sparta Prague

Thanks to goals from Thierry Henry and a Robin van Persie brace, Arsenal beat Sparta Prague 3-0 on Wednesday to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Henry added to his back catalogue of spectacular goals with a wonderful curling shot to give Arsenal the lead midway through the first half.

Before Van Persie's late brace Arsenal were thwarted by some excellent goalkeeping from Jaromir Blazek.

In the final 10 minutes Van Persie made the game safe, scoring with a powerful shot and then a side-footed finish.

Until Van Persie's goals Blazek's goalkeeping had ensured the Czech side were always in the game.

Arsenal's inability to extend their lead gave them some nervous moments as Sparta pressed for an equaliser, notably when Adam Petrous went close with a header just before Arsenal's second goal.

Martin Petras also hit the bar for Sparta soon after they went 2-0 down.

Early on Arsenal refused to jettison their short-passing game despite a heavy pitch caused by torrential rain in north London.

One elaborate move involving Henry, Bergkamp and Pires carved apart the Sparta defence, but the Dutch striker's close-range shot hit the bar.

Soon after Blazek denied Bergkamp by coming out quickly and blocking the Dutchman's shot.

Bergkamp had a third chance to score in that promising Arsenal opening period but he miscued, scuffing his shot.

On 23 minutes Henry showed Bergkamp how do to it, showing pinpoint precision to bend a shot past Blazek.

Sparta must be sick of the sight of Henry - a fortnight ago the Frenchman scored twice against them to become Arsenal's all-time leading scorer.

Sparta's best first-half effort came from Martin Hasek, whose shot almost surprised Manuel Aluminia as it came through a crowded penalty area.

Soon after Hasek's shot Bergkamp slipped the ball to Jose Antonio Reyes, who cut back inside and hit a curling shot that Blazek tipped past the post.

Early in the second half Blazek again kept Sparta in the game when he moved quickly to save a Henry free-kick.

Henry, who has missed much of the season with a groin injury and had been rested for Saturday's north London derby against Spurs, was taken off on 65 minutes to be replaced by Van Persie.

On 81 minutes Van Persie worked some space after picking up a pass from Bergkamp before firing a shot into the roof of the net.

With four minutes left Van Persie claimed a second, steering the ball home after collecting a pass from Emmanuel Eboue.

Nov. 2 , 2005

Wednesday

the final 10 minutes

23 minutes

a fortnight ago

the second half

Saturday

65 minutes

81 minutes


AFP_ENG_20051214.0488

WASHINGTON, Dec 14 , 2005

///

The US military is mounting a 300 million dollar psychological operations campaign to sway international opinion of the US war on terrorism through messages placed in foreign media, officials said Wednesday.

Lawrence DiRita, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said the aim was to "provide factual, truthful information with some degree of transparency, whatever is appropriate."

He would not say specifically whether the psychological warfare experts charged with running the program have been authorized to place messages in foreign media without disclosing the US government as their source.

However, USA Today quoted the deputy director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element as saying the source of the material would not always be identified.

"While the product may not carry the label, Made in the USA,' we will respond truthfully if asked" by journalists, Mark Furlong was quoted as saying.

The campaign will target television, radio, newspapers, Internet websites with articles, advertisements and public service announcements, he said.

The latest disclosure comes amid an ongoing investigation of a military "information operations" campaign in Iraq that reportedly planted hundreds of favorable paid-for stories in Iraqi news media without disclosing their source.

The Lincoln Group, a defense contractor that was used to place the stories, is one of three contractors hired by the US Special Operations Command for the broader international campaign.

The Lincoln Group, Science Applications International Corp. and SyColeman Inc. were each awarded 100 million dollar contracts in June for the campaign.

The five-year contract was "for media approach planning, prototype product development, commercial quality product development, product distribution and dissemination, and media effects analysis for the Joint Psychological Operations Support element and other government agencies," an announcement at the time said.

DiRita said the US Special Operations Command has been granted authority to wage the campaign but was still planning how to carry it out, he said.

"We're in an environment where public information is being thrown out there in countries all around the world that say untruthful, inaccurate, harmful things about the United States, about the global war on terror," DiRita said.

"It is important we counter that, and we have to counter it truthfully, to some significant degree to counter it with transparency, and we are looking at all kinds of ways to do that," he said.

Dec 14 , 2005

Wednesday

June


AFP_ENG_19970401.0562

PHNOM PENH, April 2 , 1997 (AFP)

Funerals for grenade attack victims begin in Cambodia (picture)

Cambodian dissident Sam Rainsy said at the funerals of five victims of the weekend grenade attack on an anti-government demonstration that he was "terribly sad" but would not give up his political crusade.

Funerals for five of the 16 people killed in Sunday's grenade attack outside parliament were held in the Wat Langka temple in Phnom Penh.

