• diary political and General News Events from Feb 2

investigation into the discovery of the bodies of at least 17 children outside New Delhi (INDIA-CRIME-MURDER-CHILDREN)
-- Reporting from Guwahati after security forces crack down on separatists blamed for attacks on the Hindi speaking minority community in Assam that have left 69 dead (INDIA-NORTHEAST-UNREST)
-- Reporting on latest developments in takeover battle for the nation's fourth-largest mobile phone group, Hutchison Essar (INDIA-HONGKONG-BRITAIN-TELECOM-HUTCHISON)
-- Monitoring as millions of Hindus gather at the Ganges River in the northern city of Allahabad for the Kumbh Mela ritual bathing ceremony (INDIA-RELIGION-FESTIVAL)
-- Cricket: Moving a piece about the possible return of Sourav Ganguly to India's one-day side ahead of the World Cup (CRICKET-IND-WC2007-TEAM)
SEOUL: The central Bank of Korea decides on call rate target for January (SKOREA-ECONOMY-RATE)
-- Following a labor dispute at Hyundai Motor after the automaker filed a damages suit against the union over losses caused by work stoppages (SKOREA-AUTO-HYUNDAI)
SINGAPORE: Reporting on world oil prices which have dropped to levels unseen since 2005 in Asian trade (COMMODITIES-ENERGY-ASIA-OIL-PRICE)
-- AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes in Singapore to sign an agreement with maintenance firm ST Aerospace at 0730 GMT (ASIA-AIRLINE-AIRASIA)
SYDNEY: Tennis. Sydney International tournament (TENNIS-WTA-ATP-AUS)
-- Tennis. Kooyong Classic in Melbourne (TENNIS-AUS-CLASSIC)
TAIPEI: Reporting the investigation into the alleged irregularities of the debt-stricken Rebar group (TAIWAN-BANKING)
TOKYO: The Finance Ministry releases Japan's foreign exchange reserves at the end of January (JAPAN-FOREX-RESERVES)
-- Reporting foreign exchange trading in Tokyo and Singapore amid speculation about a possible rise in Japanese interest rates next week (FOREX-ASIA)
-- Monitoring Japanese share prices following a 1.71-percent loss in the previous session due to investors' worries about whether the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates next week (STOCKS-JAPAN)
-- Moving a piece on how "Letters from Iwo Jima", Clint Eastwood's depiction of one of World War II's bloodiest battles, is striking a chord with Japanese viewers (AFPENTERTAINMENT-JAPAN-US-FILM-IWOJIMA)
YAMAGATA, Japan: Yamagata District Court begins trial of right-wing activist accused of torching house of Koichi Kato, a lawmaker critical of a controversial war shrine (JAPAN-POLITICS-WWII-SHRINE-KATO)
WELLINGTON: Tennis. Heineken Open men's ATP tournament in Auckland (TENNIS-ATP-NZL)
afp
Document AFPR000020070110e31a004nd
newsline
461 words

