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US urges creditors to reduce Iraq’s debt WASHINGTON, Dec 18: The United States will try to convince more of Iraq’s creditors to forgive the country’s debt, Treasury Secretary John Snow said on .....more Pampered young Chinese splurge on weddings BEIJING, Dec 18: Children of China’s "one child" generation are splashing out on weddings, spending as much money ....more Saudi oil giant says maintaining high security RIYADH, Dec 18: State-owned giant Saudi Aramco said today it remained "on alert at all times" to secure the world’s......more Europe, US in deadlock on climate talks’ last day BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, Dec 18: The European Union and the United States struggled to break a deadlock on the last day ....more |
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Pfizer, eyetech say US FDA clears Macugen eye drug WASHINGTON, Dec 18: US regulators on Friday approved a drug developed by eyetech pharmaceuticals inc. And pfizer inc. To treat the ...more Baby cut out of murdered mom found alive KANSAS CITY, Dec 18: A baby girl who was cut out of her murdered mother’s womb and taken from the crime scene was found alive on Friday in ....more Granddaughter of Japan’s last shogun dies TOKYO, Dec 18: Japan has delayed today’s planned formal announcement of Princess Sayako’s engagement after .....more Harrison Ford may lead charge in Falluja movie LOS ANGELES, Dec 18: Producers at universal pictures are developing what would .......more |
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US urges creditors to reduce Iraq’s debt WASHINGTON, Dec 18: The United States will try to convince more of Iraq’s creditors to forgive the country’s debt, Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Friday. Snow, signing the US portion of the agreement, called a debt reduction deal between the Paris club of creditor nations and Iraq a good first step, but said more needed to be done to foster development in Iraq. "The US is ... ready to assist the Iraqis in implementing the Paris club agreement, including seeking comparable treatment from sovereign creditors who do not participate in the Paris club," he said. The Paris club agreed last month to cancel 80 percent of the debt Iraq owes its members. The United States went further, erasing all of its 4.1 billion in Iraqi debt, the treasury department said. Iraqi Finance Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi said the US and Paris club moves would help speed Iraq’s reconstruction. "That is really our second liberation after the fall of Saddam Hussein, because liberating our economy is a very important process of liberating Iraq," said Mahdi, flanked by snow and Secretary of State Colin Powell. The agreement, which will slash Baghdad’s debt to club creditors to 7.8 billion from 38.9 billion, would be put into effect in three steps over the next four years. The Paris club’s 19 members include the group of seven industrialized countries — the United States, Japan, Canada, Germany, Britain, France and Italy — as well as other western European states, Russia and Australia. Other creditors who are not in the Paris club but could follow its lead include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and eastern European states. Under the deal, the Paris club nations will immediately cancel 30 percent of the debt owed to them by Iraq. An additional 30 percent waiver would follow in 2005 once an economic program with the international monetary fund is approved. A further 20 percent would be pardoned in 2008 after a review of the implementation of the IMF economic program. (AGENCIES) |
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Pampered young Chinese splurge on weddings BEIJING, Dec 18: Children of China’s "one child" generation are splashing out on weddings, spending as much money as their parents managed to save in a lifetime, state media said today. Brides and bridegrooms are spending an average of 200,000 yuan (24,000 dollars) on an apartment, furniture and household appliances as well as banquets for relatives and friends. The amount is equivalent to their parents’ life savings, Xinhua said, citing a survey of 1,000 newly-wed couples in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. That sum was based on the average annual income of about 2,000 yuan (240 dollars) their parents could have expected in past decades. Urban residents’ annual incomes have surged past 12,000 yuan in recent years, spiking along with China’s economic growth, it said. This has brought marked changes in the typical wedding gift list, which in the past consisted essentially of a wardrobe, a bed and bedding and some candy and cigarettes. After 25 years of economic reforms, today’s nuptials cost hundreds of times more, Xinhua said, with the bulk of the expense, nearly 60 percent, going to down payments on apartments. The rest pays for televisions, air conditioners, furniture, a wedding dinner — featuring a professional master of ceremonies and a motorcade of luxury sedans — clothing, jewellery and, of course, a 10,000-yuan honeymoon. The bridegroom and his family foot 80 per cent of the bill, it added, noting that most men pay for the apartment. China’s "one-child" generation grew in the 1980s as the Government enforced family planning measures to stem rapid population growth. These only children grew up receiving unprecedented attention and were generally well off financially, especially in cities. But questions were raised over whether China was producing a generation of spoiled brats who might be unable to learn to care for others. (AGENCIES) |