The families of the five men wept and prayed as the victims were cremated in traditional Buddhist ceremonies. "Give back my husband," screamed Bout Varun, widow of Chhet Duong Daravudh, a journalist and member of the opposition Khmer Nation Party (KNP).

Several grenades were thrown into a crowd of about 200 demonstrators across from Cambodia's parliament.

Sam Rainsy, the president of the KNP who organized the protest against judicial corruption, told mourners he "was shocked and terribly sad" but not "discouraged."

"I swear that we will continue until the final victory," he said. "One day in the not too distant future we will see justice prevail in Cambodia.

"Many people have died for this cause but many others are prepared to sacrifice their lives until justice is done," Sam Rainsy said as the body of Han Mony, the bodyguard who he credits with saving his life was placed on the bier.

Sam Rainsy has blamed Second Prime Minister Hun Sen and his formerly communist Cambodian People's Party (CPP) for the attack which also left at least 119 people wounded. The CPP has denied involvement in the attack.

But Sam Rainsy continued his allegations against the second prime minister who on Wednesday began celebrations for his 47th birthday on Friday.

"Today we pray for those who lost their lives, we pray also for those who are still alive including the leaders of Cambodia, all the leaders.

He said of Hun Sen: "I pray that god forgives him. I pray that god inspires Hun Sen to stop causing violence that mades innocent people suffer."

Because cremating a body takes several hours and Wat Langka has only one crematorium, the ceremony was expected to last throughout Wednesday.

About 200 people, including two representatives of King Norodom Sihanouk, several MPs from the royalist FUNCINPEC party and the Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party, the ambassadors of Australia, Canada and Japan and the charge d'affaires of the US embassy attended.

Two other victims of the attack were cremated on Monday at the temple. The other victims were expected to be cremated in private family ceremonies.

April 2 , 1997

Sunday

Wednesday

Friday

Today

Wednesday

Monday


AFP_ENG_20051203.0131

BAMAKO, Dec 3 , 2005

ATTENTION - ADDS quotes, details ///

African leaders and French President Jacques Chirac opened a two-day summit here on Saturday, aimed at tackling the problems of Africa's youth, but the continent's conflicts and combatting immimgration were also likely to top the agenda.

All 53 African states are represented at the biennial gathering, a Malian organising committee official said, in a first for the Africa-France summits since they began in 1973.

As well as Chirac, about 20 heads of state and government, including South Africa's Thabo Mbeki and recently re-elected Omar Bongo Ondimba of Gabon were present at the opening.

Mali President Amadou Toumani Toure opened the summit, which began about an hour behind schedule at the specially-extended congress hall in the Malian capital, Bamako.

He called for a meeting between European and African nations on how to tackle immigration, highlighting the need to combat trafficking networks.

"We have to keep young people here at home," he said.

He was to be followed later by 73-year-old Chirac, who on his arrival late Friday called for greater international effort for development. He also said Africa's youth predominantly wanted peace and democracy.

The theme of the discussions, which include three closed-door sessions over the two days and continue until about midday on Sunday, is 'African youth, its vitality, its creativity, their hopes'.

Dec 3 , 2005

Saturday

Friday

the two days

Sunday


XIN_ENG_20051110.0027

BEIJING, Nov. 10 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Construction Bank IPO rises to 9.23 bln US dollars

The China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) said Thursday its total initial public offering (IPO) increased to an equivalent of 9.23 billion US dollars after its sponsors issued an additional about 3.97 billion shares, the biggest-ever IPO of any bank.

The bank issued a combined 30.5 billion shares, accounting for 13.5 percent of its enlarged equities, a bank spokesman said.

The CCB's IPO is also the biggest-ever of any Chinese enterprise and the biggest in global markets in more than five years.

CCB took the lead among China's Big Four state banks to get listed in the Hong Kong stock exchange two weeks ago. It rose 4.3 percent to 2.45 Hong Kong dollars per share at Wednesday's closing.

Nov. 10 , 2005

Thursday

more than five years

two weeks ago

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061128.0457

TOKYO, Nov. 29 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Tokyo stocks open higher

Tokyo stocks opened sharply higher almost across the board Wednesday on optimism about the Japanese economy after the government reported surprisingly strong industrial production in October.

In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 157.11 points, or 0.99 percent, to 16,012.37.

The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 14.56 points, or 0.94 percent, to 1,569.67. The Second Section also moved higher.

Nov. 29 , 2006

Wednesday

October

the first 15 minutes


XIN_ENG_20061102.0112

JINAN, Nov. 2 , 2006 (Xinhua)

East China province reinstates bird flu monitoring

Shandong Province, east China, has reinstated round-the-clock bird flu monitoring to prevent possible outbreaks as more and more migratory birds fly over the province on their way further south.

