AFP_ENG_20061218.0541

GAZA CITY, Dec 19 , 2006, 2006

=(GRAPHIC+PICTURE)=

Violence flared in Gaza Monday despite a fragile truce between rival Palestinian factions, as president Mahmud Abbas, locked in a dangerous standoff with the ruling Hamas movement, vowed to press ahead with his controversial plans for early elections.

A member of Abbas's Fatah party was killed after gunmen fired on a welfare agency in northern Gaza in an attack that also wounded five other people, medics said.

Until the attack, a shaky late-night ceasefire appeared to be holding between the two rival groups battling for power in the volatile Palestinian territories, although sporadic gunfire rang out in the Gaza Strip.

Nine Fatah members, including senior official Sofiane Abu Zaida, and five Hamas loyalists were kidnapped during the day in the north of the coastal strip, according to officials and witnesses.

Zaida was later released after about two hours, and the others released shortly after that, a mediator said.

"The mediation to free all Fatah and Hamas hostages was successful and allowed security to improve and tensions to stop," said Islamic Jihad mediator Daud Shihab.

Abbas won support for his election plan from visiting Prime Minister Tony Blair, who appealed to the international community to back the moderate Palestinian president and called for an initiative to put the Middle East peace process back on track.

Abbas described the situation in the territories as a "grave internal crisis" after an explosion of deadly violence at the weekend following his high-stakes political challenge to Hamas.

"I have called for early presidential and parliamentary elections so that the people can decide on the base of an acceptable program to preserve their national interests ... and put an end to the siege and crisis," he said.

But he said the door was still open to forming a national unity government after Hamas vowed to boycott any elections, describing Abbas's move as a coup and tantamount to a call for civil war.

Abbas, who has been at loggerheads with Hamas since it trounced his Fatah party in January elections, also appealed for an end to the street violence.

"Any bullet shot anywhere is a loss for the Palestinian people and is not in our interest."

Blair, standing alongside Abbas at a Ramallah news conference, called for an initiative to support the Palestinians and move toward a two-state solution for the Middle East conflict.

"I hope therefore that we will be in a position over these coming weeks to put together an initiative that allows us both to give that support, in particular for reconstruction and development, and to alleviate the suffering and plight of the Palestinian people," Blair said.

"But also crucially that gives us a political framework within which we can move forward on that two-state solution."

"It's a critical moment," he said after later holding talks in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "It's never been more important that we try to make progress."

A senior Palestinian official told AFP that the initiative announced by Blair would be worked out in coordination with the United States and be unveiled by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her expected visit to the region early next year.

The Palestinian territories have been plunged into their deepest ever financial crisis because of a Western aid freeze imposed after Hamas came to power in March.

Abbas has said elections were the way to resolve the turf war with Hamas, boycotted internationally because of its failure to recognize Israel, renounce violence and agree to past peace deals.

But he did not set a date and election officials said they would need 110 days to organize a ballot once Abbas issues an official decree.

The surge in unrest drew urgent appeals for restraint from across the globe.

Arab League chief Amr Mussa called the situation in the Palestinian territories "extremely dangerous" and called for an emergency meeting of foreign ministers next Sunday aimed at ending the fighting.

Israel -- which pulled out its troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005 but maintains control over its borders -- said that Abbas should be supported.

"There is no doubt that we have to support the moderates favorable to negotiations among the Palestinians ... and that everything should be done to reinforce Mahmud Abbas," Olmert said after talks with Blair.

Washington also rallied behind the Palestinian president on Monday.

"We support president Abbas in trying to work through this current impasse," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

"President Abbas is doing what he can, taking the steps that he thinks are prudent, to try to resolve this situation," McCormack said.

"And we certainly hope that the steps that he is taking can lead to a reduction in the violence."

Dec 19 , 2006

Monday

two hours

the weekend

January

early next year

March

110 days

Sunday

Monday


SJMN91-06338157
 06338157
  Photo; PHOTO: Sununu; (Photo ran in PM editions only)
  US; GOVERNMENT; OFFICIAL; RESIGN; CONTROVERSY
  One of President Bush's sons has informed White House Chief of Staff John
Sununu that he has lost much of his support among Republicans, prompting an
intense effort by Sununu to hold on to his job by demonstrating his GOP
backing, White House and Republican sources said Monday.;   Sununu was told
Wednesday by Bush's son, George, that he had alienated members of the Cabinet,
the White House staff and the Republican political community, creating a
situation that puts his effectiveness in significant doubt, the sources said.
  Front
  SUNUNU BATTLES TO KEEP HIS JOB
     The message to the chief of staff was meant to be taken as a suggestion
that Sununu offer to resign, one highly placed source said. Instead, Sununu
sought to prove to the president that his supporters outnumber his critics and
that he should remain in his post.;   One senior official Monday described the
White House as "a collection of small groups of aides holding their breaths,"
waiting to see whether Sununu survives. One GOP source, reporting on a call
from the chief of staff to a Republican leader, said Sununu lamented that "the
noose is tightening around my neck, and I need your help.";   Another highly
placed source said the president's son met with Sununu last week after holding
a series of conversations about the structure of the White House staff and of
the campaign with other Bush loyalists and GOP activists. The source said the
younger Bush "sketched out for Sununu" problems the president is encountering
because of the chief of staff's tenure.;   "He was told . . . the handwriting
was on the wall," the source said Monday.;   That, the source said, was when
Sununu started calling congressional Republicans and asking them to tell Bush
that the conservative wing of the party, in particular, would  object if he
were fired.;   Officials said the president himself met with Sununu Sunday. A
source said the outcome of that session was unclear.
  ANN DEVROY, Washington Post
  USA
  Washington
  Morning Final
  SJ
  San Jose Mercury News
   911203
  Tuesday
  December
  4A
  1991
  WEST
  PHOTO
  CA
  326
  Tuesday, December 3, 1991
00338157,SJ1
  Copyright 1991, San Jose Mercury News
  1
  ENG

Monday

Wednesday

Monday

last week

Monday

Sunday

Tuesday, December 3, 1991


XIN_ENG_20061127.0204

BEIJING, Nov. 27 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Beijing auto show closes with record turnout

The Beijing auto exhibition 2006 closed Monday with a record turnout of almost 600,000 visitors in 10 days, the organizers said.

Nearly 550,000 people visited the main venue at the China International Exhibition Center, while another 50,000 visited the auto parts show at the National Agricultural Exhibition Center.

The event, which has been held biennially since 1990, also drew 6,376 journalists, including 1,135 from outside China.

INCREASING lNTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE

The rising importance of the Beijing auto show was reflected by the unprecedented presence of major international carmakers.

More than 1,500 businesses from over 20 countries and regions, including big names in the international auto industries, were represented.

Foreign carmakers brought two-thirds of the 572 cars to the show. Ten models, including Toyota's Corolla and Maybach's ultra-luxury 62S, made their global debuts in Beijing.

After years of dynamic growth, China is the world's second largest auto market after the United States.

Both its production and sales of automobiles are expected to surpass seven million this year, according to the latest estimate of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Though that is still less than half of the 16.5 million cars expected to be sold in the United States, China could overtake the U.S. as the world's largest carmaker in 10 years, Nick Reilly, General Motors Asia and Pacific head, told a Detroit newspaper.

CHINESE BRANDS STEALS THE SHOW

This year's Beijing auto show also saw an impressive turnout of home-grown brands, a reflection of their growing strength in the fast expanding auto market.

According to the organizers, Chinese brands accounted for one third of the vehicles on show, the most in the history of the event.

FAW, which produced China's first truck and car in the 1950s, brought 29 vehicles, including 19 of its joint venture brand partners such as Volkswagen and Toyota, and 10 of its own.

The most eye-catching is a new Red Flag (Hongqi) model dubbed HQ3. Using a 4.3 liter engine, it takes only 7.3 seconds for HQ3 to accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour.

The car is also equipped with a sophisticated infrared night vision system that can detect obstacles from 250 meters away.

Dongfeng Motor, another major Chinese manufacturer, came with 15 models, half of them Dongfeng's own brands. They include a full range of cars, multi-purpose vehicles, small utility vehicles, racing cars and hybrid sedans.

Geely, a minor Chinese carmaker which recently entered into agreement with the Manganese Bronze Holdings Plc. of the United Kingdom to produce London's iconic black cabs, is displaying over a dozen new models.

Also on show is Geely's first concept car, and another from its subsidiary, Shanghai Maple Automobile.

Other Chinese carmakers, the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., Great Wall, Chery and others all brought their Chinese brand models.

Chinese brands account for about a quarter of China's auto sales. While consolidating their share in low-end products, they are moving into more lucrative markets dominated by foreign carmakers.

Nov. 27 , 2006

Monday

10 days

this year

10 years

This year

the 1950s


XIN_ENG_20051116.0236

CHANGSHA, Nov. 16 , 2005 (Xinhua)

China draws with Bulgaria 0-0 in friendly (updated)

China were held to a goalless draw with East European side Bulgaria in an international soccer friendly here on Wednesday.

China boss Zhu Guanghu's wish of ending the winless record against European teams failed again due to the weaknesses in both the midfield and the forward line in a match lacking excitement.

"As you see I have sent several young players in this match for the sake of preparing for 2008 Olympics and they did a good job," said Zhu after the match.

"It's really a problem that we haven't scored in five matches against European sides. We packed the backline and gave them big pressure, but was not good when we got the ball and began the counter attack. That's what we have to solve."

China dominated the first half in front of a slack Bulgaria squad made up of second-thought players chosen by 1994 World Cup hero Dimitar Penev, packing the guest's half with short passes and long range drives.

After several long range efforts from Cao Yang, Chen Tao and Sun Xiang, midfielder Wang Liang created the best chance for the hosts before the interval with a superb 25m curve after rounding down a defender, which was merely tipped over by a full-stretched Zdravko Zdravkov.

Skipper Li Weifeng went close on 87 minutes to head wide a Wang Liang's fine corner, which was the only highlight of the second half.

"It's a good match anyway. The significance for both teams is not about which one beats the other, but as an exercise for the 2010 World Cup as we both failed to qualify for 2006," commented Penev.

China had suffered four consecutive defeats against European teams like Spain, Ireland, Germany and Serbia and Montenegro this year before this match without scoring a goal.

