Kmoze site help to build up your link Popularity and give you higher Page Rank. http://www.kmoze.com WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama on Wednesday lauded Singapore's "legendary" founding father Lee Kuan Yew, as he sought advice ahead of his first trip to Asia since taking office. Obama told reporters before a meeting with Lee that he was looking forward to hearing his views on the evolving situation in the region, before leaving on November 11 for a trip to Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. "This is one of the legendary figures of Asia in the 20th and 21st centuries," Obama said as he sat side-by-side with Lee in the Oval Office. "He is somebody who helped to trigger the Asian economic miracle," Obama said, adding that Singapore had been an outstanding friend and ally of the United States for many years. Lee, 86, said that he was privileged to visit Obama at a "time of renewal and change in America, and during a period of transition where the world order is changing." Obama's trip to Singapore includes his inaugural appearances at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and a meeting with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Lee, whose official title is Minister Mentor, served as prime minister of Singapore between 1959 to 1990, and is regarded as an expert on Asian affairs and US relations with the region. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Obama_welcomes_legendary_Lee_Kuan_Yew.htm 30th Oct,2009 NEW YORK: Oil prices rebounded sharply on Thursday as traders welcomed news that the United States, the world's biggest energy-consuming nation, had returned to economic growth in the third quarter after a year of contraction. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, settled at 79.87 dollars a barrel, a rise of 2.41 dollars, or 3.1 percent, from Wednesday's close. In London, Brent North Sea crude for December leapt 2.18 dollars to close at 78.04 dollars. The market rallied from losses on Wednesday after the US government reported gross domestic product (GDP), a broad measure of the country's output of goods and services, posted its strongest economic growth in two years as government stimulus spurred consumer spending. After four negative quarters, the world's largest economy grew at a seasonally-adjusted 3.5 percent annual rate in the July-September period from the second quarter. It was the strongest expansion since the 2007 third quarter, when a US sub-prime mortgage crisis triggered a global financial crisis that hammered the world economy, and marked the end of the worst recession since the Great Depression. "Without any ambiguity one would say that the pretty decent GDP numbers from the previous quarter are to a great extent driving the market," said Bart Melek, analyst at BMO Capital Markets. "The US economy is moving higher than expected, and interestingly we are seeing decent consumer activity," he added. Melek said that government stimulus measures had succeeded and "oil demand should pick up as well." Dollar-priced oil also won support from the weaker greenback. The euro breached 1.48 dollars on Thursday after the positive US GDP data boosted investor appetite for riskier assets like the single currency. In afternoon London deals, the European single currency surged as high as 1.4836 dollars, up from 1.4714 dollars late on Wednesday. The US government's first estimate of third-quarter GDP topped the 3.2 percent rate expected by most analysts. "A broadly strong GDP number indicates that the US economy has finally pulled itself out of recession," said ETX Capital trader Manoj Ladwa. Oil prices had slumped more than two dollars on Wednesday after data showed an increase in US crude and gasoline stockpiles, indicating falling demand. Mike Fitzpatrick at MF Global also noted the breadth of the US economic rebound in the third quarter and data showing new US weekly claims for unemployment benefits had dipped last week. "Our thinking is that this is the best evidence, to date, that perhaps a sustainable recovery, and consequently, a revival of energy demand, is starting to take hold," he said. Nevertheless, Fitzpatrick sounded a cautious note about the government's first official GDP estimate for the third quarter. Two more readings are due in the coming months. "A solid recovery will only be characterised by successive positive reports. For oil prices then, the response has been and will probably continue to be somewhat guarded," he said. "Market participants will need to see meaningful upward momentum in economic performance before they are convinced that demand will follow," he added. - AFP/de http://www.kmoze.com/article/Oil_prices_surge_after_US_economy_grows_again.htm 30th Oct,2009 BANGKOK: A new United Nations report said that Asian exports are expected to rebound strongly in 2010, but warned that countries will need to diversify their economies to prevent future shocks. Thai exports are expected to recover by about 6 per cent, in line with regional trends. But it will still not be a full recovery, especially as exports suffered a 17 per cent fall this year. In the new UN report, officials said that Asian countries need to stop relying on trade to grow their economies, and the focus should now be on stimulating domestic demand. Intra-regional trade has long been a potential answer to fickle overseas markets, but trade barriers and red tape across borders are major obstacles. If Asian countries were to eliminate all tariffs among each other, 43 million people could be lifted out of poverty. "Hopefully, if the countries have certain policy mechanisms in place to distribute this wealth or income, gains in trade can lead to poverty reduction," said Ravi Ratnayake, international trade economist, Director of ESCAP's Trade and Investment Division. And though massive government stimulus has helped pull economies out of crisis, there are still risks ahead. Noeleen Heyzer, United Nations under-secretary general and ESCAP executive secretary said: "Basically, the social recovery takes much longer. The recovery in terms of unemployment figures takes much longer. These are the two things to watch. "There is no way we can engage in the larger markets if we do not improve the income security of our poor as well as our emerging middle classes." Moreover, analysts cautioned that an Asian recovery still depends on the health of American financial institutions, as well as strong currencies and volatile energy prices. - CNA/sc http://www.kmoze.com/article/Asian_countries_should_focus_on_stimulating_domestic_demand_UN_report.htm 30th Oct,2009 TOKYO : Japan's economy on Friday showed fresh signs that it is recovering after a sharp downturn, with jobless figures hitting a four-month low, an easing in deflation and household spending edging up. Japan's unemployment rate fell to a four-month low of 5.3 percent in September, beating the market expectation that it would rise to 5.6 percent, according to data from the internal affairs ministry. The latest figure was down from 5.5 percent in August and the lowest since 5.2 percent in May. A separate survey released by the labour ministry Friday showed there were 43 job offers for every 100 jobseekers in September, slightly up from a record low of 42 in the previous two months. It is the first time since May 2007 that the job-offer ratio has improved from the previous month. Many Japanese companies, particularly exporters, moved swiftly to cut jobs and production in response to a slump in demand caused by the global economic downturn. But Japan's economy grew in April-June for the first time in five quarters on rebounding exports and government stimulus measures. Another survey from the internal affairs ministry