Li Zhanpeng, head of the provincial wildlife protection center, said that all 153 monitoring stations in the province were ordered to report on a daily basis.

Local people were also called on to report deaths of wild birds to the provincial wildlife protection center. Its telephone hot line number is 0531-88557707, Li said.

Wild birds migrate through eight routes around the world, three of which traverse China. Migratory birds flying from East Asia to Australia pass Shandong Province.

China has reported nine outbreaks of bird flu in poultry this year, in northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, north China's Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia, east China's Anhui Province, southwestern Guizhou and Sichuan provinces and the central province of Hunan.

Since 2003 China has reported 21 human infections of bird flu which have caused 14 deaths. Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded 256 human infections including 151 deaths as of Oct. 16.

Nov. 2 , 2006

daily

this year

Oct. 16


AFP_ENG_20061219.0124

TOKYO, Dec 19 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS Fukui quotes ///

Japan on Tuesday forecast slightly faster growth in the next fiscal year on the back of stronger domestic demand, as the central bank kept super-low interest rates in place so as not to take any chances.

The government predicted 2.0 percent growth in the year to March 2008 in real terms, the sixth straight year of expansion and a notch above the revised 1.9 percent estimated for the current year.

In an outlook approved by the cabinet, the government expected the economy to continue its gradual recovery in the next fiscal year, led by domestic private demand and strong corporate earnings.

The study also forecast the first growth in a decade in a key measure of inflation -- the GDP deflator -- showing that the Japanese economy is finally winning its long bout with falling prices.

But the government revised downward its economic growth forecast for the current fiscal year to a real 1.9 percent from its earlier estimate of 2.1 percent as consumer spending has weakened since the summer.

"Consumer spending is the key to whether the Japanese economy can achieve the forecast next year," said Makoto Ishikawa, a senior economist at the Japan Research Institute.

Private consumption, which accounts for the biggest chunk of the economy, is forecast to rise an inflation-adjusted 1.6 percent in the next fiscal year, faster than the 0.6 percent in the current year.

The Bank of Japan's policy board later Tuesday agreed unanimously to keep the benchmark cost of borrowing at 0.25 percent, declining to raise rates for the first time in six months.

Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui, who has repeatedly signalled he wanted to raise rates at some point, acknowledged that consumer prices and private consumption had been weaker than previously thought.

"We also found it necessary to make a more careful analysis, given the fact that consumer prices and private consumption have been weak," Fukui said.

"But we maintain our analysis that private consumption is basically in a rising trend, given the continued spill-over of brisk corporate activity to the household," he said.

In its last rate hike in July, the Bank of Japan ended its unorthodox five-year policy of holding borrowing costs at zero in a bid to stimulate the economy and end deflation.

"The BoJ may need to confirm first that consumer spending has accelerated before hiking rates," said NLI Research Institute senior economist Taro Saito, who is looking at a rate increase either in January or February.

The market had widely expected the decision after the mixed economic data, including just 0.1 percent year-on-year growth in core consumer prices.

"We need to watch closely if there is any slightest risk that Japan might return to deflation in fiscal 2007," Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota told reporters.

Ota blamed rainy weather and slow income growth for the recent weak consumption data.

"But with the weather factor gone and income eventually picking up with the improvement in the employment situation, this should help buoy private consumption," she said.

On a nominal basis, which does not adjust for inflation, the government projected growth of 2.2 percent in the next fiscal year.

Japan is in the midst of its longest sustained recovery since World War II as it rebounds from the 1990s doldrums.

Last month the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said that Japan's economic recovery should continue through 2008, albeit at a slower pace.

It trimmed its forecast for Japanese economic growth to a real 2.0 percent in 2007, down from a previous estimate of 2.2 percent, and warned the central bank against raising interest rates again yet because deflation still lingers.

Dec 19 , 2006

Tuesday

the next fiscal year

the year

March 2008

the current year

the next fiscal year

the current fiscal year

the summer

next year

the next fiscal year

the current year

Tuesday

six months

July

January or February

fiscal 2007

the next fiscal year

1990s doldrums

Last month


XIN_ENG_20061113.0008

TAIYUAN, Nov. 13 , 2006 (Xinhua)

1st LD: Fatal coal mine accident reported in north China, 24 dead

Twenty-four people were confirmed dead and 10 others went missing in a deadly coal mine accident early Monday in north China's Shanxi Province.

Thirty-four miners were trapped when the accident occurred at 4:00 a.m. at the Nanshan Colliery in Wangyu Village of Lingshi County, said Gong Anku, head of the provincial administration for work safety.

Rescuers had found 24 dead bodies by midday and were continuing to search for the other 10, he said.

A spokesman of the Lingshi county government said the accident was caused by improper use of explosives that led to combustion in the pit.

