AFP_ENG_19970423.0052

MANILA, April 23 , 1997 (AFP)

Authorities suspend operations at Philippines' second oldest bank

The Central Bank of the Philippines declared a supsension of operations at Monte de Piedad bank from Wednesday to allow the country's second oldest bank to be rehabilitated.

Central Bank deputy governor Alberto Reyes said that the decision was aimed at preventing a run on the bank following heavy withdrawals over the past two days.

"It's not a closure. The temporary stoppage in the operation of the bank is in fact a best alternative," Reyes told journalists.

Monte de Piedad, formerly controlled by the Roman Catholic church, ran into financial trouble after thousands of borrowers from a 1.8 -billion-peso (69-million-dollar) fund for small transport operators failed to repay their loans.

The fund was part of the church's "pro-poor" programs.

The archdiocese of Manila sold a controlling stake of the bank, founded in 1882, to ethnic Chinese businessman Vicente Tan in 1995.

According to bank officials, Monte de Piedad needs about 3.1 billion pesos (119 million dollars) in fresh capital.

April 23 , 1997

Wednesday

the past two


XIN_ENG_20051115.0408

BANGKOK, Nov. 16 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Nine killed in Thailand's restive deep South

Nine people were killed and nine others injured in a violent militant attack in Thailand's southern Narathiwat province early Wednesday.

A group of suspected Muslim separatists raided two houses in the province's Rangae district at one O'clock Wednesday morning. They shot into houses with M-70 rifles, killing nine villagers and injuring nine others, local police said.

At least two villagers were believed to be followers of the militants. They lobbied other villagers that it is the Thai authorities who had launched the attack.

A large numbers villagers from the district and nearby areas have congregated on the road, blocking police and the army from entering inside.

Fearing clashes with local people, the security force were still waiting for instructions from the army commander.

More than 1,000 people have died since January last year in near-daily attacks in the strip near the Malaysian border. Authorities and experts blame the attacks on a web of Islamic separatists, local corruption and organized crime.

Nov. 16 , 2005

Wednesday

O'clock Wednesday morning

January last year


XIN_ENG_20051117.0345

BRUSSELS, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

EU welcomes new TV rights plan from English Premier League

The European Union (EU) on Thursday welcomed new commitments from the English Premier League regarding the sale of its match broadcast rights.

The EU's executive body, the European Commission, said it has received "improved commitments" from the Premier League which makes it possible to finally resolve the three-year-long dispute by spring next year.

The league pledges that from 2007 onwards live TV broadcast rights of its matches will "be sold in six balanced packages with no one bidder being allowed to buy all six packages," the commission said in a statement.

Packages will be sold to the highest stand-alone bidder for each package, and bids other than simple stand-alone bids will be disregarded, it said.

The deal will break BSkyB's exclusive ownership of live TV rights for England's top class football games, which the company has enjoyed for 13 years.

The commission will select a trustee to monitor the auction, who will then report to the commission whether all rules have been followed.

The commission will now prepare a draft decision making the Premier League's revised commitments legally binding. This will be sent to the competition authorities of the EU member states for consultation before the commission issues a final decision by the first quarter of 2006.

"I am pleased to bring this long running case closer to a satisfactory outcome," European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in a statement.

"The commitments offered by the Premier League should ensure that the media rights are sold in a fair and transparent manner and give British football fans greater choice and better value," she said.

Nov. 17 , 2005

Thursday

next year

13 years

now

the first quarter of 2006


XIN_ENG_20061128.0310

BEIJING, Nov. 28 , 2006 (Xinhua)

accident

China's Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday urged police to learn from a fatal bus crash in northeast China and launch safety inspections of schoolbuses.

Eight children were killed when a bus carrying 50 students veered off a bridge and plunged into a frozen river last Tuesday in Zhoujia township of Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province. Thirty-nine others were injured.

In a circular issued by the ministry, local police bureaus were required to launch immediate examinations of all vehicles and drivers involved in school transport.

All vehicles and drivers must be registered with the local education authorities, and those with potential safety risks must be removed from service immediately, according to the circular.

Vehicles in service must bear identical signs, and overloading, excessive speeding and drink-driving or driving with fatigue will incur penalties.

Provincial and city-level police bureaus must dispatch inspection teams led by officials in public security and transportation departments.

Negligence in inspections would be punished, said the circular.

According to previous reports, the driver involved in the accident has been arrested, and an official with the local traffic police has been sacked and accused of negligence for ignoring public complaints about illegal operation of buses.

Nov. 28 , 2006

Tuesday

last Tuesday


XIN_ENG_20061121.0088

SINGAPORE, Nov. 21 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Singapore shares end sharply higher

The shares prices in Singapore closed sharply higher on Tuesday with the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) rising 31.5 points to end at 2802.9 points.

The overall volume stood at 1.3292 billion shares worth 1.2262 billion Singapore dollars (about 788.5 million U.S. dollars).

Gainers led losers by 380 to 227 with another 730 unchanged.

On Monday, the STI fell 41.8 points to end at 2771.4 points.

Nov. 21 , 2006

Tuesday

Times

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061109.0065

BEIJING, Nov. 9 , 2006 (Xinhua)

revaluation

China's banks will be exposed to greater credit risk against the backdrop of the yuan's accelerating appreciation, said Li Lihui, president of the Bank of China (BOC).

He said credit risks were increasing due to the revaluation which would raise export costs and dampen competitiveness in the international market, resulting in the failure of enterprises with low profitability.

"Enterprises may fail to repay loans if they go bankrupt," said Li.

The value of the yuan against the U.S. dollar hit a new high Thursday, with the central parity rate at 7.8697 yuan to the dollar, breaking the 7.87 mark.

Li said most of the commercial banks in China had strengthened credit risk management. The analysis showed the country's enterprises would grow sustainably despite greater exposure to foreign exchange risks.

Nov. 9 , 2006

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20061112.0121

GAZA, Nov. 12 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Abbas, Hamas agree on new PM candidate: sources

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted a candidate nominated by the Hamas movement to lead a national unity government, the Islamic Online website reported on Sunday, quoting well-informed sources.

The nominee was Mohammed Shbair, former president of the Islamic University in Gaza, who is close to Hamas but not a member.

The website did not elaborate on the sources, but said they were close to Abbas.

The report also quoted Nezzar Rayan, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, as saying that the ruling Hamas movement had agreed with Abbas on a new prime minister.

But Rayan did not clarify who would be the new one.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told reporters that his movement had nominated a prime minister candidate close to Hamas and confirmed that Abbas has accepted the candidate.

Shbair, 60, was famous for his academic activities and had been the president of the Hamas-dominated Islamic University for 13 years.

Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haneya have been engaged in talks for months to form a unity government to replace incumbent Hamas-led one to end the current political and economic crises in the Palestinian territories.

After a general agreement to form a unity government, a committee tasked with outlining the government held its first meeting on Sunday. Senior members of both Hamas and Fatah were present at the meeting.

Nov. 12 , 2006

Sunday

13 years

Sunday


AFP_ENG_20061205.0155

DOHA, Dec 5 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

South Korean teenager Park Tae-Hwan took aim at a second Asian Games gold medal here Tuesday in the men's 400m freestyle, setting up a final clash with his biggest rival Zhang Lin of China.

Nineteen-year-old Zhang, who lost to Park in the 50m freestyle two days ago, was the fastest qualifier for the final and is out for revenge against the 17-year-old sensation from Seoul.

"There is not much between us. I have beaten him before," said Zhang, who will also face his rival again on Thursday in the 1,500m freestyle.

China-Japan clashes will dominate the eight finals Tuesday with China's coach Zhang Yadong eyeing at least four titles.

In the women's breaststroke Ji Liping, the 50m winner three days ago, is hoping once again to best Japanese challenger Asami Kitajima over 100 metres. Another Chinese medal hope is 13-year-old Wang Qun, who took bronze over one lap.

Wang is being groomed for the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the new Luo Xuejuan, the 22-year-old 100m breaststroke Olympic champion who was left out of the Asian Games squad.

In the men's backstroke Japan's 23-year-old Junichi Miyashita was the fastest qualifier but will be up against China's favourite Ouyang Kunpeng in the final.

In the men's 50m butterfly Japan and China go head to head again with Asian record holder Zhou Jiawei staking a claim for gold with the fastest time in the heats from teammate Wang Dong and Ryo Takayasu from Japan.

China's Pang Jiayang is looking for her third gold in the women's 50m freestyle after her 200m freestyle and 4x400m relay victories.

Pang, 21, the Olympic relay silver medallist, is up against compatriot Xu Yanwei, who shared the 100m relay gold and won an individual silver in the 100m butterfly.

In the relays, Japan look stronger in the men's 4x100 metre freestyle but China's women have the edge going into the 4x200 freestyle.

Dec 5 , 2006

Tuesday

two days ago

Thursday

Tuesday

three days ago

the 4x200


XIN_ENG_20061103.0401

BEIJING, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

trade, economic cooperation zones in Africa

Chinese President Hu Jintao said here Saturday that China will establish three to five trade and economic cooperation zones in Africa in the next three years.

Hu made the remarks while addressing the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) .

President Hu, 41 heads of state or government and senior officials of 48 African countries that have diplomatic ties with China, including Prime Minister of Ethiopia which co-chairs FOCAC, Alpha Oumar Konare, chairman of the Commission of the African Union (AU) and representatives from regional and international organizations, attended the landmark gathering highlighting " friendship, peace, cooperation and development."

Prior to the opening ceremony, a grand welcoming ceremony was held at the Great Hall of the People.

The summit has been widely acclaimed as the most important and largest meeting between Chinese and African leaders since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

At the two-day summit, China and African countries will review the development of China-Africa relationship and blueprint the future cooperation.

FOCAC is a mechanism for collective dialogue and cooperation jointly established by China and Africa to cope with new challenges and facilitate common development.

Since the FOCAC launch in 2000, three ministerial conferences have been held in Beijing and Addis Ababa, with an action plan discussed and passed, laying out cooperation programs between China and Africa from 2007 to 2009 under the FOCAC framework.

Nov. 4 , 2006

Saturday

the next three years


AFP_ENG_20061202.0007

MANILA, Dec 2 , 2006, 2006

by Karl Wilson

The Philippines is naturally prone to disasters but rising poverty and climate change are making the problem steadily worse, analysts said.