showed deflation in Japan eased slightly in September following four straight months of record declines in consumer prices. Core prices, which exclude those of volatile fresh food, dropped 2.3 percent in the month from a year earlier, after an unprecedented 2.4 percent slump in August. Compared with the previous month, prices rose 0.1 percent -- the first increase in six months. Some economists warned against being too upbeat on the economic outlook. "There are concerns that price drops in services and other wide-ranging sectors may pressure wages, leading consumers to seek even lower prices," Credit Suisse economists wrote in a report. "A further credit easing is needed" as deflation remains, they said. In September Japanese household spending edged up by 1.0 percent from a year earlier, an increase for a second consecutive month. Japan was stuck in a deflationary spiral for years after its asset price bubble burst in the early 1990s, hitting corporate earnings and prompting consumers to put off purchases in the hope of further price drops. The current global economic downturn and a slump in commodity costs pushed the world's number two economy back into the deflationary doldrums. Core consumer prices have now fallen year-on-year for the past seven months. - AFP/vm http://www.kmoze.com/article/Japan_unemployment_falls_amid_recovery_signs.htm 30th Oct,2009 WASHINGTON : President Barack Obama Friday meets his top military chiefs to talk strategy in Pakistan and Afghanistan in one of the final steps before deciding whether to send thousands more US troops to war. Obama invited the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the heads of the branches of the US armed services, to the secure White House Situation Room to hear their input on his war plan and deliberations on troop numbers, officials said. He will hold the meeting a day after his poignant visit to witness the return to home soil of fallen Americans from Afghanistan, after which he said the heavy sacrifice of US soldiers was weighing on his decision-making. "It was a sobering reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our young men and women in uniform are engaging in every single day," Obama said in the Oval Office, hours after watching remains of 18 US servicemen flown home. "Obviously the burden that both our troops and our families bear in any wartime situation is going to bear on how I see these conflicts. "And it is something that I think about each and every day," Obama said, after the visit to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Thursday that the president was "at the end stages of what is this, sort of, close-hold, pre-decisional, confidential process over at the White House." Other signs that Obama may be nearing a decision are coming in a flurry of leaks of aspects of the coalescing strategy to major US newspapers. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Obama had asked senior officials for an analysis of Afghan provinces to determine which regions are well managed and which are not, to guide his decision on troop numbers. Earlier this week, The New York Times reported the White House was settling on an Afghan strategy that would send more US troops to protect top population centers, but recognizes that the insurgency cannot be completely eradicated. Related article: UC plea for security Obama has spent weeks deliberating over a request by top war General Stanley McChrystal for 40,000 more troops to fight the escalating Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, which warned the war could be lost without more men. He has completed a string of in-depth discussions in the White House with senior aides, probing every aspect of US strategy in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Already fragile US public opinion on the war is being tested by a rush of recent casualties in Afghanistan, with October the bloodiest month for American troops of the eight-year conflict so far. Expectations are mounting that Obama could reveal his answer to McChrystal's request before he leaves for an eight-day trip to Asia on November 11. But he is believed unlikely to reveal his decision whether to reinforce the 68,000 US troops in the country before the Afghan run-off election on November 7. On Tuesday, Obama told servicemen and women in Florida he would not "rush" a decision on which lives depend. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said this week only that the decision will be made "in the coming weeks." Among senior officers expected at the White House on Monday were General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the joint chiefs; Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey; General James Conway, commandant of the US Marine Corps; Admiral Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations; and General Norton Schwartz, air force chief of staff. Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs chairman Admiral Michael Mullen and other top Obama security forces were also due to attend. - AFP/vm http://www.kmoze.com/article/Obama_to_meet_military_brass_in_Afghanistan.htm 30th Oct,2009 TOKYO : Japan's central bank said Friday it would end some of its emergency measures to fight the financial crisis at the end of the year, as it left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.1 percent. The Bank of Japan has been tackling the credit crunch with super-low lending rates and other steps to support struggling companies, such as a programme of outright purchases of corporate debt, which will finish at the end of December. - AFP/vm http://www.kmoze.com/article/Bank_of_Japan_to_end_some_emergency_measures.htm 30th Oct,2009 SINGAPORE: The Economic Development Board (EDB) said business sentiment among manufacturers here has improved. Data from its latest Business Expectations Survey showed a weighted 22 per cent of firms predict an improvement in the business conditions in the next six months compared with 16 per cent last quarter. A weighted 13 per cent of companies foresee worse business conditions over the next six months, lower than 18 per cent a quarter ago. Meanwhile, a weighted 65 per cent expect the situation to remain the same. Almost all clusters within the manufacturing sector expect an improved business environment as the global economy shows signs of recovery. The electronics cluster is the most optimistic with a net weighted balance of 22 per cent of firms expecting business conditions to improve. This is followed by the general manufacturing industries with a net weighted balance of 20 per cent. Business expectations for the precision engineering and chemical clusters have turned positive for the first time since the onset of the financial crisis last year. However, the chemicals cluster is still concerned about excess supply of petrochemicals and petroleum refined products in the region. EDB said the transport engineering cluster is the least upbeat about business conditions for the period October 2009 to March 2010, compared to a quarter ago. Despite an improvement in business sentiments in the next six months, a net weighted three per cent of manufacturers expect output to decline in the fourth quarter of this year, compared to the third quarter. The improved outlook has had a knock-on effect on recruitment. A weighted 92 per cent of manufacturers project a similar or higher level of employment in the fourth quarter. This is compared to a weighted 87 per cent recorded in the survey conducted a quarter ago. Meanwhile, business sentiment has also improved in the services sector The Statistics Department said an overall weighted balance of 28 percent of firms in the services sector forecast a favourable business outlook for the next six months. This is higher