In This Edition

 

Demonstrators gather in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests, demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections.

 

US authorities brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, claiming they misled investors about risky subprime loans the mortgage giants held when the housing bubble burst.

 

Central American countries ask the international community for help in reconstruction efforts after a series of floods and other natural disasters raged in the region for months.

 

China's 28th Antarctic Inland Exploration Team sets off for Kunlun Station in Antarctica.

 

 

Hot Issue Reports

 

Russia Proposes UN Council Resolution on Syria

Russia's Foreign Ministry has called for an end to violence in Syria.

 

Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.

 

"I think the important thing now is not who goes where but the earliest end to violence, the implementation of the Arab League initiative on ending all violence on all sides - on the side of the government and the side of the opposition - working out the mechanism for such monitoring as the Arab nations' observers, for which we are seeking the Syrian leadership's buy-in at all levels. "

 

The Spokesman said Russia is in support of the Arab League initiative but also warned that the initiative should not become an ultimatum to the Syrian leadership.

 

On Oct. 4, Russia, along with China, vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on Syria, saying the draft was based on a "philosophy of confrontation" and ran counter to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.

 

Earlier on Thursday, Russia proposed a new draft resolution on the violence in Syria at the Security Council. Western countries have expressed willingness to consider and negotiate the proposal.

 

The UN estimates that some 5,000 people have died in Syria since anti-government protests broke out in mid-March.

 

The Arab League and Turkey have joined the United States and its European partners in increasing pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by imposing targeted sanctions.

 

Two Pro-Gaddafi Fighters Killed & Nine Captured in Zintan

Libyan fighters have killed two people and captured nine others they claim were pro-Gaddafi fighters.

 

Ibrahim Taher, a fighter from Zintan, a small city in northwest of the country.

 

A small city in north western,

 

"We found all the ammunition and weapons with these mercenaries, Gaddafi's mercenaries or what are called al Mashasha. We have found many machine guns like 14.5 and a machine gun that they call Toushka. Both heavy and light weapons with these guys."

 

The capture took place as NATO planned to investigate civilian deaths that the alliance may have caused during its eight-month military operation in Libya.

 

Libya's new interim government estimates that more than 40,000 Libyans were killed during the country's civil war.

 

But one anonymous UN official said that the number of civilians killed by NATO air strikes appears to have been relatively small, indicating that the alliance did their best to avoid collateral damage.

 

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, is investigating allegations that NATO, Gaddafi's forces and the rebels all committed war crimes.

 

Last Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon dismissed the idea that NATO had acted beyond its mandate.

 

Newly-appointed Libyan Ground Force General's Family Attacked

Meanwhile, the family of one of Libya's most senior military leaders has been targeted again by a rival faction of fighters.

General Khalifa Haftar, recently appointed as head of ground forces in the Libyan National Army, said both of his sons have been victims of recent attacks by Zintan militias.

 

Last week, the general's convoy came under attack near Tripoli's airport. Haftar said those responsible had been arrested.

 

"The convoy came under fire and the people who opened fire have been arrested. A group of elders from Zintan visited my office to talk to me. They promised it wouldn't happen again."

 

Following the attack, one of his sons, Saddam, was shot in the leg outside a bank in Tripoli after a clash with the powerful Zintan Brigade. The other son, Belgacem, was later shot and wounded on his way to visit his brother in the hospital.

 

The attacks follow a pattern of fighting that has broken out in parts of Libya after the fall of Moammar Gaddafi's regime.

 

Militias from various towns are trying to consolidate their power base in the vacuum that exists because of the lack of strong central leadership.

 

Some of those armed groups who arrived in Tripoli to help topple Gaddafi have yet to relinquish power in certain areas of the capital. This includes the Zintan Brigade, who Haftar blames for the attack on his family.

 

More Protests against Votes in Russia

About 1,000 demonstrators gathered in central Moscow for a second weekend of protests. Demonstrators are demanding a rerun of parliamentary elections.

