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Israel - More Arab-Jewish clashes in Acre.
Israel's caretaker prime minister, Ehud Olmert has called
on Arabs and Jews in the city of Acre to restore calm
followings two-days of violent unrest. Meanwhile, the
Israeli police raised its alert level today throughout
the country following the clashes during the Jewish
holiday of Yom Kippur.
Arabs and Jews traded blows and threw rocks in Acre on
Thursday in a second day of sectarian violence that
marred the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Police sealed
off Acre, one of only a few mixed Arab-Jewish cities in
Israel. Police fired tear gas, stun grenades and water
cannons to quell the riots. Several people were
arrested, but there were no reports of serious injury.
The fighting broke out late on Wednesday, after the
start of Yom Kippur, when an Arab man drove into a
predominantly Jewish neighbourhood.
There were conflicting reports surrounding the incident.
According to an Arab lawmaker, the driver lived in the
neighbourhood and was on his way home when he was
attacked. Israeli media and some police officials said
the driver and two companions had loud music blasting
from the car radio as they entered the neighbourhood.
Police said the man's car was stoned and he was beaten
by residents of the neighbourhood. The news of the
beating set off riots. Several hundred Arab protesters
chanting "Allahu Akbar," or God is Great, smashed the
windows of dozens of cars and shops in Acre's main
commercial area.Police eventually managed to separate
the two sides by setting up roadblocks. Riots then
continued in Acre's Old City, where hundreds of Arab
residents threw stones and burned tyres.
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Thailand - Protest leaders granted bail but vow new
rallies.
Leaders of Thai anti-government protests were granted bail
today after surrendering to police and immediately vowed
new rallies, raising fears of mounting turmoil days
after deadly street clashes. The Appeals Court dropped
serious charges, including insurrection, against them.
Seven leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy - PAD,
including turned firebrand leader Sondi Limthongku, gave
themselves up to police in Bangkok early today. They
were released after about two hours of questioning. The
police have granted bail to all protest leaders
unconditionally, Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the bailed
leaders said before heading to a protest camp at the
prime minister's offices, which the PAD have occupied
since late August. Meanwhile, two other leaders,
Chamlong Srimuang and Chaiwat Sinsuwong, who were
arrested by police last week were released by a Criminal
Court on Thursday. Chamlong called on Prime Minister
Somchai Wongsawat to resign and pave way for an interim
administration that would conduct political reform and
lead the country out of months of near-paralysis.
Efforts by Somchai -- who has been premier for just over
three weeks -- to end the months-long campaign against
his party have so far failed, and his government appears
to have few allies left. Soon after emerging from a
police station near the besieged Government House
compound, Somkiat Pongpaibul -- another of the seven
leaders -- vowed to launch fresh rallies on October 13
to protest the recent crackdown by authorities.
The PAD launched their street campaign in late May, saying
the ruling People Power Party - PPP is running the
nation on behalf of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra
and only came to power because of vote-buying in
December elections. Somchai is Thaksin's brother-in-law.
Turmoil escalated on August 26 when PAD supporters
stormed the prime minister's Government House offices,
prompting the Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants
for nine PAD leaders on charges including insurrection.
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Philippines - China will help foreign companies that
claim compensation from exporters of tainted milk.
China will help foreign companies that claim compensation
from exporters of milk products tainted with the
industrial chemical melamine, a senior Chinese official
said today. Mr. Liu Qian, China's deputy health
minister, said claims should first be resolved on a
business-to-business level, but that China was ready to
provide assistance through diplomatic channels if
claimants encounter problems. China will urge all the
companies to follow the market rule and the legal
procedure.
Mr.Liu Qian made the assurance at a news conference
following a meeting with ASEAN health ministers in
Manila, Philippines. It also came amid statements from
countries like the Philippines, which has found at least
three melamine-contaminated Chinese milk products that
they will take up with China any possible local claims
for compensation as a result of the entry of tainted
milk products. He said melamine was deliberately added
to fresh milk used to make infant formula, and China
immediately released the information to the public and
international organisations.
A statement at the end of the meeting of health ministers
from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and their partners from China, Japan and
South Korea, said the officials agreed that melamine
should never be added deliberately to any food product.
Francisco Duque III, Philippine Health Secretary told
reporters that ASEAN health ministers strongly condemned
unscrupulous business practices and cover-ups. More than
30 countries, including those in Southeast Asia, have
banned, recalled or found contamination in Chinese dairy
products.