Nov. 16 , 2005

Wednesday

87 minutes


XIN_ENG_20061115.0406

WELLINGTON, Nov. 16 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Wide-scale search for NZ missing glider

Seven more helicopters have joined the search Thursday for a powered glider with two people aboard that went missing during a competition in South New Zealand late Wednesday afternoon.

They joined four fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter which resumed searching at first light for the glider, four hours after taking off from Omarama, about 119 km northwest of Oamaru.

Rescue Co-ordination Center New Zealand (RCCNZ) said four fixed- wing aircraft are scouring the search area as widely and quickly as possible while the helicopters search at a lower and more detailed level.

Several glider pilots and trained observers are among the air search personnel.

Visibility remains good in the search area but worsening weather conditions are forecast for later in the day.

Police continue to search the numerous airstrips in the area and are asking locals to check their properties for any sign of the missing glider or the two people on board.

Ground-based search and rescue teams were ready to move if required.

Nov. 16 , 2006

Thursday

Wednesday afternoon

the day


XIN_ENG_20061129.0027

GANSU, Nov. 29 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Urgent: 11 dead in NW China colliery gas blast

Eleven people were confirmed dead in a coal mine gas blast Wednesday morning in northwest China's Gansu Province, said local work safety bureau.

Nov. 29 , 2006

Wednesday morning


XIN_ENG_20051126.0011

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 25 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Caribbean, L. American states to unite Chinese friendship societies

Some 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will unite their Chinese friendship societies into a new regional federation for friendship with China on Saturday, Guillermo Penfold, head of the Foundation to Develop Relations with the Chinese People, told Xinhua on Friday.

Penfold made the announcement here at the opening ceremony of the third conference of the Caribbean- and Latin America-China Friendship Societies.

The two-day meeting is taking place at the headquarters of Banco de la Nacion in Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital.

About 30 friendship societies from these countries were to formally launch the new federation at Saturday's session, he said.

Some 70 delegates will approve the new organization's charter. They will also reaffirm the one-China policy and their support for China's Anti-Secession Law.

Present at the ceremony were former Argentine President Raul Alfonsin and Cheng Siwei, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress and head of the China-Latin America Friendship Association.

Cheng said that China and the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America are enjoying good relations both in government-to-government and people-to-people aspects.

Thanking the friendly associations for enhancing bilateral friendship, Cheng said good ties between China and those nations had promoted the fast development of bilateral cooperation in politics, economy, business, culture, education and science.

The associations met last time in Bogota, capital of Colombia, in 2002.

Nov. 25 , 2005

Saturday

Friday

Saturday


XIN_ENG_20051125.0214

OTTAWA, Nov. 25 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Wild ducks found with avian flu viruses in Canada

Thirty-six wild ducks in Canada have tested positive for H5 and H7 strains of avian influenza viruses after two farms in the country's west part were found infected with H5 earlier this week.

The ducks, taken from an area along the border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in the Atlantic coast, are among 710 birds tested as part of a national wild bird surveillance program, Canadian Press reported Friday.

Additional testing needs to be done to identify which strains of H5 viruses were found.

Health officials say it is unlikely the viruses are the same as the virulent H5N1 strain causing widespread outbreaks among birds in southeast Asia which has caused 68 human deaths.

Cases of H5 and H7 viruses have been found in Canada's British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec provinces recently. Earlier this week, a low pathogenic North American strain of H5 viruses was found on two poultry farms in British Columbia, leading to the culling of more than 110,000 birds.

Nov. 25 , 2005

this week

Friday

recently

Earlier this week


XIN_ENG_20061111.0100

BEIJING, Nov. 11 , 2006 (Xinhua)

lambastes "selling of official posts"

Buying and selling government posts and official titles have become one of the main corruption in China, said a former head of the CPC's organization department.

Zhang Quanjing, who headed the department for five years until 1999, said, "It's appalling to hear that a Chinese official killed his superior in order to get a higher post," Zhang told the Southern Weekly this week.

Zhang, who was in charge of the country's high-level appointments, said since 1982 a new generation of higher-educated, less ideological officials have replaced the older cadres who had earned their jobs fighting for the socialist cause.

"The older senior officials who survived wartime were different than the younger officials who tend to think about themselves and are mainly after power, salary, status, housing and medical care. This thinking triggers jealousy and encourages the buying of official posts to get promoted," the South China's Guangzhou-based newspaper quoted Zhang as saying.

Zhang said more open hiring practices by the party's disciplinary and organization bodies would help stop the practice of buying or selling government posts.

In 2005, 334 CPC officials were criticized for seeking illegal promotions and 97 were punished according to organizational or disciplinary rules, statistics show.

Zhang said the public has helped crack down on official misconduct. By visiting or writing letters whistle blowers have reported a large number of official corruption cases in recent years.

In July, eight CPC officials were punished, some with long jail terms, for buying or selling government jobs.

Cao Yongbao, former Deputy Secretary of Liangshan Prefectural Committee of the CPC in Southwest China's Sichuan Province was expelled from the Party and sentenced to 13 years in jail.

In an infamous scandal involving officials of Chenzhou, Central China's Hunan Province, buying and selling government posts was so popular that Li Dalun, the former secretary of the Chenzhou municipal CPC committee, was found to have accepted 13.25 million yuan (about 1.65 million U.S. dollars) in bribes that included free overseas tours and free overseas education for his family members.

"Officials who do this must be severely criticized," said Wu Guangzheng, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection earlier in a speech.

"We need to be tough on people who buy and sell official posts, " he said.

"Government department with too many officials is also a big problem" Zhang said, adding that departments should be streamlined with fewer officials who are more efficient.

He suggested that China's provincial governments should reduce the number of official posts to one governor and two vice-governors.

"Fewer official posts would shift the attention of officials from thinking about getting a promotion to the actual doing their work," Zhang said.

Nov. 11 , 2006

five years

this week

recent years

July


XIN_ENG_20051114.0259

STOCKHOLM, Nov. 14 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Palestinian election gets Danish aid

The Danish minister of foreign affairs promises an aid package to help Palestinians carry out their January parliamentary election, Ritzau news bureau reported on Monday.

Aid for the upcoming Palestinian election was on the agenda when Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Moeller met with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ramallah on the West Bank on Sunday.

In addition to approximately 600,000 euros in aid to the independent election commission, Moeller promised that Denmark would send election observers and offer assistance to the media.

Assisting the fledgling Palestinian democracy was the goal of the program, according to Moeller, which would also encourage women to exercise their democratic rights.

"The goal is that the Palestinian people get a democracy, that includes a president and only one army, but several political parties," said Moeller.

Nov. 14 , 2005

Monday

Sunday


XIN_ENG_20051105.0086

MACAO, Nov. 5 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Du's late goal sends China into men's soccer final at EAG

A last-gasp header by defender Du Wei earned China a 2-1 victory over Japan Saturday in the men's soccer semifinals at the East Asian Games.

China will face the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in Sunday's final. The DPR Koreans downed South Korea 2-0 in the other semifinal.

Just as the match looked set for a 1-1 draw in regulation time, Du rose unmarked in the penalty box to head home a free-kick from midfielder Sun Xiang one minute into injury time.

China opened the scoring in the 41st minute with a header by striker Gao Lin, but the Japanese grabbed the equalizer through Shingo Akamine's header 15 minutes after halftime.

Earlier in the group stage, DPR Korea defeated China 3-1.

Nov. 5 , 2005

Saturday

Sunday

the 41st minute

15 minutes


XIN_ENG_20051124.0220

ROME, Nov. 24 , 2005 (Xinhua)

International conference to review rural development: FAO

An international conference is being staged to review agrarian reform and rural development that could contribute to poverty alleviation, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.

The International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD) will take place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on March 2-7, 2006.

According to the FAO, three out of four people suffering from hunger live in rural areas and depend on natural resources such as land and water for their survival.

"If we want to reduce hunger and poverty in the world, we must go to the root causes of the problem," said Parviz Koohafkan, executive secretary of the conference.

"In the poor rural zones, one of the main problems is the lack of secure access to factors of production, particularly land and water," he added.

The main objective of the conference is to analyze agrarian reform and rural development experiences in different countries, and to identify policies, practices and lessons learnt that can bring about a new rural development paradigm based on social inclusion, environmental sustainability and livelihood security for the poor.

Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, is known for hosting the World Social Forum.

Nov. 24 , 2005

Thursday

March 2-7, 2006


XIN_ENG_20051128.0224

LAGOS, Nov. 28 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Small plane crashes in northern Nigeria, two killed

A privately-owned small plane on Monday crashed in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna shortly after take-off, killing two people on board, officials told Xinhua.

"The incident happened at about 10:30 (0930 GMT) in the morning in Kaduna airport soon after the aircraft took off. Two people on board, the pilot and a lady, were killed," said Sam Adurogboye, spokesman for the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.

The crash cause of the Abuja-bound plane is still not clear, Adurogboye said.

He said the plane had been in operation for more than eight years and had just returned to Nigeria on Saturday after regular maintenance in Britain.

The pilot held a US license and the plane was registered in that country but operated in Nigeria, he added.

A Boeing-737 plane crashed on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria's largest city on October 22 three minutes after take-off, killing all 117 on board.

Nov. 28 , 2005

Monday

the morning

more than eight years

Saturday

October 22


WSJ891102-0001
 = 891102
 891102-0001.
 Ralston Profit
@  Declined 47%
@  In 4th Quarter
@  ---
@  By Richard Gibson
@  Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
 11/02/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 RAL
 EARNINGS (ERN)
FOOD PRODUCTS (FOD)

   Ralston Purina Co. reported a 47% decline in fourth-quarter earnings, reflecting restructuring costs as well as a more difficult pet food market.

   The St. Louis company earned $45.2 million, or 65 cents a share, compared with $84.9 million, or $1.24 a share, a year earlier.
Sales in the latest period were $1.76 billion, a 13% increase from last year's $1.55 billion.

   For the year ended Sept. 30, Ralston earned $422.5 million, or $6.44 a share, up 8.9% from $387.8 million, or $5.63 a share.
This year's results included a gain of $70.2 million on the disposal of seafood operations.
Sales for the full year were $6.6 billion, up 13% from $5.8 billion.

   Ralston said its restructuring costs include the phase-out of a battery facility in Greenville, N.C., the recent closing of a Hostess cake bakery in Cincinnati and a reduction in staff throughout the company.
The battery plant, which makes rechargeable nickel cadmium and carbon zinc products,  will  be closed over the next year or so, a spokesman said.

