Japan PM wins party vote but faces more challenges

Japan PM wins party vote but faces more challenges

Japan PM wins party vote but faces more challenges

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 05:00 PM PDT

By Linda Sieg and Chisa Fujioka

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan will keep his job after an unexpectedly strong victory in a ruling party leadership vote today, but must now strive to unify his party and forge deals with the opposition to pass laws in a divided Parliament.

Kan, 63, who has promised to curb spending and cap borrowing, is already struggling with a strong yen, a fragile recovery and public debt that is twice the size of Japan's US$5 trillion (RM15.5 trillion) economy.

Markets had been braced for a shift toward more aggressive spending if Kan lost to Ichiro Ozawa, a scandal-tainted powerbroker who had said he would consider issuing more debt if the economy worsened.

The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has floundered since sweeping to power a year ago, and the DPJ and a tiny partner lost their upper house majority in a July election. Kan took over in June as Japan's fifth leader in three years.

Kan won just over half of the votes cast by DPJ parliamentarians, but trounced Ozawa in voting among the party rank-and-file. Voters had been put off by Ozawa's scandal-tainted image.

"If people trust the Democratic Party, they can understand policy proposals even if they are tough," Kan had said in a speech ahead of the vote. "We can overcome deadlock only when we can get the public to trust this party."

Kan, who is expected to reshuffle his Cabinet, has vowed to cap spending and debt issuance to rein in huge public debt. He also wants to debate raising the 5% sales tax to fund the growing social welfare costs of a fast-ageing population.

Kan's team has repeatedly expressed concern about the yen's climb to 15-year highs against the dollar but so far has refrained from stepping into the market.

The DPJ last year ousted the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), ending more than 50 years of nearly non-stop rule by the conservative party, but the government's popularity plunged under Kan's predecessor Yukio Hatoyama.

Kan has also disappointed many with his lack of a convincing message on how to engineer growth, despite hopes that the former grassroots activist was a pragmatist who could get things done.

-Reuters

 

Korean unification to cost over US$3 trillion

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 12:14 AM PDT

SEOUL, Tuesday 14 September 2010 (Bernama) -- South Korea's economic experts believe the country needs to immediately start saving up for unification with impoverished North Korea that will cost at least 3,500 trillion won (US$3 trillion), a recent survey of experts released Tuesday showed, Yonhap News Agency reported.

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Syed Husin not contesting in PKR election

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 12:13 AM PDT

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali today announced that he would not contest in the party election to be held in November.

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Genting gets final approval for US video lottery facility

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 12:13 AM PDT

Genting Malaysia Bhd has secured the final approval required for the development and operation of a video lottery facility at the Aqueduct Racetrack in New York.

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Japan PM Kan wins party leadership vote

Posted: 14 Sep 2010 12:16 AM PDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan was set to keep his job after winning a ruling party leadership vote on Tuesday, but a strong showing by his rival among party parliamentarians could weaken his clout, complicating efforts to rein in huge public debt.


Indonesia police probe torture allegations

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 03:13 PM PDT

JAKARTA: Indonesian police said today they will investigate new allegations that political activists have been tortured by members of a US- and Australian-backed anti-terror unit.

The Detachment 88 counter-terror squad allegedly tortured 12 suspected separatists who were arrested last month for possessing an outlawed South Maluku Republic (RMS) flag.

The allegations came as another Maluku separatist, Yusuf Sipakoly, died in custody yesterday from injuries his family says were sustained during torture.

Sipakoly was arrested in 2007 for unfurling the outlawed flag and performing a traditional war dance in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Police in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province, denied that his death was the result of kidney failure stemming from torture, and dismissed allegations that he had been denied medical treatment for years.

But police spokesman Marwoto Soeto said here that allegations against Detachment 88 officers related to the suspects arrested between Aug 1 and 7 would be the subject of a "thorough investigation".

"If the allegations are true, the officers could face charges... Torture is a criminal act which carries a maximum penalty of nine years in jail," he said.

Plastic bags

The Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday that members of Detachment 88 had beaten the detainees for up to a week, brought them close to suffocation with plastic bags, stabbed them with nails and forced them to eat raw chillies.

Detachment 88 receives millions of dollars in funding and support from Australia and the United States, which helped establish the unit in the wake of the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks and the 2002 Bali bombing.

An Australian foreign affairs spokesman said Canberra was "concerned" about the allegations and embassy officials had made inquiries with the Indonesian police, including during a recent visit to Ambon.

Indonesia is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture but it has no corresponding law against the practice, which is widespread throughout the country's prisons and police forces.

