News & Reports 2010-10-24

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In This Edition

The world's leading advanced and emerging countries pledged in South Korea on Saturday to avoid potentially debilitating 1 currency devaluations, aiming to quell 2 trade tensions that could threaten the global recovery.

New documents detailing alleged 3 prisoner abuse by Iraqi security officials have prompted fresh doubts about Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bid to remain in power for a second term.

The French Senate has approved a hotly contested bill raising the retirement 4 age to 62, amid nationwide strikes and protests.

A senior U.S. Navy commander says North Korea's third nuclear test will seriously undermine international and regional security.

Hot Issue Reports

G20 Finance Ministers Meeting Concludes

The world's leading advanced and emerging countries pledged in South Korea on Saturday to avoid potentially debilitating currency devaluations, aiming to quell trade tensions that could threaten the global recovery.

The United States Treasury 5 Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated 6 the US government's stance to support a strong dollar in response to growing criticism that world's biggest economic powerhouse is holding down its currency against other units by maintaining its base interest rate exceptionally low for an extended period of time.

"If the world economy is going to be able to grow at a strong, sustainable pace in the future, if we are going to be successful in building a more stable global financial system, and if we are going to be able continue to expand opportunities for trade and preserve an open trading system, then we need to work to achieve more balance in the pattern of global growth as we recover from the crisis."

The grouping, which accounts for about 85 percent of the global economy, said in a statement it will "move towards more market determined 8 exchange rate systems" and "refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies."

Meantime, the Group of 20 also agreed to give developing nations more say at the International Monetary 9 Fund, part of what it described as an ambitious set of proposals to reform the IMF governance. Yoon Jeung-hyun, South Korean Minister of Strategy and Finance, explains:

"In quota 10 reform, we reached an agreement to shift over six percent to dynamic developing countries, and also shifting over six percent from over-represented countries to under-represented countries, by increasing 100 percent. This amount is over a minimum of five percent shift from the agreement we had from Pittsburgh."

The meeting of G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors was held ahead of a summit of leaders in the South Korean capital Seoul starting on November 11.

New Documents about Iraqi Prisoner Abuse Leaks

New documents detailing alleged prisoner abuse by Iraqi security officials have prompted fresh doubts about Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's bid to remain in power for a second term.

The trove 11 of nearly 400-thousand WikiLeaks papers detail United States military reports of alleged abuse by Iraqi security forces - some of which happened after al-Maliki became prime minister in May 2006.

In a statement, al-Maliki's office lashed 12 out at WikiLeaks, accusing it of creating a national uproar 13 by releasing documents that it said were being used "against national parties and leaders, especially against the prime minister."

Ali al-Moussawi is Iraqi Prime Minister's media advisor 15:

"We challenge any party or those who stand behind it to prove that any illegal or illegitimate arrest operation occurred under the current government. All arrests are done lawfully 16 and there is no proof of what some media are trying to do for political purposes, especially now as Iraq is in the midst of forming a new government."

While al-Moussawi denied the abuse claims, Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani promised legal action against people accused of torturing detainees.

"Any practice of human rights violations 17, under any pretext 18 or label or from any rank, is condemned 19, under the law and from the nature of the new regime in this country and the state's institutions. The interior ministry 20 always follows up any cases of violations in such respect. There are investigation 21 committees that work continuously and there is a department that is specialised in following up these procedures. No-one is above the law."

Until the WikiLeaks papers surfaced on Friday, al-Maliki appeared closest to garnering 22 the 163 seats needed for a majority.

Although the documents appear to be authentic 23, their origin could not be independently confirmed, and WikiLeaks declined to offer any details about them.

The publication has been described as the biggest leak of secret information in US history.

French Senate Approves Raising Retirement Age to 62

The French Senate has approved a hotly contested bill raising the retirement age to 62, amid nationwide strikes and protests.

In tense balloting 24 after 140 hours of debate, the Senate late Friday voted 177-153 for the pension reform.

French Labour Minister Eric Woerth hails the yes vote in the senate:

"This is a solemn moment, because this is a moment of clarity, courage and responsibility. It is not by looking always towards the past that we will preserve our social model. It is not by clinging to symbols of the past that we will remain a great nation."

The Senate debate lasted three weeks before it was cut short. Legislators - mostly opposition 25 Socialists 27 - submitted a staggering 1,237 amendments 28, but Sarkozy's conservative UMP party and its allies have a majority and dismissed nearly all of them.

US Navy Official Says NKorea Nuclear Test Would Undermine Regional Security

A senior U.S. Navy commander says North Korea's third nuclear test will seriously undermine international and regional security.

U.S. Pacific commander Admiral Robert Willard made the comment Friday after a South Korean newspaper reported that Pyongyang could be preparing for another test soon.

The "Chosun Ilbo" newspaper said a U.S. spy satellite detected "brisk" activities at the North's main nuclear test site and that a detonation 29 could be made in three months.

Willard says the North's nuclear capability 30 poses a grave threat to the region and is a "very serious matter" for the international community.