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Georgia - French FM monitors the withdrawal of Soviet
troops.
Leaders of former Soviet states wrapped up talks in Biskek
today hailed by the Kyrgyz hosts as boosting cooperation
but overshadowed by the Georgian war and global economic
turmoil.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said the talks among
nine presidents of the Commonwealth of Independent
States “showed a common aspiration to make cooperation
between CIS countries more concrete and useful," as well
as stressing common economic goals and cooperation in
combatting drug-trafficking. But questions about the
relevance of the CIS were underlined by the absence from
the closing news conference of almost all the leaders,
with the exception of Bakiyev and next year's summit
host, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin. The CIS is a
group formed out of the remains of the Soviet Union.
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was absent, having
announced his country's withdrawal from the CIS after
August's war with Russia, as were the leaders of
Azerbaijan and Ukraine, which have pursued ties with the
West.
On a visit to Georgia, French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner said Russia had withdrawn from buffer zones in
the Caucasus nation but that a "long road" lay ahead in
resolving issues from the war. Kouchner is in the area
to oversee the implementation of a European Union
brokered ceasefire agreement between Russia and Georgia.
He agreement, signed in September, the full withdrawal
of Russian forces from Georgia should take place by
today, October 10. EU monitoring teams were deployed in
Georgia earlier in October to oversee the troop pullout.
As part of the trip, Kouchner visited the damaged
Georgian territory near South Ossetia. The French
Foreign Minister is also expected to meet with Georgian
President Mikhail Saakashvili. It is Kouchner's fourth
visit to the country in the past two months.
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Various Stock Markets - A massive sell-off on Wall
Street and escalating fears of a global recession sent
Asian stocks plunging.
A massive sell-off on Wall Street and escalating fears of a
global recession sent Asian stocks plunging today, with
Japan's key index shedding nearly 10 percent to close
out its worst week in history. Despite recent moves by
the world's central banks to thaw frozen credit markets
and boost investor confidence, their efforts have fallen
flat as markets hurtled toward a global equity crisis.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of
Seven industrialised nations prepared to meet later
today in Washington, but analysts in Asia said they were
sceptical that the gathering would produce solutions to
effectively contain the global financial contagion.
South Korean share prices pared losses after an early
plunge, but still closed sharply lower following steep
decline on Wall Street and falls in regional markets.
The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 4.1
percent, or 53.42 points, to finish at 1,241.47.
In Tokyo, Friday's gut-wrenching turmoil left individual
investors shell shocked. Over the last week, the Nikkei
has lost nearly a quarter of its value. The benchmark
Nikkei 225 index tumbled 881.06 points, or 9.6 percent,
to 8,276.43, its lowest closing level since May 2003. It
was its biggest one-day percentage loss since the stock
market crash of October 1987.
In a bid to boost liquidity, India's central bank cut the
cash reserve ratio, the amount of money banks must keep
on hand, by 1.5 percentage points to 7.5 percent instead
of half-point, as had been previously announced. The
move will release 12.2 billion US dollars into the
financial system.
In Indonesia, authorities suspended trading indefinitely on
the Jakarta Stock Exchange after they had halted trading
on Wednesday after the index plunged more than 10
percent. Chairman of Capital Market and Financial
Institutions Supervisory Agency said the Indonesian
government would revaluate the situation tomorrow.
Analysts said there's pressing need for the US to
quickly implement the 700 b billion US dollar plan to
buy up toxic mortgage-related securities from troubled
banks and financial institutions that are at the core of
problem.
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Tokyo, Japan - An insurance company and a real-estate
investment trust have gone bankrupt in Japan.
A medium-sized Japanese insurance company has gone bankrupt
and becoming the first Japanese financial company to
collapse in the fallout from the global credit crisis.
Yamato Life Insurance, with about one-thousand employees
and 10 billion US dollars in individual policy accounts,
made the drastic move after racking up 2.7 b billion US
dollars in losses.
The company's President Takeo Nakazono made an emotional
apology on national television in the wake of the
bankruptcy. Nakazono said the company fell 111 million
US dollars in the red because of an unusually swift and
drastic fall in global stock prices stemming from the US
subprime mortgage crisis. Nearly all of the company's
insurance policies will be protected, Japanese media
reported.