10 January 2007

Turkish Daily News

TURKDN

English

(c) 2007 The Turkish Daily News (TDN)
US submarine collides with Japanese ship
WASHINGTON - Agence France-Presse
A nuclear-powered U.S. submarine collided with a Japanese oil tanker in the Arabian Sea, with no casualties or major damage reported, officials said yesterday. The USS Newport News and the oil tanker Mogamimaru collided late Sunday in the Straits of Hormuz "while the submarine was transiting submerged," said U.S. navy spokeswoman, Lieutenant Denise Garcia. The strait is located between Iran and Oman. The Japanese foreign ministry said the submarine's bow collided with the stern of the oil tanker. Court to decide whether to indict CIA agents
MILAN - The Associated Press
A Milan court began a hearing yesterday to decide whether to indict 26 Americans and five Italian secret service officials on a charge of kidnapping an Egyptian cleric in Milan in 2003. None of the defendants attended the closed session. Prosecutor Armando Spataro, who has led the investigation, requested the indictments last month in a case that highlights the CIA extraordinary rendition program in which terrorism suspects are transferred to third countries where some are allegedly tortured. All but one of the Americans have been identified by the prosecution as CIA agents.Man kills sister for working and studying
KCHI - Reuters
A Pakistani fruit vendor shot dead his sister because she had a job and was studying for a university degree, a police official in conservative North West Frontier Province said. Naheeda Bibi, 22, was shot three times by her brother on Sunday near her village outside Mansehra city, as she went to catch a bus to return to Rawalpindi where she studied and worked. "The brother, Gul Shahzad, has no remorse and says she defied him and her father," local police officer Mohammad Afzal said.China says abducted workers in Nigeria safe
BEIJING - Reuters
Five Chinese workers abducted in Nigeria last week are safe and Chinese Embassy officials are trying to secure their release, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Gunmen broke into the rented apartment where the telecom workers were staying and forced them away at gunpoint on Friday in Nigeria's southern oil-producing Niger Delta. A local official said that the kidnappers had asked for ransom.Moroccan police arrest suspect
PARIS - The Associated PressMoroccan police arrested a suspect allegedly behind death threats on a French philosophy teacher in hiding since September after airing his thoughts about Islam in a newspaper, the daily Le Parisien reported yesterday. The paper said the suspect, a Moroccan in his 20s, was arrested Dec. 19 in his home country. Robert Redeker, a high school teacher at a school in suburban Toulouse, in southwest France, has been in hiding since shortly after he wrote an opinion piece criticizing Islam that was published in September in the daily Le Figaro.
Document TURKDN0020070110e31a0000p