Gong said Nanshan Colliery was a village-run coal mine. The safety watchdog is yet to find out if it holds a production permit.

Also on Monday, the death toll in another deadly accident in this coal-rich province climbed to 35, with 12 more missing in the pit of the Jiaojiazhai Colliery in Xinzhou, where a gas blast trapped 47 on Nov. 5.

Nov. 13 , 2006

Monday

4:00 a.m.

Monday

Nov. 5


AFP_ENG_20061205.0072

HONG KONG, Dec 5 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS comments, background ///

The Hong Kong government was forced to back down Tuesday on the introduction of a sales tax after it failed to win enough public support for a change in the city's famously low tax environment.

Financial Secretary Henry Tang said the decision was reached after an ongoing public consultation showed that the controversial plan, which has been widely criticised on all sides, lacked public support.

"It is clear from the views collected that we have not been able to convince the majority to accept GST (Goods and Sales Tax) as the main option to address the (narrow) tax base problem," Tang said in a surprise announcement.

"So we accepted that at this time we do not have the public support nor the conditions for introducing a GST. For the remainder of the consultation (period), we will not be advocating GST as the only option" on tax changes.

Tang did not take questions nor clarify whether the government would re-visit the issue in the future but he called on people to continue to make their views known on other possible ways to widen the tax base.

Hong Kong currently levies a 16 percent personal tax rate with companies paying just 17.5 percent, making it one of the lowest tax regimes anywhere -- a point the government itself promotes in its efforts to attract businesses here.

Officials said a GST was needed to pay for an ageing population and to provide a more stable revenue base for the city, which depends too much on volatile income streams including land sales and investment returns.

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said he and the Executive Council, or cabinet, completely supported the decision.

"We believe that the decision (Tang) has made respects fully the wishes of Hong Kong people that we should seriously consider widening our tax base."

The government hoped the GST would bring in some 30 billion dollars (3.8 billion US) a year in extra revenue, claiming that by 2033, more than a quarter of the population would be retired and need more public services.

The public almost unanimously denounced the plan from the start of the consultation period in July and all the major political parties opposed it too, making it unlikely to have got through the legislature.

Activists accused Tang of robbing the poor to pay the rich while business interests said a sales tax would decimate the booming tourism industry by making shopping in Hong Kong -- one of its biggest draws -- less attractive.

Analysts said that against this backdrop, Tuesday's move may have been politically motivated, coming just before Sunday's naming of an 800-member election committee to choose Hong Kong's next leader, widely expected to the Tsang.

"This is obviously linked to (Tsang's) re-election. He knew that it would be bad if he had so many problems to solve before he even started lobbying for support," said James Sung, political scientist at City University.

"He knew the GST would be the biggest problem to tackle and since he knew it would fail sooner or later, he'd rather end it quickly," Sung said.

Paul Chan, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Public Accountants which supports a GST, urged the government to continue to seek alternatives to widen the tax base.

"There's uncertainty here and something needs to be done. The government should consider what would be the second best (solution) and it shouldn't give it up," he added.

Dec 5 , 2006

the future

currently

July

Tuesday

Sunday


AFP_ENG_20061218.0111

LONDON, Dec 18 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

British police were expected Monday to stage a reconstruction of the last known movements of a serial killer's victims, as they seek a breakthrough over the murders of five young prostitutes.

Detectives are also offering an amnesty for drug dealers in the quiet English town of Ipswich, in a bid to persuade them to provide information that could help in the unprecedented manhunt.

Their bodies were all found naked in countryside on the outskirts of Ipswich, 80 miles (130 kilometres) north-east of London, more than 10 days ago, sparking fears that a serial killer is on the loose.

None showed signs of having been subjected to significant trauma or serious sexual assault, fueling speculation that the killer might have been a drug dealer who doped them.

All five women were drug users and police have now offered the amnesty to local dealers in the hope that they will come forward with new information, the Times newspaper quoted the officer leading the probe as saying.

"Dealing class A drugs is a serious offence. However, our priority remains finding the person responsible for these murders ... I'm not interested in any other offences at this time," it cited police chief Stewart Gull as saying.

Officers spoke to members of the public at local rail stations Sunday night where the last known movements of one of the victims, 24-year-old Anneli Alderton, were captured on closed circuit television (CCTV).

The pictures show Alderton, who was three months pregnant, a week before the discovery of her strangled body on December 10.

Her boyfriend, Sam Jefford, 21, told the Sun newspaper that the murderer "has taken away the two most precious things in my life.

"If we were in the same room and I had a gun, I'd shoot him. It's all that he deserves."

Police also seem to compiling a database of local prostitutes' distinguishing features, including tattoos and jewellery, the Guardian reported.