   Ralston attributed its fourth-quarter slump partly to higher costs of ingredients in the pet food business as well as competitive pressures, which required higher advertising spending.
For the year, pet food volume was flat, the company said.

   Its cereal division realized higher operating profit on volume increases, but also spent more on promotion.
The Continental Baking business benefited from higher margins on bread and on increased cake sales, it added.

   Ralston said its Eveready battery unit  was hurt by continuing economic problems in South America.

   Ralston shares closed yesterday at $80.50, off $1, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

fourth-quarter

a year earlier

the latest period

last year

the year

Sept. 30

This year

the full year

recent

the next year or so

fourth-quarter

the year

yesterday


AFP_ENG_19970425.0525

BAGHDAD, April 25 , 1997 (AFP)

Iraq flies Mecca pilgrims home through both exclusion zones by Farouk Choukri

Iraqi helicopters started on Friday to fly home Moslem pilgrims from the Saudi border, violating US-patrolled exclusion zones in the south and north of the country, the official news agency INA said.

A first helicopter carrying "sick, elderly or weary" pilgrims took off from the southern border region of Jodaidat Arar to the town of Mosul in northern Iraq, it said, without giving the number of passengers.

"The operation to transport pilgrims to other governorates will continue," the agency added. A second group of returning pilgrims was expected at Jodaidat Arar, three kilometres (two miles) from the border, on Saturday.

Official Baghdad Radio and Youth TV, which is run by President Saddam Hussein's son Uday, interrupted its programmes to announce the news of the first flight and played patriotic songs.

Baghdad earlier this week sent nine helicopters to the south, already violating the "no-fly" zone, to wait for the Iraqis returning from the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

The flight to Mosul also violates a northern exclusion zone set up shortly after the 1991 Gulf War to protect Iraqi Kurds from air attack by Baghdad.

Iraq said the helicopters were sent to ferry home dozens of elderly and sick pilgrims, in defiance of Washington which imposed the exclusion zone in the south together with London and Paris since 1992.

The United States said the southern flights were a "technical" violation and that it would not take military action in retaliation.

But the US Defense Department on Thursday accused Baghdad of seeking to exploit the annual pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites, known as the hajj, for political ends.

"I think they're trying to hide behind religion or to manipulate the hajj pilgrimage for political reasons," said Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon. "We're not going to play that game.

"We've stressed we're not going to interfere with their efforts to bring pilgrims back from the hajj," he said.

"And we've also made it very clear that we continue to enforce the no- fly, no-drive zone which is designed to prevent the Iraqis from accumulating military power in the southern part of their country."

Baghdad, which in September said it would no longer recognize no-fly zones set up in the south to protect Shiite Moslems and the north for the Kurds, has hailed the flights as a victory.

"Iraq has for years rejected these imaginary lines and announced in its official communiques that it does not recognize the zones because they are not in UN Security Council resolutions," an official spokesman told AFP on Friday.

On April 9, Iraq also flouted the UN sanctions in force since its August 1990 invasion of Kuwait and flew more than 100 Iraqis to Saudi Arabia for the start of the pilgrimage.

Iraq insisted that the flight was "purely humanitarian" and so not a violation of the embargo, a position which China, Egypt, France and Russia supported in the UN Security Council.

The United States failed in its efforts to secure UN condemnation of Iraq for the flight to Saudi Arabia.

April 25 , 1997

Friday

Saturday

this week

Thursday

September

Friday

April 9

August 1990


XIN_ENG_20051122.0105

BERLIN, Nov. 22 , 2005 (Xinhua)

URGENT: Germany's Merkel elected first woman chancellor

Angela Merkel, the leader of the Christian Democrats, was elected Tuesday by the German parliament as new chancellor, the first woman chancellor in Germany.

Nov. 22 , 2005

Tuesday


XIN_ENG_20061109.0297

LUSAKA, Nov. 9 , 2006 (Xinhua)

By-elections ruled out in Malawi: report

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) has declared that there will be no by-elections this year because the electoral process can not be concluded in months, Nation Online of Malawi reported on Thursday.

The declaration came when political parties are busy with campaigning for vacant constituencies for possible by-elections this year.

"Honestly speaking, people should forget by-elections this year because apart from shortage of commissioners, the electoral process is long and cannot be finished within two months," said MEC spokesperson Fegus Lipenga.

Lipenga said that even if President Bingu wa Mutharika can appoint commissioners now, there still will be no by-elections immediately because they have to be briefed on the operations of the commission before they start working.

He also said the commissioners then have to decide on the date of by-elections which would be followed by official opening of the campaign period of about two months."Then there is also the issue of registration and  a cost proposal has to be sent to the Treasury so that they can release money which also takes time. So you can see that it is not easy to conduct by-elections within two or three months from now," Lipenga said.

Mzuzu University political analyst Noel Mbowela said the failure to hold the by-elections in time when a vacancy falls infringes rights of the people in the affected constituency to be represented in the parliament.

Mbowela also criticized the system of allowing the president to choose electoral commissioners. He asked the executive branch to treat vacancies in the National Assembly as a matter of urgency and make sure that they are filled quickly.

The failure to hold by-elections would affect many aspiring candidates and political parties who hoped the polls would be held and have already spent a lot of money on campaigning.

Malawi's constitutional court Tuesday ruled that the parliamentary speaker could declare scores of disputed seats vacant, making possible the ouster of President Wa Mutharika.

Wa Mutharika's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) might stand to lose 70 members of the parliament in the 139-seat assembly following the court's ruling on seats occupied by lawmakers who defected last year to join the DPP, enabling it to become the governing party.

Nov. 9 , 2006

this year

months

Thursday

this year

this year

two months

now

two or three months

now

Tuesday

last year


APW19980219.0476
 NEWS STORY
 02/19/1998 08:02:00

w1151 Cx1f wstm-
r i Cx13  Cx11  BC-Cambodia-Britain-Host     02-19 0690

 BC-Cambodia-Britain-Hostage

Cambodian resistance general looking for remains of missing Briton

 UR By DON PATHAN QC
 UR Associated Press Writer QC

	   O'SMACH, Cambodia (AP) _ The top commander of a Cambodian
resistance force said Thursday he has sent a team to recover the
remains of a British mine removal expert kidnapped and presumed
killed by Khmer Rouge guerrillas almost two years ago.
	   Gen. Nhek Bunchhay, a loyalist of ousted Cambodian Prime
Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, said in an interview with The
Associated Press at his hilltop headquarters that he hopes to recover the remains of Christopher Howes within the next two weeks.
	   Howes had been working for the Britain-based Mines Advisory
Group when he was abducted with his Cambodian interpreter Houn
Hourth in March 1996. There were many conflicting accounts of his
fate.
	   Howes' team was clearing mines 17 kilometers (10 miles) from
Angkor Wat, the fabled 11th century temple that is Cambodia's main
tourist attraction, when it was attacked.
	   In January this year, British police officers who had been searching for Howes concluded he had probably been killed soon
after being captured.
	   The Foreign Office said it had informed the family of Howes, 37
years old when he was kidnapped, that he probably died within weeks
or months of his capture on March 26, 1996.
	   ``Obviously, it is deeply discouraging for the family after 22
months, but there is no proof of life. But there is no evidence in
either direction _ that there is proof of life or death,'' said a
Foreign Office spokesman, speaking with customary anonymity. ``We
will continue to do everything we can  to establish what has happened.''
	   Thai military officials who monitor Cambodian affairs said privately Thursday that Britain, through its embassies in Thailand
and Cambodia, has been pushing hard to resolve the Howes case as
the second anniversary of his abduction nears.
	   Nhek Bunchhay, who had been closely involved in the search for
Howes before having to flee the Cambodian capital after a coup
d'etat last year, appeared confident he would find Howes' remains.
	   He said he received information from Khmer Rouge guerrillas on
where the body had been buried, and recently ordered 10 of his men
from a force of 500 near Khmer Rouge headquarters in Anlong Veng to conduct the search.
	   If and when the remains are found, he said, they would be turned
over to the British Embassy, apparently meaning they would be sent
across the border into Thailand and onward to Bangkok.
	   Nhek Bunchhay said he now believed Howes had been killed within
a week of his capture by a Khmer Rouge faction loyal to Pol Pot,
then the guerrilla group's leader. Pol Pot is considered
responsible for the radical policies that led to the deaths of as
many as 1.7 million Cambodians when the communist group held power
in the late 1970s.
	   At the time Howes was captured, the Khmer Rouge were a more or
less united guerrilla force with more than 10,000 men under arms.
But the group began to fall apart in mid-1996 after the defection
of one of its top leaders, Ieng Sary. Other commanders, and
thousands of guerrillas, followed him.
	   A small hardcore group under Pol Pot continued to hold out at
their headquarters at Anlong Veng in northern Cambodia near the
Thai border.
	   But in June last year, the remaining leadership had a falling
out, and Pol Pot was arrested.
	   In July last year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, Second
Prime Minister Hun Sen staged a successful coup d'etat against
First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh. Ranariddh's
loyalists, including Nhek Bunchhay, his top military commander,
went into hiding or fled the capital.
	   Nhek Bunchhay, evading an intensive manhunt, made his way to
O'Smach, the last major outpost held by Ranariddh's forces. His men
have held the stronghold _ which is on the border just opposite the
Thai province of Surin _ against repeated intense attacks by Hun
Sen's troops. They have been aided by Khmer Rouge guerrillas from
Anlong Veng, who have formed an alliance with Ranariddh's
resistance forces to oppose Hun Sen.

(PROFILE
(WS SL:BC-Cambodia-Britain-Hostage; CT:i;
(REG:ASIA;)
(REG:ENGL;)
(REG:EURO;)
(REG:BRIT;)
(REG:SCAN;)
(REG:MEST;)
(REG:AFRI;)
(REG:INDI;)
(LANG:ENGLISH;))
)

AP-NY-02-19-98 0802EST

02/19/1998 08:02:00

Thursday

almost two years ago

the next two weeks

March 1996

January this year

weeks
or months

March 26, 1996

22
months

Thursday

last year

now

a week

the late 1970s

June last year

July last year


XIN_ENG_20051110.0101

JERUSALEM, Nov. 10 , 2005 (Xinhua)

New Labor leader vows to pull party out of Sharon's coalition

The newly elected Labor Party leader Amir Peretz reiterated his intention Thursday to pull the party out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition government, local newspaper Haaretz reported.