than the 21 percent of firms who recorded a positive outlook in the previous Business Expectations Survey a quarter ago. In particular, hoteliers and firms in the catering industry were the most optimistic in the hope of better business in view of the year end festive period and school holidays. Department stores as well as retailers of clothing and footwear and jewellery and watches also foresee higher sales in anticipation of the festive shopping season in the coming months. Banks and finance companies, brokerages, fund managers and insurance companies are also expecting higher levels of business activity during this period. However, firms in the real estate industry expect the demand for services to remain the same in the next six months. - CNA/vm http://www.kmoze.com/article/Business_sentiment_among_manufacturers_improves_for_next_6_months_EDBBusiness_sentiment_among_manufacturers_improves_for_next_6_months_EDB.htm 30th Oct,2009 SINGAPORE: United Overseas Bank said its third quarter net earnings rose 5.3 per cent to S$500 million from a year ago on higher interest and fee-based income. The result was higher than the average estimate of S$422 million by five analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. The bank said net interest income in the three months to September edged up 3.6 per cent on-year to S$925 million as its net interest margin improved by 18 basis points. Non-interest income also rose, by 24.1 per cent to S$396 million on gains from investment activities. Provisions for bad debt increased 49 per cent to S$235 million, but the bank said this was within its expectations. The lender's non-performing loan ratio remained at 2.4 per cent, the same as the previous quarter. Overall, UOB said it's comfortable with its portfolio and that its asset quality remained sound Looking ahead, UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong said the bank will continue to selectively seize growth opportunities and work towards achieving greater synergies across its regional network. - 938LIVE http://www.kmoze.com/article/UOB_Q3_up_5_3_to_S_500m_on_higher_interest_and_fee-based_incomeUOB_Q3_up_5_3_to_S_500m_on_higher_interest_and_fee-based_income.htm 30th Oct,2009 NEW DELHI : An Indian doctor working in 600 B.C. might have been the world's first plastic surgeon, according to a new exhibition that challenges Western domination of the history of science and technology. The Science and Technology Heritage Exhibition opened last week at New Delhi's National Science Centre, showcasing the advances and discoveries with which the country says it should be credited. It is an attempt to promote India ahead of the Commonwealth Games next year and also to tackle the legacy of colonialism, which the director of the science centre says has left many Indians unaware of their proud heritage. "Because of our colonial past, our students are forced to cram on Western science and technology and we want to tell the world of the strides which were made in India thousands of years ago," N.R. Iyer told AFP. India spent nearly two centuries under British rule before gaining independence in 1947. The plastic surgery claim relates to Susruta, who lived 150 years before Greece's "father of medicine," Hippocrates, and who lends his name to a number of modern Indian clinics. Iyer, citing official records, said the surgeon pioneered nose reconstruction in northern India, which entailed removing skin from the forehead of a person to re-build the facial feature. Criminals were often punished by having their noses cut off during his time. He is credited with authoring the Susruta Samhita, a medical text which details 650 types of drugs, 300 operations, 42 surgical procedures and 121 types of instruments, according to available records. The earliest documentation of Indian medicine is found in holy Hindu scripts of the Vedas compiled between 3,000 and 1,000 BC. Physicist Manas Bagchi, who helped set up the science heritage exhibition, said India's achievements in pre-Iron Age sectors such as alchemy, astronomy, cultivation, metrology and metallurgy have been especially highlighted. He also highlighted India's claim to have invented the mathematical zero. Three civilisations had a notion of the zero, but Indians were the first to use it as the base numeral, giving it the shape '0' which is now used across the world. "The world acknowledges numericals zero to nine began their voyage from India," he said at the science centre, which welcomes 500,000 curious people a year. The event also showcased advances in zinc smelting in 800 AD, breakthroughs in astronomy between 400 and 1,000 AD, as well as multiple cropping technology practised by Indian farmers as far back as in 2,500 BC. The organisers linked the new permanent show to the Commonwealth Games next year when 100,000 spectators are expected in New Delhi. The Games, the biggest multi-sport event to be staged in India since the Asian Games in 1982, will feature 71 nations and territories from the former British empire and is expected to draw 6,000 athletes. "This is an incredible opportunity for us to tell the international community from Commonwealth nations that India had a very advanced civilisation," Iyer, an electronics scientist, told AFP. Other tourism roadshows ahead of the event are set to take place in London and other Western capitals. Sensing a sunrise market in the heritage sector, New Delhi now plans to dig deeper into its past and go beyond the well-chronicled Indus Valley Civilisation of 2,500 BC. "Heritage and science cannot exist without each other," culture ministry secretary Jawhar Sircar recently told reporters. Sircar said archaeologists, anthropologists and scientific curators will soon team up and study "the scientific interpretation of Indian heritage." India hopes the upcoming Games will promote a modern image of the country, which has made impressive strides in its space programme and computer software industry. - AFP/ir http://www.kmoze.com/article/Did_India_invent_the_nose_job.htm 30th Oct,2009 SINGAPORE: Singapore's total employment has grown for the first time this year. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that it grew by 15,400 in the third quarter. Total employment had shrunk by 6,200 in the first quarter and 7,700 in the second. Nevertheless, the gains were significantly lower than 55,700 in the third quarter of last year. Services employment rose by 13,400 in the third quarter, significantly higher than the gains in the first two quarters. Construction continued to add workers. Manufacturing shed workers for the fourth consecutive quarter. However, MOM said that the decline was substantially lower than in the first two quarters this year. According to preliminary estimates, 2,000 workers were retrenched and 200 contracts were terminated prematurely, resulting in a total of 2,200 workers made redundant in the third quarter of 2009. This was substantially lower than the 5,980 workers made redundant in the second quarter. Preliminary estimates showed that the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.4 per cent in September from 3.3 per cent in June 2009. Among the resident labour force, the rate increased to five per cent. This followed a decline in June when some residents then had deferred job search and pursued courses amid the difficult job market. The unemployment rates were still below the peak experienced in September 2003 due to the SARS outbreak. - 938LIVE/vm http://www.kmoze.com/article/Total_employment_grew_for_first_time_this_year.htm 30th Oct,2009 SEOUL : A US envoy will visit North Korea next month following a summit between President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart in Seoul, a newspaper reported Friday. "Special