Despite repeated disasters, many people are too poor to leave dangerous areas, they say.

Some 30,000 people fled the Mayon volcano when it started rumbling in August only to return when the activity subsided. But this week, typhoon-triggered mudslides swept hundreds of these people to their deaths.

Roger-Mark De Souza of the Washington-based Population Reference Bureau said the danger from natural disasters here has risen markedly in recent years.

"The risk to human life from natural disasters in the Philippines has increased dramatically over the past generation," he said in a recent report.

"From 1971 to 2000, natural disasters killed 34,000 people but from 1990 to 2000, natural disasters killed or disrupted the lives of 35 million people."

Each year an average of 20 tropical storms sweep in from the Pacific, hammering the central or northern islands of the country.

Sitting on the eadge of the "Pacific Ring of Fire," the Southeast Asian archipelago nation is also vulnerable to earthquakes, at least six a day, and volcanic erruptions from its 18 active volcanoes.

It all makes for a deadly mix making the Philippines one of the most disaster-prone countries on earth, according to the International Red Cross.

In a country where more than 50 percent of the population are living on less than two dollars a day, the human cost of such disasters is enormous.

Senator Richard Gordon, who also heads the Philippine Red Cross, said that unless the cycle of poverty is tackled "these disasters will just go on repeating themselves."

For all the stark images from the devastation wrought by typhoon Durian, the scenes were troublingly familiar.

In the eastern island of Leyte earlier this year, 1,800 were killed when a mudslide caused by heavy rains obliterated the farming community of Guinsaugon.

The International Red Cross has estimated that some 5.9 million Filipinos were killed or injured as a result of natural or man-made calamities in the 10 years to 2001.

In its 2005 Disaster report the IRC said the impact of natural disasters "aggravate pre-existing poverty, creating a downward spiral of vulnerability, arresting development."

Leoncio Amadore, one of the Philippines' foremost meteorologists, believes that climate change is also contributing to the severity of the typhoons now hitting the Philippines.

"The combination of strong typhoons, excessive rain and landslides has caused a great deal of death and destruction in the Philippines.

"If we do not act urgently, climate change will further intensify the severity of extreme weather events," he said.

Dec 2 , 2006

August

this week

recent years

to 2000,

less than two dollars a day

earlier this year

the 10 years to 2001

now


XIN_ENG_20061125.0122

GAZA, Nov. 25 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Gaza to get electricity supply from Egypt: company

Palestinian and Egyptian officials will sign a final deal to provide Gaza Strip with Egyptian electricity instead of some Israeli power, a Gaza power company announced on Saturday.

The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDC) made the announcement in a statement issued by its general director Sulaiman Abu Samhadana.

According to the deal, a switching station would be built in southern Gaza Strip border town of Rafah to receive 150 megawatt of Egyptian power as the first phase, said the statement.

The first phase costs about 22 million U.S. dollars, said the statement, adding the four-phase project would provide Gaza with 800 megawatt when it is completed. It would be built completely in one year if Israel did not put obstacles.

The proposed Gaza switching plant would be connected with an Egyptian station in al-Ariesh city with 60 km-long cables. Fixing the cables will cost about 100 millions of Egyptian Pound (17.39 million dollars).

On June 28, three days after Palestinian militants kidnapped an Israeli soldier, Israeli F-16 warplanes have shelled the only power plant in Gaza that produced almost 45 percent of Gaza electricity, leaving the poor strip powerless for three months until Egyptians have recently re-operated the Gaza station.

Through 10 cables, Israel provides Gaza with the remaining electricity.

Abu Samhadana said the project will cover the shortage of power in Gaza for decades.

Nov. 25 , 2006

Saturday

one year

June 28, three days

three months


XIN_ENG_20051101.0196

NAIROBI, Nov. 1 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Kenya's flag carrier boosts domestic flights

Kenya's flag carrier Kenya Airways has announced it will introduce larger aircraft daily from Nairobi to the port city of Mombasa except Thursdays and Sundays from next week.

The airline said in a statement here Tuesday that it had put measures in place to cater for the capacity demand on its domestic operations to bolster domestic tourism.

Kenya Airways Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications Michael Okwiri said that passengers would from Nov. 7 fly aboard the larger Boeing 767, which has 216 seats compared to the regular 737 that has 116 seats on the early morning flights, an 86 percent increase in capacity on these key early flights.

Okwiri said the new development has been occasioned by numerous conferences in Mombasa which he said would develop domestic travel.

"The local tourism scene has seen phenomenal growth in the last couple of months and we want to support this route," he said.

The increase in the number of international visitors to Kenya has spurred a greater interest in the tourism sector with the airports registering the highest number of traffic in the last five years.

Nov. 1 , 2005

Thursdays and Sundays from next week

Tuesday

Nov. 7

the last couple of months

the last five years


CNN19980126.1600.1104
 NEWS STORY

 Major job cuts at AT and T.
 The long distance giant slashing up  to eighteen thousand jobs, freezing executive
 salaries and shaking up management.
 The changes are part of a one point six
 billion dollar cost cutting initiative  to revitalize its position in the telecommunications business.
 Earlier AT and T also announced an eighteen percent drop in profits for the fourth quarter.
 The company's sales force applauded the shake up.

 It's not something we're not used to in the industry.
 But I think right now, for AT and T and the people here, it's fairly intense as you might w- well imagine.

 I mean look at the stock.
 You know, since he's been here the stock skyrocketed so,
 Yeah I think he's doing the right thing.

 I think it's a good thing that they 're  finally going  to  be downsizing you know some management because there is a whole lot of waste.

 Good news for AT and T today.
 I think it's excellent for the company.

 But investors  are approaching the changes with caution shares of AT and T down nearly four at sixty-one and a half.

the fourth quarter

now

today


WSJ891030-0022
 = 891030
 891030-0022.
 Jim Pattison to Seek
@  Control of Innopac
 10/30/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 T.INA
 TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)
EARNINGS (ERN)
 VANCOUVER, British Columbia

   Jim Pattison Industries Ltd., one of a group of closely held companies owned by entrepreneur James Pattison, said it "intends to seek control" of 30%-owned Innopac Inc., a Toronto packaging concern.

   Jim Pattison Industries, a holding company with annual sales of about C$1.9 billion, largely from car dealerships and grocery stores, did n't elaborate on the statement, and a company official declined further comment.

   The company said it currently holds about 4.2 million of Innopac's 13.8 million common shares outstanding, which have an aggregate market value of about 137.8 million Canadian dollars (US$117.3 million).

   Separately, Innopac reported a fourth-quarter loss of about C$2.6 million, or 18 Canadian cents a share, reflecting inventory write-downs.
The results made net income for the year ended Aug. 31 C$2.7 million, or 20 Canadian cents a share, down from C$9.7 million, or 70 Canadian cents a share last year.
Revenue was C$291.6 million, up from C$252 million in 1988.

   Martin Fabi, Innopac's president and chief executive, said Innopac viewed Mr. Pattison's decision to seek control as a "very positive" move.
"I'm happy that he feels positively about our company," he said.
Mr. Fabi wouldn't say directly whether Mr. Pattison has disclosed potential terms for his planned bid for control.

   Among other things, Innopac is involved in recycling polystyrene foam products that are often used by fast food chains, such as McDonald's Corp., for food packaging.
A joint venture involving units of Innopac and Mobil Corp. earlier this year opened the first U.S. polystyrene recycling plant, in Leominster, Mass.

currently

fourth-quarter

the year

Aug. 31

last year

earlier this year


AFP_ENG_20051205.0069

FRANKFURT, Dec 5 , 2005

report

The former chief executive of Deutsche Boerse, Werner Seifert, is to publish a book attacking the hedge fund investors who forced him to quit as head of the German stock exchange in May, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

However, senior Deutsche Boerse figures believe that the book, to be published under the title "Invasion of the Locusts", could contravene the terms of Seifert's 10-million-euro (12-million-dollar) pay-off, possibly triggering legal action against him, the newspaper said.

In a spectacular boardroom coup in May, hedge funds, including London-based TCI, ousted Seifert over his plans for the Frankfurt stock exchange to take over the London Stock Exchange.

In the book, to be subtitled "Intrigues, Power Battles and Market Manipulation", Seifert offers a chronological narrative of the LSE bid battle, as well as a broader critical analysis directed against the growing power of such investors and the consequences for companies, FT said, quoting sources involved in the project.

The "locusts" of the title refers to the term the former head of the Social Democrat SPD party, Franz Muentefering, used for such investors, who bought up companies in Germany stripped them of their assets and then moved on.

The newspaper said Seifert believed the scope of the book falls outside the gagging order that Deutsche Boerse tried to impose on him in exchange for his pay-off.

But FT quoted a company director as saying the book was a "scandal" and that the stock exchange operator would seek to prevent or at least delay publication.

Dec 5 , 2005

May

Monday

May


XIN_ENG_20061124.0174

HELSINKI, Nov. 24 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Russia, EU make breakthrough on terms of Siberian overflights

Russia and the European Union on Friday made a breakthrough in resolving a 20-year dispute over the fees Moscow charges foreign airlines for permission to fly over Siberia.

European carriers pay more than 330 million euros (about 400 million U.S. dollars) annually in Siberian over-flight charges.

At the ongoing EU-Russia summit in Helsinki, Russia agreed to totally phase out the charges by the end of 2013, a year earlier than previous agreed.

"(The deal) opens a wide range of opportunities for strengthening EU-Russia relations, in particular in the transport field," said EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.

"The agreement will significantly improve the competitive situation of our European airlines and ease their operations between Europe and the growing markets in Asia," he said.

An agreement on the matter is to be signed on the sidelines of the EU-Russia summit on Friday.

The EU has long lobbied Russia to put an end to the charges imposed on European airlines on all flights to Asia, which must fly over Siberia.

Nov. 24 , 2006

Friday

the end of 2013

a year earlier than previous agreed

Friday


XIN_ENG_20051117.0366

BUDAPEST, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Hungarian film wins Dutch grand prix

A Hungarian film won the grand prix of the 27th Noordeljik Film Festival in the Netherlands, local media reported Thursday.

"Porcelain Doll," directed by Peter Gardos, is based on three short stories, focusing on death, resurrection and vulnerability in the history of the 20th century.