 

The protest, together with the larger one last weekend, followed the national parliamentary elections earlier this month. The ruling United Russia party recently lost a significant share of its seats in the State Duma, though it retains a narrow majority.

 

An analysis shows how the combination of fraud and United Russia's declining fortunes beefed up opposition groups in their protest against Vladimir Putin's authority.

 

Opposition leader, Ilya Ponomarev, took Putin to task for his televised comments this week.

 

"Our Prime Minister held a live show on our TV where during five hours he was calling us condoms financed by the State Department, crooks that are trying to steal the country and I think that this is the reaction that shows that he was scared."

 

Putin rejected calls for an election re-run, declaring that the result reflected the people's will.

 

The new Duma will hold its opening session on Wednesday.

 

Meanwhile, the Communist Party nominated its leader Gennady Zyuganov to run for president.

 

Zyuganov promised that he would call a rerun of the parliamentary election if he becomes president.

 

He also denounced the international financial system, a message that could play well with Russians who haven't benefited from the post-Soviet economic boom.

 

"We're living in the epoch of the unlimited rule of trans-national financial capital. It started with the fall of the Soviet Union. We can easily call today's economic system financial imperialism. It pressures countries and nations with the help of credit systems, currency mechanisms and speculations in stock market trades."

 

The wave of protest comes less than three months before Putin is to run for a new term as president.

 

The opposition plans to hold a large protest rally on Christmas Eve, expecting to draw 50-thousand people out.

 

Fraud Charges against Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Executives

The US Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, has brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, claiming they misled investors about risky subprime loans the mortgage giants held when the housing bubble burst.

 

Those charged include the agencies' two former CEO's, Fannie's Daniel Mudd and Freddie's Richard Syron.

 

They are the highest-profile individuals to be charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.

 

Robert Khuzami, the SEC's enforcement director:

 

"...investors were robbed of the opportunity to make informed investment choices about whether or not to invest in the companies."

 

The federal government has faced criticism for not bringing charges against top executives who may have contributed to the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.

 

Fannie and Freddie both entered into agreements with the government on Friday, accepting responsibility for their conduct without admitting or denying the charges.

 

The government-controlled companies also agreed to cooperate with the SEC on the cases against the former executives.

 

According to the lawsuit, Fannie told investors in 2007 that it had roughly 4.8 billion US dollars worth of subprime loans in its books, or just 0.2 percent of its portfolio.

 

The SEC says that Fannie actually had about 43 billion US dollars worth of products targeted to borrowers with weak credit, or 11 percent of its holdings.

 

Freddie told investors in 2006 that it held between 2 billion and 6 billion US dollars of subprime mortgages on its books.

 

The SEC says its holdings were actually closer to 141 billion, or 10 percent of its portfolio in 2006, and 244 billion, or 14 percent, by 2008.

 

Central American Leaders Meet to Discuss Reconstruction Efforts

Meanwhile, Central American countries have asked the international community for help in reconstruction efforts after a series of floods and other natural disasters that afflicted the region for months.

 

Officials have expressed their concerns to more than 50 representatives from the Consultant Group for the Reconstruction of Central America, including cooperating countries and international financial institutions.

 

El Salvador President, Mauricio Funes, stressed the need for not only financial but technological cooperation.

 

"The region faces losses of almost two billion US dollars. The situation is more dramatic if you consider that this new damage is added to previous damage caused by other natural disasters, that in many countries we were just beginning to recover from. So we are facing the immense challenge of reconstruction from a series of natural disasters."

 

Delegates from the Economic Commission for Latin America, ECLAC, which evaluated the damage caused by heavy rains, found that at least 4.3 million US dollars would be needed for rehabilitation, reconstruction, risk management and adaptation to climate change.

 

The report indicates that the rains have affected 2.6 million people in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in the past few months.

 

French PM Pays Tribute to Victims of 2009 Air France Crash

French Prime Minister Fran?ois Fillon has visited Brazil's Rio de Janeiro memorial for the victims of the 2009 Air France crash.

 

The prime minister left flowers at the sculpture and paid silent homage. He talked to a few Air France crew members who were also paying tribute to the victims.

