News & Reports 2012-01-08

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In This EditionFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy says a break-up of the euro would blow European unity apart and would inevitably threaten peace on the continent.

The former head of Turkey's armed forces, General Ilker Basbug, is in custody on charges of trying to overthrow the government.

Egyptian election commission has announced final results of the third phase of the parliamentary elections which showed landmark win for Islamists.

The World Food Program starts to distribute aid to people affected by the conflict in Jonglei State in South Sudan.

Hot Issue ReportsSarkozy Warns a Break-up of Euro to Threaten Peace in EuropeFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy said a break-up of the euro would blow European unity apart and would inevitably threaten peace on the continent.

Sarkozy made the remarks after bilateral talks with Italian prime minister Mario Monti in Paris.

Discussions about the euro zone crisis topped the agenda at the meeting. Sarkozy praised the reforms which Monti's new government has put in place to control Italy's budget deficits and mountain of debt.

Monti reaffirmed his commitment to sweeping reforms in order to restore confidence in the euro zone governments' abilities to control their budgets.

"It is essential that at a European level we all behave in a coherent manner, following a confidence that we have in the euro and have it shared by the markets. That will allow interest rates to come down to levels that are more in line with the real economy."But Sarkozy reserved his darkest warning for a speech delivered during a financial conference which Monti attended immediately afterwards.

"If the euro is destroyed, it's all of Europe which goes up in smoke. If Europe goes up in smoke, it is the peace of our continent that will one day or another be called into question."Both leaders said Italy and France share an identical point of view on the future of Europe and on the methods of resolving the crisis of confidence that remains at the heart of the euro zone.

The leaders also announced that they will gather in Rome on January 20 together with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel for more discussions.

Turkey's Ex-Military Chief Arrested Over Alleged Anti-Government PlotThe former head of Turkey's armed forces, General Ilker Basbug, is now in custody on charges of trying to overthrow the government.

Basbug, who retired in 2010, is the most senior officer to be caught up in the Ergenekon case, a long-running crackdown on the military and secularist establishment.

Istanbul residents are divided over the jailing of an ex-chief of the general staff.

"It can happen in every democratic country that a chief of staff or a former chief of staff be arrested. So, if the allegations are true then I am relieved, but if they are not then that poses a serious problem for Turkey.""I am deeply saddened by this incident. It is a sad state of affairs that prominent people are being arrested. They have degraded the image of the army in public."The military is currently under the spotlight over air strikes on the Iraqi border which killed 35 villagers after mistaking them for PKK fighters.

Ali Nihat Ozcan, a security analyst says the incident might cause severe problems within the rigid structure of the Turkish military.

"I assume that this incident will cause serious problems within the army's internal dynamics and with the functioning of its intra-structure during the midterm, because the army has not completely quit its old, traditional cultural habits, and necessary legal arrangements have not yet been made. So after this latest incident, I believe the army will have to deal with a very chaotic situation and face severe problems, especially in its fight against the Kurdistan Workers Party."Police first unearthed evidence five years ago of an ultra-nationalist network dubbed "Ergenekon", which is said to be conspiring to create chaos in the hope of overthrowing the government.

Hundreds of people have been arrested in the Ergenekon investigation, including military officers, academics, lawyers and journalists.

Critics accuse the government of scaremongering in order to silence political opponents. The government denies any such motives.

Egyptian Final Election Results AnnouncedEgyptian election commission has announced final results of the third phase of the parliamentary elections which marks landmark win for Islamists.

More than a third of the votes in the last stage of elections for Egypt's lower house of parliament are dominated by the two Islamic wings; Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice, and the Salafist's al-Nour party.

The Brotherhood's party list has won 37.5 percent of the vote in the third and final stage of voting.

Abdel Mo'ez Ibrahim, head of Egypt's election commission.