Adapted from Star Farm, a book of short stories by Hungarian writer Ervin Lazar, the three distinct fairy tales of "Porcelain Doll" concern the supernatural occurrences that arise when a community of Hungarian farmers is visited by the forces of state power.

The film had its world premiere at the Moscow Film Festival in June, and was given the Russian film critics' award. It has also received the Gene Moskowitz Award of foreign critics.

Nov. 17 , 2005

Thursday

20th century

June


XIN_ENG_20051110.0278

DAMASCUS, Nov. 10 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Syrian PM condemns Amman hotel attacks

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Ottri on Thursday sent a cable of condolences to his Jordanian counterpart Adnan Badran, condemning the terrorist acts that rocked three hotels in Amman Wednesday night.

Ottri denounced this "heinous crime" that claimed life of innocent persons and targeted security and stability in that country and condemned those who stand behind such "ugly acts", the official SANA news agency reported.

"Syria expresses solidarity with the brotherly Jordan in facing the machine of blind terrorism," Ottri said, extending his sincerest condolences to the victims' families and wishing the wounded quick recovery.

Meanwhile, Speaker of Syria's People's Assembly (Parliament) Mahmoud al-Abrash sent a condolence cable to his Jordanian counterpart, condemning the bombings.

At least 57 people were killed and more than 110 others wounded in the blasts that struck the Grand Hyatt, the Radisson SAS and the Days Inn hotels in downtown Amman.

The al-Qaida terror group in Iraq claimed responsibility on Thursday for the three suicide bombings in an internet statement, but the authenticity of the statement could not be verified.

Nov. 10 , 2005

Thursday

Wednesday night

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20051124.0114

BANGKOK, Nov. 24 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Thai bourse up 0.58 points

The Stock Exchange of Thailand ( SET) index on Thursday moved up 0.58 points to close at 669.76 points.

Some 1.36 billion shares worth 8.45 billion baht (201.19 million US dollars) changed hands.

SET index lost 5.07 points to close at 669.18 points on Wednesday.

Nov. 24 , 2005

Thursday

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061108.0177

BEIJING, Nov. 8 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Cabinet approves draft of regulations on foreign-funded banks

China's State Council held an executive meeting Wednesday, to examine and approve in principle the draft of the regulations on the administration of foreign-funded banks.

The formulation of the regulations is aimed to meet the requirements of China's opening to the outside world and economic growth as well as to strengthen and improve the supervision and administration over foreign-funded banks and for the stable operation of the whole banking industry in the country, according to the meeting.

The meeting, which was chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao, also studied the issue of readjusting and regrouping state-owned companies.

The participants agreed that the country has made major breakthroughs in reforming the managerial system of state-owned enterprises. They called the readjustment and regrouping of state-owned firms "a major task for the country's economic reform."

Nov. 8 , 2006

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061104.0009

BEIJING, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Non-performing loans volume could rebound, official of CBRC

The non-performing loan volume in China's banking industry could rebound despite its recent decline, says a senior official with the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).

Jiang Dingzhi, vice-chairman of the China's banking industry watchdog, told the 10th Annual CEO Forum sponsored by Business Weekly that reforms of commercial banks should be deepened to establish a mature corporate governing structure.

The volume of non-performing loans was still large and under greater pressure of rebounding, said Jiang.

According to CBRC statistics, by the end of September, non-performing loans in major commercial banks were 1.2 trillion yuan (150 billion U.S. dollars), 46.9 billion yuan less than the beginning of this year.

The non-performing loan ratio had dropped by 1.3 percentage points from the beginning of this year to 7.6 percent.

Jiang said that although there was surplus of capital fluidity as a whole, financing demand in some industries still exceeded supply.

He suggested that financing innovation in China's banking industry should be accelerated.

The CBRC would approve commercial banks with good pricing and risk controls to manage new credit products, he said.

Nov. 4 , 2006

the end of September

this year

this year


XIN_ENG_20051116.0013

BUSAN, South Korea, Nov. 16 , 2005 (Xinhua)

APEC ministers stress anti-corruption, transparency standards

APEC ministers said here Wednesday that APEC's goal of economic prosperity could not be achieved unless corruption, both in the domestic economies and in international business transactions, was effectively addressed and those individuals guilty of corruption were denied a safe haven.

In a joint statement issued on the conclusion of the two-day 17th APEC Ministerial Meeting Wednesday, ministers from the 21 member economies of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) said corruption is one of the largest barriers to APEC's road to free trade, further economic development and greater prosperity.

They reaffirmed that they would continue to look for avenues to effectively address this important issue within APEC and in other fora.

They commended the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency (ACT) Task Force for beginning its important work.

The ministers stressed the importance of capacity building programs and encouraged member economies to develop and submit capacity building projects in support of APEC works in transparency as well as in anti-corruption.

The APEC Budget Management Committee (BMC) has approved 85 projects designed to strengthen the infrastructure and capacity of developing areas of the regional economy, worth 5.5 million US dollars in 2005, and a further 2.2 million dollars will be available for projects later in 2006, a committee official announced here Monday.

The APEC ministers encouraged all member economies to take all appropriate steps toward effective ratification and implementation of relevant conventions. They urged all member economies to submit brief annual progress reports to the ACT Task Force on their APEC anti-corruption commitments, including a more concrete roadmap for accelerating the implementation and tracking progress.

The minister pledged to intensify regional cooperation to deny a safe haven to officials and individuals guilty of corruption, and encouraged greater cooperation in the areas of mutual legal assistance, extradition, asset recovery, and forfeiture of the proceeds of corruption.

They agreed to continue APEC's collective efforts to promote good governance, integrity, and transparency.

The ministers reiterated the importance of fulfilling the APEC Transparency Standards and the area-specific Transparency Standards.

Nov. 16 , 2005

Wednesday

Wednesday

Monday


AFP_ENG_19970409.0392

PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 9 , 1997 (AFP)

Haitian parliament boosts police firepower

The Haitian Chamber of Deputies has authorized some units of the national police to carry light weapons in addition to their sidearms, parliamentary sources said Wednesday.

The move is a reaction to rising violence, especially in Haiti's urban areas. Eight policemen have been gunned down in recent weeks.

The parliamentary list of authorized weapons includes submachine guns and assault rifles. Until now, police have carried only Smith and Wesson .38-caliber handguns.

April 9 , 1997

Wednesday

recent weeks

now


XIN_ENG_20061103.0370

MONTEVIDEO, Nov. 3 , 2006 (Xinhua)

UN to establish logistics support base in Valencia, Spain

The United Nations will create a logistics support base in Valencia, Spain, for peacekeeping missions, Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Friday.

"At the new base, the United Nations will carry out logistical support activities such as electronic communication with peacekeeping missions on the ground," as well as do information technology and communications work, Zapatero told a press conference.

Spain would invest about 12 million euros (14,4 million U.S. dollars) to develop the project, which will create nearly 300 direct jobs, Zapatero said, after meeting with outgoing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Friday.

Zapatero said in a briefing that he was satisfied and proud about the creation of such logistics center which, he said, will have enormous consequences for the area around Valencia, and which shows his government's full commitment to the UN and to world peace.

The decision to create the support base for peace missions must be approved in the next few weeks by the UN General Assembly.

The Spanish prime minister was among the leaders attending the 16th Ibero-American Summit, which opened on Friday in Uruguay, a gathering of Spain, Portugal and their former colonies across the Americas.

Nov. 3 , 2006

Friday

Friday

the next few weeks

Friday


AFP_ENG_20061213.0343

DOHA, Dec 13 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

India won the Asian Games women's field hockey bronze medal with a 1-0 win over South Korea at the Al-Rayyan stadium here on Wednesday.

Mamta Kharb scored the winner in the 16th minute by deflecting in a penalty corner as India avenged the 3-2 defeat by the Koreans in the seven-nation preliminary league.

South Korea, beaten by China in the final in Busan four years ago, were thwarted in the second half by the Indian defence, especially goalkeeper Dipika Gongala and full-back Subhadra Pradhan.

The Indian girls made up for the disappointing display by their male counterparts who will return from the Asian Games without a medal for the first time.

India must now wait for the outcome of the China-Japan gold medal clash later on Wednesday to know if they have earned a direct entry into the 2008 Beijing Olympics along with the finalists.

According to the new qualification rules of the International Hockey Federation, India will go through if Japan wins the final.

If Olympic hosts China win, the additional spot will be given to a team from the Oceania region.

Meanwhile, Malaysia finished fifth with a 5-0 rout of Taiwan. Siti Othman scored two goals and Nurairah Khushaini, Chitra Arumugam and Nadia Rahman one each.

Dec 13 , 2006

Wednesday

the 16th minute

four years ago

the second half

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20051107.0260

BAGHDAD, Nov. 7 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Baghdad

A suicide car bombing attack killed four US soldiers south of Baghdad on Monday, the US military said in a statement.

"Four Task Force Baghdad soldiers were killed when a suicide car bomber attacked their checkpoint (Monday) along a road south of Baghdad," said the statement, adding the incident is under investigation.

Names of the soldiers also were withheld pending notification of their families, said the statement.

The Task Force Baghdad is responsible for security in the capital Baghdad and the surrounding area.

The death toll has brought to over 2,050 the number of US military personnel who have died in Iraq since the US-led invation in March 2003, according to media reports.

Nov. 7 , 2005

Monday

Monday

March 2003


AFP_ENG_19970410.0036

TOKYO, April 10 , 1997 (AFP)

Japan's machinery orders up 9.9 percent in February

Japan's private sector machinery orders in February rose 9.9 percent from a year earlier, after growing 14.8 percent in the previous month, the Economic Planning Agency said Thursday.

Compared with the previous month, the February orders dropped 1.6 percent, the agency said.

The data, excluding shipbuilding and power generation orders which tend to fluctuate widely, are considered leading indicators of corporate capital spending.

April 10 , 1997

February

a year earlier

the previous month

Thursday

the previous month


XIN_ENG_20051128.0321

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Gatlin, Felix capture Jesse Owens awards

World 200-meter champions Justin Gatlin and Allyson Felix were named winners of the 2005 Jesse Owens Award by USA Track and Field in Indianapolis on Monday.

Gatlin, who swept both 100m and 200m in the World Outdoor Athletics Championships in Helsinki, captured the award for the second year in a row.