An inquest into the death of one of the victims, Gemma Adams, 25, has already been opened and those of the four others -- Alderton, Tania Nicol, 19, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29 -- were slated to get under way Monday.

But these were cancelled at the last minute by Suffolk Police, prompting media speculation that the investigating team needed to carry out more tests.

Nearly 10,000 calls from members of the public have been received by the investigating team, who are also trawling through 10,000 hours of CCTV footage in the hope of piecing together the final movements of all the women.

They have released footage of Nicol, as well as Alderton, and police are confident that they knew what the women were wearing when they disappeared, which would help determine where they were last seen alive.

Almost 500 officers are working in one of Britain's biggest-ever manhunts, with 350 being drafted in from 31 police forces around the country, including Northern Ireland, to help Suffolk police.

There have been no arrests and officers say that there are no suspects in the case as yet.

The case has triggered comparisons with the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, convicted of the deaths of 13 women between 1975 and 1980, and Jack the Ripper, who murdered five east London prostitutes in 1888.

Many people, especially women, in the usually quiet market town of Ipswich are terrified to go out alone at night.

The streets of the town are virtually deserted after dark, despite the Christmas party season being in full swing elsewhere in Britain.

Dec 18 , 2006

Monday

more than 10 days ago

Sunday night

a week

December 10

Monday

the last minute

10,000 hours

Christmas party season


XIN_ENG_20051107.0174

CHANGSHA, Nov. 7 , 2005 (Xinhua)

central China

The schoolteacher in central China's Hunan Province, whose case was diagnosed as pneumonia of unknown cause, is recovering.

Monday's check showed the 36-year-old patient surnamed Song is recovering and he's reported normal body temperature for ten consecutive days, said Ouyang Fan, a doctor at a Xiangtan hospital.

Song still coughs occasionally, but hemoptysis disappeared, the doctor said.

The CT screening shows the abnormal symptoms at Song's left lung are disappearing, and Song is gaining confidence on his recovery, said Huang Qiusheng, doctor who is in charge of Song's case.

Some doctors in the hospital said Song's case is rather rare and suggests a great possibility of viral pneumonia.

Song came from Wantang Village in Xiangtan County where a bird flu outbreak was reported. Experts presently diagnosed his illness as pneumonia of unknown cause, but do not rule out a possible human case of bird flu.

Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention is carrying out further tests for the patient.

Nov. 7 , 2005

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061104.0176

BEIJING, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

performance

Against a backdrop of Beijing's landmark Temple of Heaven, two African singers in traditional costumes hold hands with Chinese artists in scarlet Chinese-style jackets, singing in chorus a decades-old song in commemoration of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Around them, a group of dancers dance to the music, spreading out butterfly-shaped silk fans that line out a scene of festivity.

Nearly 400 Chinese and African artists staged the gala themed on "Ode to Friendship" Saturday night at the Great Hall of the People in central Beijing, after a day of handshakes, whirlwind meetings and a welcoming banquet given by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his wife Liu Yongqing.

An audience of at least 2,000 people applauded when a team of young Chinese artists opened the gala at 8:15 p.m. with red lanterns that lit up, one after another, to spell out in English " Welcome to China".

Among the audience were Hu Jintao, Chairman of the Commission of the African Union Alpha Oumar Konare, and more than 40 African leaders who are in Beijing for the two-day Beijing Summit, the biggest between Chinese and African leaders in history.

"I know Africa and China have been helping each other like close friends since the time Mao founded New China," Augustine Dondo, a 33-year-old singer from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told Xinhua through an interpreter.

From the traditional Peking Opera, upbeat tropical dance and drum to acrobatics, African and Chinese artists take turns demonstrating their exquisite skills and profound culture.

"It's a dialogue between the two ancient civilizations, as well as an exhibition of China-Africa cultural exchanges," said Tang Wenjuan, director of the gala.

Nine-year-old Sudanese boy Ahmad, the youngest performer at the gala, came to China in 2004 to study acrobatics in Puyang, a cradle of the traditional Chinese art in central Henan Province. " My folks love acrobatics. I'll show them more about Chinese culture when I grow up," he said in fluent Chinese.

Yeneneh Tesfaye from Ethiopia said he plans to go home soon to perform in his country what he had learned in China.

"I'll probably become a superstar when I get back. Few people in Ethiopia can practice rolling bowls and foot juggling the way I do," said Helen Yohannes, 18. "But I'll miss my coaches, classmates and the delicious Chinese dishes."

The Wuqiao International Acrobatics School in north China's Hebei Province, where Tesfaye and Yohannes studied in the past two years, currently has 22 African students aged between 12 and 22.

Founded in 1985, the school has trained nearly 100 acrobats for African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana since it was authorized by the Chinese government to recruit international students in 2002, said Qi Zhiye, president of the school. "Ninety percent of them have taken jobs as professional acrobats or coaches in their home countries."