"There are some facts. First is the importance of redrafting or issuing a new by-law for practising political rights, this is an unchangeable matter. Second, the people have the final word and the final dictum."The Islamists now look set to wield major influence over the shape of a new constitution after the remarkable domination of the assembly's seats.

ANC Youth League Holds Rally Highlighting Divisions within the Liberation MovementSouth African President Jacob Zuma has toured near Bloemfontein, as firebrand African National Congress (ANC) Youth League leader Julius Malema held a rally nearby.

Highlighting divisions within the ANC, Malema told his supporters that as leader of the party, Zuma would address the country during the party's centenary celebrations.

"We have selected (Zuma) whether we like it or not. The discipline of the organization dictates that the message on that day should be delivered by President Zuma."An ANC disciplinary panel in November found Malema guilty of bringing the liberation movement into disrepute, and expelled him for five years.

The 30-year-old has appealed the suspension and is allowed to stay in the party pending the outcome of his appeal.

Malema said more changes were needed in South Africa, where millions of the predominantly black population still live in poverty, 17 years after the end of apartheid.

"Whites continue to benefit much better than the black majority. They continue to control the means of production. They own the mines. They own the banks. They even own our labor. They buy labor from us. They control us. That must change. We want in the next 10 years to find white domestic workers here in the townships working for you."The once banned liberation movement of the ANC took power in 1994 after Nelson Mandela negotiated an end to apartheid with the white-minority government.

However, bitter in-fighting between factions and accusations of rampant corruption have raised questions about how long the ANC will continue to lead Africa's biggest economy.

11 Dead in New Zealand Balloon CrashPolice are investigating the causes behind why a hot air balloon that burst into flames and crashed in New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board. Inspector Brent Register said the investigation could take up to six months to a year to complete.

"At the moment we are still in the process of identifying each of the 11 people and notifying their next of kin. I ask people to be patient at this time. This process will take some time. A number of the bodies are badly burnt and it will take our forensic officers a number of days to formally identify the people involved."The accident occurred just before 7.30 am in calm, clear weather in a region well known for hot air ballooning.

Witnesses reported hearing screams and seeing smoke and flames trailing from the balloon before it hit the ground. Many residents are in disbelief at what has happened.

"It's going to hit the community hard as well as all the families."Five couples from across the wider Wellington region as well as the pilot were on board.

The accident was New Zealand's worst air disaster since an Antarctic tourist flight crashed into Mount Erebus in 1979, killing all 257 people on board.

Two Hurt after Three Freight Trains Collide in the US State of IndianaThree freight trains have derailed in the US state of Indiana, leaving several mangled railway cars on their sides along the tracks and forcing nearby residents to temporarily leave their homes as smoke billowed from the wreckage.

According to Sergeant Larry LaFlower of the Porter County Sheriff's Department, two of the six crew members were taken to the hospital after the accident occurred on Friday afternoon in an area of rural farmland northeast of Valparaiso.

"We have six crewmen on those trains. Four of them were not injured and stayed at the scene and were able to give statements. Two on the second train that rear-ended the first train were taken to Porter Hospital in Valpo with non life-threatening injuries."A train operated by CSX which were pulling mostly empty tankers of ethanol stopped on the tracks and was rear-ended by a second train.

A third train on parallel tracks then came up and struck the derailed cars.

CSX said in a statement that there appeared to be no significant leaks or spills of hazardous materials, but that all loaded and empty cars containing hazardous materials were inspected.

Officials have evacuated 50 to 150 homes within about a mile of the tracks as a precaution, in part because officials are uncertain about the source of the billowing black smoke that has lingered for hours after the accident.

Hazardous material teams and investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are now on the scene along with dozens of firefighters and emergency personnel.

Cultural Relics from China's Palace Museum on Show in JapanAn exhibition of selected cultural relics from Beijing's Palace Museum was unveiled in Japan's Tokyo National Museum in honor of the 40th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations.

The exhibits have been selected from more than 1.8 million pieces in the collection of China's Palace Museum, or the Forbidden City.