"To win this award again is simply amazing," said Gatlin who won the 100m in 9.88 seconds, winning by .17 of a second in the largest margin in World Championships history.

Gatlin thus matched Maurice Greene from 1999 as the only men to complete a 100-200 world sprint title sweep.

Felix, 19, won every race she entered and claimed her first world title in the 200m in 22.16 seconds, beating a field that included Olympic champion Veronica Campbell.

"I'm humbled to be chosen for this recognition," Felix said.

Felix, the only teen to claim a world sprint crown, also won the US outdoor title in a world-leading 22.13 seconds. She had the three fastest times in the world this year at 200m and five of the top seven.

Nov. 28 , 2005

Monday

the second year

9.88 seconds

22.16 seconds

world-leading 22.13 seconds

this year


XIN_ENG_20061110.0046

JAKARTA, Nov. 10 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Indonesia denies pursuing security pact with Australia

Indonesia Friday dismissed a report that it would sign a security pact with Australia during the bilateral meeting scheduled Monday on the resort island of Lombok.

"The security cooperation agreement that we are about to sign ( with Australia ) is not a security pact," Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said at a news conference at his office here.

The security cooperation framework covers mutual respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two countries, he said.

"In the security agreement, Australia puts its firm stance over the sovereignty of all Indonesian territories, including Papua, in a written statement," the minister said.

The draft of the agreement also covers bilateral cooperation in a wide range of security areas, including the fight against terrorism, smuggling and trafficking in people; aviation safety; natural disaster emergency response and nuclear energy.

The draft agreement is different from the security pact both countries signed in 1995, in which both countries agreed to help each other in case of attacks by another country, said Wirajuda.

The 1995 security pact was revoked in 1999, when Indonesia- Australia ties fell to the lowest due to the presence of Australian forces in East Timor, once one of Indonesian provinces that seceded from the Jakarta rule that year.

Nov. 10 , 2006

Friday

Monday

that year


XIN_ENG_20051110.0271

AMMAN, Nov. 10 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Urgent: King Abdullah says Jordan won't be blackmailed

Jordan's King Abdullah II said in a televised speech Thursday evening that his kingdom will not be " blackmailed" by terrorism after three deadly bombings ripped through three hotels in downtown Amman Wednesday night.

Nov. 10 , 2005

Thursday evening

Wednesday night


XIN_ENG_20061123.0193

NANNING, Nov. 23 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Pirate CD maker and smuggler sentenced to life in south China

A pirate CD maker and smuggler was sentenced to jail for life by an intermediate people's court in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Thursday.

The court also ordered that 4 million yuan (500,000 U.S. dollars) of Lin Yuehua's personal property be confiscated.

Lin was the boss of a CD piracy and smuggling operation, the largest one which has been so far uncovered in China. His eleven accomplices were also given jail sentences ranging from two to fifteen years.

The twelve were convicted of intellectual property rights violation and smuggling.

The court said Lin and his men bought five advanced CD production lines worth more than ten million U.S. dollars and established a company abroad in 2002, mass producing pirate DVDs and VCDs.

The gang then smuggled the pirated audio and video products into the Chinese mainland.

From Dec. 2002 to May 2005, Lin's company smuggled into China over 30 million discs worth 188 million yuan (about 23.5 million U.S. dollars), the court said in its verdict.

Nov. 23 , 2006

Thursday

fifteen years

Dec. 2002

May 2005


AFP_ENG_20051214.0113

TEHRAN, Dec 14 , 2005

-politics-nuclear, ADDS EU reax ///

Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a fresh attack against Israel on Wednesday, dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth" and saying the Jewish state should be moved as far away as Alaska.

And with just a week to go before scheduled talks with the European Union -- which is seeking guarantees Tehran will not acquire atomic weapons -- the outspoken president vowed he would not compromise "one iota" on its nuclear programme.

"They have invented a myth that Jews were massacred and place this above God, religions and the prophets," the controversial right-winger declared in a speech carried live on state television.

"If somebody in their country questions God, nobody says anything, but if somebody denies the myth of the massacre of Jews, the Zionist loudspeakers and the governments in the pay of Zionism will start to scream," he said.

"Our proposal is this: give a piece of your land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska so they (the Jews) can create their own state."

His comments drew swift condemnation from the European Union and Iran's arch-enemy Israel.

Ahmadinejad, a hardcore Islamic revolutionary who won a shock election victory in June, has already sparked international outrage over a string of anti-Israeli outbursts.

In October he said Israel "must be wiped off the map", and last week said Israel was a "tumour" that should be moved to Germany or Austria -- comments that were also condemned by the United Nations Security Council.

But his latest comments remove any doubt that he also backs revisionist historians -- often branded in the West as neo-Nazis -- who maintain Nazi Germany's systematic slaughter of an estimated six million Jews between 1933 and 1945 never took place.

"Why, under the pretext of this massacre, have you come to the heart of Palestine and the Islamic world ..., why have you created an artificial Zionist regime?" he said.

In a sharp response, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev told AFP that Ahmadinejad's comments reflected a "perverse vision of the world held by this regime and underline the danger should such an extremist regime have a nuclear capacity in the future."

"We hope these extremist comments by the Iranian president will make the international community open its eyes," he said.

Israel has consistently called for international action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, with its chief of staff Dan Halutz claiming on Tuesday that Tehran would have all the necessary knowledge to build a warhead within three months.

The EU also condemned Ahmadinejad's remarks.

"The comments are wholly unacceptable and we condemn them unreservedly. They have no place in civilised political debate," said Britain's Minister for Europe Douglas Alexander, whose country currently holds the EU presidency.

The EU big-three -- Britain, France and Germany -- are expected to meet Iranian officials on December 21 in a bid to kick-start stalled diplomacy over Tehran's nuclear drive.

But Ahmadinejad spelled out that Iran was not ready to give in to demands to limit its work on the nuclear fuel cycle -- a process the regime insists is only directed to making electricity but which can also be extended to make weapons.

"Be certain that we will not back away one iota from our legitimate nuclear rights," said Ahmadinejad, who was speaking to thousands of people in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.

"We have experienced your attitude and we will no longer be duped by your lying propoganda."

The EU, backed by the United States, is now pinning its hopes for a compromise under which Iran's enrichment work would be carried out in Russia, although this has also been rejected by Tehran.

The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has still not ruled -- after an almost three-year investigation -- on whether Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful.

Dec 14 , 2005

Wednesday

a week

June

October

last week

Tuesday

three months

December 21

now


XIN_ENG_20061130.0150

YINING, URUMQI, Nov. 30 , 2006  (Xinhua)

Activity centers help Uygur children face up to AIDS

Before stepping on to the stage, 10-year-old Amina (not her real name) looks back at her singing teacher. Reassured, the Uygur girl strides toward the center of the stage.

Nervously, the third grader began singing before the audience of 1,000, including her fellow students. It is a traditional Uygur ballad to thank parents, but the girl changes the lyrics, thanking her grandparents.

She was raised at her grandparents' home from the age of nine months. Her father was a drug addict who contracted HIV and her mother divorced him and remarried, leaving the child with her grandparents.

"I'll never forget you, my grandparents," she sings in Uygur, the language of the largest ethnic group in northwest China's underdeveloped Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The performance of song, dance and drama is put on by children from Yining city's Kardun town, an area plagued by drugs and a rising number of HIV cases, to mark the 19th World AIDS Day on Dec. 1.

There are 800 people reported to be living with HIV in the town, including more than 100 under the age of 18, local government statistics show.

The city is the only area recording a rise in HIV cases in the region, an overwhelmingly Muslim region with an estimated 60,000 infections, one-tenth of China's AIDS cases.

Like Amina, the performers are from a community-based children's activity center supported by Save the Children, a UK-based non-governmental organization for child welfare.

The center, a single-storey white brick house, is a few minutes walk from many homes. For Amina, it is a place where she can find friends to play with, draw, watch movies, and forget her sadness.

To protect children from HIV/AIDS, the center teaches them about drug taking, AIDS and how to treat people living with HIV without prejudice.

Other activities like group discussions and art sessions teach the children about the dangers of drugs and the risks AIDS.

Among scores of paintings hanging on the wall, there is one drawn by Amina: a needle under a big red cross that symbolizes the little girl's wish to eliminate drugs.

Adults are also invited to join the activities. A non-discriminatory environment is crucial to people tested HIV positive and their families. Adults' attitudes play a key role in the process as they influence others, particularly their kids.

"These activities give children infected with the HIV virus or living with HIV positive families comfort and hope," said Zhao Qi, a health official of Save the Children's China program.

She recalled a 10-year-old boy who refused to go to school when he learned his mother had contracted HIV last year. He cried, locked himself in his room and refused to talk with her.

He was later called to take part in a center-supported research program to interview vulnerable children, including children with one or both parents HIV positive.

"I learned that my mother was uncomfortable and regretful and I had added to her pain," the boy wrote in his interview record. After that, he talked with his mother and asked for her forgiveness.

In a dozen provinces around the country, Save the Children has set up more than 40 children's activity centers to create a protective and developmental environment for children, a concept welcomed by local governments.

For China, home to an estimated number of 650,000 people living with the HIV virus, "a small percentage point rise in the spread of HIV would translate into alarming infection figures", says Zhao. "Teaching children to be aware of AIDS is critical."

Nov. 30 , 2006

nine months

Dec. 1

HIV last year


AFP_ENG_20051204.0486

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Dec 4 , 2005

Indians reportedly sign veteran hurler Byrd

The Cleveland Indians, in search of a replacement for Kevin Millwood, have agreed to terms with veteran righthanded pitcher Paul Byrd on a two-year deal, ESPN reported on its website on Sunday.

The deal is worth 14.25 million dollars, ESPN reported, and Byrd, who turned 35 on Saturday, can receive up to 22 million dollars if the Indians exercise their club option for the 2008 season.

Originally a fourth-round pick of Cleveland in 1991, Byrd is coming off a productive season for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, during which he went 12-11 with a 3.74 ERA in 31 starts for the American League West champions.

Byrd, who has made a career out of changing speeds and arm angles, struck out 102 in 204 1/3 innings but walked just 28.

He effectively is stepping into the hole in the Indians' rotation vacated by Millwood, who went 9-11 with a league-best 2.86 ERA last season but is expected to leave via free agency.