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Saudi oil giant says maintaining high security RIYADH, Dec 18: State-owned giant Saudi Aramco said today it remained "on alert at all times" to secure the world’s biggest oilfields, after Osama bin Laden urged militants to attack Iraqi and Gulf oil facilities. "As the company is responsible for the world’s largest proven reserves of oil, Saudi Aramco is keenly aware of its responsibility (to protect workers and oilfields)," Aramco said in a statement, responding to questions . "For this reason, Saudi Aramco trains and equips a security force that is professional and responsive," it said. "The company’s security is, in effect, "on alert" at all times." An audiotape released on Thursday, which an intelligence official in Washington said was highly likely to have been issued by Bin Laden, urged militants to exploit a "golden opportunity" to weaken the United States. "Be active and prevent them from getting hold of our oil and concentrate your operations on it (oil), in particular in Iraq and the Gulf," said the speaker. The Aramco statement said oilfields and refineries are guarded by "multiple levels of armed Saudi Aramco security personnel working in close coordination with Saudi Government security forces". It gave no numbers, but Aramco President Abdullah Jumah said in April the company employed 5,000 security guards who used helicopters, boats, cameras and other protection equipment. Regardless of threat levels at any given time, every employee and contractor has to present a company identification card before getting into any Aramco facility. "Sensitive company facilities have additional security requirements for access, including electronic and visual screening similar to that found in sensitive installations around the world," the company statement said. "Saudi Aramco has long recognized the importance of its business to the world’s economy, and takes its responsibility very seriously." Saudi Arabia is battling a 19-month wave of violence by supporters of Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda movement. Gunmen have killed foreigners in the red sea petrochemical hub of Yanbu and the oil city of Al-Khobar — close to Aramco headquarters — but there have been no reports of direct attacks on oil facilities. Saudi Aramco estimates its crude oil reserves at about 260 billion barrels, a figure it says could go much higher because vast areas of the kingdom have not been thoroughly explored. The company says it has never suffered a supply disruption during decades of operations. (AGENCIES) |
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Europe, US in deadlock on climate talks’ last day BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, Dec 18: The European Union and the United States struggled to break a deadlock on the last day of a UN climate-change meeting, but Washington resisted Europe’s interest in steps to fight global warming after the international Kyoto pact ends in 2012. The impasse may also thwart an agreement on climate aid for developing countries, the most hurt by the rise in world temperatures linked to man-made emissions like carbon dioxide. The Europeans, the leaders in the fight against global warming, came to the 12-day meeting aiming to engage the United States, the world’s biggest polluter and a dropout from the 1997 Kyoto agreement on climate change. But they met a hard-line stance from the US delegation, which said repeatedly that negotiations for measures after 2012 were ‘’premature.’’ Negotiations in search of an 11th-hour agreement ran late last night. "The EU is always very flexible, but not at all costs," said EU delegation head Pieter Van Geel, the Dutch environment minister. "We all know that what we agreed in Kyoto will not decrease the emissions of CO2 so we have to do more." Kyoto takes effect on February 16, after Russia gave it the last signature needed. It aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by five percent, but Europe believes cuts will have to reach 50 percent by mid-century to stop global warming. US President George W Bush pulled out of Kyoto in 2001 arguing that mandatory emissions caps would choke growth. This week, the US delegation flatly rejected any possibility of joining a UN effort based on mandatory reductions. Top environmental groups said the EU and the United States were deadlocked yesterday. "In the last few days, the gap has certainly widened," said Jennifer Morgan, Director of WWF’s climate change program. The Buenos aires meeting of 6,000 people from nearly 200 countries began on a high note, with Kyoto finally in place after a seven-year delay. But in addition to US stonewalling of proposals for seminars next year to discuss how to negotiate post-Kyoto, a strong Saudi Arabia delegation is said to be standing in the way of aid for poor countries. "For the sake of the billions of people from your countries, you must reject all the roadblocks being put in your way by Saudi Arabia," Greenpeace China delegate Yu Jie told the conference, prompting a round of applause. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is in the group of developing countries, which were excluded from Kyoto to allow their economies to grow. But it wants compensation for lost oil revenues resulting from climate-change policy and a move away from contaminating fossil fuels. Washington is supporting the Saudi position, Morgan said. The environmental activists, who count for more than half of the conference participants, advocate moving on in negotiations in 2005 without the United States and the Saudis. "Frankly, it might be a lot easier to do it without the US and the Saudis in the room," said Alden Meyer of the Washington-based union of concerned scientists. But the EU has made it clear that the United States and developing giants like China, India and Brazil — four of the top six polluters — have to be on board if the world is going to avert global warming. "Everybody recognizes the importance of combating climate change and we should discuss what we are doing now and what will come next," said EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas. "It is impossible not to discuss this basic question." (AGENCIES) |