"We will notify the prime minister that we want to leave. We want to leave... certainly out of a desire to turn the Labor Party into an alternative that intends to take power in the next elections," Peretz said.

"Amir will discuss with the prime minister an agreed date for an election," said Yuli Tamir, a Labor legislator and Peretz supporter.

Analysts believe that Labor's leaving will propel the country into political disarray and raise the likelihood of early general elections set for November 2006.

Israeli trade union chief Amir Peretz was unexpectedly elected new leader of the dovish centre-left Labor Party in an election on Wednesday, defeating Vice Premier Shimon Peres who brought Labor in Sharon's cabinet to push for Israeli withdrawal from Gaza which was completed on Sept.12.

Shortly after 6 a.m. local time (0400 GMT), amid cheering from Peretz's supporters, Labor Secretary-General Eitan Cabel announced at the party's headquarters in Tel Aviv that Peretz had won with 42.35 percent of the votes, while Peres was backed by 39.96 percent of voters.

Nov. 10 , 2005

Thursday

November 2006

Wednesday


AFP_ENG_20051212.0089

NAIROBI, Dec 12 , 2005

ATTENTION - ADDS quotes, more details ///

Sudan's top leadership, including President Omar el-Beshir, bears responsibility for widespread atrocities committed in the troubled western Darfur region, a leading human rights watchdog said Monday.

Beshir and 15 other current and former senior officials in the Khartoum government, military commanders and local administrators should be subjected to UN sanctions and probed for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said.

"The Sudanese government at the highest levels is responsible for widespread and systematic abuses in Darfur," HRW said in a report entitled "Entrenching Impunity: Government Responsibility for International Crimes in Darfur."

"Senior Sudanese officials ... must be held accountable for the campaign of ethnic cleansing in Darfur," said HRW's Africa director Peter Takirambudde.

The New York-based group called for the UN Security Council and individual nations to take stronger measures to atrocities there and boost the African Union (AU) military mission in the region.

And it called on the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, to investigate Sudan's entire leadership for possible prosecution for the abuses.

It named Beshir, Sudan's Second Vice President Ali Osman Taha, Defense Minister Abduraheem Hussein, armed forces chief of staff Abbas Arabi and intelligence chief Salah Abdallah Ghosh as among those suspect of orchestrating repression in Darfur.

They "should be investigated for crimes against humanity and war crimes, either as a matter of individual criminal responsibility or command responsibility," HRW said in the nearly 90-page report.

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

As many as 300,000 people have died and more than two million fled their homes in what UN aid agencies have dubbed the world's worst humanitarian crisis with reports of rapes, extrajudicial killings and other atrocities rampant.

Much of the abuse is blamed on Khartoum's proxy militias -- the so-called "Janjaweed" -- but in its report, HRW placed responsibility higher, citing witness accounts from refugees and interviews with Sudanese soldiers and officials.

Based on those accounts, HRW said: "the looting and destruction of villages was not just condoned by government officials, it was methodically organized, with troops and militia members permitted to take land, livestock and other civilian property."

Although the Sudanese army itself appears to have ended operations in Darfur, the Janjaweed are still active and despite promises to rein them in, Khartoum has done little to end the abuses of its proxies, it said.

"The Sudanese leadership continues to implement policies that permit continuing attacks on civilians and perpetuate a climate of fear and intimidation through structural and institutional abuse," HRW said.

"(It) has shown no sign that it is prepared to fundamentally change its policies," the report said.

"If the ongoing abuses in Darfur are to be stopped, and if the ethnic cleansing is to be reversed, then the UN Security Council, regional bodies and other governments must sharply increase their sanctions on the Sudanese government for human rights crimes," it said.

Dec 12 , 2005

Monday


AFP_ENG_20061230.0135

ISLAMABAD, Dec 30 , 2006, 2006

Pakistan calls Saddam hanging a "sad event"

Pakistan, a key US ally, on Saturday described the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein as a "sad event" and expressed hope that it would not further exacerbate the security situation in Iraq.

"The execution of former president Saddam Hussein, which can only be described as a sad event, is another poignant reminder of the violence that continues to grip Iraq," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"We hope that this event would not further exacerbate the security situation," the statement said.

It said Pakistan desired peace, stability and reconciliation in Iraq.

"It remains our earnest hope to see peace, stability and reconciliation so that the people of Iraq regain control of their affairs in a secure environment."

Dec 30 , 2006

Saturday


AFP_ENG_20051216.0490

LONDON, Dec 16 , 2005

ATTENTION - UPDATES with market closings ///

European stock markets closed higher Friday, boosted by a strong signal of business confidence in Germany, the eurozone's biggest economy, and a positive opening on Wall Street.

The London FTSE 100 index added 0.66 percent at 5,531.6 points, the Frankfurt DAX jumped 1.09 percent to 5,353.66 and in Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.67 percent to 4,704.41.

The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares climbed 0.98 percent to 3,556.76.

The euro, meanwhile, rose to 1.2004 dollars.

Germany's Ifo business climate index rose to 99.6 in December, its highest reading in five years and ahead of market expectations, which fuelled hopes that the European economic recovery was indeed under way.

"This increase is all the more favourable because it shows a perfect balance between the positive analysis of the current situation, and the optimistic anticipations for the future," said Alexandre Bourgeois, an economist at Natexis Banques Populaires in Paris.

On Wall Street, US stocks were lifted with bullish comments from General Motors and weaker oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 32.70 points at 10,914.10, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was 1.38 points lower at 2,259.25.

Back in London, financials provided the main boost for blue chips, with the sector in demand after recent trading updates -- with Northern Rock up 3.35 percent at 925.5, Alliance and Leicester ahead 1.75 percent at 959 and HBOS 1.48 percent higher at 962.

Fund management group Amvescap topped the leaders board, however, up 3.69 percent at 436 pence, after it was upgraded to "overweight" from "equal-weight" by Morgan Stanley.

Elsewhere, shares in Centrica added 2.10 percent at 243.50 pence after an inline trading update from the gas distributor.

In Frankfurt, index heavyweight E.ON was among the main gainers on the DAX, rising 3.11 percent to 85.30 euros, amid a report RAG is determined to take over the rest of MDAX-listed speciality chemicals company Degussa by acquiring E.ON's 43 percent stake.

Suez was the largest gainer among Paris blue chips, closing up 3.38 percent at 26.03 euros, after Morgan Stanley resumed coverage with an "overweight" rating and a 30-euro share price target.

French companies with stakes in pay-TV services gained amid unconfirmed reports that Vivendi will take a minority stake in TPS. Lagardere, with an interest in the CanalSatellite unit of Vivendi's Canal Plus, rose 2.71 percent to 64.45 euros, while Vivendi added 1.18 percent at 26.63.

TPS part-owner TF1 rose 0.51 percent to 23.48, while its partner, second liner M6, was 0.81 percent higher at 23.65.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Swiss Market Index climbed 0.44 percent to 7,491.03.

The Amsterdam AEX added 0.95 percent at 436.17, the Brussels Bel-20 advanced 1.49 percent to 3,495.28, the Madrid Ibex-35 took on 0.68 percent at 10,555.3 and the Milan SP/Mib gained 0.76 percent at 35,286.0.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index lost 0.53 percent at 15,173.07 points in the third successive fall, as a firmer yen led to a further dumping of exporter shares, dealers said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.19 percent at 15,029.81.

Dec 16 , 2005

Friday

December

five years

the third successive fall


AFP_ENG_20061223.0022

GAZA CITY, Dec 23 , 2006, 2006

Pro-Abbas officer wounded in Gaza Strip ambush

A colonel in the Preventive Security force loyal to president Mahmud Abbas was wounded in a shooting ambush in the southern Gaza Strip early Saturday, witnesses and emergency services said.

Colonel Hassan Gardua was driving to work in the town of Rafah hard by the Egyptian border when the gunman or gunmen opened fire on his vehicle.

The attack came on the fourth day of a fragile ceasefire between Abbas's secular Fatah faction and the Islamist movement Hamas which leads the government.

The truce, which came after four days of streetfighting in Gaza killed 14 people and wounded dozens, had already suffered minor breaches.

A civilian died on Thursday night in eastern Gaza City in clashes between Hamas and a powerful local clan.

Dec 23 , 2006

early Saturday

the fourth day

four days

Thursday night


XIN_ENG_20061127.0319

DOHA, Nov. 27 , 2006 (Xinhua)

China's badminton head coach delighted with new schedule

Chinese badminton team's head coach Li Yongbo looked delighted as he knew on Monday the competition at the Doha Asian Games had been rescheduled.

The Chinese team arrived at Doha International Airport at 7 a.m. Monday. Several hours later, Li was told by the umpire that the team semifinals and finals would not be played in the same day, but in two days.

"I'm very happy to know that. It's good news," said Li, who had blasted at the former schedule as a "big joke".

The previous schedule had put the team semifinals and finals on Dec. 5. Li had said bluntly that it was "the most unreasonable schedule" he had ever seen.

"Badminton competition demands physical strength," said the head coach. "For Chinese players, two matches a day is too hard to stand, let alone playing the singles and doubles events the next day."

To Li's delight, the team semifinals will take place on Dec. 4 and finals on Dec. 5. He believed his 16-member contingent would fine-tune in two days.

China is the biggest winner at the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2005 Madrid World Championships as the dream team collected three and four golds respectively.

The traditional powerhouse, however, took only two out of seven golds at the Busan Asian Games in 2002. Four years around, Chinese shuttlers will vie for at least three titles, said Li.

Nov. 27 , 2006

Monday

7 a.m.

Monday

Several hours

two

Dec. 5

the next day

Dec. 4

Dec. 5

two

Four years


XIN_ENG_20061102.0177

GAZA, Nov. 2 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Slight progress achieved on issue of captive Israeli soldier: Hamas

A leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza said on Thursday that there was a slight progress made on the issue of free the Israeli soldier held by Palestinian militant groups, adding that more talks were still needed.

Osama al-Muzini here said that the "Israeli occupation is softening stance gradually," however, "there were many points need to be agreed upon."

Meanwhile, al-Muzini revealed that Israel has accepted the principle of prisoners-exchange which had been rejected at the beginning.