envoy (Stephen) Bosworth will visit North Korea next month," an unnamed senior South Korean official told the independent Hankyoreh newspaper. The trip by the special US envoy for North Korea is expected to come after a summit between Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on November 19, it said. The North reached a six-nation nuclear disarmament deal in 2007. But it quit the forum in April in protest at the UN Security Council's decision to censure its long-range rocket launch. In May it staged its second nuclear test, incurring international anger and tougher UN sanctions. On October 6 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il told Chinese envoys that his country was willing to return to the six-party forum, but insisted it first negotiate directly with Washington to repair "hostile relations." The US says such talks are possible, but only to bring the North back to the six-nation framework which also groups China, South Korea, Japan and Russia. US and North Korean envoys held rare face-to-face talks in New York last week and again on Monday and Tuesday at a California forum. But the US State Department said it has not yet decided whether to accept Pyongyang's invitation for a visit by Bosworth. - AFP/vm http://www.kmoze.com/article/US_envoy_to_visit_North_Korea_next_month.htm 30th Oct,2009 SINGAPORE: More than 150 officers from various government agencies will be appointed as liaison officers for the upcoming Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, to be held in Singapore from November 8. The officers will provide personalised assistance to the APEC leaders, ministers and their spouses. In order to equip them with the relevant knowledge and skills, the officers have undergone training on areas such as protocol management, business etiquette and Singapore’s tourism offerings. Mr Tan Kay Chuan, head of the APEC Singapore 2009 Organising Secretariat said: "The necessary preparations and training have been made to ensure that all liaison officers are well—equipped to perform their roles. "We are also confident that other than assisting the APEC leaders, ministers, and their spouses, the liaison officers will also put forth that sense of warmth and human touch which we hope to extend to our APEC guests as part of the Singapore Experience." The liason officers will be wearing uniforms, specially created by local designer Celia Loe from First Stop Pte Ltd. "I wanted my designs to reflect Singapore as a cosmopolitan city that is modern, vibrant, and engaging. I am happy that the outfit accentuates all these elements and, at the same time, is comfortable and looks distinguished," Ms Loe said. Male liaison officers will wear a grey suit with white shirt and a burgundy red tie, while female liaison officers will wear a pink blouse and a grey jacket with a choice of pants or skirt. — CNA/sc http://www.kmoze.com/article/officers_from_govt_agencies_to_be_appointed_APEC_liaison_officers.htm 30th Oct,2009 FUJIAN, CHINA: Singapore’s Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has urged Singapore companies to seize growth opportunities in Fujian Province. The call came as Mr Goh wrapped up his five—day official visit to Fujian Province. He met Fujian Party Secretary Lu Zhan Gong on Thursday and they spoke about the development of the province’s new economic zone. Mr Goh said he was impressed with the development of infrastructure in Fujian and that it shows the seriousness of the central government to invest in the province. Another interesting development in the province is Pingtan island, which will be transformed into a special economic zone with preferential policies for investors. The island lies 120 kilometres from Taiwan, and Chinese officials plan to turn it into a pioneering area for exchange and cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan. Capitalising on this, Temasek subsidiary SingBridge International has signed an MOU with Fuzhou officials on a feasibility study for a 40 square kilometre new township in Pingtan island. Ko Kheng Hwa, CEO of SingBridge International, said: "We see strong growth potential in Pingtan for three reasons. One, there’s a new policy to develop the region; two, a new bridge will open up within a year the island becomes a peninsula for the mainland; and thirdly, the island has natural assets." He added: "We can make a contribution, because they find Singapore’s experience in developing an island economy — our urban development, tourism development are areas they can leverage on. "So SingBridge is taking this opportunity to engage them early so that we can help shape the development of Pingtan, grow with Pingtan and create mutual benefit." This is SingBridge’s second project in China, the first being the development of the Guangdong Knowledge City. — CNA/ir http://www.kmoze.com/article/SM_Goh_urges_S_pore_investors_to_seize_Fujian_s_growth_opportunities.htm 30th Oct,2009 HANOI, Vietnam – An official says authorities in southern Vietnam have found a mass grave containing the remains of 12 communist soldiers killed during the Vietnam War. School official Thai Thanh Hai says the remains were recovered Wednesday along with personal effects like belts, caps and buttons on an army school grounds in Dong Nai province, adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City. Hai said Thursday that students discovered the remains while planting trees at the site. The area was once a major base for troops of the former Saigon government and the site of fierce fighting. About 58,000 Americans and 3 million Vietnamese were killed in the war, which ended in 1975 when communist North Vietnamese forces overran Saigon, the former capital of South Vietnam, now known as Ho Chi Minh City. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Vietnam_finds_mass_grave_of_communist_soldiers.htm 30th Oct,2009 BANGKOK – Thai police are considering criminal charges against four people for allegedly spreading rumors about the health of the country's monarch that sent the local stock market plunging, an official said Thursday. The Stock Exchange of Thailand tumbled sharply Oct. 14-15 amid rumors that the health of 81-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej was declining, which raised fears of a power vacuum in this divided Asian nation. Since then, politicians and pro-government media have sharply criticized the alleged rumormongers in terms resembling a witch hunt, though there has been no consensus on whether they were intending to hurt the monarchy or manipulate stock prices. The king was hospitalized on Sept. 19 with fever, fatigue and lack of appetite. The palace later reported he was recovering from inflammation of the lungs and was in no danger, but for more than three weeks he made no public appearances and was not even shown in photos, as terse, vague bulletins on his health were released. He later appeared in public at the hospital. There are concerns of what will happen when Bhumibol's reign is over, because he is often seen as the country's sole unifying figure in time of crisis. The heir apparent, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, has yet to earn the same popular trust and respect. The political unrest Thailand has experienced in the past three years, after a coup ousting a democratically elected prime minister, has raised the tensions over the issue. Police Maj. Gen. Panya Mamen, deputy chief of Central Investigation Bureau, said an investigation was focusing on the alleged involvement of four individuals in spreading the rumors, which helped cause the market to plunge 8.2 percent at one point. "We are in the process of gathering information and next week, the police will ask the Criminal Court for warrants," Panya said, adding