In parts of 10 major league seasons with five different teams, Byrd has a career record of 72-64 with a 4.23 ERA. A former All-Star, Byrd's best season came with Kansas City in 2002, when he went 17-11 with a 3.90 ERA.

Dec 4 , 2005

Sunday

Saturday

the 2008 season

last season

4.23 ERA

3.90 ERA


XIN_ENG_20061120.0143

ANKARA, Nov. 20 , 2006 (Xinhua)

OIC economic standing committee to meet in Istanbul

The 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will be held in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul on Nov. 21-24, local media reported on Monday.

Projects and issues regarding the improvement of economic and commercial cooperation among OIC member states will be debated during the meeting, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Moreover, second round of the trade negotiations within the context of Framework Agreement Trade Preferential System (TPSOIC) will take place during the meeting, it added.

Ministers of economy from OIC member states as well as observer countries are expected to participate in the meeting, which will be under the chairmanship of Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.

COMCEC is one of the three standing committees established by the Third Islamic Summit Conference held in Mecca and Taif in 1981.

The committee, which was under the presidency of Turkey since 1984, is mainly responsible for the development and coordination of multilateral economic and commercial cooperation between the member states.

Nov. 20 , 2006

Nov. 21-24

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061122.0106

BUCHAREST, Nov. 22 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Urgent: A MiG-21 crashes in Romania

A MiG-21 fighter jet crashed in western Romania's Arad county on Wednesday.

The accident occurred at about 13:00 local time (GMT 11:00), according to a local Reality TV report. More

Nov. 22 , 2006

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061120.0197

BEIJING, Nov. 20 , 2006 (Xinhua)

children trampled to death

The Chinese government will tighten safety provisions in elementary and secondary schools after six children were trampled to death at a school in east China.

Local education departments should conduct thorough inspections of corridors and stairways and check school buildings, canteens, dormitories and bathrooms, Education Minister Zhou Ji said Monday at a teleconference on the school administration.

Six middle school students, five boys and a girl aged 12 and 13, died and 39 were injured in east China's Jiangxi Province on Saturday evening.

"The root of the accident lies in the school's faulty management," Zhou said. "The accident has taught us a hard lesson, and exposed serious safety risks in schools."

The ministry would evaluate the work of school principals, who played a key role in safety and had ultimate responsibility for safety administration, Zhou said.

Meanwhile, Vice Minister of Health Jiang Zuojun told the meeting that school hygiene standards were "alarming".

"More than 70 percent of public health incidents occur in schools and more than 80 percent involve the spread of infections diseases," Jiang said.

Sanitary conditions at most schools in rural China were bad, and threatened food and drinking water safety. "Food poisoning and diseases caused by unsanitary water occur frequently," Jiang said.

Last month, 18 children fell ill after eating lunch in a kindergarten in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and earlier in October 56 children between three and six years old fell ill after eating at a nursery school in southern China's Jiangxi province.

Principals who failed to meet the standards of their posts would be demoted and those whose dereliction of duty or misconduct caused accidents will be seriously punished, Zhou Ji said.

The local government of Jiujiang City, where the tragedy occurred, appears to be holding the school responsible for the incident. The school principal has been detained by the local authorities.

Earlier this month, a primary school principal in southwest China was sacked over a food poisoning incident in late September that affected 92 pupils, including 23 who were hospitalized.

Schools should hold high qualifications in selecting principals and teachers, State Councilor Chen Zhili said.

Jiang called for more communication and coordination between health and education departments to strengthen disease prevention and outbreak monitoring in schools.

According to the Education Ministry, China has more than 450,000 elementary and secondary schools with more than 210 million students and over 120,000 kindergartens with 22 million children.

Zhou also called for immediate measures to eliminate safety risks involving food poisoning, student fights and other mass incidents.

Chen urged more investment in schools in rural areas to improve their infrastructure and raising the professional ethics of teachers.

Creating a safe and harmonious campus for students should be the major task of schools so that the young Chinese can develop healthily and in an all-round way, Chen said.

Nov. 20 , 2006

Monday

Saturday evening

Last month

October 56

six years

Earlier this month

late September


AFP_ENG_20061217.0017

BAGHDAD, Dec 17 , 2006, 2006

Three US servicemen killed in Iraq

Three US soldiers have been killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb while on a routine patrol, the US military announced Sunday.

The three soldiers died and a fourth was wounded when the bomb exploded near one of their vehicles north of Baghdad on Saturday, the army said.

The latest deaths bring the number of US fatalities in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion to 2,944 according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures. In December alone, at least 61 have died.

Dec 17 , 2006

Sunday

Saturday

March 2003

December


AFP_ENG_20061231.0071

BEIRUT, Dec 31 , 2006, 2006

France reaffirms support for Lebanon govt

French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Sunday stressed Paris's support for the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora during a visit to the crisis-wracked nation.

"I have come to reaffirm France's support for the legitimate government of Lebanon," she told reporters after meeting her Lebanese counterpart Elias Murr.

Alliot-Marie also stressed Paris's backing for the Beirut government to "exercise its sovereignty completely", and that the Lebanese army play "a role across all its territory".

Lebanon is undergoing a political crisis with opposition led by Shiite movement Hezbollah seeking to bring down Siniora's government and install a government of national unity.

The French minister, who arrived in Beirut on Saturday for a 48-hour visit, was also to meet Siniora before heading to south Lebanon for New Year's Eve with the French contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

The French UNIFIL troops are stationed 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of the port city of Tyre, at Deir Kifa.

With a 1,600-strong force of "blue helmets", France is the second largest contributor to UNIFIL, beefed up after the UN-brokered truce between Lebanon and Hezbollah took effect on August 14.

France will transfer command of the 11,000-strong force to Italy, the main contributor with 2,300 soldiers, in the coming weeks.

Dec 31 , 2006

Sunday

Saturday

New Year

August 14

the coming weeks


WSJ891026-0141
 = 891026
 891026-0141.
 Du Pont Posts
@  19% Profit Rise
@  For 3rd Quarter
@  ----
@  By Richard Koenig
@  Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
 10/26/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 DD VO
 EARNINGS (ERN)
CHEMICALS, PLASTICS (CHM)
DIVIDENDS (DIV)

   Du Pont Co. reported that third-quarter profit grew a robust 19% from a year ago on the strength of the company's operations in various chemicals and fibers, and in petroleum.

   Du Pont also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.20 a share from $1.05, a change that will increase the annualized payout to shareholders by some $140 million.

   Du Pont, unlike companies hurt badly by sharp price declines for basic chemicals and plastics, is benefiting from its broad range of businesses.
The profit gain was made despite a weakening in the housing market, for which the company is a supplier, and a strengthening in the dollar, which lowers the value of overseas earnings when they are translated into dollars.

   The Wilmington, Del., company reported net of $547 million, or $2.36 a share, which was in line with Wall Street estimates.
In the year-earlier period, the company earned $461 million, or $1.91 a share.
Sales in the latest quarter were $8.59 billion, up 9.4% from $7.85 billion.

   The dividend increase was Du Pont's second this year, an affirmation of statements by top executives that they intend to increase rewards to shareholders.
"We have n't benefited the shareholder as much as we need to," said Edgar Woolard Jr., Du Pont's chairman and chief executive officer, in an interview several months before he entered his current position in April.

   The largest beneficiary will be Seagram Co., which owns about 23% of Du Pont.
A spokesman for Seagram, the Montreal wine and spirits concern controlled by the Bronfman family, said the company will post additional pretax profit of about $33 million a year because of the additional Du Pont dividends.

   Du Pont also announced plans for a 3-for-1 stock split, although the initial higher dividend will be paid on pre-split shares.
Du Pont's stock rose $2.50 a share to close at $117.375 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading yesterday.
Seagram closed at $84.75, up 12.5 cents a share in Big Board trading.

   Leading the gains for Du Pont in the latest quarter was its industrial products segment, where profit soared to $155 million from $99 million a year earlier.
The company benefited from continued strong demand and higher selling prices for titanium dioxide, a white pigment used in paints, paper and plastics.

   James Fallon, a New Providence, N.J., marketing consultant to the chemicals industry, says Du Pont still holds an edge in making the pigment because the company was "first in with the technology" to lower costs.
He said Du Pont holds about 23% of the world-wide market, the largest single share, at a time when growing uses for the pigment have kept it in tight supply, although others are now adding low-cost production capacity.

   Profit climbed to $98 million from $71 million in the petroleum segment, as Du Pont's Conoco Inc. oil company was helped by crude oil prices higher than a year ago and by higher natural gas prices and volume.

   In the diversifed businesses segment, which includes herbicides, profit grew to $64 million from $27 million.
A spokesman said herbicide use in some areas of the U.S. was delayed earlier in the year by heavy rains, thus increasing sales in the third quarter.

   In the fibers segment, profit rose to $180 million from $155 million, a gain Du Pont attributed to higher demand in the U.S. for most textile products.

   Two segments posted lower earnings for the quarter.
Profit from coal fell to $41 million from $58 million, partly because of a miners' strike.
And profit from polymers dropped to $107 million from $122 million amid what Du Pont called lower demand and selling prices in certain packaging and industrial markets.

   For the nine months, Du Pont earned $2 billion, or $8.46 a share, up 18% from $1.69 billion, or $7.03 a share, a year earlier.
Sales increased 10% to $26.54 billion from $24.05 billion.

   The increased dividend will be paid Dec. 14 to holders of record Nov. 15.
The stock split, which is subject to holder approval, would be paid on a still unspecified date in January to holders of record Dec. 21.

third-quarter

a year ago

the year-earlier period

the latest quarter

this year

several months

current

April

a year

yesterday

the latest quarter

a year earlier

a year ago

earlier in the year

the third quarter

the quarter

the nine months

a year earlier

Dec. 14

Nov. 15

January

Dec. 21


AFP_ENG_20061227.0011

JAKARTA, Dec 27 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS another quake ///

Two moderate earthquakes struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi Wednesday but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, geologists said.

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale hit at 10:54 am (0254 GMT). It was centred 130 kilometres (80 miles) west of Kendari, the capital of Southeast Sulawesi province, and some 33 kilometres underground, the meteorological office said.

The tremor was felt in the town of Kolaka, 36 kilometres southeast of the epicentre.