Meanwhile, a similar apology was issued by the New City
Investment Corp executive staff who also filed for
bankruptcy today, making the company Japan's first
real-estate investment trust to fail. Despite the share
market fall the Government's response to the
bankruptcies was subdued with Japanese Chief Cabinet
Secretary Takeo Kawamura insisting the latest failings
were likely to have little effect on the overall
economy.
Japanese markets plunged this morning with the benchmark
Nikkei 225 stock average plummeting 10.3 percent to
8,217.50 in early afternoon trading and appeared headed
for its second biggest one-day loss ever.
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Port
Augusta, Australia - Overcrowding at a high-security
prison in Port Augusta sparks riot which now entering
its second day.
About 40 high-security inmates rioted for a second day
today against overcrowding at the prison where they are
being held in remote Port Augusta in South Australia.
Prisoners in the high-security division at the Port
Augusta Prison started rioting yesterday afternoon,
breaking windows, air conditioners and computers.
A dozen masked prisoners stood on the roof of the jail
brandishing mattresses, denouncing overcrowded
conditions and wielding makeshift weapons while a police
tactical response unit waited outside the building.
Prison officers were removed from the jail and so far no
injuries have been reported.
Emergency services were on standby outside the prison and
police continued to negotiate with the inmates in a bid
to end the dispute peacefully. The Correctional
Services chief executive said the riot may have been
sparked by a cancelled recreation session. But it was
overcrowding that the inmates on the roof were
demonstrating against. The prison officers' union said
it had warned the state government of that problem.
The Port Augusta Prison has a 280-bed capacity but official
said there were 363 inmates now housed at the prison.
The number of inmates at Port Augusta increased by about
90 over the past year, meaning many cells was used to
house two prisoners.
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Thailand - 24 killed and 27 injured in bush accident.
At least 24 people were killed and more than 20 others
injured when a bus carrying university students fell
down a ravine in eastern Thailand.
The charter bus was carrying students from a technology
university in northeastern Khon Kaen province. They were
on a field trip travelling to the coastal province of
Chantaburi when the accident happened 135 kilometres
east of Bangkok.
Police suspect the driver, who was also killed, had fallen
asleep at the wheel. The provincial health authority
said the injured passengers were taken to five nearby
hospitals. Most of the injured suffered broken limbs.
Police said the death toll was expected to increase
since a number of the injuries were severe.
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Colombo - Sri Lankan minister escapes assassination
attempt.
Sri Lanka's Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services
Development Minister Mai thri pala Siri sena narrowly
escaped an LTTE attempt on his life.
A female suicide terrorist blew herself targeting Minister
Sirisena's motorcade at Pirivena junction in Colombo,
when the Minister was returning after a Government
function in Bandaragama. The Minister escaped unharmed
and one of the cars in the convoy was caught in the
suicide attack. A civilian was killed and five others
injured including Deputy Minister Siripala Gamlath and
newly appointed Ministry Secretary Ranjith Wijethilaka.
According to sources at Kalubowila hospital, five persons
were admitted to the hospital immediately after the bomb
blast. The Deputy Minister and the Ministry Secretary
had been transferred to the Colombo National Hospital
later. Minister Sirisena earlier escaped an LTTE suicide
attempt on his life in Modera on March 1, 2008.
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Pakistan - Suicide blast kills 15 anti-Taliban
tribesmen.
In Pakistan, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a meeting
of anti-Taliban tribal leaders in a region on the Afghan
border today, killing at least 15 people and wounding
dozens others.
The attack happened a day after a force of pro-government
tribesmen destroyed two militant hideouts in the Orakzai
district, until recently the most peaceful of Pakistan's
seven semi-autonomous tribal regions .Initial reports
from the area say that a bomber struck at a meeting of a
tribal force. They were gathered to create a tribal
force against the militants. Security officials said the
tribesmen blew up two hideouts of the militants a day
earlier and it is possible the attack was in revenge for
their actions.
In the insugency-hit Bajaur, the Taliban beheaded 4 tribal
elders who had attended a pro-government meeting. The
victims were abducted when heading home after a
gathering, which the Charmang tribe had called to plan
action against Taliban militants in their area.
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Nepal
- German forensic team in Kathmandu to identify bodies
of tourists killed in plane crash.