Personnel training has been an important part of China-Africa cooperation in the past decades.

By the end of 2005, China had offered more than 18,000 governmental scholarships to African students.

"Let's build up a golden bridge of friendship, peace, cooperation and development," prayed Guillaume Moumouni, the proud moderator from Benin, at the end of the gala.

Moumouni, 38, first came to China in 1990 and is pursuing a PhD in international relations at the Beijing University.

Nov. 4 , 2006

Saturday night

the past two years

currently

the past decades

the end of 2005


XIN_ENG_20061114.0181

KABUL, Nov. 14 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Afghan army kills 1 insurgent, captures 6

Troops of Afghanistan National Army (ANA) killed one suspected militant and arrested six others in the restive southern region, a press release of the Afghan Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

"Personnel of ANA killed one rebel in Sangin district of Helmand province on Sunday and arrested four others while two more rebels were captured in Trinkot, the provincial capital of Uruzgan on the same day," the press release added.

However, it declined to say if there were any casualties on ANA 's side.

Insurgency and continued violence in Afghanistan have claimed the lives of 3,700 people including civilians since January 2006.

Nov. 14 , 2006

Tuesday

Sunday

the same day

January 2006


AFP_ENG_19970422.0660

LIMA, April 22 , 1997 (AFP)

Fujimori celebrates victory at Japanese embassy residence

President Alberto Fujimori took a victory lap of the grounds of the Japanese embassy residence Tuesday, embracing security forces after they ended a protracted hostage standoff.

Under an hour after about 100 camouflage-clad troops stormed the building where Marxist rebels holed up for more than four months with 72 prominent hostages, Fujimori, wearing a bullet-proof vest and white shirtsleeves, was in a distinctly celebratory mood.

After the gunshots, explosions and fire, military marches were blaring, special forces cheered and shouted "We have won!" and "Long Live Peru" as Fujimori pressed military flesh and enjoyed a round of hugs, before entering the residence.

His own brother Pedro Fujimori was among the hostages, who were thought to have been freed safely. Peruvian media said all hostages were freed safely but that report had yet to be confirmed.

The number of rebel casualties was not immediately known and several troops were injured and taken to hospital.

April 22 , 1997

Tuesday

more than four months


WSJ891030-0089
 = 891030
 891030-0089.
 Kellogg Pours Water on Plans to Build Big Cereal Plant
@  ----
@  By Richard Gibson
@  Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
 10/30/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 K
 FOOD PRODUCTS (FOD)

   This has n't been Kellogg Co.'s year.
The oat-bran craze has cost the world's largest cereal maker market share.
The company's president quit suddenly.
And now Kellogg is indefinitely suspending work on what was to be a $1 billion cereal plant.

   The company said it was delaying construction because of current market conditions.
But the Memphis, Tenn., facility wasn't to begin turning out product until 1993, so the decision may reveal a more pessimistic long-term outlook as well.

   Kellogg, which has n't been as successful in capitalizing on the public's health-oriented desire for oat bran as rival General Mills Inc., has been losing share in the $6 billion ready-to-eat cereal market.
Kellogg's current share is believed to be slightly under 40% while General Mills' share is about 27%.

   Led by its oat-based Cheerios line, General Mills has gained an estimated 2% share so far this year, mostly at the expense of Kellogg.
Each share point is worth about $60 million in sales.

   Analysts say much of Kellogg's erosion has been in such core brands as Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Frosted Flakes, which represent nearly one-third of its sales volume.
Kellogg is so anxious to turn around Corn Flakes sales that it soon will begin selling boxes for as little as 99 cents, trade sources say.

   "Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios have eaten away sales normally going to Kellogg's corn-based lines simply because they are made of oats," says Merrill Lynch food analyst William Maguire.
"They are not  a happy group of people at Battle Creek right now."
Kellogg is based in Battle Creek, Mich., a city that calls itself the breakfast capital of the world.

   Another analyst, John C. Maxwell Jr. of Wheat, First Securities in Richmond, Va., recently went to a "sell" recommendation on Kellogg stock, which closed Friday at $71.75, down 75 cents, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.
"I do n't think Kellogg can get back to 40% this year," he said.
"Kellogg's main problem is life style.
People are reading the boxes and deciding they want something that's `healthy' for you -- oats, bran."
Mr. Maxwell said he would n't be surprised if, over the next two years or so, General Mills' share increased to 30% or more.

   In announcing the plant delay, Kellogg Chairman William E. LaMothe said, "Cereal volume growth in the U.S. has not met our expectations for 1989."
He said construction would n't resume until market conditions warrant it.