that police expected to charge them with violation of the Computer Crime Act for spreading false information deemed harmful to national security. He declined to identify the suspects. Critics have called the broadly defined 2007 law a threat to freedom of speech. It bars the circulation of material deemed detrimental to national security or that causes public panic, with penalties of imprisonment up to five years and a fine of 100,000 baht ($2,770). Several people have been arrested in the past two years under the law, and at least one convicted. Open discussion of the monarchy is also constrained by strict lese majeste laws that make criticism punishable by up to 15 years in prison. "Right now, (the police) have information to an extent. If it is enough, then they will take action," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters Thursday. "I have given a direction that if there is anything that can be done, then they can do it." The health rumors have since subsided and the market rebounded after the king's youngest daughter, Princess Chulabhorn, appeared on television, saying that the king was recovering well and remained hospitalized mainly for physical therapy. The king appeared in public once at the hospital on Oct. 24. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Thai_police_mull_charges_over_king_s_health_rumors.htm 30th Oct,2009 VANCOUVER, British Columbia – The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday turned down fugitive Thai banker Rakesh Saxena's request to hear his case, ending one of the longest extradition fights in Canadian history. Saxena has been fighting for 13 years to avoid being returned to Thailand to face charges he embezzled US$88 million from a Bangkok bank. Thailand alleges the fraud contributed to the bank's 1995 collapse and to the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Canadian Department of Justice spokeswoman Lyse Cantin said Saxena would be surrendered but could not disclose details of the transfer for fear of creating a security risk. A spokesman for the Office of Thailand's Attorney-General Poramej Intarachoomnoom praised the court's decision and said Saxena has over 20 cases pending against him. Saxena was an adviser for the Bangkok Bank of Commerce when Thai authorities charged him in May 1996 with setting up a series of phony loans to siphon millions from the bank. Saxena fled Thailand and was arrested later that summer in the British Columbia ski resort town of Whistler. Saxena, who suffered a stroke last March and uses a wheelchair, was living under house arrest during much of his extradition battle, but has been in jail most recently. Thailand's statute of limitations on the Securities Exchange Act charges will run out in July 2010. If nothing happens by then, Saxena would be free of the charges. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Fugitive_banker_can_be_extradited_to_Thailand.htm 30th Oct,2009 MANILA (AFP) - – The Philippines and China signed two agreements on Thursday to boost bilateral ties and improve consular relations, officials said, despite disagreements on issues such as the disputed Spratly Islands. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi oversaw the signing of the agreements, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo said. One agreement outlines areas in which the two countries intend to work more closely over the next five years, such as politics, trade, investment, finance, agriculture, food safety, defence and sustainable development. "China is a strategic partner and we are looking forward, under the strategic cooperation plan, to have more activities between the two countries," Romulo said, but no specific details about the agreement were released. The consular agreement is aimed at protecting Filipino workers in China and is the first such deal the Philippines has negotiated with another country, the Philippine foreign department said. "The agreement addresses long-standing concerns of the Philippine Embassy and Consulates General in China with regard to the provision of assistance to nationals... such as notification of arrests and detention of Filipino nationals, repatriation and settlement of disputes," the department said. Despite growing economic ties, relations between the Philippines and China have been marred by conflicting territorial claims over such areas as the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Chinese officials have said a Philippine law passed last year that spelt out Manila's claims to parts of the Spratly Islands had harmed bilateral relations. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Philippines_China_sign_accords_to_improve_ties_officials.htm 30th Oct,2009 KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - – Malaysia's conservative Islamic party has urged Muslim men to marry single mothers as additional wives instead of "young virgin girls", a state official said. Wan Ubaidah Omar, a cabinet minister from northern Kelantan, which the party controls, said the proposal aired in state parliament this week was needed to help single mothers and widows in the underdeveloped region. "Muslim men usually like young girls or virgins as their additional wives, so I suggest instead of taking these young virgin girls, why don't they marry the single mothers as their second or third wife?" she told AFP. "This will ease the burden of the single mothers as the men can help them to take care of their children. The single ladies have no burden," said Wan Ubaidah, who is in charge of women, family and health affairs in the state. Muslim men in Malaysia are allowed to marry up to four women but Islamic courts must approved multiple marriages before they take place. About 60 percent of the country's 27 million population are Muslims. Women's groups here have campaigned against polygamy, saying it is cruel and has deviated from its original purpose in Islam, which was to protect widows and orphans. Wan Ubaidah said her call was not meant to encourage polygamous marriage, but as a way to help at least 16,500 single mothers aged under 60 in Kelantan, a state that has one of the highest divorce rates in the country. "Even if I don't make the suggestion, these men are going to marry the second, third wife anyway but I have to emphasise that under Islam, only those who have the social and economic capacity can have additional wives," she said. The minister also called for husbands who leave their wives without good reason to be whipped under religious laws. "Some of these husbands just go missing in action suddenly, and leave the wives without any food or money. These kind of men should be whipped, they deserve it," Wan Ubaidah said. "This punishment is not in the state sharia law at the moment, but we can make it a law to make men more responsible; there is a lot of room for improvement in the legal system to protect the welfare of women," she added. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Malaysia_s_Islamic_party_tells_men_to_marry_single_mums.htm 30th Oct,2009 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia's Islamic opposition party firmly shut the door Thursday on any attempt to form an alliance with the federal government, ending a leadership spat that had threatened to split the party. Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party President Abdul Hadi Awang said his party would not shift its allegiance away from a three-member opposition alliance that emerged as a challenge to the ruling coalition when it made unprecedented gains in 2008 general elections. Some key leaders in the Islamic party were unhappy with the opposition partners and had called for unity talks with the main party in the ruling coalition. The talks never materialized, but the effort led to growing tension within the party ranks. Hadi said Thursday that the any proposed "unity government" between his party and the federal government was moot now since Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stepped down in March. "That is a closed chapter. There is no such thing as a unity government," he said. "The previous prime minister has left (office) and there is a new person at the helm. The situation has changed." The party's spiritual head, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, last week demanded the ouster of "problematic" leaders who want to pursue alliance talks, but Hadi's comments should put an end to the internal spat. Both the main ruling party and the Islamic opposition draw their support from the country's majority Malays. Some government leaders have said the parties should create an alliance to heal political divisions in the community. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Malaysia_s_Islamic_opposition_ends_factional_feud.htm 30th Oct,2009 JAKARTA, Indonesia – Two members of Indonesia's anti-corruption commission have been arrested, dealing another blow to the once-powerful body. Deputy intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Dikdik Mulyana said Thursday that the commissioners are accused of accepting bribes and abuse of power. Three out of five commissioners have been detained in recent months in what supporters say is a political attack against its authority. The commission's head is on trial for murder. The commissioners, who have been suspended, say the allegations are fabricated. The Corruption Eradication Commission has prosecuted scores of suspects since it was established 2004. Anti-graft watchdogs regularly rank Indonesia as one of the world's most corrupt countries. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Anti-graft_commissioners_arrested_in_Indonesia.htm 30th Oct,2009 SEOUL (AFP) - – South Korean security authorities Thursday announced the arrest of a college lecturer on charges of spying for North Korea, saying he was recruited by Pyongyang's agents in India. The man, identified only as Lee, is accused of passing information on South Korean military operations and facilities to the communist North, state prosecutors and the National Intelligence Service said in a joint statement. Lee, 37, who was recruited in 1992 while studying at a college in New Delhi, visited Pyongyang twice to become a communist party member and received a total of 50,600 dollars in operational funds, they said. He allegedly stole classified information using his status as a member of the National Unification Advisory Council, a state organisation promoting unification of the peninsula. Information he passed to the North between 1997 and February this year included locations of key government facilities as well as US and South Korean military facilities, the statement said. Lee had accumulated military information and data while serving as a troop information and education officer in the army in 2001, it said. He received a North Korean decoration during a trip to Singapore in 2003 and used some of his operational funds to study in India and also for a doctorate in South Korea, the statement said. "The case tells our country to check its security system as he has served as an opinion leader in our society," prosecutor Yoon Kap-Geun told Yonhap news agency, calling him "a (North Korean) scholarship student and spy." The two nations have remained technically at war since their 1950-1953 conflict and Seoul several times in recent years has announced the arrest of spies for the North. In the most famous case last year, a 35-year-old woman who came from the North in the guise of a defector and used sex to secure military secrets was jailed for five years. North Korea denied she was its agent, calling her "human scum" and describing the trial as a "threadbare charade" orchestrated to heighten tensions. Seoul's official data shows more than 4,500 people have been exposed as spies for the North since the peninsula was divided in 1948. http://www.kmoze.com/article/S_Korea_announces_arrest_of_N_Korean_spyS_Korea_announces_arrest_of_N_Korean_spy.htm 30th Oct,2009 HANGZHOU, China (AFP) - – China and the United States wrapped up trade talks Thursday with token gestures on commercial disputes but tension lurked beneath the surface ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama. US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met for a second day with a team led by Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Obama begins his first presidential visit to China on November 15, two months after igniting a trade dispute by imposing duty on Chinese-made tyres, prompting a Chinese complaint to the World Trade Organisation. The two sides had looked to smooth over tension on a number of trade issues before his trip to Shanghai and Beijing, and Locke called the Hangzhou meeting of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) "productive". "This productive JCCT builds a foundation for a most successful visit by President Obama in two weeks," he said. Among the gestures made in Hangzhou, Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said Thursday that China had decided to remove a ban imposed earlier this year on pork imports from areas of the United States hit by the A(H1N1) virus. Locke said China also promised to crack down on rampant Internet piracy. Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming told reporters, meanwhile, the United States had agreed to relax restrictions on some imports of poultry products from China. But Chen also said his ministry was investigating possible unfair trade practices "involving imports from US automobile companies". He did not elaborate. US officials said it was not clear whether the move was on top of Beijing's announcement, following the US tyre tariffs, that it was reviewing possible unfair trade practices involving imports of US "car products" and chicken meat. Locke had said earlier it was "critical we make concrete demonstrable progress today to demonstrate to our citizens and to the entire world that China and the United States can work together to achieve results". Beijing has said the tyre tariffs violated WTO rules but Obama has denied they amounted to protectionism. The two sides also have been at odds over pirated music and movies. Vice-Premier Wang urged both sides to resist trade protectionism and work toward economic recovery, citing the two trading partners' "economic interdependence". Market access "issues" were to have been addressed in agriculture, clean energy, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications in the talks, along with the protection of intellectual property rights, Locke said earlier. The US trade deficit with China is the widest Washington has with any country, totalling 143.7 billion dollars in the first eight months of 2009, according to US data -- down 15.1 percent from the same period last year. The two countries, the world's biggest sources of carbon emissions, also had planned to address climate change in Hangzhou ahead of talks in Copenhagen in December on a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. On Wednesday, top US climate change envoy Todd Stern said there would be no separate agreement reached by the two sides on fighting global warming during Obama's visit but added the two sides would work toward success in Copenhagen. The two sides also signed 11 agreements on expanding cooperation in areas such as technology, clean energy, aviation and tourism, officials said. Locke had said earlier the value of the US-pegged Chinese yuan would not be discussed during the talks. http://www.kmoze.com/article/US_China_wrap_up_high-level_trade_talks.htm 