An earlier earthquake of 5.6 on the Richter scale hit at 6:56 am and was centred 210 kilometres north-northeast of Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province.

The tremor was felt in Manado and on the nearby Sangihe islands. It came after another undersea earthquake Tuesday off the coast of Taiwan set off a brief tsunami alert. The quake left two people dead in Taiwan.

The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province.

Dec 27 , 2006

Wednesday

Tuesday

December 2004


XIN_ENG_20051123.0017

HONG KONG, Nov. 23 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Hong Kong stocks finish higher at midday -- Nov. 23

Hong Kong stocks rose 138.60 points, or 0.93 percent, to finish the morning session at 15,024.25 on Wednesday.

Nov. 23 , 2005

Wednesday.


WSJ891102-0055
 = 891102
 891102-0055.
 Business Brief -- Oshkosh Truck Corp.:
@  Firm Says Net Fell Sharply
@  In Its Fiscal Fourth Quarter
 11/02/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 OTRKB
 EARNINGS (ERN)

   Oshkosh Truck Corp., Oshkosh, Wis., estimated earnings for its fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 fell 50% to 75% below the year-earlier $4.5 million, or 51 cents a share.

   The truck maker said the significant drop in net income  will result in lower earnings for the fiscal year.
In fiscal 1988, the company earned $17.3 million, or $1.92 a share, on revenue of $352.9 million.

   Oshkosh Truck attributed the downturn in its earnings to higher start-up costs of its new chassis division, a softer motor-home market and higher administrative costs of compliance with government contractor regulations.

   The company said it is in the process of phasing out John Deere, its current source of production for midsized motor home chassis.
In anticipation of the start-up of its new factory, the company said a larger-than-normal chassis supply  has  been built  to carry it through the transition period.

fourth quarter

Sept. 30

the fiscal year

fiscal 1988


XIN_ENG_20051104.0092

BEIJING, Nov. 4 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Russian prime minister ends China visit

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Yefimovich Fradkov left Beijing on Friday afternoon, ending his official visit to China.

During his stay in Beijing, Fradkov and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao held the 10th Sino-Russian Prime Ministers' Meeting.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Fradkov paid an official visit to China November 3-4.

Nov. 4 , 2005

Friday afternoon


XIN_ENG_20061114.0381

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 , 2006 (Xinhua)

WADA makes changes for 2007

Alcohol is allowed for billiards players and chess mavens can use beta-blockers, but substances that work the same as masking agents are forbidden in 2007.

Those are among the changes adopted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in changes to its 2007 prohibition list summarized in a release by the US Anti-Doping Agency here Tuesday.

While the cue-stick crew can drink all they like and the check mates can keep their cool, WADA extended its reach by adding a term to masking agent that outlaws "other substances with similar biological effect".

That means that if a substance serves the same masking purpose as a banned substance, it also is banned even if not on the banned list.

Most sport supporters would need a medical dictionary to figure out the bulk of the changes such as salbutamol, salmeterol, terbutaline and formoterol being allowed by inhalation with a theraputic use filing.

Several stimulants were added to the 2007 ban list including benzylpiperazine, 4-phenylpiracetam (carphedon) and tuaminoheptane.

Nov. 14 , 2006

Tuesday


XIN_ENG_20051110.0308

MONROVIA, Nov. 10 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Roundup: Johnson-Sirleaf set to be Africa's first female president

Harvard-trained Iron Lady Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf appeared to be Africa's first elected female president as results from 90.8 percent of the polling stations on Thursday gave her a commanding advantage over football great George Weah in Liberia's post-war presidential runoff.

The 66-year-old grandmother and former finance minister had 59. 1 percent of the votes while the 39-year-old former FIFA player of the year had 40.9 percent, Frances Johnson-Morris, chairwoman of the National Elections Commission, told a news conference.

Voter turnout was 59.8 percent from 2,719 of the 3,070 polling stations across the war-torn west African country, she said.

"We are elated that the Liberian people have placed their trust in us, but we will not make any official statement until the final results are announced," Morris Dukuley, spokesman for the Harvard- trained economist told Xinhua.

"We are waiting for the final results and from there, we will tell you what next," Dukuley said.

The camp of Weah, who rose from the slumps by dropping out of high school to take up a football career and became a millionaire, was not available for comments now, but Weah himself claimed on Wednesday that the election was marred by fraud and accused Johnson-Morris of bias against him.

At a news conference, he claimed that more than 35 pre-marked ballot papers intended to be stuffed in ballot boxes in favor of his challenger, were intercepted by his supporter as evidence to prove his claims.

Johnson-Morris said that the electoral body had received a formal complaint from Weah and investigation into fraud allegation of Tuesday's runoff got underway. "Hearings have been held today into the case filed by George Weah and the CDC (his party) and ruling is now being prepared by our legal department," she said.

The 28-member multinational delegation jointly organized by National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center released its preliminary report on Thursday on the runoff, the first since the end of the country's 14-year civil war in 2003.

"Overall, election day was calm and peaceful with few reported incidents of violence," they said. "Liberians across the country expressed to observers their strong desire for peace and reconciliation, and their commitment to the democratic process as the means of choosing their leaders."

They recommended that the electoral body "ensure that all election disputes are handled expeditiously upon submission of complaints, and in an impartial manner." "Rulings should be announced as quickly as possible, with immediate redress and effective remedies provided as appropriate," they noted.

Meanwhile, both parties should "continue to instruct their party members and supporters to do the same and to refrain from violence. Both parties should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or premature celebrations."

Analysts fear the worst that angry supporters of Weah, mostly youth, might turn to violence over the fraud allegations if he lost to Liberia's foremost female politician. Weah and Johnson- Sirleaf obtained 28.3 percent and 19.8 percent respectively in the first round.

Liberia, founded in 1847 by freed American slaves, experienced a bloody civil war from 1989 to 2003 in which an estimated 250,000 people, about eight percent of its population, died and about one million made refugees.

The issues the winner will have to contend with are reconciliation among Liberians and reconstruction of basic social services such as schools, health care facilities, roads, safe drinking water, electricity as well as reintegrating thousands of ex-combatants and the creation of job opportunities.

Illiteracy rate in the west African state stands at about 85 percent and unemployment is put at 80 percent. The country also owes an external debt around 3 billion US dollars.

And the election is seen as the last hope of the war-torn country, blessed with diamond, gold, timber, iron ore and rubber as well as fertile soil, for a brighter future provided the outcome is accepted by all Liberians.

Nov. 10 , 2005

Thursday

the year

now

Wednesday

Tuesday

today

now

Thursday


AFP_ENG_20061220.0385

LONDON, Dec 20 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - ADDS quotes, details ///

An inquiry into illegal payments in English football is to target 17 transfers that need further investigation, Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens confirmed Wednesday.

Lord Stevens, who was investigating a total of 362 transfers, did not give details of the questionable deals as he delivered his "observations and recommendations" into alleged so-called bungs after a nine-month inquiry on Wednesday.

But he revealed that certain elements had been passed on to the police.

Lord Stevens revealed that "eight major agents" had not co-operated but he refused to identify the people involved.

As a result, his Quest team have been asked to look into a specific number of deals which took place between January 1 2004 and January 31 2006, under a new mandate.

"This is no witch hunt. This is no whitewash," Lord Stevens told a news conference.

"The reason why we are not naming names is the inquiry is ongoing. I know you would like us to name and shame but I can't do it at the present stage.

"The game, in relation to the majority of what we have seen, is clean but the accounting processes and monitoring of the clubs is in a mess."

Lord Stevens stressed all of his 38 recommendations must be adopted to safeguard the integrity of the game.

These include the creation of a body to handle the audit of transfers rather than the Football Association (FA).

"Every one of these recommendations must be implemented as they are essential to the future and reputation of this game," he said.

"Failure to do so will result in the game remaining under attack and its remaining members subject to allegations and innuendo.

"The FA and the compliance unit does not have the credibility of the public or the clubs," Lord Stevens said.

"The proposed regulation and compliance unit must be established with expertise and independence to take on this work.

"Part of the FA's problems has been the lack of forensic investigators and accountants. The work must be preventative."

Lord Stevens criticised the lack of assistance he had received from some agents during the course of his team's investigation.

"Agents failure to respond has resulted in delays to this inquiry," he said.

"We will be providing the Premier League with a number of incidences where mandated processes have not been followed.

"The frequency of these instances show the clubs neither anticipate nor are concerned by the strictures imposed by the FA.

"It is my view this further erodes the reputation of the game and those involved in it.

"Such scant disregard for the rules and regulations of this great game is unacceptable."

Lord Stevens called on cooperation from the FA and world football's governing body FIFA.

"It is very important indeed we have the co-operation of FIFA," he said.

"It is a changing time for football and it is about time. The health of the game depends on it."

Dec 20 , 2006

Wednesday

Wednesday

January 1 2004

January 31 2006

the present stage


AFP_ENG_19970421.0005

JAKARTA, April 21 , 1997 (AFP)

Fresh political clashes break out in Java

Fresh violence between supporters of rival political parties erupted in four separate towns in Java province at the weekend injuring at least 20 people, party officials and reports said Monday.

In Solo, PPP supporters clashed with security members on Saturday, leaving at least 20 people injured while in nearby Klaten, a Golkar convoy was pelted by stones by pro-PPP villagers on Sunday, the Media Indonesia daily said.

In Temanggung district, southeast of Pekalongan, a convoy of PPP supporters clashed with members of two youth groups affiliated with the ruling Golkar party on Sunday, another PPP official there said.

In Pekalongan a town on the province's coast rocked by political violence since March, a mob damaged a government office in the early hours of Sunday but there were no casualties, an official of the Moslem-led United Development Party (PPP) said.

"It is the people, our supporters, not PPP members, who attacked the district assistant's office," the deputy chairman of the Pekalongan PPP chapter Nursianto (Eds: one name) said by telephone.

Hundreds of people, mostly riding motorcycles, attacked the office, 11 kilometres (7 miles) west of Pekalongan in the early hours, pelting it with stones, breaking window panes and doors, the Jayakarta daily said.

The daily said the mob had been part of a larger one which had toured the town in vehicles, yelling pro-PPP slogans, after attending a prayer session late on Saturday.

"There have been reports of arrests but I have not been able to confirm them," Nursianto.

The Pekalongan police declined comment saying the situation was "under control" and "calm."

