Israel deports flotilla activists after world outcry

Israel deports flotilla activists after world outcry

Israel deports flotilla activists after world outcry

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 01:09 AM PDT

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel began expelling all activists seized during a raid on an aid convoy sailing to Gaza that has drawn international outrage and officials on Wednesday vowed to prevent any other ships from reaching the coastal territory.


Taliban attack launch of Karzai's Afghan peace bid

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:39 AM PDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban suicide commandos attacked a huge gathering of Afghan elders and notables on Wednesday just as President Hamid Karzai launched an ambitious peace plan he hopes will persuade the insurgents to lay down their arms.


North Korea's Kim enjoys war-themed sing-song

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:39 AM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean media have speculated on the whereabouts of reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il since a trip to China last month, with some newspapers suggesting he may have taken to an underground bunker amid threats of war.


South Koreans vote, with one eye on North Korea

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:39 AM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Koreans voted in regional polls on Wednesday, a barometer of support for President Lee Myung-bak as he tries to push through business-friendly reforms, with North Korea a key issue for the first time in years.


Philippines set to confirm Aquino poll win next week

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:39 AM PDT

MANILA (Reuters) - Senator Benigno Aquino III could be officially declared the next Philippine president on Monday, four weeks after his landslide win in the May 10 polls, with lawmakers set to soon complete their canvass of votes.


FACTBOX - Five facts about Japan PM frontrunner Naoto Kan

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:39 AM PDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan is viewed by many in the markets as frontrunner to succeed Yukio Hatoyama as prime minister, after Hatoyama said on Wednesday he would step down.


Thai prime minister survives no-confidence motion

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:39 PM PDT

BANGKOK, June 2 – Thailand's prime minister survived a parliamentary no-confidence vote on Wednesday brought by the opposition after weeks of political protests during which 88 people died and both tourism and the economy suffered. The opposition had accused the government of violating the human rights of thousands of anti-government protesters ...


Thai ‘red shirts’ not finished, need time to regroup

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:28 PM PDT

BANGKOK, June 2 – Thai anti-government protesters have vowed to return to the streets after an army crackdown ended their nine-week protest, but with most of their leaders detained or in hiding, it could take months to revive their campaign. Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy is still recovering from modern Thailand's worst political ...


Thai PM survives no-confidence vote

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:13 AM PDT

BANGKOK, Wednesday 2 June 2010 (Bernama) -- Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva survived the no-confidence vote in the lower House Wednesday morning following a motion lodged by the opposition accusing him of brutally suppressing last month's mass protests in the capital, according to Thai News Agency.

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Malaysian volunteers released

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:50 PM PDT

The 12 Malaysian volunteers who were on board the aid ship attacked by Israel while sailing to Gaza are safe and currently travelling by road to Amman.

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Loan growth remains strong despite interest rate hike: MIMB

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 11:48 PM PDT

Loan growth in the local banking sector remains strong, despite an increase in the base lending rate (BLR) and average lending rate (ALR) recently, according to a research house.

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UN voices world anger on convoy attack

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 10:26 PM PDT

JERUSALEM– Amid widespread anger worldwide with Israel, the United Nations Security Council called for an 'impartial investigation' into the death of several relief workers during a  Zionist raid on an aid convoy sailing to Gaza.

At least nine people were reported killed, four of them Turkish.

Some 700

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Japan PM quits to boost party fortunes at poll

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:06 AM PDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his powerful No.2 quit on Wednesday to try to boost the ruling party's faltering fortunes in an election next month, less than a year after sweeping to power with promises of change.


ANALYSIS - Thai "red shirts" not finished, need time to regroup

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:06 AM PDT

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai anti-government protesters have vowed to return to the streets after an army crackdown ended their nine-week protest, but with most of their leaders detained or in hiding, it could take months to revive their campaign.


Russian Soyuz returns from space station mission

Posted: 02 Jun 2010 12:06 AM PDT

KOROLYOV, Russia (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz spacecraft with three astronauts on board landed on the steppe of Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Russia's Mission Control said.