30th Oct,2009 BRUSSELS (AFP) - – The European Union on Thursday condemned China's execution of two Tibetans, voicing concerns over how their trials were conducted. "The European Union condemns the recent executions of two Tibetans, Mr Lobsang Gyaltsen and Mr Loyak," the Swedish EU presidency said in a statement on behalf of the 27-nation bloc. "The EU respects Chinas right to bring those responsible for the violence to justice but reaffirms its longstanding opposition to the use of the death penalty under all circumstances," the EU statement said. "The EU reiterates its concerns about the conditions under which the trials were conducted, especially with regard to whether due process and other safeguards for a fair trial were respected," the EU presidency added. The European Union has called for death sentences handed down on several other Tibetans to be commuted. China said Tuesday that the two Tibetans had been executed for their role in deadly ethnic unrest that rocked the Himalayan region last year, the first known use of capital punishment over the violence. Fierce anti-China protests erupted in Lhasa and spread across Tibet and adjacent areas with Tibetan populations in March last year, embarrassing the government in Beijing as it prepared to host the Olympic Games. Beijing blamed the Dalai Lama -- the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader seen by authorities as a separatist bent on independence -- for inciting the unrest. He, however, insists he only wants greater regional autonomy for Tibet. China has said "rioters" were responsible for 21 deaths, while its security forces killed only one "insurgent." But the exiled Tibetan government has said more than 200 Tibetans were killed in the subsequent crackdown. http://www.kmoze.com/article/EU_denounces_China_s_execution_of_two_Tibetans.htm 30th Oct,2009 HONG KONG (AFP) - – The live fish facing death in the glass tanks in Hong Kong's famous seafood restaurants tell a strange and haunting tale of a looming global tragedy. At the heart of their story is the bizarre fact that there are more fine fish swimming in the tiny tanks than there are in the surrounding sea. Having overfished and polluted its own waters to the point where they are home mainly to great ghosts of the past, Hong Kong now imports up to 90 percent of its seafood. The problem with that, scientists say, is that Hong Kong is a microcosm of a marine disaster in which wild fish are being eaten out of existence worldwide. Related Article: Scientific Study "It is a sign of what is happening in most of the fisheries in the world," says Guillermo Moreno, head of global environment group WWF's marine programme in Hong Kong. "It's a scary panorama." In scenes replayed throughout Hong Kong's archipelago, the seafood for the restaurants in Yung Shue Wan arrives in the dull light of a hazy dawn, while most of the village is still asleep. Through the rough streets, wiry men in singlets trundle trolleys laden with sloshing buckets full of struggling fish nearing the end of their lives far from their usual habitat on distant, colourful coral reefs. They are tipped into crowded tanks outside restaurants lining the harbour to await the pointing finger of a diner which will flag the last leg of their long journey, to the kitchen. At weekends, the open air restaurant tables under spinning fans host large family gatherings where cheerful children tuck in to food that researchers say could disappear in their lifetimes. "Unless the current situation improves, stocks of all species currently fished for food are predicted to collapse by 2048," the WWF reports, quoting a controversial scientific survey. Restaurateur Ben Chan Kin-Keung acknowledges that Hong Kong's waters no longer provide what his seafood-loving customers want, but says that is not a problem -- at the moment. "It's very fast and convenient to import seafood around the globe either by plane or ship," he says. But he knows the feast cannot last and says it is already becoming difficult to find fish in the quantities he requires. "It's like people just want to eat the fish when they are not (even) born. I'm afraid that I may have to change my job in 10 years time." Offshore from the restaurants, a lone trawler dredges the jade sea -- but bleak records show it is unlikely to bring up table-worthy fish. "The average size of fish now caught in these bottom trawls is about 10 grammes" -- about one third of an ounce or the weight of a small coin -- Professor Yvonne Sadovy of Hong Kong University told AFP. "To put this into some kind of context, Hong Kong was a famous fishing centre in the past and we had incredibly productive and species-rich ground fisheries." WWF says that "Hong Kong waters were incredibly rich just decades ago with manta rays, hammerhead sharks, giant grouper and croakers taller than a man. In less than a lifetime Hong Kong has lost them all." Sadovy, a marine scientist who has made a special study of Hong Kong's seas, says there are several reasons the local fisheries are in such a bad state. High demand for seafood in the crowded city and a lack of regulation fuelled overfishing which combined with pollution and loss of habitat to push fish populations "well beyond their capacity to regenerate themselves," she said. The scale of the pollution can be gauged a short boat ride away from the harbour-side diners enjoying their seafood, where a few pale-pink backs can be seen breaking the surface of the grey-green sea of the Pearl River Delta. These are Hong Kong's famed pink dolphins, but the most surprising thing about the beautiful creatures is not their colour -- it's the fact that they are alive at all. Flush the toilet in any of the high-rise apartments or offices housing Hong Kong's population of seven million people and it will likely go almost directly into the "Fragrant Harbour" -- Hong Kong's name in Cantonese. Add to that the chemical effluent oozing down the Pearl River from thousands of frantically busy factories in mainland China and you have a "horrendous cocktail," says Sadovy. A keen diver, Sadovy says she has seen fish deformed by the pollutants in Hong Kong's waters, and points out that many of them -- such as the heavy metals -- will poison the seas for years to come. Eco-tourism group Hong Kong Dolphinwatch says that 450,000 cubic metres of raw, semi-processed sewage is dumped into the harbour every day -- enough to fill 200 Olympic-size swimming pools. The water quality is "disgusting," says guide Janet Walker as the Dolphinwatch boat carries a group of Japanese and Western tourists away from a jagged skyline of tower blocks and into the delta. There, the traditional curves of sampans threading their way past gigantic cargo ships, high-speed ferries and lumbering barges offer a glimpse of a richer -- and cleaner -- fishing past. "I certainly wouldn't eat anything from this water. There's not much fish left here but what there is will be seriously contaminated -- mercury levels are very high, cadmium, various other heavy metals...," Walker told AFP. First-born dolphin offspring tend to have a high mortality rate because they receive about a decade's-worth of accumulated toxins through their mother's milk, she said. The poisons settle in fatty tissues as the mothers grow to sexual maturity and the first-born get the full dose, while later offspring from the same female will have much higher survival rates. But WWF's Moreno points out that pollution of the oceans is a worldwide menace: "Catch a bluefin tuna out in the middle of the ocean and it will contain mercury," he says. So overfishing must take most of the blame for the pitiful state of Hong Kong's fisheries -- just as it does for the collapse of cod