He explained that Israel refuses the coincidence principle, saying that "Until recently, Israel used to demand unconditional release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, but now it had agreed to release

Palestinian prisoners in exchange of him."

Corporal Gilad Shalit was captured by three militant groups, led by Hamas, in a cross-border raid last June. The captors demand to swap him for a number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

However, Al-Muzini denied recent reports that the deal to release Shalit was very close. "It is true a good progress has been made but this achievement is still limited and the swap is still in its

early phase."

He also denied that Hamas has handed lists of the prisoners it wished to get them released. "There is still long time before this

phase is reached," added al-Muzini.

Declining to specify a time limit for the swap, al-Muzini accused Israel of trying to get advantage of time and end the issue without losses.

Mentioning a Hamas delegation in Cairo, Al-Muzini said that the talks between Hamas and Egyptian officials focused on the soldier' s issue, forming a Palestinian national unity government and ending international siege on the Hamas-led administration.

Nov. 2 , 2006

Thursday

recently

now

last June

early phase


XIN_ENG_20051118.0285

TUNIS, Nov. 18 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Roundup: WSIS wraps up with agreement on Internet governance

The second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) wrapped up here on Friday with an agreement on Internet governance and vows to benefit all people with information technology.

Following a series of meetings, delegates from over 170 countries adopted the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society and the Tunis Commitment on the final day of the summit, which kicked off on Wednesday.

"The most important thing of the Tunis summit is raising the awareness of the information and communication technologies (ICT), " Yoshio Utsumi, secretary general of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) told reporters at the end of the summit.

Internet Governance

There has been a long debate over the management of the Internet as the United States wants to keep its control and the rest of the world want to share it.

After eleven hours of bargains, negotiators agreed in the agenda that the international management of the Internet should be multilateral and transparent, calling on UN chief Kofi Annan to establish a new forum -- the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), early next year to continue discussions on Internet issues.

The forum, to be convened in spring 2006 in Greece, will involve governments, stakeholders and civil society for further discussions on Internet governance, spam, cyber crime, privacy and other net-related issues.

The IGF is a major step forward toward the Internet management, said officials of the ITU, a UN agency specialized with global telecommunication services.

"It is a win-win deal," Tim Kelly, head of the policy and strategy unit of the ITU, told reporters, adding all governments are ensured to have equal footing over the issue.

"All governments should have an equal role and responsibility, for international Internet governance and for ensuring the stability, security and continuity of the Internet," said the agenda.

It also called for "enhanced cooperation in the future, to enable governments, on an equal footing, to carry out their roles and responsibilities, in international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet."

Since 1998, under the authorization of the US Commerce Department, Washington has controlled the Domain Name System (DNS), a key part of the running of the Internet, through Internet Corporation Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit company based in California.

The United States said it was happy because it still controls while other countries embraced the wording of final documents, which promised equal role and responsibility concerning Internet governance.

"We did not change anything about the role of the US government, " David Gross, coordinator of international communication and information policy in the State Department, said after the negotiations late on Tuesday. "It's very significant."

However, Yet Benhamou, a member of the French delegation, said that he saw it differently.

"What the US did not want was international cooperation on core resources of the Internet," Benhamou said, adding the agreement showed, for the first time, that "there is sovereignty in the Internet space."

Financial Mechanism

Addressing the digital divide, the Tunis Commitment underlined the importance of removing barriers to bridge the digital gap, "in particular, in developing countries."

The summit welcomed a voluntary Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) as "an innovative financial mechanism" to transform the digital gap into digital opportunities for developing world.

The fund, which was launched in Geneva earlier this year, gained recognition in the Tunis Agenda as one means of finance.

So far, the DSF has raised 7 million euros (about 8.2 million US dollars).

Opening the Tunis phase of WSIS on Wednesday, Annan called on nations to show political will to bridge the digital divide.

But money remains a contentious issue, with many rich countries being cautious about providing more aid, arguing that developing nations should be looking at attracting more private investment.

"The challenge to the developing world is now to make sure they have the infrastructure, rules, legal processes and market systems to attract the investment of the technologies that we see on display at the summit," US Assistant Secretary of Commerce Michael Gallagher said.

Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, who spearheaded the fund said the fund will also benefit the West since millions of dollars could then be spent on buying ICT infrastructure and equipment from Western companies.

The Tunis summit completed a two-year process of the WSIS, which outlined the vision of an information society, in which everyone has access to the ICTs at the first phase held in December 2003 in Geneva and marched toward concrete actions to bridge the digital gap.

"It is not the end, just the beginning," Utsumi said, adding " the summit itself ended, but many, many meetings, action and partnership programs must start."

He stressed the importance of follow-up implementation of the Tunis commitment and Tunis Agenda to achieve the UN goal of bringing ICTs for all in an open and inclusive information society by 2015.

Nov. 18 , 2005

Friday

the final day

Wednesday

eleven hours

early next year

spring 2006

Tuesday

earlier this year

Wednesday

December 2003


XIN_ENG_20061118.0084

HANOI, Nov. 18 , 2006 (Xinhua)

discuss sustainable development

Leaders of the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) began their annual meeting in Hanoi on Saturday to facilitate free trade and promote sustainable development in the region.

The closed-door meeting opened Saturday afternoon at Hanoi's National Convention Center after a welcome ceremony for the leaders by Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet at the entrance of the center.

The leaders were sitting in a round-table manner in the meeting room, according to a video tape footage shown to the press at the international media center.

During the two hour-long informal retreat, the leaders discussed issues relating to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), and issues on Regional Trade Agreements and Free Trade Areas, said a press release issued after the meeting.

They also discussed and endorsed the Hanoi Action Plan to implement the Busan Roadmap for realizing the Bogor Goals of free and open trade and investment in the region, and issued a statement on the Doha round of WTO negotiations.

"We reaffirm our collective and individual commitments to concluding an ambitious and balanced WTO Doha agreement," the leaders said in the statement. "We are ready to break the current deadlock: each of us is committed to moving beyond our current positions in key areas of the (Doha) Round."

The endorsed Hanoi Action Plan will help translate the Busan Roadmap into reality by elaborating concrete actions for APEC member economies to take in five areas including the promotion of high-quality regional trade arrangements and free trade agreements.

Immediately after the retreat, the leaders had a one-hour dialogue with the APEC Business Advisory Council.

Speaking at the beginning of the dialogue, Triet described the leaders' discussions as "profound" and "rich."

Later on Saturday evening, the leaders and spouses will attend a formal dinner and cultural performance in the National Convention Center, hosted by Vietnamese president and his spouse.

A trip to the Temple of Literature, a site of interest in Hanoi, was arranged for the spouses in the morning.

The annual meeting of Pacific-Rim leaders is a forum of the highest level in the Asia-Pacific region, drawing the presence of such prominent figures as Chinese President Hu Jintao, U.S. President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The leaders will meet again on Sunday for the second retreat in the morning, where they will discuss matters concerning human security, economic and technical cooperation, APEC reform and other issues.

A Hanoi Declaration is expected to be issued after they wrap up the two day's meeting on Sunday.

Founded in 1989, APEC is a major regional forum acting as the primary regional vehicle for promoting open trade and practical economic and technical cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

It represents the most economically dynamic region in the world, with its 21 member economies accounting for more than one third of the world's population, approximately 60 percent of world GDP, about 47 percent of world trade.

Nov. 18 , 2006

Saturday

Saturday afternoon

Saturday evening

the morning

Sunday

the morning

two day

Sunday


XIN_ENG_20061128.0469

BEIJING, Nov. 29 , 2006 (Xinhua)

URGENT: RMB breaks 7.84 mark against U.S. dollar

The value of the Renminbi (RMB) against the U.S. dollar hit a new high on Wednesday, with the central parity rate at 7.8394 yuan to one dollar, breaking the 7.84 mark.

This signifies RMB value has risen by 5.32 percent after China's reform of the exchange rate system on July 21, 2005.

Nov. 29 , 2006

Wednesday

July 21, 2005


XIN_ENG_20061120.0285

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 , 2006 (Xinhua)

U.S. urges Syria, Iran not to interfere in Lebanon

The United States said on Monday that it rejects the interference of internal affairs of Lebanon by Syria and Iran and said such efforts should be stopped.

"And we certainly would reject any efforts on the part of outside governments to try and interfere or influence" Lebanon's political process, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said at a briefing.

"And you certainly know we've spoken to and continue to speak to the fact that the Syrian government continues its interference into Lebanese affairs. We definitely want to see that stopped," Casey said.

The United States does not want to see any other outside actors, including Iran, interfering in the legitimate decision-making of the Lebanese political system, Casey added.

The United States has accused Syrian officials of involving in the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syria has denied it has any links to the killing of Hariri.

The United States has also accused Iran of providing support for Lebanon's Hezbollah, a group branded by the United States as terrorist.

Nov. 20 , 2006

Monday


AFP_ENG_19970413.0271

DURRES, Albania, April 13 , 1997 (AFP)

First French soldiers disembark in Albania, meet Italians by Stephane Bentura

The first French soldiers of an international force in Albania disembarked here at dawn Sunday and met up with an advanced Italian unit, while the main body of troops for "Operation Alba" is due to arrive in the week ahead.

A 40-strong team from several special forces units came ashore from the troop transport ship Champlain, which had sailed from the Italian port of Brindisi. A further 80 troops remained aboard in reserve.

About 20 four-wheel-drive vehicles were unloaded onto the dilapidated quayside of Albania's main port, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the capital Tirana.

Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Marc Lebout, who is in charge of the French operation, said he had been greeted by several officials from the Albanian defence ministry.

"We don't feel in a hostile environment," Lebout said.

"It's a humanitarian mission. We're here to prepare the ground for our colleagues' arrival," he said.

Two hours after the French landed, an Italian military vehicle drove up to the port to make contact.

"The situation is very calm here. The population is very self- disciplined, they want tranquility," said Lieutenant Colonel Michele Tunzi, of an Italian paratroop unit.

The advanced Italian units landed on Albanian soil on Friday, about 20 arriving by sea and the same number flying in to Tirana airport.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi told a press conference here held along with his Albanian counterpart Bashkim Fino that Operation Alba would end one month after elections are held sometime before the end of June.

Prodi said: "Our aim is to leave as soon as we have helped reconstruct the state, that is one month after the democratic elections we are asking for."