A team of German forensic experts has arrived in Nepal to
identify the badly charred bodies of German tourists who
died in a plane crash near Mount Everest that killed 18
people.
The forensic experts did not speak to reporters, but police
official Chiranjivi Sapkota said the team was there to
determine the identities of the12 German victims. No
other details were immediately available. The dead also
included two Australian and two Nepalese tourists as
well as two Nepalese crew members. The pilot has been
hospitalized in Katmandu and is expected to recover. The
Yeti Airlines plane crashed on Wednesday morning as it
tried to land in foggy weather at Lukla airport, about
60 kilometres from the world's tallest peak. It had
taken off from Katmandu. The DeHavilland DHC-6 Twin
Otter burst into flames after the crash. Of the 19
people on board, only the pilot survived. The Twin Otter
is known for its ability to take off and land on short
runways. Nepal has created a four-person team to
investigate the crash. The commission has two months to
submit its report.
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Kosovo/Macedonia/Montenegro - Serbia expels Macedonian
ambassador over Kosovo.
Serbia expels Macedonian ambassador over Kosovo. Serbia has
expelled the Macedonian ambassador after his country
recognized Kosovo's independence.
In a statement, the foreign ministry says the ambassador
will have to leave Serbia within 48 hours. The move
comes a day after neighboring countries Macedonia and
Montenegro recognized Kosovo, which declared
independence from Serbia in February. Serbia expelled
Montenegro's ambassador on Thursday.
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Paris, France - Spains calls for urgent euro-zone
summit.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has
urged French President Nicolas Sarkozy to call an urgent
meeting of euro-zone leaders to confront the global
financial crisis.
Zapatero said the meeting of the 15-member euro-group
should be held to agree on "strong and coordinated
action" in the face of the banking meltdown that is
rattling stock markets. Sarkozy said the proposal was
"interesting, relevant and useful" but added he would
consult other European governments before calling such a
meeting. The two men met at the Elysee Palace in Paris
to talk about the global financial turmoil. They both
said the crisis was "without precedent."
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Britain - Britain sends officials to Iceland in banking
row.
Meanwhile, Britain is sending a team of senior financial
officials to Reykjavic to press Iceland to unblock
billions of pounds of British savers' money frozen in
Icelandic bank accounts. Prime Minister Gordon Brown,
who has called Iceland's stance "completely
unacceptable," vowed to do everything possible to
recover money.
The officials will work with the Icelandic government to
find a solution to the current situation. Press reports
said some 300,000 private British savers have over four
billion pounds locked in Icelandic bank accounts, while
local government and other organisations including
charities have more than 800 million pounds. Britain has
already frozen the assets of Icelandic banks in Britain,
using anti-terrorism laws to do so -- triggering a
protest by Iceland which is struggling to cope with the
near-collapse of its entire banking system.
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Oil
prices - Brent North Sea plunged as low as 75.00
dollars, New York light sweet plumbed a one year low of
78.61 dollars.
Oil prices slumped Friday to one-year lows fewer than 80
dollars per barrel, striking 75 dollars in London, amid
a global equities meltdown that sparked fears over
demand for energy. The International Energy Agency - IEA
also warned that the threat of recession and the ongoing
financial crisis would erode oil demand and set back
investment in new oilfields.
Brent North Sea crude for November plunged as low as 75.00
dollars -- which was last witnessed on October 12, 2007
-- as traders responded to renewed heavy falls on world
stock markets. The contract later stood at 77.23 dollars
a barrel, down 5.43 dollars from Thursday. New York's
main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in
November, plumbed a one-year low of 78.61 dollars a
barrel. It later stood at 79.94 dollars, down 6.65
dollars from Thursday.
The sharp falls came despite news that OPEC will hold an
emergency meeting next month on the impact of the
markets crisis -- amid speculation that the crude
producers' cartel could cut output to safeguard precious
oil revenues. The price of crude oil has now slumped by
almost 50 percent since striking record high points
above 147 dollars per barrel on July 11. Meanwhile,
global stock markets suffered another calamitous
sell-off on Friday, as the ongoing financial crisis
showed no signs of easing up.
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New
Delhi, India - India set to get F1 race in 2011.