In a separate incident, a rowdy convoy of PPP supporters returning from a party meeting in Ambarawa in the Semarang district was pelted with stones in the Kaloran sub-district of neighbouring Temanggung on Sunday.

Temanggung PPP chapter spokesman Parjiono (Eds: one name), said the attack was by members of two youth groups affiliated to Golkar.

PPP supporters on motorcycles toured the area around Solo on Saturday clashing with security members after they attempted to break through a security barricade in town.

Violence has swept several Java towns in the past month, much of it connected to rivalry between the PPP and President Suharto's Golkar party, ahead of the general elections on May 29 with campaigning due to start on April 27.

Indonesia's three official political parties -- Golkar, the PPP and the Indonesian Democracy Party (PDI) -- are contesting the May 29 parliamentary election.

Golkar has been widely criticised for using government facilities and officials to gain support in general elections.

The country's six million civil servants are ordered to vote for Golkar, with pressure also applied on their wives, husbands and children to vote for the ruling party.

April 21 , 1997

the weekend

Monday

Saturday

Sunday

Sunday

March

Sunday

the early hours

Saturday

Sunday

Saturday

the past month

May 29

April 27

May 29


XIN_ENG_20061127.0466

BANGKOK, Nov. 28 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Thailand wins more gold in Fespic Games

Thailand's Pichet Krungget Monday shattered American Matt Parry's world record of 14.78 seconds in the men's 100-meters wheelchair event at the 9th Far East  South Pacific Games for the Disabled (FESPIC) in Kuala Lumpur.

The 2004 Athens Paralympic gold medallist's record of 14.76 seconds erased the old mark the American set at the 1998 Paralympic Games in Atlanta.

The silver medal went to China's Yu Shiran, while the bronze was won by Hong Suk-man of South Korea.

The 31-year-old Pichet is the second Thai to brake a record at the FESPIC Games following Prawat Wahorum's mark of 10'40"48 for the men's 5,000-meters wheelchair event on Sunday.

The wheelchair-bound Pichet now must honor his promise to organize an open-air movie show.

"Before I came here I made a wish that I will host an outdoor movie show for one night. I guess I have to keep my promise when I get back home, but I still have more events to complete," said Pichet, who will also contest four more events -- the men's 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m.

"I tried to go out there pressure free. Breaking the world record is an extra," said the 2005 Asean Para Games champion.

Earlier in the event, Thailand's Peth Rungsri won two more gold medals from athletics and broke two Games records. He won the men' s wheelchair 200m in 33.52 seconds, bettering Japan's Yasunari Yaezawa's record of 36.88, and also clocked 19.25 seconds in the 100m wheelchair event to break the old mark of 19.62 seconds set by Yasunari.

Thailand won three more gold medals through Suphachai Koysab in the men's wheelchair 100m event, Jirawat Meesuk in the men's 200m wheelchair and Jakkit Punthong in the men's long jump.

Thailand collected another five gold medals from the swimming event and one gold medal each in the weightlifting, judo and tennis.

Nov. 28 , 2006

Monday

Sunday

now

one night

33.52 seconds


XIN_ENG_20051117.0150

JINAN, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

U.S. replaces Japan as E. China province's No.2 trade partner

The United States has become the second largest trade partner of east China's Shandong Province, replacing Japan, a geographically close and long-time partner of the coastal province, according to local customs.

Trade between Shandong Province and U.S. reached 9.72 billion US dollars by the end of October this year, with a year-on-year rise of 40.7 percent, statistics from Qingdao Customs show.

From January to October, Shandong's foreign trade amounted to 62.44 billion US dollars, up 27.8 percent compared to the same period during the previous year, exceeding the whole year's trade volume in 2004.

The import volume topped 24.89 billion dollars and the exports reached 37.55 billion, rising 21.2 percent and 32.6 percent respectively.

The Republic of Korea remained Shandong's largest trade partner with a trade volume of 12.82 billion dollar, a quarter of Shandong's total in January-October period, Japan slipped to the No.3 partner.

Export of machinery, electronics, textiles and farm products saw robust growth, rising 56.1 percent, 12.4 percent and 21 percent respectively in October.

Foreign-invested enterprises, as a province's major engine in export and import, contributed more than half of Shandong's total trade volume, while private firms saw their foreign trade rising 72.3 percent from a year earlier.

Nov. 17 , 2005

October this year

January

October

the previous year

January-October period

October

a year earlier


AFP_ENG_19970414.0512

ANKARA, April 14 , 1997 (AFP)

Turkey releases leaders of pro-Kurdish party

A Turkish state security court Monday ordered the release of 13 leaders of the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (Hadep) who have been in jail since last June, a party official said.

"Party leader Murat Bozlak and 12 other party administrators were released at the end of today's hearing," Hadep official and former MP Sirri Sakik told AFP.

"This is a delayed but positive step towards internal peace and we are happy about this," Sakik said.

Bozlak and the other party leaders were arrested at the end of a party congress here on June 23 last year, which became the scene of the desecration of the Turkish flag by a Kurdish youth.

The trial of the Kurdish youth, who is still under arrest, and the released Hadep leaders will continue in May, Sakik said.

"But the release of the party officials might be an indication that they will be acquitted," he added.

Television footage showing the huge Turkish flag being thrown onto the floor by the masked youth at last year's Hadep congress caused public outrage.

The Ankara state security prosecutor has demanded capital punishment for the youth, Faysal Akcan, who has confessed to the incident.

The prosecutor has also sought 22-year prison sentences for Bozlak and 23 other Hadep officials on charges of "setting up an armed gang."

Bozlak said at the previous hearing last Friday that he and the other party leaders were not responsible for the flag's desecration, adding Hadep "denounces such actions."

"It is now becoming clear that accusations against the Hadep officials are baseless," Sakik said.

Hadep failed to enter parliament in Turkey's general elections in December 1995 as it received about 4.5 percent of the national vote, well short of the required 10 percent threshold.

During the election campaign, Hadep had said it supported the rights of the Kurds, but that it was not a separatist group.

The party grew out of the defunct pro-Kurdish Democracy Party, which was banned three years ago on the grounds of cooperation with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK has been waging a separatist war in southeastern Turkey since 1984 and more than 23,000 people have been killed in violence in the region since then.

Four former Democracy Party deputies were sentenced in 1995 to 15 years in prison for collaboration with the PKK. They include Leyla Zana, who was named winner in 1995 of the Sakharov prize for freedom of expression by the European Parliament.

April 14 , 1997

Monday

last June

today

June 23 last year

May

last year

last Friday

now

December 1995

three years ago


AFP_ENG_20061228.0057

JAKARTA, Dec 28 , 2006, 2006

Indonesia says aid workers have priority for Internet use

Indonesia's head telecommunications official Thursday called on people to limit Internet use to give priority to aid workers in disaster areas.

Indonesia and many other countries in the region have had little or no Internet access since a quake off Taiwan on Tuesday damaged underwater fibre-optic cables.

"I call for everyone to cut down international bandwidth usage and give the chance to the ones needing it most," post and telecommunications director general Gatot Dewobroto said on ElShinta radio.

"There are many NGOs in disaster areas such as in Aceh who are depending so much on the Internet for their communications. They are the ones feeling the most impact," Dewobroto said.

Aid workers have been rushing supplies to help the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by floods in northern Sumatra.

Indonesian Internet service providers (ISPs) were meanwhile working to bypass the damaged cables by using a satellite connection.

But regulations which prohibit use of foreign satellites in Indonesia unless reciprocal rights are granted could be a problem, said Sylvia Sumarlin, head of the Indonesian Internet Service Providers' Association.

"It would be wise if the government could permit the providers to gain the rights to use other satellites, in addition to their existing rights to use existing satellites," she told The Jakarta Post.

Indonesian ISPs mostly use Hong Kong-based satellites, she said.

"This is an emergency, if the government fails to do so and sticks to the existing regulation, it will only worsen the situation as it will take at least a month for a multilateral agreement on foreign satellites to be reached," she said.

Sumarlin told the Post her association was still calculating the potential damage caused by the service disruption.

Indonesia has a relatively low rate of Internet access, with an estimated 16 million users out of a population of 220 million.

Dec 28 , 2006

Thursday

Tuesday


XIN_ENG_20051122.0010

HARBIN, Nov. 22 , 2005 (Xinhua)

contamination

Water supply will be stopped for four days as of Tuesday evening in this capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province due to possible river contamination caused by a recent chemical plant explosion, the local government announced.

The unexpected stoppage of water supply has sparked a dashing purchase of drinking water in the city of 3 million people, and bottled water, various beverages and even boxed milk were sold out by Tuesday morning in some supermarkets and food stores.

The municipal government of Harbin said in two separate statements on Monday and Tuesday that the city's water supply system will be shut down for about four days as of 8 p.m. Tuesday, for fears that a chemical plant blast on November 13 may have caused a leakage of poisonous substances into the Songhua River, which supplies water to Harbin.

The blast took place at noon in a workshop of the No. 101 Chemical Plant of Jilin Petrochemical Company based in Jilin City, Jilin Province that borders Heilongjiang, leaving five dead, one missing and more than 60 others injured.

The plant is only a few hundred meters away from the river.

Environment monitoring bureaus said no abnormal signs have been detected in the Harbin section of the river, which flows through the central part of the city, but conceded that there was the possibility of contamination in the future from the upper reaches.

Harbin is located at the middle reaches of the 1,840-km river, which originates in Jilin.

The Harbin authority has ordered all bathhouses and car-wash facilities to stop operations during the four days and instructed the city's administration of industry and commerce, price bureau and police to strengthen surveillance over the market and maintain social order.

It also advised urban residents, enterprises and government organizations to get well prepared for the water cutoff.

Anxious residents began to throng supermarkets and shops on Monday to buy whatever they could lay their hands on.

"People started to pour in for a large quantity of water in the morning, some even paid 5,000 yuan (625 US dollars) in just one purchase," said a salesperson at a local chain store of Metro Group.

Vehicles kept queuing up in front of a food and beverage wholesale shop despite the manager's announcement that water has been sold out.

Nov. 22 , 2005

four days

Tuesday evening

Tuesday morning

Monday

Tuesday

four days

8 p.m.