 

"It was a catastrophe that traumatized not only Brazil but France as well. And among other things there were passengers from many nationalities. I believe that they had the bad luck of being here on that plane and had an unfortunate ending."

 

On June 1st, 2009, Air France's flight AF447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off northeastern shore of Brazil, leaving 216 passengers and 12 crew members dead.

 

Last May, the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety, an agency of the French government, released a report stating that the aircraft crashed following an aerodynamic stall.

 

But the cause of the crash has not yet been formally determined. The investigation is still ongoing.

 

The accident was the deadliest in the history of Air France, and also the first fatal accident to an Airbus A330 airliner while in passenger service.

 

Chinese Antarctic Island Exploration Team Set off for Kunlun Station

China's 28th Antarctic Inland Exploration Team has set off for Kunlun Station in Antarctica. They were carrying nearly 300 tons of supplies on sleds and snowmobiles.

 

Upon arrival, Li Yuansheng, team leader of the expedition has expressed his exploration goals.

 

"I hope everyone can finish the tasks successfully and come back safely! Cheers! All members of the inland exploration team! Attention! Ready and go!"

 

Jin Bo, who is in charge of the exploration mission shared what the expedition needs to accomplish.

 

"The main objectives are to install an AST3 astronomical telescope, to set up the ice drilling field, and to finish two scientific projects: installing the ice radar and mapping the region."

 

The team is also expected to scale the peak of Antarctica's inland ice cap, Argus, a 4093-meter-high ice dome. Trekking to the Australian Antarctic Territory's peak will take approximately 20 days.

 

Construction on China's Kunlun Antarctic Station started in 2009 near the base of Dome Argus and is considered the "most extreme" Antarctic research station in the world.

 

Kunlun is only accessible by snowmobile. Its closest base is 1200 km away. Kunlun is far outside the range of helicopters.

 

NZ's Relief Effort Underway for a Russian Fishing Ship Stuck near Antarctica

A New Zealand Defense Force C-130 plane has been used to drop fuel, a water pump and other equipment to the leaking Russian fishing vessel near Antarctica.

 

The 32 crew members aboard the "Sparta" have made progress stabilizing the vessel.

 

However rescue ships were still several days away, hampered by heavy sea ice.

 

Royal New Zealand Air Force Captain James Anderson said the planes will drop off two loads on the vessel.

 

"One is going to be a load of diesel for their water pump and then the second load is going to be a water pump to help vacate water from their vessel. We'll probably need to do a bit of a reconnaissance to have a look where a suitable place to drop is and co-ordinate that with them."

 

The Sparta, which is 48 meters long, sent out a distress call early on Friday after hitting underwater ice and tearing a 30-centimetre hole in the hull, causing it to tilt at 13 degrees.

 

Maritime New Zealand, a government body responsible for protecting maritime environments, is coordinating rescue attempt, reporting that the crew had pumped water from the vessel overnight and moved cargo around, making the boat safer and more stable.

 

Geoff Lunt from Maritime New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre:

 

"They've stopped the water altogether, they're continuing to work on the hull to patch it up to make it more stable until further assistance can arrive."

 

Maritime New Zealand said heavy ice in the Southern Ocean was making it difficult for other ships to reach the vessel.

 

Chinese Giant Pandas Open to Public Viewing in Edinburgh Zoo

The pair of Chinese giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, have made their debut in Britain.

 

Hundreds of visitors watched Tian Tian, or "Sweetie", from behind a glass window in Edinburgh Zoo.

 

Excited panda fans from across the UK formed a long queue in front of the entrance. One visitors talked about how happy she was to be able to see the pandas.

 

"I live in Edinburgh. And I just always loved pandas. I was in China a couple of years ago, but had no chance to see them. Now they are here and I can see them."

 

As Yang Guang or Sunshine's enclosure is under renovation, visitors can only watch his mate Tian Tian leisurely wandering around the enclosure through a window.

 

The debut of Tian Tian attracted many photographers, who took as many pictures as they could. David Stenhouse from the BBC.