'Tiananmen Mothers' demand China end silence on crackdown

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 10:57 PM PDT

BEIJING, Wednesday 2 June 2010 (AFP) - Families of those killed in the crushing of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests on Wednesday demanded China end its silence and open a dialogue on the bloodshed.

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Filipino rebels, activists protest over Israel flotilla raid

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 10:54 PM PDT

MANILA, Wednesday 2 June 2010 (AFP) - Muslim separatist rebels and activists in the Philippines on Wednesday strongly condemned what they called a brutal attack by Israel on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that left nine people dead.

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Woman stabs nine in China train rampage: report

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 10:53 PM PDT

BEIJING, Wednesday 2 June 2010 (AFP) - A woman armed with a knife went on the rampage on an overnight passenger train in northeastern China, stabbing and wounding nine people as they slept, state media reported on Wednesday.

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Top contenders to take over as Japan PM

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 10:52 PM PDT

TOKYO, Wednesday 2 June 2010 (AFP) - In the wake of the resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, three key figures in the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) appear to be front runners in the race to succeed him.

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Japan PM resigns after US base row

Posted: 01 Jun 2010 03:16 PM PDT

By Kyoko Hasegawa

TOKYO: Japan's centre-left Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama tearfully resigned today, just nine months after a stunning election win, his brief reign derailed by a row over an unpopular US airbase.

Hatoyama ended more than half a century of conservative rule in an electoral earthquake last August, but soon earned a reputation for crippling indecision at the helm of the world's second-biggest economy.

The 63-year-old millionaire, the scion of an influential family dubbed "Japan's Kennedys", quit at a meeting of his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

"I will step down," an emotional Hatoyama told party lawmakers at a special meeting in Parliament, while also vowing to "create a new DPJ".

"The government's work has not reflected the public's wishes," said Hatoyama, who formally remains as premier until a successor is voted in.

"I apologise to all of you lawmakers here for causing enormous trouble."

The party plans to vote for a new leader on Friday. Finance Minister Naoto Kan, who is a deputy prime minister, was widely tipped to succeed Hatoyama.

The new DPJ chief must then be elected as prime minister by Parliament in a vote expected later the same day.

Speculation had swirled for days that Hatoyama would quit as his approval ratings, once above 70%, crashed below the 20% mark.

The premier's rapid demise since he took office in September was driven by the festering dispute over a Marine airbase on Okinawa island that badly strained ties with the United States, Tokyo's bedrock ally.

Funding scandal

Hatoyama, a Stanford-trained engineering scholar, took power vowing less subservient ties with Washington and closer engagement with Asia, worrying many Japan watchers in the United States.

He promised to move the US base off Okinawa, to ease the burden for locals who have long complained of aircraft noise, pollution and crime associated with a heavy American military presence since World War II.

But, after failing to find an alternative location for the base in Japan, the premier backtracked and decided to keep it on the island, enraging Okinawans and his pacifist coalition partners the Social Democrats.

The left-leaning group quit his three-party coalition on Sunday, weakening the government in Parliament's upper house ahead of elections for the chamber expected on July 11, in which the DPJ expects to take a beating.

Hatoyama said he had also asked the DPJ's most influential figure, secretary-general Ichiro Ozawa, to quit. Both Hatoyama and Ozawa have been embroiled in a political funding scandal.

Hatoyama's wealthy mother handed large donations to his electoral war chest, triggering a criminal investigation that saw a close aide receive a suspended jail term.

Ozawa, described as the "Shadow Shogun" for his power behind the throne, has seen three of his current and former aides indicted for cooking the books. Prosecutors have also questioned Ozawa himself and raided his offices.

Hatoyama identified the funding scandals and the Okinawa issue as the two main reasons for his demise.

"I have caused trouble for the people of Okinawa," he said.

"Cooperation between Japan and the United States is inevitable for peace and security in East Asia, so I had to ask Okinawans, with regret, to bear the burden."

Apart from the finance minister, other potential successors include Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Transport Minister Seiji Maehara and Deputy Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda.

Tokyo share prices rallied on Hatoyama's exit.

"The PM's resignation will provide some stability to the market short-term as it removes big uncertainties" regarding overall policies, Citigroup trader Mattia Ciancaleoni told Dow Jones Newswires.

- AFP

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