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Pfizer, eyetech say US FDA clears Macugen eye drug WASHINGTON, Dec 18: US regulators on Friday approved a drug developed by eyetech pharmaceuticals inc. And pfizer inc. To treat the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, the companies said in a statement. The drug, called Macugen, which aims to slow vision loss from the more severe form of age-related macular degeneration, is injected into the eye every six weeks. (AGENCIES) |
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Baby cut out of murdered mom found alive KANSAS CITY, Dec 18: A baby girl who was cut out of her murdered mother’s womb and taken from the crime scene was found alive on Friday in the possession of a Kansas woman who police charged with kidnapping resulting in death. The motive for the bizarre crime remained unknown, investigators said, though local media in Kansas city reported that the alleged kidnapper had suffered a miscarriage. Todd Graves, the US attorney in Kansas city, Missouri, released an affidavit detailing how computer sleuthing by FBI agents tracked down the baby to the town of Melvern in eastern Kansas where she was found yesterday in apparently healthy condition at the home of Kevin and Lisa montgomery. Lisa Montgomery, 36, was named in federal kidnap-murder charges, which carry the death penalty. Agents who made the arrest said montgomery had told her husband that she had unexpectedly given birth. The couple has two older children but it was not clear from the document if she was also their mother. The baby was located about 24 hours after the murder of Bobbi Stinnett, 23, who was eight months pregnant. Her body was found by her mother at her home in the town of Skidmore in rural northwest Missouri on Thursday afternoon. The victim’s mother told police she thought her daughter’s stomach had "exploded," according to the affidavit. Investigators said they found a lateral cut and no fetus. The victim bred and sold rat terrier dogs and had been in communication on her computer with someone who asked for directions to her home to make a purchase, the affidavit said. FBI agents were able to track down the internet address being used to a server in Topeka, Kansas and from there they found the montgomery home and had it staked out when the couple showed up yesterday. (AGENCIES) |
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Granddaughter of Japan’s last shogun dies TOKYO, Dec 18: Japan has delayed today’s planned formal announcement of Princess Sayako’s engagement after the death of an elderly relative, the granddaughter of Japan’s last shogun. Princess Takamatsu, 92-year-old aunt of Emperor Akihito, died of blood poisoning at a Tokyo hospital early today the imperial household agency said. Her death prompted the agency to postpone its announcement of plans for the marriage of Sayako — at 35 the youngest of Akihito’s three children — to 39-year-old Yoshiki Kuroda, who works in Tokyo city’s urban planning department. Japanese media reported the engagement last month, but an official announcement was delayed out of consideration for victims of a series of earthquakes in Niigata in northern Japan. A number of tremors beginning on October 23 killed about 40 people. "It has all been put off. We will determine a new date. I cannot say whether this will happen before the end of the year," an imperial household agency spokesman said. Born on December 26, 1911, Princess Takamatsu, also known as Princess Kikuko, was a grandchild of Yoshinobu, 15th and last shogun of the 1603-1867 Tokugawa Shogunate. She was the widow of Prince Takamatsu, a younger brother of Akihito’s father, the late Emperor Hirohito. (AGENCIES) |
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Harrison Ford may lead charge in Falluja movie LOS ANGELES, Dec 18: Producers at universal pictures are developing what would be Hollywood’s first feature film about the war in Iraq, with actor Harrison Ford ready to portray a US General in the movie, the studio has said. The combat drama would be based on the upcoming book "no true glory," an account of the battle for Falluja by bing west, a marine veteran and former US assistant Defense Secretary now covering the war as a foreign correspondent, a studio spokesman said yesterday. A universal-based production company, double features, recently optioned movie rights to the book, which will be adapted by west and his son, owen, a veteran marine rifleman. The book is due out in may from Bantam, a unit of the random house publishing company. Although Ford, 62, is "attached" to the project — Hollywood parlance for a loose commitment to star in the film if it gets made — he is not under contract, the studio said. And universal has only given the go-ahead for development of a screenplay. No money has been earmarked for production yet. Ford’s best known roles include the swaggering "Star Wars" space hero Han Solo and the rugged adventurer Indiana Jones in the "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" series. In "No True Glory" he would play Maj Gen James Mattis, the US marine commander ordered to lead an assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, after four Americans contractors were killed and mutilated there by a mob in March 2004. The offensive was halted the following month, and the marines were withdrawn until US forces renewed their assault on the Sunni Muslim city following the American presidential election in November. While Ford would play a lead role in the film, the movie is envisioned as a broader look at the conflict in Falluja as a study of the connections between war and politics as seen through the eyes of the troops, their commanders and civilian leaders, universal’s spokesman said. The michael moore documentary "fahrenheit 9/11," which focused on US conduct of the war in Iraq, was