India appears set to get its first Formula One race in
2011, and Russia may not be far behind. Indian Olympic
Association president Suresh Kalmadi announced last year
that he had signed a deal to host F1 in New Delhi from
2010, but F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is set on 2011. An
inaugural race in Abu Dhabi has already been set for
2009, while the Canadian GP was dropped for next year.
Ecclestone first indicated his feelings about the Indian
race in Singapore two weeks ago, which surprised Force
India owner Vijay Mallya, who said the track will be
ready next year.
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Corsica, France - Frenchman Sebastien Loeb has a chance
to clinch a record fifth successive World Rally
Championship title in Corsica this weekend.
Frenchman Sebastien Loeb has a chance to clinch a record
fifth successive World Rally Championship title in
Corsica this weekend. The Citroen driver completed an
impressive warm-up for the event by finishing second
behind Belgium's Francois Duval.
The Rally of France in Corsica is the third last of 15
races in this year's championship. Sebastien Loeb has
won his home rally the last three seasons, and another
victory this weekend could see him wrap up a fifth
successive world title. The 34-year-old posted his ninth
win of the season at last weekend's Rally of Spain,
putting him 12 points clear of Finland's Mikko Hirvonen.
Corsica is another asphalt race, a surface that Loeb and
the Citroen team clearly enjoy.
Loeb's teammate Dani Sordo is a distant third in the
drivers' championship but he'll be looking to help
Citroen strengthen their grip on the manufacturers'
title. Citroen are 27 points clear of Ford, who will
have been encouraged by the Shakedown performance of
Francois Duval.
Suburu's drivers were a little off the pace, with Chris
Atkinson 11th and Petter Solberg seventh in the
Shakedown. The Suzuki team will also look to pick up the
pace when the rally starts today. Toni Gardemeister of
Finland was 13th in the Shakedown, two places ahead of
his Swedish teammate Per-Gunnar Andersson.
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Soccer - Chelsea seeks return of Mikel Obi transfer fee.
Chelsea has begun proceedings in London's High Court aimed
at recovering 16 million pounds they paid for John Mikel
Obi.
The Nigerian midfielder joined Chelsea in June 2006 with
the London club paying four million pounds to Norwegian
club FC Lyn Oslo and a further 12 million to Manchester
United, who had a prior agreement to sign the player.
Chelsea are claiming all of the money back from Lyn and
their former chief executive Morgan Andersen as they now
believe that the player was not under contract to the
Norwegian club at the time.
The claim is based on details that emerged in a recent
court case which resulted in Andersen being convicted
for fraud.
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Club
de Campo Villa de Madrid, Spain - Three players share
the lead at the end of round one.
In golf, Paul Broadhurst, Marcus Fraser and Magnus A
Carlsson top the leader board after day one of the
Madrid Masters in Spain. The trio ended the day one shot
ahead of a group of five players, including Spaniard
Pablo Larrazabal the reigning French Open Champion.
The tournament may be a new addition to the European tour
but the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid golf course, on
which the Madrid Masters is played, is an old favourite.
Sunny but blustery conditions made for a difficult day
for the golfers as no single player was able to break
through and it looks very tight at the top of the leader
board. Old favourite, Jose Maria Olazabal had a clear
bill of health and fitness and was clearly enjoying
competing again.
Among the favourites to win this tournament is Miguel Angel
Jimenez, desperate to win on a course which surprisingly
few Spanish golfers have been successful on. His second
shot into the 13th whole set him up for the birdie and
he went on to shoot a round of 69, two shots under par
and just two shots behind the leaders.
Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina won the Madrid Open on this
course five years ago. He nearly won himself a car on
the 17th hole today with his tee shot coming agonisingly
close to giving him a hole in one. In the end, he had
to settle for a birdie and a two under par round of 69.
Steve Webster of England will defend his Portuguese title
in the next tournament, and would love the confidence
boost of winning the Madrid Masters on his way. His tee
shot at the ninth flew along the green and he was able
to hole the putt for a birdie and a round of 68, three
shots under par.
Pablo Larrazabal, the French Open Champion, joined him at
that mark. He seemed to be in an impossible position at
the seventh hole but played the shot of the day to set
him up for a birdie. But three players share the lead at
the end of round one.
Paul Broadhurst of England came close to a hole in one at
the ninth but had to settle for a birdie. His four under
par round of 67 sees him at the top of the leader board,
level with Marcus Fraser and Magnus A Carlsson after day
one in Madrid.
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