He confirmed that most of the troops in the operation were to arrive on Tuesday.

Prodi also visited the port of Vlore in the south, where the Albanian insurrection began. From the balcony of the local government offices he called for a minute's silence for the four dead and 83 missing from a refugee boat that sank after colliding with an Italian warship on March 28.

"Alba (Italian for dawn) is not just the start of a new day, but also that of the new Albania," he said to applause. "Next week we will all be busy working together for the rebirth of Albania."

A spokesman for the French army information service said the advance party was made up of highly-mobile troops whose task was to prepare for the arrival of the troop ship Orage, due here Tuesday with 450 marines on board.

"There is no question of giving in to the slightest threat or the least blackmail," spokesman Major Herve Gourmelon said.

"It would be more stupidity than hostility if a group attacked the force," he added.

France is expected to provide up to 1,000 troops to the UN-approved multinational force in Albania.

Their principal task will be to secure the port and the road linking it to Tirana.

The mission, which will total around 6,000 troops, is intended to facilitate aid shipments to the most vulnerable sections of the population.

The biggest contributor will be Italy with around 2,500 men.

Italy which occupied Albania between April 1939 and the end of World War II declaring its king, Victor Emmanuel III, king of Albania, has traditionally close ties with its neighbor, only 70 kilometers (45 miles) across the Adriatic Sea.

Although the force is only mandated to secure aid channels, Lieutenant Colonel Thimi Hudhra -- one of the Albanian military staff sent to meet the French troops -- said he was counting on the troops of Operation Alba to restore order in his country.

"We have already got together three or four units totalling 2,500 men in Tirana to work with the international force," he said.

The force is not going to start disarming civilians who seized weapons during the Albanian insurgency however.

Despite the apparent absence of hostility in Durres and the north, question marks remain over the reception the force will get in the south, much of which is in rebel hands.

Greece, Italy and Romania are expected to deploy troops to the south, while Spanish troops will be sent to the north and the French will remain in Durres and Tirana.

In Greece's northern city of Salonika, General Manoussos Preveroudakis, commander-in-chief of the Greek army, said the Greek contingent was ready after inspecting the troops.

He said that "all the instructions have been given" to the force of about 680 men who will be deployed in Tirana and Vlore.

Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said the soldiers would travel to Tirana in a C-130 transport plane.

An authoritative Greek source said most of the contingent, made up entirely of career soldiers, would leave on Wednesday.

Other contingents will be supplied by Austria, Denmark and Turkey, but it is not yet clear where they will be posted.

April 13 , 1997

Sunday

the week ahead

Two hours

Friday

one month

the end of June

Tuesday

March 28

Next week

Tuesday

April 1939

Wednesday


WSJ891030-0030
 = 891030
 891030-0030.
 Shoney's to Report
@  Write-Off in Quarter
@  Totaling $2.5 Million
 10/30/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 SHN
 NASHVILLE, Tenn.

   Shoney's Inc. said it will report a write-off of $2.5 million, or seven cents a share, for its fourth quarter ended yesterday.
The restaurant operator cited transaction costs from its 1988 recapitalization as a result of a $160 million restructuring of its bank debt.

   The write-off will be reported as an extraordinary item in the company's 1989 operating results.

   In addition, the effective interest rate on the $410 million of total remaining bank debt after the restructuring is 10.66%.
The combined effect of these changes is expected to save the company about $4 million in interest expenses next year, or six cents a share.

   Shoney's said the latest restructuring affected bank indebtedness that was incurred to finance $585 million of the company's $728 million recapitalization that took place in 1988.

   The company has made payments of $175 million against the original $585 million of bank debt incurred in connection with the recapitalization.
These payments consisted of $54 million in scheduled payments and $121 million in prepayments, funded by $82.8 million from operating cash flow, zero-coupon subordinated debt and assets sales.

fourth quarter

yesterday

next year


XIN_ENG_20051117.0053

CAIRO, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

elections

Egypt's Electoral Commission has announced the final results of the first phase of the three-stage parliamentary elections, the Egyptian Gazette daily reported on Thursday.

Thirty-one seats were decided by the ballot held on Nov. 9 with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) garnering 26 seats, the Muslim Brotherhood four seats, and another going to an independent, according to the commission.

The run-off for 133 seats was held on Tuesday and the NDP, led by President Hosni Mubarak, won 42 seats, the commission announced late Wednesday.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's de facto largest opposition group, won 30 seats, the independents won 54 and opposition parties won eight, it added.

The first phase of Egypt's three-stage parliamentary election was held in 82 constituencies across eight governorates, including the capital Cairo.

The second and third stages will be held on Nov. 20 and Dec. 1 respectively. Any run-offs, if necessary, will be held six days after each round of voting.

Nov. 17 , 2005

Thursday

Nov. 9

Tuesday

late Wednesday

Nov. 20

Dec. 1 respectively

six days


AFP_ENG_19970410.0536

NEW YORK, April 10 , 1997 (AFP)

JP Morgan net drops in first quarter

JP Morgan net profits fell 3.4 percent to 424 million dollars in the first quarter from 439 million dollars in the same period last year, the bank announced Thursday.

Net profit per share was 2.04 dollars against 2.13 last year.

Sales rose to 1.83 billion dollars, from 1.74 billion.

JP Morgan Chairman Douglas Warner said the company's "good" first quarter result was based on higher revenues and increasing global diversification, noting that client activity "remains strong" into the second quarter.

The company's Finance and Advisory unit's revenues increased eight percent to 451 million dollars, mainly as a result of higher debt and equity underwriting revenues.

Market making revenues fell 38 million dollars 733 million with revenues in emerging markets, equities, and foreign exchange up strongly, while fixed income revenues in developed markets fell from the "high" levels of 1996, Warner said.

Asset Management and Servicing revenues increased nine percent to 375 million dollars.

April 10 , 1997

the first quarter

the same period last year

Thursday

2.13 last year

the second quarter


XIN_ENG_20061123.0145

MOSCOW, Nov. 23 , 2006 (Xinhua)

ISS crew play golf during space walk

The 14th crew of the International Space Station (ISS) played golf during a nearly six-hour space walk in a Russian program on Thursday, a Mission Control spokesman said.

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin and U.S. astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria opened the hatches and begun their walk at 0020 GMT on Thursday after a 60-minute delay for technical reasons, said Valery Lyndin, spokesman for the Mission Control Center near Moscow.

According to the Itar-Tass news agency,the pair spent in outer space five hours 38 minutes instead of the planned five hours 47 minutes, Lyndin said.

"Most of the program has been fulfilled," Lyndin said. They played golf, installed a neutron telescope on the exterior of the Zvezda service module, took a picture of an antenna of the Kurs docking system and replaced a WAL 2 antenna.

German astronaut Thomas Reiter assisted the space walk from the ISS.

Tyurin hit a ball with a golf club manufactured by the Canadian firm Element 21 Golf.

The company's chiefs said that they wanted to mark by the space "game of golf" the 35 anniversary of the first "golf strike" made by American astronaut Alan Shepard on the moon surface.

Tyurin's strike, which has entered the Guinness Book of Records, was only a two-minute event, but preparations for it were long. Lopez-Allegria helped him in fixing a device with a spring that sent the ball in a needed direction.

The technical director of the Golf project, Alexander Alexandrov, told reporters that the golf ball would travel "miles and miles" in space, while Shepard's ball flew only 22 feet.

Unlike usual golf balls weighing 35 grams, the space ball weighs only three grams.

Under the contract, the golf club and remaining balls will be returned to the Earth in a Soyuz spacecraft in the spring and turned over to the customers.

Besides the golf, Tyurin and Lopez-Allegria examined the antenna of the Kurs system for problems that arose during the docking of Russia's supply ship Progress with the ISS in late October. They tried to retract the antenna, but failed to do so.

The pair moved a WAL 2 antenna to a more convenient place that will be used during the docking of the European craft ATV, the launch of which is scheduled for the beginning of 2008.

Nov. 23 , 2006

Thursday

Thursday

35 anniversary

late October

the beginning of 2008


AFP_ENG_20061214.0768

SINGAPORE, Dec 15 , 2006, 2006

Oil prices steady in Asia after gains on OPEC production cuts

Oil prices were steady in Asian trade Friday after sharp overnight gains on news the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would cut output further to shore up the market, dealers said.

At 10:15 am (0215 GMT), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery, was up four cents to 62.55 US dollars a barrel from New York trade where it had risen 1.14 dollars to 62.51 dollars on the OPEC lead.

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery was steady at 62.12 dollars.

OPEC's decision to cut output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from February showed the oil cartel's resolve to maintain crude prices at 60 dollars and above, dealers said.

"The indication from OPEC is they are determined to defend the 60-dollar price level," said Victor Shum, an analyst with energy consultancy Purvin and Gertz.

OPEC ministers meeting in Nigeria on Thursday announced the latest round of production cuts which follows a reduction of 1.2 million bpd from November onwards.

"The market reacted bullishly to OPEC's decision," said Phil Flynn at Alaron Trading. "Some people doubted that it would take the decision and OPEC proved that it is very serious in keeping prices in control."

Flynn said that the decision to start the cuts in February "eased some concerns about cutting into the bulk of winter."

The announcement of a second cut in two months followed warnings that a further reduction could spark sharply higher prices in the coming months, the peak time for oil demand during the northern hemisphere winter.

"The key point for us is the risk for OPEC to over-tighten the market," Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish said.

"Oil inventories have eroded substantially over the past few weeks, especially in the US, and in a market going through such a rapid degree of tightening we do not think OPEC should have cut so much."

The US Department of Energy in its latest report said crude oil reserves fell 4.3 million barrels to 335.4 million in the week ended December 8, much more than the decline of 1.3 million barrels expected.

Dec 15 , 2006

Friday

January

January

February

Thursday

November

February

two months

the coming months

winter

the past few weeks

the week

December 8


AFP_ENG_20061221.0029

BAGHDAD, Dec 21 , 2006, 2006

ATTENTION - UPDATES toll ///

A suicide bomber killed 13 Iraqis queuing at a police recruitment centre in central Baghdad on Thursday and wounded 12 more, security and medicals sources said.

The bomber, believed to have been wearing an explosive vest, struck at sunrise outside a police academy in a street in the heart of the Iraqi capital that has been barred to traffic, he said.