The AFP Asia news agenda
AFP

985 words

9 January 2007

09:38 PM

Agence France Presse

AFPR

English

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007 All reproduction and presentation rights reserved.
HONG KONG, Jan 10, 2007 (AFP) -
Duty editor: John Weaver
News desk: + 852 2829 6211
ASIA NEWS HIGHLIGHTS ON WEDNESDAY:
+ Bangladesh opposition considers next move
+ Israeli PM in China to seek support over Iran
+ Officials meet ahead of Asian summits
DHAKA: Reporting as opposition considers its next move after a three-day blockade which sparked running street battles and left scores injured, in the drive to force the cancellation of elections (BANGLADESH-POLITICS-VOTE)
-- Moving an analysis of Bangladesh's main political parties, who are such bitter rivals that they are ready to wreck a fragile democracy to ensure the other is kept from power (BANGLADESH-POLITICS-VOTE,ANALYSIS)
BEIJING: Reporting on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's trip to China, the last leg in his tour of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, to discuss Iran's nuclear bid (MIDEAST-ISRAEL-CHINA-DIPLOMACY-OLMERT)
CEBU, Philippines: Senior officials meet ahead of the start of the ASEAN and East Asian summits (ASEAN-SUMMIT)
OTHER NEWS ITEMS:
BANGKOK: Thai Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula meets with foreign investors at 0400 GMT about new limits imposed on foreign investments (THAILAND-INVESTMENT-TRADE)
-- Moving an analysis of the government's decision to approve new limits on foreign investment (THAILAND-INVESTMENT-TRADE, ANALYSIS)
-- The son of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra testifies to the junta's graft-busters at 0400 GMT on his sale of shares in telecom giant Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings (THAILAND-POLITICS-CORRUPTION-SHIN)
-- Golf. Organizers of the Royal Trophy hold a press conference at 0815 GMT, two days before the tournament begins (GOLF-ASIA-EUROPE-ROYAL)
BEIJING: Moving piece looking at the extent of the terrorist threat in China's far northwest following last week's police raid on an alleged Islamist training camp that left 19 people dead (CHINA-ATTACKS-XINJIANG-THREAT)
-- Moving piece ex-Shanghai on warnings of unrealistic gains on China's stock markets following China Life Insurance's exceptionally strong debut this week (CHINA-STOCKS-IPO-INSURANCE-COMPANY)
-- Attending 0700 GMT press conference on Olympic construction and the environment (OLY-2008-CHN-CONSTRUCTION-ENVIRONMENT)
-- Reporting on the China visit by US President George W. Bush's special envoy on Sudan, who is in Beijing to discuss ways to end the bloodshed in war-torn Darfur (SUDAN-DARFUR-UNREST-US-CHINA)
-- Monitoring further reaction to abduction of five Chinese telecommunications workers in Nigeria (NIGERIA-UNREST-OIL-CHINA)
COLOMBO: Reporting as Sri Lanka's army and Tamil Tiger rebels step up violence in the island nation's bitter ethnic conflict (SRILANKA-UNREST)
HANOI: We will move a feature on Vietnam's first and best-known hip hop dance group launching a series of shows in the communist country (AFPLIFESTYLE-VIETNAM-DANCE-HIPHOP)
JAKARTA: Reporting from Indonesian navy ship KRI Fatahillah on the search for a missing airliner as investigators try to identify metal objects located on the sea bed (INDONESIA-ACCIDENT-AIR)
KATHMANDU: Monitoring as Nepal's government says it will have parliament pass an interim constitution on January 15 to pave the way for Maoist rebels to join the political mainstream (NEPAL-POLITICS)
MACAU: Reporting on a groundbreaking ceremony for Macao Studio City, the enclave's newest major entertainment, retail and gaming complex (MACAU-CASINO)
NEW DELHI: Reporting on investigation into the discovery of the bodies of at least 17 children outside New Delhi (INDIA-CRIME-MURDER-CHILDREN)
-- Moving an analysis of how Indian political leaders have flocked to the site of the killings to score points with voters ahead of state polls (INDIA-CRIME-CHILDREN-POLITICS,ANALYSIS)
-- Reporting from Guwahati after security forces crack down on separatists blamed for attacks on the Hindi speaking minority community in Assam that have left 69 dead (INDIA-NORTHEAST-UNREST)
-- Reporting on latest developments in takeover battle for the nation's fourth-largest mobile phone group, Hutchison Essar (INDIA-HONGKONG-BRITAIN-TELECOM-HUTCHISON)
-- Monitoring as millions of Hindus gather at the Ganges River in the northern city of Allahabad for the Kumbh Mela ritual bathing ceremony (INDIA-RELIGION-FESTIVAL)
-- Moving a piece on India's foreign minister's rare visit to Pakistan this coming weekend (INDIA-PAKISTAN-DIPLOMACY,ADVANCER)
SEOUL: Following a labor dispute at Hyundai Motor after the automaker filed a damages suit against the union over losses caused by work stoppages (SKOREA-AUTO-HYUNDAI)
-- Most South Koreans support constitutional change to introduce a two-term presidency but want to shelve the issue until President Roh Moo-Hyun leaves office, surveys show (SKOREA-POLITICS-CONSTITUTION)
SINGAPORE: Reporting on world oil prices, which have dropped to levels unseen since 2005 in Asian trade (COMMODITIES-ENERGY-ASIA-OIL-PRICE)
SYDNEY: Covering start of annual campaign against Japanese whaling in Antarctic (AUSTRALIA-JAPAN-WHALES-ANTARCTIC)
-- Police reinforcements flown in to Aboriginal community after riot (AUSTRALIA-ABORIGINE-RIOT)
-- Covering verdict in trial of Australian actor David Gulpilil on charges of carrying dangerous weapon (AFPENTERTAINMENT-AUSTRALIA-FILM-ACTOR-JUSTICE)
-- Tennis. Sydney International tournament (TENNIS-WTA-ATP-AUS)
-- Tennis. Kooyong Classic in Melbourne (TENNIS-AUS-CLASSIC)
TAIPEI: Following up financial crisis sparked by the filing for insolvency protection by two units of the Rebar conglomerate (TAIWAN-BANKING)
-- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp to release December sales figures at 0600 GMT (TAIWAN-CHIP-TSMC-COMPANY-EARNINGS)
TOKYO: Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. unveils its annual business strategy at 0745 GMT (JAPAN-ELECTRONICS-COMPANY-INVEST-MATSUSHITA)
-- Monitoring reports that Japan will recognize India as a nuclear power
(INDIA-JAPAN-DIPLOMACY-NUCLEAR)
-- Reporting on foreign exchange trading in Asia as the dollar rises ahead of US trade figures (FOREX-ASIA)
-- Monitoring Japanese share prices, which fall 1.69 percent in morning trade, sinking below 17,000 points as investors fret about whether the Bank of Japan will lift interest rates next week (STOCKS-JAPAN)
WELLINGTON: Tennis. Heineken Open men's ATP tournament in Auckland (TENNIS-ATP-NZL)
afp
Document AFPR000020070110e31a001e2