Many of the paintings and calligraphic works on show in Tokyo have never left China before because of their priceless value.

One of the exhibition's centerpieces is the "Qingming Shang He Tu", or Riverside Scene at the Qingming Festival painted by a renowned artist one thousand years ago. The scroll features some 800 characters, in addition to many horses, carriages, shops and boats on the river.

Many visitors have been amazed by the exquisite art pieces on show and late-comers have been left feeling disappointed.

"I really wanted to see the authentic 'Qingming Shang He Tu'. It's such a pity that I didn't get to see it this time. I'll definitely come again and I will certainly come earlier next time."Chinese ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua said the exhibition is a non-governmental event.

"I think this activity is extremely significant in that it unveils the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese relations."China and Japan normalized their bilateral relationship in 1972.

The exhibition will run from January 2 to February 19.

New Jamaican PM: Time to Cut Ties with British MonarchyJamaica's new Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said in her inaugural address that the time has come for her country to cut ties with the British monarchy and strike out on its own as a republic.

"We will initiate the process of our detachment from the Monarchy to become a republic with our own indigenous president as head of state."Miller won a landslide victory in an election that focused largely on discontent with the Caribbean nation's ailing economy and massive debt.

Miller said that the new government's top priorities would be creating jobs, restoring trust in government and reassuring financial markets that the administration would be fiscally responsible.

Jamaica's unemployment rate rose to about 13 percent and its public debt totals more than 120 percent of gross domestic product..

WFP Starts Distributing Aid to IDPs in South SudanThe World Food Program has started to distribute aid to people affected by the conflict in Jonglei State in South Sudan.

Displaced people are now receiving cereals, pulses, salt and vegetable oil in a village near the Ethiopian border.

WFP Logistics Officer Andrew Jackson explained that many people who sought refuge in the village have fled from violence and killings with little or nothing to eat.

"We're currently here with over 2,000 internally displaced people. They've had to flee their villages from hunger, conflict, and killings. They've traveled over 150 km, over a 10 day period, without any food or water. And this is the first chance that they've been able to find a safe place to stay and where we, the World Food Program, can help the most vulnerable by giving them a one month food ration."The UN said that up to 50,000 people fled violence in a remote border area of South Sudan after days of clashes between tribes.

More than 90 percent of the internally displaced people are women and children.

South Sudan became independent last July under a 2005 peace deal with Sudan to end decades of civil war. But the new nation is struggling to build state institutions and stop rebel and tribal bloodshed that has so far killed thousands.

Earlier, some 6,000 armed members of the Lou Nuer tribe attacked an area bordering North Sudan after days of clashes with the rival Murle tribe.

Remains of Franco-Canadian Journalist Brought to AbidjanThe remains of a body believed to be that of Franco-Canadian journalist Guy-Andre Kieffer have been brought to Abidjan after being unearthed earlier in a western part of Cote d'Ivoire.

Kieffer went missing in the country's economic capital Abidjan in 2004.

The team of French and Ivorian investigators sent samples from the body, which was exhumed in the Issia region in the northeast of Abidjan, to France for genetic identification tests.

But the full remains were brought to Abidjan under armed guard and taken to the French military base BIMA by French and Ivorian military personnel.

Colonel Bakary Diarrassouba is the Ivorian Army chief of operations.

"We discovered these human remains at Issia, and it is these remains that we have brought to the 43rd BIMA (French Military Base) with the French judge who's here and some personnel from the French gendarmerie."Lieutenant Alassane Doumbie, Ivory Coast army chief of operations said he discovered the grave where the body had been summarily buried on the outskirts of the village.

French investigators are following up allegations of a political link in Kieffer's disappearance involving members of the entourage of former President Laurent Gbagbo.

Gbagbo was captured in April by fighters loyal to his rival Alassane Ouattara after four months of civil war following a disputed presidential election.