The UN special rapporteur for torture visited Indonesia in 2007 and found that police used torture as a "routine practice in Jakarta and other metropolitan areas of Java", the most populated island in the archipelago.

- AFP

 

Aussie marathon man to run from North to South poles

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 03:09 PM PDT

SYDNEY: An Australian ultra-marathon athlete who holds records for the fastest run around his own country and across its vast desert centre today launched a bid to run non-stop from the North to South poles.

Pat Farmer, once dubbed Australia's "Forrest Gump", aims to raise US$100 million (RM312 million) for Red Cross water and sanitation programmes during his 21,000-km (13,000-mile) journey through 14 countries in the Americas.

"I believe I'm born with a gift," Farmer, 48, said.

"My gift is to be able to run long distances faster and perhaps further than any other person on Earth, so I figure I'd be a fool if I had this gift and didn't use it."

Though the trip has been some 10 years in the making, Farmer said it was a recent trip to southeast Asia that inspired him to dedicate it to the Red Cross.

"I saw children covered with needlestick injuries in a dump trying to break syringes down to sell the metal inside for bottles of water," he said.

"It was a heartbreaking turning point for me.

"By creating clean supplies of water and installing proper sanitation facilities -- things we all take for granted in Australia -- we can change people's lives forever."

His 11-month voyage will take him from freezing tundra through the tropics, and Farmer expects to go through more than 40 pairs of shoes and 300 pairs of socks.

"This is by far the greatest challenge of my life," he said, adding that he had been training "like a man possessed".

"To be quite honest with you I don't know if I can run from the North Pole to the South Pole," said Farmer, who also served for a decade as an Australian government MP.

"But I do know that I can run for 80km, or 85km or 90km or 100km a day and I do know that I can get up the next morning and do the same thing the next day.

"I will take it one day at a time and I will achieve this enormous goal."

Farmer's run starts at the North Pole in March and will continue through Canada, the United States, Mexico and 10 South American countries before he arrives in Argentina to be airlifted to the final South Pole leg.

Once he is done he will return to the United States to address the United Nations about his journey and the plight that inspired him.

Former opposition Labor leader Mark Latham dubbed then federal politician Farmer, from the rival Liberal Party, "Forrest Gump" after the Hollywood movie in which the lead character runs across America.

- AFP

Settlements row to dominate U.S.-led Mideast talks

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 11:57 PM PDT

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Egypt on Tuesday to lead a second round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, aiming to prevent negotiations from collapsing days after their launch.


Thailand apologises after tsunami false alarm

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 11:57 PM PDT

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The Thai government apologised on Tuesday to a region where thousands died in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami after a botched warning drill this week caused hundreds to flee their homes, convinced another wave was coming.


The east Malaysian enigma

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 11:19 PM PDT

Sabah and Sarawak deserve their share of the nation's wealth and attention. Furthermore, the respective points of agreement have to be adhered to. The resources of these two states must reach the ground directly. The political elites in Sarawak and Sabah have gorged themselves while the people have suffered.

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TNB to post reasonable Q4 results: OSK

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 11:14 PM PDT

With coal prices still fairly stable and the ringgit rallying to a 13-year high against the US dollar, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) is expected to record reasonable fourth-quarter results, says OSK Research.

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Iran to continue cooperation with IAEA

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 11:13 PM PDT

VIENNA, Tuesday 14 September 2010 (Bernama) -- Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Ali-Asghar Soltanieh, said Monday that Iran is ready for cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.

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Aquino seeks to boost image after Philippines hostage fiasco

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 10:51 PM PDT

MANILA, Tuesday 14 September 2010 (AFP) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday invoked his parents' democratic legacy as he sought to reassert his leadership after a bloody hostage fiasco that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.

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Australian PM sworn in at helm of shaky coalition

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 10:50 PM PDT

CANBERRA, Tuesday 14 September 2010 (AFP) - Julia Gillard was sworn in as Australia's prime minister Tuesday, faced with leading a fragile coalition government after scraping back into power in the wake of a cliffhanger election.

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North Korea "succession" meeting could start soon

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 11:22 PM PDT

TOKYO/SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's ruling party could meet to choose a new leadership on Tuesday or Wednesday, media reports said, dismissing reports of a delay because of "dear leader" Kim Jong-il's health.


S.Africa ANC, unions may hold summit to patch up

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 11:22 PM PDT

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling African National Congress and its long-time labour partners may convene an alliance summit next month or in November, the party and unions said in a joint statement on Tuesday.


Greek truckers continue protests

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 10:50 PM PDT

Greek truck drivers are holding a second day of what they call a "work stoppage" in protest at the government's plans to liberalise their industry and revitalise the economy.