The AFP Asia news agenda
AFP

814 words

9 January 2007

04:06 PM

Agence France Presse

AFPR

English

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007 All reproduction and presentation rights reserved.
HONG KONG, Jan 10, 2007 (AFP) -
Duty editor: Ben Sheppard
News desk: + 852 2829 6211
ASIA NEWS HIGHLIGHTS ON WEDNESDAY:
+ Bangladesh violence mounts as polls approach
+ Israeli PM in China to seek support over Iran
+ Indian child murders become an electoral issue
DHAKA: Reporting on a continued transport blockade staged by Bangladesh's opposition to force the government to cancel this month's polls, after dozens are hurt in violent clashes with police (BANGLADESH-VOTE-STRIKE)
-- Moving an analysis of Bangladesh's main political parties, who are such bitter rivals that they are ready to wreck a fragile democracy to ensure the other stays from power (BANGLADESH-POLITICS-VOTE,ANALYSIS)
BEIJING: Reporting on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's trip to China, the last leg in his tour of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss Iran's nuclear bid (MIDEAST-ISRAEL-CHINA-DIPLOMACY-OLMERT)
NEW DELHI: Reporting on investigation into the discovery of the bodies of at least 17 children outside New Delhi (INDIA-CRIME-MURDER-CHILDREN)
-- Moving an analysis of how Indian political leaders have flocked to the site of the killings to score points with voters ahead of state polls (INDIA-CRIME-CHILDREN-POLITICS,ANALYSIS)
OTHER NEWS ITEMS:
BANGKOK: Thai Finance Minister Pridiyathorn Devakula meets with foreign investors at 0400 GMT about new limits imposed on foreign investments (THAILAND-INVESTMENT-TRADE)
-- Moving an analysis of the government's decision to approve new limits on foreign investment (THAILAND-INVESTMENT-TRADE, ANALYSIS)
-- The son of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra testifies to the junta's graft-busters at 0400 GMT on his sale of shares in telecom giant Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings (THAILAND-POLITICS-CORRUPTION-SHIN)
-- Golf. Organizers of the Royal Trophy hold a press conference at 0815 GMT, two days before the tournament begins (GOLF-ASIA-EUROPE-ROYAL)
BEIJING: Reporting on China visit by US President George W. Bush's special envoy on Sudan who is in Beijing to discuss with ways to end the bloodshed in war-torn Darfur (SUDAN-DARFUR-UNREST-US-CHINA)
--Monitoring further reaction to abduction of five Chinese telecommunications workers in Nigeria (NIGERIA-UNREST-OIL-CHINA)
-- Attending 0700 GMT press conference on Olympic construction and the environment (CHINA-OLY-CHN-CONSTRUCTION-ENVIRONMENT)
CEBU, Philippines: Reporting from the Philippines resort where the ASEAN and East Asia summits will be held later this week (ASEAN-SUMMIT)
COLOMBO: Reporting as Sri Lanka's army and Tamil Tiger rebels step up the violence in the island nation's bitter ethnic conflict (SRILANKA-UNREST)
HANOI: Moving a story on Vietnam's first and best-known hip hop dance group launching a series of shows in the communist country (AFPLIFESTYLE-VIETNAM-DANCE-HIPHOP)
JAKARTA: Reporting from Indonesian navy ship KRI Fatahillah on the search for a missing airliner as investigators try to identify metal objects located on the sea bed (INDONESIA-ACCIDENT-AIR)
KATHMANDU: Monitoring as Nepal's government says it will have parliament pass an interim constitution on January 15 to pave the way for Maoist rebels to join the political mainstream (NEPAL-POLITICS)
MACAU: Reporting on the opening of Macao Studio City, the enclave's newest major retail and gaming complex (MACAU-CASINO)
NEW DELHI: Reporting from Guwahati after security forces crackdown on separatists blamed for attacks on the Hindi speaking minority community Assam that have left 69 dead (INDIA-NORTHEAST-UNREST)
-- Reporting on latest developments in takeover battle for the nation's fourth-largest mobile phone group, Hutchison Essar (INDIA-HONGKONG-BRITAIN-TELECOM-HUTCHISON)
-- Monitoring as millions of Hindus gather at the Ganges River in the northern city of Allahabad for the Kumbh Mela ritual bathing ceremony (INDIA-RELIGION-FESTIVAL)
-- Moving a piece on India's foreign minister's rare visit to Pakistan this coming weekend (INDIA-PAKISTAN-DIPLOMACY,ADVANCER)
SEOUL: Following a labor dispute at Hyundai Motor after the automaker filed a damages suit against union over losses caused by strikes (SKOREA-AUTO-HYUNDAI)
SINGAPORE: Reporting on world oil prices which have dropped to levels unseen since 2005 in Asian trade (COMMODITIES-ENERGY-ASIA-OIL-PRICE)
SYDNEY: Tennis. Sydney International tournament (TENNIS-WTA-ATP-AUS)
TAIPEI: Following up financial crisis sparked by the filing for insolvency protection by two units of the Rebar conglomerate (TAIWAN-BANKING)
-- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp to release December sales figures at 0600 GMT (TAIWAN-CHIP-TSMC-COMPANY-EARNINGS)
TOKYO: Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. unveils its annual business strategy (JAPAN-IT-ELECTRONICS-COMPANY-MATSUSHITA)
-- Reporting on foreign exchange trading in Tokyo and Singapore with market players waiting US trade figures due out on Wednesday (FOREX-ASIA)
-- Monitoring Japanese share prices following a 0.86-percent gain in the previous session with investors encouraged by an overnight rebound on Wall Street (STOCKS-JAPAN)
WELLINGTON: Tennis. Heineken Open men's ATP tournament in Auckland (TENNIS-ATP-NZL)
afp
Document AFPR000020070109e319004cg