Tuesday

November 13

the future

the four days

Monday

the morning


XIN_ENG_20051128.0128

SINGAPORE, Nov. 28 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Asia-Pacific regional seminar on water management held in Singapore

An Asia-Pacific regional seminar on sustainable water management, organized by the Germany- Singapore Environmental Technology Agency (GSETA), opened here on Monday.

With the participation of some 70 experts and government officials from Germany, Singapore and 15 other economies in the region, the three-day meeting focuses on the latest developments, technological advances, best practices and upcoming challenges faced in sustainable water and waste water management.

"The need to implement sound environmental and water policies is a key priority for all countries, especially since the world population continues to grow rapidly and natural resources become more limited," Singapore Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim said at the opening ceremony.

He added that long-term integrated water management and planning, technology, as well as getting the public engaged in water conservation, are important factors in ensuring sustainable use of water around the world.

Established in 1991 by the governments of Germany and Singapore, the GSETA has organized 16 regional activities relating to various environmental issues with the aim of transferring environmental know-how and expertise into the Asia-Pacific region.

Nov. 28 , 2005

Monday


AFP_ENG_19970402.0189

PARIS, April 2 , 1997 (AFP)

Rough diamond

Tati, the distinctly downmarket Paris department store, took an audacious step upwards Wednesday by opening a jewellery shop in the French capital's top gems district.

The chain store, whose distinctive pink and blue logo is synonymous with cheap and cheerful, opened its latest boutique just round the corner from Place Vendome, mecca for diamond and gold trinkets for the super-rich.

Tati's offerings start at a modest 20 francs (3 dollars) for a gold- plated heart, while its top-of-the-range solitaire ring should just about reach into neighbouring shops' price league at 30,000 francs.

"You have to go fishing where the other fishermen are; it's a sign there are fish to be had," said manager Laurent Fargeon, whose company snapped up the swank address when an airline moved out.

April 2 , 1997

Wednesday


AFP_ENG_19970423.0499

MOSTAR, Bosnia-Hercegovina, April 23 , 1997 (AFP)

Italian SFOR colonel found dead in suspected suicide

An Italian colonel serving with the NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) in Bosnia was found dead Wednesday morning at an SFOR base in this southern city, a spokesman said.

Colonel Roberto Petrucci, 57, was shot with a bullet fired from his own gun, SFOR spokesman Mike Fabbro told AFP, adding that suicide was suspected.

Petrucci had served with the Italian army's artillery school at Bracciano near Rome and arrived in Bosnia in late January, Fabbro said.

April 23 , 1997

Wednesday morning

late January


XIN_ENG_20051129.0142

HARBIN, Nov. 29 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Saturday

The front of the pollution slick on northeast China's Songhua River is expected to arrive at Jiamusi city, downstream from Harbin, which just passed a four-day water crisis, on Saturday, local environment authorities said Tuesday.

The 80-km-long toxic spill resulted from a blast at an upstream Jilin Petrochemical Company chemical plant under the China National Petroleum Corp on Nov. 13 in Jilin, Jilin Province.

Experts estimated that around 100 tons of pollutants containing benzene flew into the Songhua River, which supplies the most water to Harbin, capital of neighboring Heilongjiang Province.

Jiamusi, the second largest city with a population of more than 2 million in Heilongjiang, relies on groundwater 50 to 70 meters deep for drinking water.

The city has started an emergency plan to monitor the water quality of the Songhua River.

Harbin, a city of 3.8 million people, was forced to shut down its water supply system from the early morning last Wednesday to 6 p.m. of last Sunday.

By Tuesday, the water supply in most parts of the city had become normal and met drinking standards.

Benzene is a clear, colorless, highly refractive flammable liquid derived from petroleum and used in or to manufacture a wide variety of chemical products, including detergents, insecticides, and motor fuels.

Nov. 29 , 2005

Saturday

Tuesday

Nov. 13

the early morning last Wednesday

last Sunday

Tuesday


AFP_ENG_19970402.0422

WASHINGTON, April 2 , 1997 (AFP)

US Navy petty officer accused of rape in Japan

A US Navy petty officer has been taken into custody by US military authorities in Japan after a local Japanese woman charged he raped and assaulted her, US television reported Wednesday.

Fox News said the woman allegedly was assaulted at the enlisted quarters for US navy personnel in Yokosuka, Japan.

The victim was taken to an army hospital where she was treated for a broken collarbone, cuts and abrasions, the report said, citing US military officials.

April 2 , 1997

Wednesday


XIN_ENG_20061115.0103

KATHMANDU, Nov. 15 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Nepali gov't, UNHCR conduct Bhutanese refugees census

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Nepali government began conducting census of the approximately 106,000 Bhutanese refugees in eastern Nepal on Wednesday.

According to the UN refugee agency, the joint government-UN census started earlier Wednesday at 10:00 local time (0415 GMT) from the Beldagi-1 camp in Illam district.

The census will be collecting all relevant details from refugees living in the seven camps in Jhapa and Morang districts.

According to a statement from the UNHCR, the census team was made up of UNHCR-trained persons who will conduct the interviews in close co-operation and collaboration with the officials of the Nepali government to both count and update basic bio-data and profile of the refugees.

The refugee agency's newly developed progress software will be used to log an accurate record of the number of refugees and to collect other related information.

Previously, UNHCR representative in Nepal, Abraham Abraham, said that a reliable census data would help the Nepal government and UNHCR to provide better protection, security and support to the refugees on the basis of improved documentation on "who is who " and "who is where" to be able to respond to individual needs.

Some 106,000 Bhutanese refugees have been living in seven camps in eastern Nepal for the last 16 years.

As many as 15 rounds of bilateral talks held between the two governments have failed to yield any results so far.

Nov. 15 , 2006

Wednesday

Wednesday

the last 16 years


WSJ891102-0067
 = 891102
 891102-0067.
 Who's News:
@  Citadel Names Walbrecher
@  As Chief Executive Officer
 11/02/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 CDL WNEWS
 EARNINGS (ERN)
 GLENDALE, Calif.

   William C. Walbrecher Jr., an executive at San Francisco-based 1st Nationwide Bank, was named president and chief executive officer of Citadel Holding Corp. and its principal operating unit, Fidelity Federal Bank.

   The appointment takes effect Nov. 13.
He succeeds James A. Taylor, who stepped down as chairman, president and chief executive in March for health reasons.
Edward L. Kane succeeded Mr. Taylor as chairman.

   Separately, Citadel posted a third-quarter net loss of $2.3 million, or 68 cents a share, versus net income of $5.3 million, or $1.61 a share, a year earlier.

   The latest results include some unusual write-downs, which had an after-tax impact of $4.9 million.
Those included costs associated with the potential Valley Federal Savings and Loan Association acquisition, which was terminated on Sept. 27, 1989.
In addition, operating results were hit by an increase in loan and real estate loss reserves.

   In American Stock Exchange composite trading, Citadel shares closed yesterday at $45.75, down 25 cents.

Nov. 13

March

third-quarter

a year earlier

Sept. 27, 1989

yesterday


XIN_ENG_20061116.0119

BEIJING, Nov. 16 , 2006 (Xinhua)

1st LD: White mice to test food for 2008 Beijing Olympics

White mice will be used to test the safety of food prepared for 2008 Olympic Games athletes, say Beijing officials.

Milk, alcohol, salad, rice, oil, salt and seasonings will be tested by white mice 24 hours before being used in cooking or served to athletes, said Zhao Xinsheng with the Beijing Municipal Health Inspection Bureau.

He told a meeting that mice would develop adverse reactions to poisoning within 17 hours, quicker than test methods like bacterial cultures.

Most food for athletes would be Western style, complemented by Chinese dishes, said Zhen Xiaozhen, from the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games medical team, at the meeting on Olympics hygiene safety.

Zhao said all the food would be securely stored, and all food arriving at the Olympic restaurants would be recorded by control headquarters.

Moreover, food deliveries would be vetted by public security personnel and quarantine departments and transported by special vehicles and staff.

The vehicles would be equipped with global positioning systems and food packages would be secured during transport, said an official with the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Food storage areas would be fitted with alarms, video cameras and fire controls, and kitchens guarded around the clock.

Starting this month, health inspectors would receive training in Western food management and inspection techniques, said Liang Jin with the inspection bureau.

To ensure food safety, experts also suggested eliminating some foods from the menu for Olympic athletes to avoid doping problems.

Yang Shumin of the China Doping Control Center said that Olympic restaurants should not serve food such as animal livers because they might contain traces of drugs or additives consumed by the animal.

Nowadays lots of fowl and livestock are fed with additives that contain blacklisted hormones, he said, noting that athletes who accidentally ate this kind of food might test positive in anti-doping urine tests.

The organizing committee should set strict standards for food suppliers regarding feed for fowls and livestock, banning them from using any additives which could cause doping problems, Yang told a meeting on Olympic food safety in July.

Nov. 16 , 2006

24 hours

17 hours

this month

July


XIN_ENG_20061121.0339

MEXICO  CITY, Nov. 21 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Guatemala fire death toll rises to 18

The death toll in the fire that raged through Guatemala's largest open-air market on Monday has risen to 18, according to reports reaching here.

The fire broke out in an area of illegal fireworks stands in the El Granero Market, set up temporarily near a section of the permanent market shops, fire department spokesman Ricardo Lemus was quoted as saying.

Witnesses said the fire was touched off by a burning cigarette, but officials said the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

Nov. 21 , 2006

Monday


XIN_ENG_20061110.0275

BEIJING, Nov. 11 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Foreign capital encouraged to go west

China plans to encourage about 10,000 foreign companies and eastern-based businesses to go west in the next three years, a Ministry of Commerce official said.

Li Zhiqun, director of the ministry's foreign investment management department said the ministry would take measures to push forward the go-west campaign.

The government would give strong support to development zones in central and west China as well as infrastructure construction, Li told a recent forum in Beijing.

He said the government hopes foreign investors to pour more funds into the high-tech, energy-saving and environmental protection sectors. Modern agriculture and services are also on the list.

Multinational corporations are also encouraged to set up regional headquarters, research and development centers as well as training centers in west China.

China has been the largest recipient of foreign direct investment among the developing countries for 15 straight years.

Government statistics show that some 90 percent of the foreign investment enterprises are located in east China, which worsens the unbalanced development between the west and the east, analysts say.

Nov. 11 , 2006

the next three years

15 straight years