Before the traffic ban had been put into place, the police academy near Palestine Street in the Rusafa District, had come under attacks three times by car bomb, mortar and a suicide bomber.

Ten police recruits were killed instantly and another three died of their injuries after being taken to the al-Kindi hospital, a medical source said.

In October last year, a bomber in a suicide vest killed 17 people when he blew himself up on a bus dropping police cadets off at the academy.

Since then security has been improved in the area, which is near the main interior ministry headquarters, but the city of Baghdad remains in the grip of mounting insurgent and sectarian violence.

Dec 21 , 2006

Thursday

October last year


AFP_ENG_20061204.0140

LONDON, Dec 4 , 2006, 2006

Oil prices fall, though Brent crude holds above 64 dollars

World oil prices dropped on Monday after striking two-month high points the previous week on supply concerns.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for January delivery slid 52 cents to 64.10 dollars in electronic trading.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, lost 45 cents to 62.98 dollars per barrel in electronic deals before the official opening of the US market.

World oil prices had risen sharply last week, mainly owing to data that revealed falls in US energy stocks and expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will decide later this month to cut further its oil output.

Dec 4 , 2006

Monday

January

January

last week

this month


XIN_ENG_20051128.0336

RIYADH, Nov 28 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Israel's new Labor leader could help peace: Saudi King

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said the new Israeli Labour leader Amir Peretz may help unite Israel's "peace camp" and promote talks with the Palestinians, the official Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

"The emergence of Amir Peretz as the leader of the Israeli Labour party may pave the way for a breakthrough and lead to unification of the dispersed peace camp in Israel," SPA quoted Abdullah as saying.

Peretz emerged as the winner during a leadership election on Nov. 9, replacing the veteran Labor chief Shimon Peres.

Peretz, who had promised to pull Labour out of a coalition government headed by Ariel Sharon, pledged to restart talks with Palestinians if Labour wins parliamentary elections in March.

Nov 28 , 2005

Monday

Nov. 9

March


XIN_ENG_20061116.0146

JAKARTA , Nov. 16 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Indonesian shares close lower

Share prices on the Jakarta Stock Exchange ended lower Thursday with the composite index down 1.29 points to close at 1,668.8 points.

Turnovers totaled 1.9 billion shares worth 2.3 trillion rupiah (246.6 million U.S. dollars).

Gainers beat losers 69 to 61, with 80 other issues left unchanged.

Nov. 16 , 2006

Thursday


XIN_ENG_20061121.0168

JERUSALEM, Nov. 21 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Israeli anti-rocket defense system decided soon

Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said Tuesday afternoon that Israel would decide within weeks what anti-rocket defense system to erect in areas bordering the Gaza Strip, Israel's local newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on its website.

Sneh said that the Israeli government was examining four different systems produced both in Israel and abroad, but their efficiency was as yet unproven.

Sneh made the announcement hours after an Israeli civilian was critically wounded in a Qassam rocket hit on a factory in Sderot, a city in south Israel.

Since Monday, more than 25 Qassam rockets have landed in the Negev, seven in Sderot and one which scored a direct hit on a home, that caused extensive damage, in a nearby kibbutz.

Meanwhile, Israel Defense Forces Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz also said Monday that Israel was not "coming to terms" with Qassam rocket fire, however, he was not currently in favor of launching a massive ground operation into Gaza to stop the daily rocket attacks on towns in the western Negev.

Nov. 21 , 2006

Tuesday afternoon

weeks

Monday

Monday


XIN_ENG_20051128.0159

SHANGHAI, Nov. 28 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Nuclear industry research base launched in Shanghai

The China Nuclear Industry Group (CNIG) set up Sunday a research base for nuclear power, instruments for civilian use, and military industry, in Shanghai, according to sources with CNIG.

Located in Shanghai Caohejin high-tech development zone, the research base covers 21,000 square meters of floor space, and will combine the functions of management, service and trade.

An official with CNIG said that China's nuclear industry has embraced a crucial development opportunity, with nuclear power, nuclear fuel and nuclear applications to be the three pillars.

By the year 2020, the installed capacity of China's nuclear power is expected to reach 40 million kilowatts, accounting for 25 percent of the country's total.

In the coming five years, the market scale for nuclear applications will reach 100 billion yuan (about 12.5 billion US dollars).

Wang Shoujun, CNIG deputy general manager, said that in the 2006-2010 period, his group will complete integration and research of the meters matched with the nuclear industry to provide more home-made products for the country's nuclear power construction.

Nov. 28 , 2005

Sunday

the year 2020

five years

the 2006-2010 period


AFP_ENG_20061214.0663

BRASILIA, Dec 14 , 2006, 2006

=(PICTURE)=

Brazil and Russia agreed Thursday to develop cooperation in military, trade, space and energy affairs during a visit by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, officials said.

Reporters peppered Lavrov and his Brazilian counterpart, Celso Amorim, with questions about a proposed purchase of Russian-made military helicopters at a joint news conference.

Amorim would only say there had been a discussion of whether the helicopters would be bought already assembled or be assembled in Brazil, and whether they would have Brazilian components.

The newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported last week that the deal involves 30 Russian military attack and transport helicopters, worth 400 million dollars and sought by the Brazilian government to fight smuggling and drug trafficking.

Russia recently sold arms and aircraft to Venezuela, but Lavrov denied that his country was pursuing a career as a weapons supplier in Latin America.

"We are not selling them to any country that violates international laws," Lavrov said.

The top diplomats of the two resource-rich countries also discussed biofuels, an area of expertise for Brazil, and signed an agreement to protect technology in their planned cooperation in space projects.

Dec 14 , 2006

Thursday

last week

recently


AFP_ENG_19970414.0495

GENEVA, April 14 , 1997 (AFP)

US wants China put on the spot over rights

The United States wants China put on the spot over its suspect human rights record at the UN Human Rights Commission's annual meeting here, US rights envoy John Shattuck said Monday.

Shattuck was in Geneva to lobby against a Chinese motion to block a resolution criticising its human rights record, which would in effect block the 53-state Commission's annual meeting from discussing it.

"No country, no matter how large, no matter how strongly it feels about the subject, should be able to block consideration by the commission of its rights record," said Shattuck, US Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights.

China, as in previous years, has lodged a non-action motion to block criticism at the forum on Tuesday.

"For this reason, we are concerned by the efforts of the government of China to foreclose discussion through a non-action motion on the resolution," the US official said.

April 14 , 1997

Monday

previous years

Tuesday


XIN_ENG_20051117.0120

HONG KONG, Nov. 17 , 2005 (Xinhua)

Taiwan share prices close down -- Nov. 17

Share prices on the Taiwan Stock Exchange closed lower Thursday, with the weighted index moved down 25.26 points to close at 6,020.94, according to reports reaching here from Taipei.

The bourse opened at the day's high of 6,063.09 and hit a low of 5,994.91 during trading. A total of 2.75 billion shares changed hands on a market turnover of 73.23 billion Taiwan dollars (2.18 billion US dollars).

Only one of the eight major stock categories gained ground, with paper and pulp issues moving up at 0.2 percent.

Seven of the eight major stock categories lost ground, with banking and financial shares moving down the most at 1.3 percent, followed by construction issues and foodstuff issues both at 0.6 percent.

Plastics and chemicals shares moved down at 0.5 percent, textile stocks at 0.4 percent, and cement stocks and machinery and electronics shares both at 0.1 percent.

Losers outnumbered gainers 560 to 442, with 186 stocks remaining unchanged.

Nov. 17 , 2005

Thursday


WSJ891026-0085
 = 891026
 891026-0085.
 Westinghouse
@  Sees Big Gains
@  For Next Year
@  ---
@  Boost in Operating Margins,
@  Double-Digit Per-Share
@  Growth Forecast by Firm
@  ----
@  By Gregory Stricharchuk
@  Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
 10/26/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 WX
 ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS AND EQUIPMENT (ELQ)
 NEW YORK

   Westinghouse Electric Corp., capitalizing on a major restructuring program, expects operating margins of more than 10% and double-digit per-share earnings growth next year, top officers told securities analysts here.

   John C. Marous, chairman and chief executive officer, also said the company expects sales from continuing businesses to rise 8.5% annually through the next three years.

   In 1988, the company earned $822.8 million, or $5.66 a share, on sales of $12.49 billion.

   Since 1983, Westinghouse has shed 70 businesses that it did n't expect to produce 10% operating margins while acquiring 55 businesses.

   In the past 20 months alone, Paul E. Lego, president and chief operating officer, said the divestiture of $300 million of slow-growth, low-profit businesses has been more than offset by $600 million in profitable acquisitions.

   Westinghouse expects to meet its corporate goals despite a softening in the economy.
Even if the gross national product is either flat or in the growth range of 2% to 2.5%, "we can handle that," Mr. Marous said.
GNP is the total value of the nation's output of goods and services.

   A bright spot is the company's power-generation business, which is experiencing a surge of growth for the first time in years.
Mr. Marous said the business will achieve higher sales this year than the company's target goal of 8.5%.

   While Westinghouse hasn't had a nuclear power plant order from a U.S. utility in about a decade, excess capacity is beginning to shrink.
Mr. Lego said the company foresees the need for a major boost in new-generation capability throughout the 1990s.

   Westinghouse also is well positioned to sell steam turbine and gas turbine plants to independent power producers.
The company's ability to respond to energy needs world-wide will be enhanced through a recently announced venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mr. Lego said.

   He said the independent power segment could grow to provide as much as 50% of near-term generation capacity, adding: "We expect to supply a significant share of this market."

   Westinghouse also expects its international sales to soon grow to 25% of total corporate sales from 20% last year.
The company is negotiating with the Soviets to build a Thermo King truck-refrigeration plant that would produce about 10,000 units annually.

   Mr. Marous said Westinghouse would own 70% of the facility.
The deal, which will involve an initial $20 million investment, was struck with a handshake, he added.

   Company officials also said that any gain from the sale of Westinghouse's 55% stake in its transmission and distribution venture with the Swiss firm of Asea Brown Boveri will be offset by a restructuring charge in the fourth quarter.
The executives did n't disclose the size of the expected gain.