"The threat from the North Korean nuclear capability is widely recognized as significant not just for South Korea but for the region as a whole. I think the prospect 31 of any next provocation 32, to include a next test, would be a very serious matter for the international community, for the Republic of Korea and for the alliance as a whole."

General Han Min-koo, Chief of South Korea's Joint 33 Chiefs of Staff, says South Korea and the United Sates are doing their best "to deter 7" a nuclear test by North Korea and that they are keeping a close watch on the country's nuclear capability.

North Korea carried out its first-ever nuclear test in 2006 and a second, more powerful test blast last year, inviting 34 widespread international sanctions.

Pakistan FM Urges US to Intervene in Kashmir Dispute

The United States laid out a five-year two billion US dollar military aid package for Pakistan on Friday as it pressed the Islamabad government to step up the fight against extremists there and in neighbouring Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the package at the end of the latest round of US-Pakistani strategic talks.

"We will request two billion dollars in foreign military assistance from Congress for 2012 through 2016. This will complement 35 the seven and a half billion dollars in civilian 36 projects that has already been approved in the Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation."

The new military aid replaces a similar but less valuable package that began in 2005 and expired on October 1.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke 37 about the importance of the strong relationship that Islamabad and Washington currently share. He also asked for the Obama administration to intervene in its longstanding dispute with India over the Himalayan region of Kashmir:

"People of conscience have protested the use of force against the defenceless people of Kashmir, in particular, targeting of Kashmiri youth which has claimed a hundred lives in the past three months."

The conflict over Kashmir has been the main source of friction 38 between India and Pakistan since they won independence from Britain in 1947.

A Capsule Used in Rescue of Chile Miners Goes on Display in Shanghai

One of the capsules made specially 14 for the dramatic rescue of 33 miners trapped underground in Chile, is currently on display at the Chilean Pavilion at the Shanghai expo.

The Phoenix 39 1 was one of three which were built especially by the Chilean Navy for the rescue.

It was actually used in the test run for the rescue operation, with the Phoenix 2 ferrying the men to the surface.

Phoenix 1 proved popular with tourists visiting the 2010 World Expo, just as the rescue operation itself had enthralled 40 the world.

"I feel as if I were at the rescue scene when I look at the capsule here. It's very touching 41." -male

"I think our Chinese people should take part in more international rescue missions, such as the one in Chile."-female

In Chile, there are two rivals for a permanent home for the historic Phoenix 2, Copiapo, the town nearest the San Jose mine, and Talcahuano, 1,300 miles south, where the capsules were built at a Chilean navy workshop.

Currently Phoenix 2 is also on display in the plaza 42 outside Chile's presidential palace, in the capital Santiago, where it draws large crowds each day.

Qamdo Celebrates Liberation Anniversary

The people of Qamdo Prefecture in the eastern part of China's Tibet Autonomous 43 Region are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the area's liberation. He Fei reports.

Reporter: The local residents of Qamdo Prefecture in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have held a grand celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the city's liberation.

About 3,000 people from different walks of life took part in the celebration on Saturday at the Qamdo Town stadium.

Zhang Qingli, is the region's secretary of the Communist Party Committee.

"In a short time span of six decades, Qamdo has experienced earthshaking changes. Qamdo has maintained strong economic growth. Qamdo's social programs have developed in an all-round way. Local people's livelihoods 44 have greatly improved. Ethnic 45 relations have been consolidated 46, and social stability has been assured."

Qamdo was the first part of Tibet to be liberated 47 when the People's Liberation Army raised the national flag there on October 19th, 1950, paving the way for the peaceful liberation of Tibet the following year.

Jiangze Zhaxi, is a 70-year-old resident who used to work on a ranch 48.

"I am very happy to take part in the celebration of the 60th anniversary of our prefecture. In the past six decades, in terms of development or whatsoever 49 aspects of life, Qamdo has experienced earthshaking changes."

Zhang Yihe, the 62-year-old son of a Han father and Tibetan mother, is a member of the Chengguan District resident committee.

"In the past six decades, the development of Qamdo has received the care and help of the central government, the regional government and inland provinces. The development of Qamdo Town and our Chengguan District is recognized and praised by our fellow residents."

The joyous 50 atmosphere was amplified 51 as folk dance troupes 52 from different counties in Qamdo Prefecture performed the Guozhuang Bonfire Dance and the Repa Drum Dance.

Qamdo Prefecture has 640,000 people, and reported nearly 5.8 billion yuan, or 872 million U.S. dollars, in GDP last year. This was 140 times the 1958 figure.

With six decades of development the per capita net annual income of local farmers and herders averaged 3,144 yuan in 2009.

For CRI, I am He Fei.

Yin Fatang Makes 15th Donation to Education in Tibet

A former top official of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region extended his love and care to yet anther mountainous primary school by donating a scholarship. Our reporter Zhao Jianfu has more.

Reporter: The Yin Fatang Tibet Education Foundation donated 300,000 yuan, or $46,000 to the Erluo Township primary school in Qamdo Prefecture of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

This is the 15th school in Tibet that the Foundation has aided. The money will go to students and teachers who demonstrate their merits and students from poor families.