Kieffer was believed to be investigating corruption in the cocoa sector of Cote d'Ivoire when he disappeared. French investigators have established that he was abducted in a car park in Abidjan in April, 2004.

Chile Blames Deadly Fires on Mapuche Indian TerrorChile's government now says that many of the wildfires burning out of control in Patagonia were set alight intentionally.

A member of President Sebastian Pinera's cabinet has blamed a Mapuche Indian group for starting the blaze which killed seven firefighters.

On Thursday, shifting winds caused flames to sweep over a group of firefighters battling wildfires in the Araucania region; killing seven of them and badly burning two others.

Only the chief of the brigade was able to escape unharmed.

President Pinera said the wildfires appeared to be criminal acts.

"The government has information and evidence that makes us presume that behind many of these fires, there was not only pure chance and forces of nature, but the perverse and criminal hand of some people who don't care about causing damage to other Chileans."In a radio interview, Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter directly named the "Coordinadora Arauco Malleco" group, whose leaders have been accused, and in some cases convicted, of violent attacks on forestry company property.

Hinzpeter noted that only days earlier the group burned a helicopter which would have been used to fight the deadly fire.

Mapuche activists took responsibility for destroying the forestry company helicopter and several bulldozers, which it said were operating "illegally" on Indian territory.

People's Daily: China's Economy to Remain a Beacon of Hope in 2012A number of Western analysts have warned of a possible crash for the Chinese economy in the near future. An editorial in the People's Daily, one of China's leading newspapers, rebuts that the opinions presented by Western analysts are far-fetched and do not reflect the reality of China's economy. Instead, the article states that China's economy will sustain its robust vitality and remain a beacon of hope and an engine of growth for the still fragile world economy during 2012.

The writer says that those foreseeing China's economic downturn have underestimated the Chinese government's capacity to avert financial risks, which has in its arsenal, a powerful and flexible tool of macroeconomic regulation.

The article goes on to state that China is set to continue with its economic overhaul, wean its economy off its heavy dependence on exports and create more domestic demand. A consumption-driven Chinese economy, with a population of 1.3 billion, will create an astronomical domestic market for products and services from all corners of the world, supporting jobs and uplifting economies both at home and abroad.

The article states that China's economic restructuring will also further cement its role as a global export market, helping other countries lift their sagging exports and cushion the impact of dwindling demand from the West.

In conclusion, the People's Daily rebuttal states that China will remain a lighthouse in the rough sea of global economic growth, providing more exports and investment opportunities for other countries and helping boost regional cooperation. The country will continue working together with the rest of the world to tackle economic challenges and provide powerful impetus for the world economy.

***************************China Daily: Spending on EducationChina's Ministry of Education has recently stated that the country's financial expenditure in education should reach the target of 4 percent of GDP this year.

Education expenditure from the central public budget reached more than $191 billion from January to November last year, 1.5 percentage points higher than the increase in financial revenue during the same period.

However, an editorial in the China Daily points out that even though expenditure has been increased, the main stumbling block hampering the development of education is determining how to spend the money and identifying which areas really need it.

China's education is unbalanced between urban and rural areas. A lack of quality teachers for rural schools has become a major obstacle preventing rural students from receiving the same quality of education as their urban counterparts.

Even in urban areas, qualified teachers are usually clustered in so-called key schools.

The article states that much needs to be done in order to make it possible for quality educational resources to be shared by as wide a range of students as possible. Such a system should also facilitate the constant training of teachers so that the quality of the majority of teachers will be improved.

One example presented in the article suggests that a special subsidy be given to those who choose to teach in remote rural schools and that a rotation system needs to be established so that the best teachers do not only teach at one school.

The article warns, what is urgently needed now is not policies but rather detailed schemes for the implementation of such policies. Education experts should visit specific schools, in both rural and urban areas, for a reasonable amount of time so that they can determine where the real problems lie.

Only by laying such vital groundwork can the country hope to prescribe the right medicine for what ails the country's education system.