   Capital expenditure in 1990 will rise slightly, Mr. Marous said, from an estimated $470 million this year.

next year

the next three years

the past 20 months

years

this year

about a decade

the 1990s

recently

soon

last year

the fourth quarter

this year


WSJ891102-0026
 = 891102
 891102-0026.
 Marketing Brief -- Heritage Media Corp.:
@  Firm to Buy Rest of Shares
@  Of POP Radio in a Swap
 11/02/89
 WALL STREET JOURNAL (J)
 HTG POPX
 TENDER OFFERS, MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS (TNM)

   Heritage Media Corp., New York, said it offered  to buy the shares of POP Radio Corp. it  does n't  already own in a stock swap.

   Heritage, which owns 51% of POP's 3.6 million shares outstanding, said it  will exchange one share of a new preferred stock for each POP common share it  does n't  already own.
Depending upon how many warrants and options  are exercised prior to completion of the transaction, Heritage would issue between 1.8 million and 2.35 million preferred shares, a Heritage spokesman estimated.
In national over-the-counter trading yesterday, POP plunged $4 to $14.75.

   The preferred stock, which would have a dividend rate of $1.76 a year, would be convertible into Heritage common at a rate of four common shares for each preferred.
New York-based POP Radio provides, through a national, in-store network, a customized music, information and advertising service which simulates live radio.
Heritage owns and operates television and radio stations and in-store advertising and promotion programs.

yesterday


XIN_ENG_20061130.0391

BRUSSELS, Nov. 30 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Amsterdam orders prostitution windows shut

A large amount of the window prostitution in Amsterdam's famous red light district will be shut down as the city gets tougher on criminal activities, Dutch news agency ANP reported on Thursday.

The Amsterdam city council said investigations had revealed about one-third of the prostitution sector is allegedly involved in money laundering.

Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands and Amsterdam's red light district is well known for the prostitutes that offer their services from behind glowing windows to their "customers."

A total of 33 permits for the sex windows were revoked. About 100 of the 350 prostitution windows in the Dutch capital's red light district will be forced to close by the end of the year.

However, the operators of the sex windows can still appeal against the city council's decision to withdraw their permits.

Under a law introduced in 2003, the Amsterdam city council can investigate the operational management in the sex industry so as to prevent authorities from unintentionally supporting criminal activities by issuing permits and subsidies.

It is the first time that the city council used the new regulations. Amsterdam now intends to investigate the rest of the city's sex industry, including its brothels.

Hotels, cafes and restaurants will also be investigated.

Nov. 30 , 2006

Thursday

the end of the year

now


XIN_ENG_20061120.0097

TEHRAN, Nov. 20 , 2006 (Xinhua)

for nuke program: ISNA

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that his country wants to have 100,000 centrifuges for enriching uranium, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported.

"We intend to have 100,000 centrifuges and, God willing, Iran will be able to meet its needs in nuclear fuel by next year," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

The Iranian president said last week that Iran intended to launch 60,000 centrifuges in its nuclear program.

Iran has so far built two cascades of 164 centrifuges each for uranium enrichment, which can be used to make nuclear fuel or, in much higher grades, the core of an atom bomb.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini confirmed earlier this month Iran's plan to install 3,000 centrifuges for uranium enrichment by March 2007.

Asked whether Tehran would execute its plan to install 3,000 centrifuges by the end of the current Iranian year, which will end on March 20, 2007, the spokesman answered that "Iranian officials and experts are still seeking to carry out this (plan)."

The United States has been seeking to impose sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council on the grounds that Tehran is developing a nuclear-weapon program under the guise of a civilian- use program.

However, Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and voiced hope for talks on the nuclear standoff. But the Islamic Republic rejected a prerequisite of suspending nuclear work for such talks.

Nov. 20 , 2006

Monday

next year

last week

this month

March 2007

the end of the current Iranian year

March 20, 2007


AFP_ENG_20061226.0102

BEIJING, Dec 26 , 2006, 2006

China's economy expected to grow 9.5 percent in 2007: think tank

China's economy is expected to grow by 9.5 percent next year, realizing the government's goal of achieving "steady but fast" growth, state media reported Tuesday, citing a top government think tank.

The slowdown from this year's estimated 10.5 percent will be led by a cooling in investment and a less brisk world economy affecting China's exports, the Shanghai Securities News said, citing the State Information Center.

The report forecast the country's export to rise by 15 percent in 2007, about 10 percentage points lower than the figure this year.

The acceleration of fixed-asset investment, which has been fueled by high liquidity and companies' reinvestments of large profits, will ease slightly next year to 20 percent growth as the government keeps tightening, it said.

However, the negative impacts of the slowdown in investment and export growth could be compensated to some extent by rising domestic consumption bolstered by residents' anticipation of rising incomes, the report said.

Dec 26 , 2006

next year

Tuesday

this year

next year


AFP_ENG_20051210.0373

MADRID, Dec 10 , 2005

Spanish league result

Spanish league results on Saturday:

Valencia 1 (Vicente 74) Athletic Bilbao 1 (Etxeberria 57)

Real Sociedad v Villarreal - late kickoff

Sunday

Atletico Madrid v Alaves, Deportivo La Coruna v Cadiz, Getafe v Racing Santander, Osasuna v Mallorca, Real Betis v Espanyol, Real Zaragoza v Celta Vigo, Malaga v Real Madrid, Barcelona v Sevilla

Dec 10 , 2005

Saturday


AFP_ENG_20051215.0705

PERTH, Australia, Dec 16 , 2005

Australia win toss and elect to bat in first Test

Australia won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against South Africa at the Western Australian Cricket Association Ground here Friday.

For South Africa, star allrounder Jacques Kallis was left out of the side after failing a last-minute fitness test on his injured left elbow. It is the first time in two years that Kallis has missed a Test match.

"Though Jacques made significant progress, it was not enough to make him eligible for selection in the Test match," team physiotherapist Shane Jabbar said.

Captain Graeme Smith said the team was upbeat, despite Kallis' loss.

"The team is pretty confident, it hasn't unsettled us much," he said.

Jacques Rudolph was brought in as the number three batsman with captain Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers to open the batting for the Proteas.

Australia have named seamer Nathan Bracken in their bowling attack.

Light drizzle was falling at the ground but was forecast to clear later in the day.

The wicket, known for its pace, had a light cover of grass and the overcast conditions were expected to be good for bowling.

Teams:

South Africa: Graeme Smith (c), AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Garnett Kruger (12th man).

Australia: Ricky Ponting (c), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Brad Hodge, Mike Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Glenn McGrath, Stuart Clark (12th man).

Dec 16 , 2005

Friday

two years

the day


XIN_ENG_20061104.0115

GAZA, Nov. 4 , 2006 (Xinhua)

Gaza

Two Palestinian Islamic Hamas militants were killed Saturday afternoon after an Israeli aircraft targeted a group of militants by one missile east of Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip, medics confirmed.

Eyewitnesses said that an Israeli army reconnaissance drone fired one missile at two Islamic Hamas militants east of Jabalia refugee camp as they were trying to launch a homemade rocket from northern Gaza Strip at Israel.

Medics said that two brothers, 23-year-old Eessa and 25-year- old Ali arrived dead at Kamal Odwan Hospital near Jabalia. No more injuries were reported.

In central Gaza Strip, another group of Islamic Jihad (Holy War) militants had escaped a possible death after another Israeli aircraft targeted their car, said eyewitnesses, adding that they jumped from the car before the rocket hit it.

The Israeli army has intensified its ground and air offensive on Gaza Strip since Wednesday morning, killing at least 44 Palestinians and wounding more than 150 others.

Israeli said the aim of the offensives is to prevent Palestinian militants from launching homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel.

Nov. 4 , 2006

Saturday afternoon

Wednesday morning


XIN_ENG_20051115.0174

SHANGHAI, Nov. 15 , 2005 (Xinhua)

withdrawals

Tennis fans will be compensated for the withdrawals and absentees of tennis masters at the season-ending Masters Cup, said senior officials from the organizing committee here on Tuesday.

"Fans who have already bought tickets for this tournament will be able to enjoy a discount next year in the Tennis Masters Cup with no price raising," said Wang Liqun, deputy director of the organizing committee for the year-end event jointly held by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the world governing body, and the ATP.

By the same token, the ATP has also promised that in the next three to six months, some of the top-notch or first-class tennis players will come to Shanghai to meet fans and endorsers.

"In this way, we hope that we are able, to a certain degree, to compensate for the regret," added Wang who promised that details about the compensation wpuld come out in one or two days.

The Masters Cup, which is always at risk of absenteeism as it comes at the end of the season, has been without five of the world's leading six players after only the second day.

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal Monday announced his pulling out with a left foot injury before his Masters debut even started, and minutes later Andre Agassi further long line of withdrawals at the ATP season-ending event, blaming a bad ankle sprain sustained playing racquetball.

The loss, having severely diminished the tournament's status as the showcase for the finest talent in the men's game, had seen third-ranked Andy Roddick pulling out before the tournament with a back problem and Australian Open winner Marat Safin with a knee injury.

Lleyton Hewitt, ranked fourth, remained in Sydney with his wife, actress Rebecca Cartwright, who is expecting the couple's first child within two weeks.

Top-ranked Roger Federer was left the only top-five player in the elite field, but the two-time defending champion might not go the distance with a sore right ankle.

"We certainly feel regret, and the regret actually comes from not only the fans, but the organizing committee and also the ATP," said another deputy director of the tournament Qin Weichang Tuesday evening.

As an immediate action from the organizers for apologizing to fans, Nadal went on court Monday night between matches and to the media center to say sorry for his withdrawal. Also the 19-year-old Spaniard spared 40 minutes Tuesday afternoon to meet with his fans, which drew about 500 to attend.

The organizing committee and the ATP had a press conference Monday night, apologizing to the media and public for the situation with two tennis masters pulling out.

"With both Raf (Rafael Nadal) and Andre (Agassi) being injured in the one day is extraordinary. As we know, this comes on the back of three other significant withdrawals," said Monday Brad Drewett, the vice president of ATP.

"It's in many ways what I describe as the perfect storm," added the former tennis player, who's also here the tournament director for the year-ending event of ATP.

Since the beginning of the ATP World Championships and now the Tennis Masters Cup, up until this week, There had been a total of two withdrawals in 15 years before Monday night.

Nov. 15 , 2005

Tuesday

next year

the next three to six months

one or two

the end of the season

the second day

Monday

two weeks

Tuesday evening

Monday night

Tuesday afternoon

Monday night

one day

Monday

this week

15 years

Monday night