   Kellogg indicated that it has room to grow without adding facilities.
The company has five other U.S. plants, including a modern facility at its Battle Creek headquarters known as Building 100, which is to add bran-processing and rice-processing capacity next year.

   General Mills, meanwhile , finds itself constrained from boosting sales further because its plants are operating at capacity.
A large plant in Covington, Ga., is to come on line next year.

   A Kellogg officer, who asked not to be named, said the Memphis project was " pulled in for a reconsideration of costs," an indication that the ambitious plans might be scaled back in any future construction.
Initial cost estimates for the plant, which was to have been built in phases, ranged from $1 billion to $1.2 billion.

   A company spokesman said it was "possible, but highly unlikely," that the plant might never be built.
"As we regain our leadership level where we have been, and as we continue to put new products into the marketplace and need additional capacity, we will look at resuming our involvement with our plan," he said.

   The new facility was to have been the world's most advanced cereal manufacturing plant, and Kellogg's largest construction project.
The company had retained the Fluor Daniel unit of Fluor Corp. as general contractor.

   But in recent weeks, construction-industry sources reported that early preparation work was slowing at the 185-acre site.
Subcontractors said they were told that equipment orders would be delayed.
Fluor Daniel already has reassigned most of its work crew, the sources said.

   Last Friday's announcement was the first official word that the project was in trouble and that the company's plans for a surge in market share may have been overly optimistic.
Until recently, Kellogg had been telling its sales force and Wall Street that by 1992 it intended to achieve a 50% share of market, measured in dollar volume.

   Although he called current market conditions "highly competitive," Mr. LaMothe, Kellogg's chairman and chief executive officer, forecast an earnings increase for the full year.
Last year, the company earned $480.4 million, or $3.90 a share, on sales of $4.3 billion.

   As expected, Kellogg reported lower third-quarter earnings.
Net fell 16% to $123.1 million, or $1.02 a share, from $145.7 million, or $1.18 a share.
Sales rose 4.8% to $1.20 billion from $1.14 billion.

   The company had a one-time charge of $14.8 million in the latest quarter covering the disposition of certain assets.
The company would n't elaborate, citing competitive reasons.

now

current

current

this year

soon

right now

recently

Friday

this year

the next two years or so

next year

next year

recent weeks

Last Friday

recently

the full year

Last year

third-quarter

the latest quarter


XIN_ENG_20061115.0125

JERUSALEM, Nov. 15 , 2006 (Xinhua)

attack

Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz Wednesday vowed to revenge an earlier Palestinian militants ' rocket attack that killed a woman in southern Israel, saying the militants behind the attack would "pay a heavy price".

Peretz made the warning in a statement, reported the Qatari al- Jazeera TV channel.

"These organizations will pay a heavy price," the statement said, adding "we will move against those who are involved in the firing of rockets, starting from their leaders and down to the last of their terrorists."

It was reported that Peretz has planned to convene a special meeting of senior security officials later in the day.

An Israeli woman was killed and another man seriously wounded on Wednesday morning as six Qassam rockets, launched from the Gaza Strip, fell in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, local media reported.

One of the rockets landed in a residential area of Sderot, a city adjacent to northern Gaza Strip, killing a 57-year-old woman and critically wounding a 24-year-old man, while several other residents of Sderot were treated for shock, added the reports.

Several Palestinian militant groups, including armed wings of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) and the ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), have claimed their responsibilities for launching the homemade rockets from northern Gaza Strip at Sderot.

In early November, Israel unleashed a major military offensive into northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, saying the border town was the launching site of numerous rocket attacks against Israel,

Instead of halting rocket firing by Palestinian militants, Israeli artillery shells killed some 19 civilians in Beit Hanoun on Nov. 8, which is the deadliest single attack on Palestinian civilians in the past several years.

Nov. 15 , 2006

Wednesday

the day

Wednesday morning

early November

Nov. 8

the past several years


XIN_ENG_20051126.0119

KUWAIT CITY, Nov. 26 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Kuwait, ROK determined to improve economic relations

Visiting Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Hae-chan said on Saturday that the ROK and Kuwait are determined to improve their economic ties.

Highly praising the economic relations between the two countries, Lee was quoted by the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) as saying that to enhance the economic ties with the oil-rich Kuwait was high on his agenda.

Lee also said he had discussed development of economic relations with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Salem Al-Sabah and other top Kuwaiti officials during his visit.

"Ever since the Kuwait-ROK diplomatic relations were started in 1979, they have steadily improved specifically during the last two years, which witnessed a 30 percent improvement in business and trade," Lee said.

He added that two-way trade volume had reached 410 million US dollars per year, consisting mainly of the ROK's exports to Kuwait and oil exports from Kuwait to the ROK.

Talks between the two sides also focused on boosting bilateral relations as well as the latest regional and international developments, according to KUNA.