a major box office success, but "True Glory" would mark the first feature drama about the war. Meanwhile, several Iraq war projects are being developed for TV, including a pilot series from "nypd blue" co-creator Steven Bochco titled "Over There" for the FX cable channel. Movie dramas about US military conflicts in progress have been unusual since World War Two, with big studios tending to shy away from subject matter perceived as controversial until years after the fact. Such was the case with such memorable vietnam war movies as "The Deer Hunter," "Apocalypse Now" and "Platoon." "The Green Berets, starring John Wayne," was released at the height of the conflict in Indochina in 1968. Robert Altman’s "Mash," which came out two years later, was set in the Korean war but was widely seen as a commentary on Vietnam. (AGENCIES) Texas city orders topless dancers to wear permits SAN ANTINIO, TEXAS, Dec 18: Topless dancers in San Antonio will have a little more to wear after the city council ordered them to carry permits while performing. The order was issued yesterday. The council, attempting to curb the number of clubs in the city, also banned nude dancing and "Lap Dancing" and ordered performers to keep a decent distance from patrons, drawing a vow from clubs to fight the restrictions in court. "My constituents are tired of seeing these clubs drive down their property values," said city council member chip Haas, who represents the northeast district where a number of the clubs opened in the past few years. The rules, similar to regulations adopted in Houston and other US cities, require dancers stay at least 3 feet from club patrons and wear the 50-permits while working. The driver’s license-sized permits may be attached to dancers’ G-strings, or to bracelets around their ankles. Jim Deegear, attorney for 12 of San Antonio’s topless clubs, said he would seek to have the rules declared unconstitutional. "It’s easy to pick on these people because a lot of people say, ‘well, we don’t much care for the way they earn their living,"’ Deegear said. City attorney Andy Martin said similar rules have already withstood court challenge around the country. (AGENCIES) Palestinians rescue six from Gaza tunnel GAZA, Dec 18: Palestinians have rescued six Palestinians from a smuggling tunnel on the Gaza-Egypt border that had collapsed and trapped them underneath the rubble for almost 12 hours, witnesses in the Gaza town of Rafah said. They were rescued yesterday. There was no immediate comment from the army, which had been trying to find the men themselves. Palestinian gunmen have dug many such to slip in arms but others have been used to smuggle cigarettes. It was unclear what the tunnel had been used for. (AGENCIES) Condom shortage alarm for Uganda’s festive season KAMPALA, Dec 18: AIDS-aware Ugandans, who use about 250,000 condoms a day, face a shortage of the product after the Government introduced new condom tests likely to cut supply over the festive season, the health ministry said. The ministry withdrew Engabu, a local popular brand that was emitting a bad smell, after the World Health Organisation found its quality deteriorated. "We are going to face six months of limited supply," said Vastha Kibirige, a condom coordinator with the health ministry. "We fear that in the meantime some people might have unprotected sex." The National Drug Authority (NDA) tried to allay fears of a shortage during the festive season, a period over which it said demand for condoms doubles. "I can show you documentary evidence to prove that over 80 million condoms will be arriving in the country soon on the order of the Government. Actually 10 million are already here," said Deus Mubangizi, NDA’s acting executive secretary. The United Nations says 25 million of the 38 million people worldwide with AIDS are in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS killed up to 2.2 million Africans last year, while some 3 million contracted the HIV virus. Uganda was once seen as the epicentre of the virus but the country has carried out an energetic information campaign that has helped bring down HIV infection rates to about 6 percent from more than 30 percent in the early 1990s. Still, the east African country has an estimated 1.2 million people who carry the HIV virus. Among its hardest hit are populations in remote war-torn northern Uganda, where Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have waged a brutal insurgency for 18 years against the Government of President Yoweri Museveni. The Ugandan Government in June began distributing free arvs to about 3,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers. (AGENCIES) Rare beatles guitar tops bill at showbiz auction NEW YORK, Dec 18: A guitar played by George Harrison of the Beatles has been sold for 567,500 dollars yesterday, topping the bill at what auction house Christie’s said was its biggest ever sale of show business memorabilia. The Gibson SG Electric Guitar, played by Harrison from 1966-1969, was the star attraction among over 400 lots, ranging from guitars and clothing to scraps of paper signed by stars. The guitar, which had a pre-sale estimate of 500,000 dollars, was used while recording the Beatles’ "Revolver" album. John Lennon also played it on what is commonly known as "The White Album". The Beatles guitar was recently rediscovered and has been on loan to the rock and roll hall of fame since 2002. Harrison gave the guitar to Pete Ham of Badfinger and after Ham’s death in 1974, it was stored away for 28 years by his brother John Ham. The guitar was found during preparations for a badfinger retrospective at the hall of fame in 2002. Among other lots, a pair of Elvis Presley’s leather stage pants raised 35,850 dollars and a Bob Dylan album cover with the songwriter’s signature and handwritten lyrics sold for 33,460 dollars. (AGENCIES) |
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