xNews® World News: Mother and daughter among 25 detained for snatch theft

Mother and daughter among 25 detained for snatch theft

Mother and daughter among 25 detained for snatch theft
No sugar price rise tomorrow, stop speculating, says Ismail Sabri
Media practitioners compelled to follow Pprophet Muhammad's qualities
Spain downgrade, Wall Street losses hit Asian stocks
Giant ash cloud threatens flights in Pacific
ANALYSIS - Euro zone crisis: it's the politics, stupid!
SMS slander trial postponed as accused goes on MC
China police free 24 from brick kiln in latest slave scandal
Six soldiers killed in rocket attack on Turkish navy base
Thai PM under fire over deadly crackdown
Bangladeshi PM cleared of all corruption cases: lawyer
S.Korea holds war games, works to persuade doubters on ship (UPDATED)
Ex-Thai PM Thaksin hires war crimes lawyer
Pakistan court orders Facebook access restored
Anifah leads delegation to 2nd Asean-GCC ministerial meeting
Anwar obtains judgment in default against Khairy
Israel boards Gaza-bound ships, 15 dead - reports
Israeli navy storms Gaza aid ship
Death toll from storm Agatha rises
Men's skin cancer rate doubles

Mother and daughter among 25 detained for snatch theft

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:57 PM PDT

A mother and daughter were among 25 snatch theft suspects detained by police during a sales carnival-cum concert held here on Saturday and Sunday.

No sugar price rise tomorrow, stop speculating, says Ismail Sabri

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:55 PM PDT

There will be no sugar price increase tomorrow and Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob wants consumers to stop speculating about it.

Media practitioners compelled to follow Pprophet Muhammad's qualities

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:54 PM PDT

Media practitioners are compelled to follow and use the excellent qualities of Prophet Muhammad as example when disseminating information to the people.

Spain downgrade, Wall Street losses hit Asian stocks

Posted: 30 May 2010 04:05 PM PDT

By Nick Coleman

HONG KONG: Spain's credit rating downgrade and a tumble on Wall Street weighed on sentiment as most Asian markets dropped into the red today on fears the European debt crisis could spread.

However, the euro rebounded from lows reached on Friday after the announcement that ratings agency Fitch had knocked Madrid down a notch from its top AAA rating to AA+.

Tokyo's Nikkei closed flat, edging 5.72 points higher to 9.768.70 and Sydney ended down 0.62%, or 27.8 points, at 4,429.7. The Australian index's monthly fall of 7.8% was its largest since October 2008.

Shanghai dropped 0.1% in afternoon trade and Hong Kong was flat by the break but Singapore rose 0.80%.

The Dow tumbled 1.19% on Friday -- and 7.9% in May, its worst monthly performance since February 2009 and worst May since 1940 -- after Fitch lowered Spain's rating.

The agency said its decision came largely because government measures to reduce indebtedness "will materially reduce the rate of growth of the Spanish economy" over the medium term.

The downgrade came a day after Madrid approved a tough austerity package to shore up public finances and reassure investors that it will not follow Greece into a debt crisis.

It sent dealers to the safe-haven yen and greenback on Friday, with the euro hitting 1.2266 dollars and 111.80 yen in late New York trade.

But the single unit rebounded slightly in Asian trade today to 1.2311 dollars and 112.70 yen.

A senior currency dealer at a major Japan brokerage said there was a sense that "the falls Friday were too exaggerated".

"So I think many investors were from the start today looking to make some adjustments by buying back," the dealer told Dow Jones Newswires.

But Mizuho Corporate Bank market economist Daisuke Karakama warned: "I don't think the market view has changed. There are more people who want to sell (the euro) than those who want to buy.

"Many people are still waiting for opportunities to sell on rebounds."

Markets were barely moved by news that Japan's small socialist party yesterday walked out of the ruling coalition in a row over a US military base on Okinawa island, heaping pressure on Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama ahead of July polls.

Data today also showed Japan's industrial output rose by a smaller-than-expected 1.3% in April from the previous month.

Oil was higher. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, added 45 US cents to US$74.42 a barrel while Brent North Sea crude for July was up 48 US cents to US$74.50.

Gold opened at 1,210.50-1,211.50 US dollars an ounce in Hong Kong, down from Friday's close of 1,213.30-1,214.30 dollars.

Markets in New York and London are closed today for public holidays.

- AFP

Giant ash cloud threatens flights in Pacific

Posted: 30 May 2010 03:45 PM PDT

SYDNEY: A giant plume of volcanic ash is disrupting flights in the Pacific and threatening villagers in Vanuatu, echoing similar problems which caused chaos in Europe, scientists and officials said today.

Forecasters in New Zealand said the cloud, spewing from Vanuatu's Mount Yasur volcano, was about 6,000ft high and covered an area of about 132 sq m.