Australian PM sworn in at helm of shaky coalition

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 02:59 PM PDT

By Torsten Blackwood

CANBERRA: Julia Gillard was sworn in as Australia's prime minister today, faced with leading a fragile coalition government after scraping back into power in the wake of a cliffhanger election.

Gillard, Australia's first woman prime minister, formally returned to office nearly a week after cobbling together a wafer-thin majority with the backing of Greens and independent MPs.

"I, Julia Eileen Gillard, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will loyally serve the Commonwealth of Australia in the office of prime minister," she told Governor-General Quentin Bryce.

The ceremony caps weeks of drama after Gillard deposed ex-leader Kevin Rudd in a party revolt and called elections that produced the first hung Parliament in decades, leaving her relying on Greens and independent MPs for support.

The unmarried former "Ten Pound Pom", who arrived from Wales as a child in 1966, was flanked by ex-hairdresser partner Tim Mathieson and her deputy, Treasurer Wayne Swan, as she took the oath.

Gillard's first Cabinet as an elected leader, which was due to be sworn in later, contains potential divisions with Rudd sitting alongside party powerbrokers credited with orchestrating his sudden and surprising demise.

The prime minister was forced into a late change just hours before the oath-taking by announcing a minister for Aboriginal health, following strong complaints when the post was left out of the original line-up.

Ex-Midnight Oil singer Peter Garrett returns with an education brief despite being reprimanded after a botched free home insulation scheme that was blamed for four workers' deaths and hundreds of house fires.

Garrett is one of three government members sharing education after Gillard, a former education minister, decided to split the ministry, prompting concerns among student groups and universities over a possibly fractured approach.

Delicate arrangement

Disillusionment with the major parties was blamed for creating Australia's first minority government since World War II, despite strong economic growth and low unemployment underpinned by buoyant mining exports to Asia.

Gillard has promised to introduce a new tax on resources profits and measures to ease pollution, while maintaining an eclectic coalition which groups an environment-minded MP with two conservative-leaning independents.

Gillard controls just 76 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives, meaning a single defection or absence could produce stalemate in the lower house.

Analysts say the new government is a "delicate" arrangement which will require constant negotiation.

"I think it's going to be inherently unstable," said political commentator Peter van Onselen. "It'll be delicate and it'll require the government to take an issue-by-issue approach to its legislation."

Gillard sensationally ousted Rudd on June 24 and called polls three weeks later, banking on a wave of support.

But the anticipated honeymoon period failed to materialise as many voters turned away from the two main parties and handed the environment-focused Greens a record ballot share.

The first hung Parliament in 70 years triggered 17 days of furious horse-trading which eventually came down to the backing of independent MP Rob Oakeshott, who announced his decision on live TV.

- AFP

Aquino seeks to boost image after hostage fiasco

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 02:54 PM PDT

MANILA: Philippine President Benigno Aquino today invoked his parents' democratic legacy as he sought to reassert his leadership after a bloody hostage fiasco that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.

Speaking before the police forces, Aquino sought to portray last month's hijacking of a tourist bus by a sacked cop accused of extortion as a momentary fumble and insisted that his reform and anti-corruption policies were on track.

Amid widespread criticism of his government's handling of the Aug 23 incident in central Manila, Aquino said: "In the name of my parents I will not allow our country to sink no matter how heavy the challenges that may come."

Aquino's father, also Benigno, a leader of the opposition against Ferdinand Marcos, was shot dead at Manila airport as he returned from exile in 1983. His mother Corazon went on to lead the revolution that ousted the dictator.

"Unfortunately the hostage crisis appears to have tripped up the big steps we have been taking forward. Many of us have stumbled and refused to get up," the president said.

"Stop doubting your police forces and your government. After six years I assure you the sole legacy of my administration will be honest service -- not corruption, not greed, not any shadow of a past tragedy."

Aquino today installed Raul Bacalzo as the country's new police chief, replacing Jesus Verzosa who chose to retire three months early in the wake of the bus hostage tragedy.

Aquino is expected to announce other measures after he receives a report, expected this week, from a high-level body assigned to investigate the bus hijacking fiasco.

The president said today the much-criticised failure of the Manila police forces to stop the hostage-taker's deadly rampage could be traced to a lack of resources allotted for training and equipment.

"The police will only be able to fulfil their task if they have adequate equipment, firearms, health benefits and housing. We will see to it that these shortcomings will be addressed," he said.

- AFP

The cost of reunifying Korea? about $3 trillion

Posted: 13 Sep 2010 10:52 PM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - The cost of reunifying the two Koreas, split since shortly after World War Two, would tot up to about 3,500 trillion won ($3 trillion), the Federation of Korean Industries said on Tuesday.


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