 

"It's a huge story. You only need to see the number of press there are here this morning. It takes a lot to get Scottish journalists out of their bed at this time in the morning, especially in Scotland when it's very cold and wet. And everyone is fascinated about the pandas, everyone wants to see them, everyone wants to get a picture and everybody wants to see their reaction, especially of children to these wonderful animals."

 

According to the zoo, a special festival will be held for the panda couple during the Chinese lunar New Year which falls later in January.

 

Both eight years old, Tian Tian and Yang Guang will be the first breeding giant pandas to live in Britain in nearly 20 years since Ming Ming left the London Zoo to return to China in 1994. They are the first pandas ever to be shown in Scotland.

 

Giant Pandas Enjoy Snow in East China's Shandong

Giant pandas tend to slouch around, but fresh snow has brought out the playful side of the Chinese national treasure on Saturday.

 

The two giant pandas, Hua'ao and Qingfeng stretched their chubby limbs and even performed somersaults as snow blanketed Nanshan Park in the eastern Shandong province.

 

Snow is nothing new for the endangered animals, which live in cold areas at an altitude of about 2,000 meters above sea level. Yet the two pandas showed great excitement, and the park's feeder Ma Rong said they even got rather creative with nature's toy.

 

"They get particularly excited when they see snow. Sometimes they like to roll a snow-house and hide inside. They also lump the snow together again and again until they make small snowballs. And then they eat the snowballs as if they're having an ice-cream."

 

The caretakers decided not to clear off the snow in the pandas' home, leaving them a natural playpen.

 

People's Daily: Narrow Vision Limits China's Discourse Power

 

A heated discussion is spreading among the Chinese media and academics about how China can win a wider audience and gain a better reputation regarding its handling of international affairs.

 

A commentator in the People's Daily newspaper strongly supported the debate, suggesting that Chinese academia start taking the initiative to come up with its own ideas and break the existing pattern of passively following other countries' thoughts and suggestions.

 

According to the People's Daily article, close-minded self-centeredness is the key reason for China's inability to participate equally in international discussions.

 

It points out that for a long time, Chinese academics have only been willing to engage in talks directly relating to Chinese interests; unless they can break away from this pattern of provinciality, and start to pay due attention to other countries, they will continue to be excluded from the international arena.

 

Meanwhile, the writer states that academic society has a lot of work to do before it will be able to give quality analysis.

 

He says that China clearly needs more intellectuals who share a long and broad view toward the world, as a necessary replacement for the surplus of attention-seeking, slogan-pitching "scholars" that populate the field at the moment.

 

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China Daily: China's Goal is Stable, Sustainable Growth

 

The message for the coming year by the Central Economic Work Conference is that maintaining stable growth will be China's macro-economic policy.

 

China Daily Newspaper comments that the policy is a sensible choice given the current international and domestic situations.

 

An editorial from the paper said that internationally, the eurozone sovereign debt crisis has worsened and the US economic recovery remains weak. Domestically, rising production costs are compromising the traditional competitive advantages of Chinese exports. So it is unrealistic for China to continue relying on exports, whose growth has become much slower and will further weaken in the coming year.

 

The editorial said it would be unsustainable and risky for the country's economy to follow its old growth pattern and rely on investment as the major economic driving force.

 

On the one hand, there is the urge to ease the real estate market bubble and keep commodity prices at a reasonable level. On the other hand, to keep unemployment down there has to be reasonably high growth.

 

Meanwhile, the commentary suggests that China should not worry about so-called new growth points. Given that there is still a long way to go to achieve industrialization and urbanization, opportunities still abound.

 

Community management, if well planned, will create adequate jobs and considerably improve the quality of life for residents.

 

So investment should be tilted towards the areas which will bring direct benefits to residents. At the same time, efforts must be made to improve the situation for middle class citizens and also to raise the income of low-income residents.

 

Policy support such as tax reforms will help small and medium-sized firms with their financial difficulties. The increased consuming capacity will lay the foundation in turn for the development of the real economy.