Tourists have been urged to stay away from the volcano on Tanna island, which has disrupted domestic flights in neighbouring New Caledonia.

Peter Korisa of the National Disaster Management Office, who is on Tanna to assess the situation, said lava and hot rocks had been spewing from the volcano and ash was raining down on nearby villages.

"There are 6,000 people in the villages around the volcano, we're not moving them out yet," Korisa said.

"All tourists and tourist operators have been asked to not access the volcano. The access is restricted."

Tristan Oakley, an aviation forecaster with New Zealand's Meteorological Service, said authorities had issued an advisory and it was up to airlines to avoid the affected area or cancel flights if necessary.

The plume has forced New Caledonia's AirCal to cancel two internal flights and delay another, although disruption remains tiny compared to the havoc seen in Europe -- including a week-long shutdown in the continent's north in April.

Air Vanuatu local supervisor David Dick said flights were still running between the South Pacific country's capital, Port Vila, and Tanna island, while tourism officials also said the industry was unaffected.

However, Australia on Friday issued a travel advisory saying visitors were now barred from the volcano.

"Public access to the volcano is now strictly prohibited and people living in the risk zone should move to safer areas," the advisory said.

Vanuatu, which sits on the so-called "Pacific Ring of Fire" known for its seismic and volcanic activity, was rocked by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on Friday, prompting a brief tsunami warning.

The archipelago, which lies between Australia and Fiji and north of New Zealand, was hit by three major quakes in October.

- AFP

ANALYSIS - Euro zone crisis: it's the politics, stupid!

Posted: 31 May 2010 12:26 AM PDT

PARIS (Reuters) - Bill Clinton famously won the U.S. presidential election in 1992 with the motto "It's the economy, stupid." But when it comes to the future of the euro, "It's the politics, stupid!" is the more appropriate slogan.

SMS slander trial postponed as accused goes on MC

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:48 PM PDT

The trial of former political secretary to former Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh who was charged with making a criminal threat via SMS to three assemblymen in April last year, was postponed as the accused Datuk Dr Ahmad Ramzi Mohamad Zubir was on medical leave.

China police free 24 from brick kiln in latest slave scandal

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:46 PM PDT

BEIJING, Monday 31 May 2010 (AFP) - Police in southwestern China said Monday they had freed 24 people forced to work at a brick kiln -- the second such rescue in a week in a nation rocked by a huge slave labour scandal in 2007.

Six soldiers killed in rocket attack on Turkish navy base

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:46 PM PDT

ANKARA, Monday 31 May 2010 (AFP) - Six soldiers were killed overnight when armed militants fired rockets on a navy base in the southern Turkish city of Iskenderun, Anatolia news agency reported.

Thai PM under fire over deadly crackdown

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:42 PM PDT

BANGKOK, Monday 31 May 2010 (AFP) - Thailand's prime minister faced accusations Monday of violating human rights by ordering a deadly army crackdown on opposition protesters, during a heated no-confidence debate in parliament.

Bangladeshi PM cleared of all corruption cases: lawyer

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:41 PM PDT

DHAKA, Monday 31 May 2010 (AFP) - A Bangladeshi court has thrown out the last of 15 corruption cases that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has faced since coming to power in early 2009, a lawyer said Monday.

S.Korea holds war games, works to persuade doubters on ship (UPDATED)

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:40 PM PDT

SEOUL, Monday 31 May 2010 (AFP) - South Korea staged war games near the tense border with North Korea on Monday as Seoul worked to persuade doubters at home and abroad that Pyongyang was responsible for sinking one of its warships.

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Ex-Thai PM Thaksin hires war crimes lawyer

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:37 PM PDT

BANGKOK, Monday 31 May 2010 (AFP) - Fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's legal team said Monday it had hired an international war crimes expert to help investigate a recent army crackdown on protesters in Bangkok.

Pakistan court orders Facebook access restored

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:35 PM PDT

LAHORE, Monday 31 May 2010 (AFP) - A Pakistani court on Monday ordered authorities to restore access to Facebook, nearly two weeks after the popular social networking website was blocked nationwide in a row over blasphemy.

Anifah leads delegation to 2nd Asean-GCC ministerial meeting

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:34 PM PDT

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman is leading the Malaysian delegation to the 2nd Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministerial meeting in Singapore starting today.

Anwar obtains judgment in default against Khairy

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:26 PM PDT

Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin today failed in his bid to set aside a judgment in default obtained by Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in a RM100 million defamation suit.

Israel boards Gaza-bound ships, 15 dead - reports

Posted: 30 May 2010 11:30 PM PDT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - About 15 people were killed on Monday when the Israeli navy intercepted ships carrying aid and pro-Palestinian activists toward the Gaza Strip, Israel's private Channel 10 television said.