Reuters Africa Highlights 1505 GMT Jan 9
596 words

9 January 2007

10:05 AM

Reuters News

LBA

English

(c) 2007 Reuters Limited
MOGADISHU - Many people died when a U.S. gunship hunting al Qaeda suspects attacked a village in southern Somalia as part of a wide air offensive against fugitive Islamists, officials said.
In Washington's first overt military intervention in Somalia since a disastrous peacekeeping mission that ended in 1994, an AC-130 plane rained gunfire on the remote village of Hayo late on Monday, a senior government official said.
PARIS - Nationals from Britain, Canada, Pakistan and Sudan were among those captured or wounded during the ouster of Somalia's Islamist rulers, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in an interview.
DUBAI - Ethiopian troops who helped rout the Islamists in Somalia are not an occupation force and will leave as soon as peacekeepers begin deploying, the Somali president said in remarks published.
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JUBA, Sudan - Two years after the triumphant signing of Sudan's north-south peace deal, the president of south Sudan Salva Kiir accused the Khartoum government of failing to meet its terms.
Reflecting growing uncertainty over the future of the accord which ended Africa's longest civil war, Kiir and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir exchanged heated words in speeches to mark the deal's second anniversary.
- - - -
BEIJING - Five Chinese workers abducted in Nigeria last week are safe and Chinese Embassy officials are trying to secure their release, the Foreign Ministry said.
Gunmen broke into the rented apartment where the telecom workers were staying and forced them away at gunpoint on Friday in Nigeria's southern oil-producing Niger Delta.
- - - -
ABUJA - Nigeria's two main opposition parties postponed talks aimed at producing a joint presidential candidate because their two flagbearers cannot agree on who should step down, party officials said.
The two parties said in December they would join forces to try and unseat the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) in elections in April that should mark Nigeria's first handover from one elected president to another.
ABUJA - Nigeria released a politically sensitive breakdown of its census figures which maintained the status quo ahead of elections in April.
The figures put the population of the northern states at 75 million and that of the southern states at 65 million.
- - - -
NAIROBI - Rift Valley Fever, a highly contagious virus, has killed 74 people in Kenya and infected hundreds more after spreading from the northeastern region to the coast, the health ministry said.
The fever, which is spread through mosquito bites or movement of contaminated animals, causes flu-like symptoms and can lead to death through bleeding.
- - - -
BEIJING/TAIPEI - China dismissed a Taiwan accusation of buying diplomatic recognition in Africa with $250 million in