fisheries in Europe and Canada and the threat to popular species globally. "You see these fabulous big fish, colourful fish, plenty of them, in the seafood restaurants," said Sadovy. "But most of those fish, in fact almost all of the fish you see in those tanks come from overseas." They come from around the world -- the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia's coral reefs. "In the end we could view Hong Kong as a very good example of the direction we cannot risk taking if we want to be sure to have wild seafood available to us in the future," Sadovy said. Having told their tale, the fish in the tanks in the Hong Kong restaurants pose a question for ecologically aware diners: Is it no longer acceptable to eat fish? Moreno and Sadovy, both passionate about their subject, say they don't eat shrimp because of the destructive methods used to catch it in the wild and shrimp farming's devastation of environmentally important mangroves on Southeast Asian shores. But they do eat fish -- provided they are species that are caught or farmed in a sustainable way. WWF's websites provide regional guides to dining with a clear conscience that can be downloaded and taken to the restaurant. The Hong Kong government admitted in response to questions from AFP that its waters have been overfished and are badly polluted by sewage, and says it is working on plans to correct both problems. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Hong_Kong_s_ghostly_seas_warn_of_looming_tragedy.htm 30th Oct,2009 DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – Standing in the pre-dawn darkness, President Barack Obama saw the real cost of the war in Afghanistan: The Americans who return in flag-covered cases while much of the nation sleeps in peace. In a surprise midnight dash to this Delaware base where U.S. forces killed overseas come home, Obama honored the return of 18 fallen Americans Thursday. All were killed in Afghanistan this week, a brutal stretch that turned October into the most deadly month for U.S. troops since the war began. "It was a sobering reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our young men and women in uniform are engaging in every single day, not only our troops but their families as well," Obama said later Thursday, hours after his return to the White House. "The burden that both our troops and their families bear in any wartime situation is going to bear on how I see these conflicts, and it is something that I think about each and every day." The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush said the appropriate way to show his respect for war's cost was to meet with grieving military families in private, as he often did, but he never went to Dover to observe the remains coming off the cargo plane. Obama did so with the weight of knowing he may soon send more troops off to war. For all the talk of his potential troop increase _ maybe 40,000, maybe some other large figure _ Obama got a grim reminder of the number that counts: one. His name was Dale R. Griffin, an Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind. He was the last fallen soldier to come before Obama. And his remains were the only ones of the 18 to be honored in full view of the media. An 18-year ban on such coverage, dating to the 1991 Gulf War and strengthened by Bush, was relaxed this year under Obama's watch, allowing families to decide whether cameras can document the return. Nearly two-thirds have said yes. In this case, 11 of the 17 families had already reached a decision against coverage before they were notified that Obama would be there, said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. The president led a team of officials onto the gray C-17 cargo plane carrying Griffin, and then back off, where they stood for several minutes in a line of honor. It was not quite 4 a.m. The sky was black and a yellowish light came from poles flanking the flight. The only sounds were a whirring power unit on the plane and the clicking of cameras. A blue vehicle carrying members of Griffin's family pulled up. The president then saluted as six soldiers in camouflage and black berets carried Griffin's remains down the ramp and into a waiting white van. Griffin was a top wrestler in high school and in college at Virginia Military Institute, remembered Thursday by friends and a former coach as particularly strong. Vigo County (Ind.) Judge Chris Newton, a family friend, described him as "unbelievably tough and resilient." On a clear fall night, the president had traveled to Dover on a 40-minute helicopter ride from the White House. He immediately sat down privately with all the family members in a base chapel. The solemn process of transferring remains of 15 soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents unfolded in four separate movements. Obama took part in all of them. A chaplain offered prayers for the fallen, the crews that brought them home, the families who lost a loved one, and a nation embroiled in war. The military calls the process a dignified transfer, not a ceremony, because there is nothing to celebrate. The cases are not labeled coffins, although they come off looking that way, enveloped in flags. By 4:45 a.m., the president had touched back down on the South Lawn, where a usually active White House was sleepy. He walked inside, alone. Gibbs said Thursday that Obama remained quiet on the flight back, thanking his team for making the trip possible but saying little else. "I don't think you can go out there and not understand what you are seeing," said Gibbs, clearly moved by the experience as one of the few aides who accompanied Obama for the trip. "It's hard not to be overwhelmed." A president of two inherited wars, Obama is winding down U.S. involvement in Iraq, but the troubled conflict in Afghanistan is only widening. It has become the dominant foreign policy challenge of his early presidency. The stability of Afghanistan remains in doubt while the support of the war by the American people is waning. Obama already has upped the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan to 68,000 troops and is considering sending a large new addition, although fewer than the 40,000 troops requested by his commander there, U.S. officials tell The Associated Press. The president holds his next war council meeting with the Joints Chiefs of Staff on Friday. Obama is faced with a crucial moment: How to keep al-Qaida terrorists from taking root again in Afghanistan without sinking more American lives and money into a war that isn't working. Aides say he still is weeks away from making an announcement. But that wasn't the focus during Obama's trip, that his aides started planning on Tuesday, Gibbs said. They kept quiet about it until a small group of reporters was told just hours before the president left, Gibbs added. It came at a time of an enormous blow to U.S. forces, with a bad week coming in a bad month where at least 55 U.S. troops have been killed. On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. On Tuesday, eight soldiers were killed when their personnel vehicles were struck by roadside bombs in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. It was those 18 dead that Obama saw home. Separately, four more U.S. troops died Monday when two helicopters collided over southern Afghanistan. The ban on media coverage of bodies returning to Dover was criticized for shielding the public from the human cost of war. Now it is no more. Obama saw it directly, and the press bore witness. ___ Associated Press writers Ken Kusmer and Jeni O'Malley in Indianapolis contributed to this report. http://www.kmoze.com/article/Obama_honors_fallen_Americans_at_DoverObama_honors_fallen_Americans_at_Dover.htm 30th Oct,2009