Yin Fatang, the foundation's 88 year old chairman, visits the school in person and addresses the teachers and students.

"Out of our deep affection towards Tibet, our family established the Yin Fatang Tibet Education Foundation in 1998. The foundation aims to support the long-term development of Tibet, especially to improve the region's educational institutions within a socialist 26 framework."

Yin Fatang is the former top official of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Yin has worked in Tibet for more than 20 years and played a vital role in the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world's highest railway.

"The recently concluded Fifth Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee pointed 53 out that culture is the spirit and soul of a nation. The focus is the improvement of education, and this has urged our foundation to do more and go further."

Yin Fatang also unveiled plans to gradually increase the scholarship from the current 300,000 yuan to 450,000 yuan. The money may not enough for an urban middle-class family to buy a car, but in Qamdo, where the per capita net annual income of local farmers and herders only averaged around 3,100 yuan last year, the sum is substantial.

The Erluo Township is located some 10 kilometers away from Qamdo Town in the heart of the eastern Tibet prefecture. The school has over 600 students.

Before this school, the Yin family has, through the foundation, financially aided 14 schools, including six secondary schools and one special education school in and around Tibet. Tibetan schools have received in excess of 7 million yuan, or more than $ 1 million.

Wang Ruilian, a top official of the Qamdo Prefecture, also attended the ceremony.

"We are here to promise the foundation that every penny of the donation will be used to its fullest extent to improve local education."

Dingzhen Gele(丁真格勒) , 10, is a student at the school.

"Thank you Grandpa Yin for the donation. I wish you sound health and we will study hard and help each other."

What happened in the Erluo Township Primary School only reflects a small portion of the development Qamdo Prefecture has made in promoting education.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Qamdo, and in 1951 the prefecture established the Tibet Autonomous Region's first modern school.

Zhao Jianguo, deputy director of the local education bureau.

"In 1952, there were 19 schools in Qamdo with 221 students. By the end of 2009, Qamdo had 529 schools with roughly 110,000 students. In 2010 alone, investment toward education hit 570 million yuan. We also build, renovate 54, and expand many schools. Today, if you travel around our prefecture, you will discover that the most beautiful buildings are the schools."

Up until now, about 98 percent of children of farmers and herdsmen in Qamdo can get a primary education with a government subsidy 55 that covers school related food and clothing expenses.

For CRI, I am Zhao Jianfu.

China Daily: More Interest Rate Hikes Necessary to Deflect 56 Property Bubble

China's central bank announced earlier this week that it would raise the key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

As the country's first interest rate hike in nearly three years, the move jolted 57 world financial markets.

An editorial in "China Daily" said given high expectations of Chinese growth as a key driver of the global economy, a knee-jerk reaction by overseas investors 58 was fairly understandable.

On the one hand, the editorial said the straightforward 59 effort to fight inflation indicated that Chinese policy makers 60 were more confident about the country's growth momentum 61. The latest move also suggested that policy makers may have obtained more compelling evidence to strengthen the momentum of domestic demand.

On the other hand, the editorial said additional interest rate hikes would be necessary in the long term to deal with the risk of a dangerous property bubble in China.

Compared with those targeted measures that the Chinese government adopted earlier to contain a further rise in property prices, the interest rate hike appeared to be a much more direct and effective move to cool the real estate market, the editorial said.

It went on to say that China's success in avoiding a property boom and bust 62 of its own would determine whether it not only could create a moderately well-off society in the near future, but also could reshape the way the world economy emerged from the global crisis.

The editorial concluded that it was far too early to determine if China's latest interest rate hike would be enough to tame the rise of domestic consumer prices and asset prices given that super loose monetary policies in developed countries were flooding emerging markets with excess liquidity 63. Despite this, the resolve of the Chinese government to take action against inflation was definitely more than what was needed.

Southernnet.com: Netizens Rally Against Inherited Corruption 64

"My Father is Li Gang!" has become the most popular catchphrase on the Chinese internet.

First of all, you may ask, who is Li Gang? Li Gang is deputy director of the police department in the northern district of Baoding city in Hebei Province.

According to an article on Southernnet.com, a car accident took place on October 16 at Hebei University, which led to the death of a female student.

Eyewitnesses 65 say a car knocked down two female students who were rollerblading on the school campus, but the driver did not stop. Instead, he continued to drive to the women's dormitory to drop off his girlfriend.

School security guards and students blocked the university entrance and demanded that the driver to get out of his car. Instead of showing any sign of remorse 66, the driver, Li Qiming, yelled to the angry crowd, "Go ahead and sue me. My father is Li Gang!"

The article contemplated 67 the underlying 68 meaning of the sentence: "My Father is Li Gang!" Many netizens believe it reflects the arrogance 69 of the children of government officials, who believe they can easily get away with any mistake they make or crime they commit.

Netizens have expressed great anger and outrage 70 at what they see as inherited corruption. Students at Baoding-based Hebei University have rallied online to demand severe punishment for the young drunken driver who is in police custody 71 for a traffic offence.

Netizens argue that all are equal before the law. No matter who commits a crime, the violator should receive a punishment that is in strict accordance with the law.