In addition, Kuwaiti Finance Minister Bader Al-Humaidhi called on the ROK investors to "discover the attractive investment opportunities in Kuwait."

He also recalled significant rise of Kuwaiti investments in the ROK, now standing at around 800 million dollars.

Earlier in the day, senior officials of Kuwait and the ROK signed an oil agreement and a final agreement on economic and technical cooperation.

Lee, who is currently on a three-day visit to Kuwait, was accompanied by a delegation representing some 40 key ROK companies.

The Korean premier is on a 12-day tour to five countries in the Gulf area, which has already brought him to the United Arab Emirates and will also bring him on to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Nov. 26 , 2005

Saturday

the last two years

now


XIN_ENG_20061123.0170

JAKARTA, Nov. 23 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Indonesia, Russia to sign military cooperation accord

Indonesia and Russia will sign an agreement on military cooperation during Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit to Russia on Nov. 29, a spokesman said here Thursday.

"The memorandum of understanding to be signed will cover military cooperation for 2006-2010 and the war on terrorism," presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal told the press when announcing the president's planned four-day visit to Russia.

Dino said, on his way to Russia, the president will visit Tokyo on Nov. 26 at the invitation of Japanese Emperor Akihito. The visit to Japan is primarily aimed at stepping up bilateral economic cooperation, including efforts to increase economic cooperation, cooperation to fight bird flu and a discussion on development of the United Nations Security Council.

In Tokyo, Susilo is expected to meet new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Yudhoyono will be the first head of state to be received by Abe since he assumed the Japanese premiership.

During staying in Moscow, Susilo will hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Dec. 1, 2006.

Nov. 23 , 2006

Nov. 29

Thursday

Nov. 26

Dec. 1, 2006


AFP_ENG_19970403.0478

GENEVA, April 3 , 1997 (AFP)

Human rights commission condemns capital punishment

The UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva Thursday voted a resolution condemning capital punishment despite opposition from a number of countries, including China, Japan and the United States.

The resolution, passed by 27 votes to 11, also called on countries still practising state-sponsored execution to spare adolescents less than 18 years old and pregnant women.

The countries voting against the text were: Algeria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea and the United States.

The cautiously-worded text, which asked "all states who still have not abolished the pain of death to limit progressively the number of infractions," also produced 14 abstentions. One country was absent.

Countries still using capital punishment were urged "to contemplate suspending executions with a view to abolishing completely the pain of death," limit its application to only the most serious crimes, to exclude people younger than 18 and pregnant women, and to guarantee the right for those condemned to ask for a pardon or to commute the sentence.

April 3 , 1997

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20051117.0140

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

approaches

With just hours left for the International Rugby Board (IRB) to vote for the host of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, South Africans hold their breath in anticipation of winning the second chance to stage the world rugby showpiece.

The decision by the IRB at its Dublin headquarters in Ireland has been described as a choice between traditional strongholds, South Africa and New Zealand and Japan.

But in Dublin the word was that it would quickly become a two-way fight because most observers late Wednesday night were predicting that New Zealand would be eliminated in the first round of voting, a South African newspaper said on Thursday.

This would leave South Africa and Japan to battle for the privilege of staging the sport's seventh world championship.

Local newspaper The Star said on Thursday that Japan was seen as "the national likeliest to take the event from us."

If the IRB is determined to get the sport into the Olympic Games, probably at the London Olympics of 2012, pressure could be applied on delegates to back Japan's bid, it said.

"Reported recent comments by former Olympic supremo Juan Antonio Samaranch that rugby had no chance of gaining entry because it was not a truly global sport would be answered if the decision were made to take the 2011 Rugby World Cup to Japan," it said.

Koji Tokomasu, chief executive of the Japanese Rugby Union, has reportedly lobbied that the potential for opening up a vast new market in Asia for the sport was enormous, should his bid prevail.

Asia has 60 percent of the world's population and its economic growth has been phenomenal.

Japan has only 126,000 registered rugby players but its population of 127 million, vast economy and ability to bring rugby to a new Asian audience make it a strong contender, The Star said.

South Africa's bid is led by Francois Pienaar, who captained the national squad, the Springboks, to victory in 1995.

He argued that the event in South Africa should also help spread the sport throughout Africa.

New Zealand hosted - and won - the first World Cup in 1987, with the event taking place in South Africa eight years later, when the Springboks were victorious.

Australia hosted the 2003 World Cup, won by England. The quatrennially event will next be held in France in 2007.

Members of the IRB Council will meet in Dublin on Thursday to hear final presentations of the three bidding countries and cast their vote. The host country is expected to be announced at around 16:00 GMT on Thursday.

Nov. 17 , 2005

Wednesday night

Thursday

Thursday

eight years

Thursday

Thursday