"I Back Najib, He Is A Better Man" - Dr M

Saturday, 03 December 2011 06:45

NEW DELHI -- Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad gave a terse political tip for Malaysian voters.

Crediting Najib Tun Razak for "correcting wrongs" in the political system, he said the prime minister should be given a chance to lead the country.

"He is gaining popularity, he is correcting wrongs did (committed) by my successor.

"I back Najib, he is a better man, he deserves to be given a chance," Dr Mahathir said at a media conference in Delhi on Friday.

The 86-year-old statesman is here to attend the annual Hindustan Times Leadership Summit where he presented a keynote address.

In his speech, he warned global leaders to note key changes taking place - failure of central planned economy, influence of social media and the speed of people crossing borders.

"These are radical changes happening in the 21st century. All these will impact whatever we do, political, economic, social or financial areas.

"If we are not willing to admit these changes, we will not be able to attend to these challenges," noted Dr Mahathir.

In his keynote address themed 'The Challenges of Changes in the 21st Century', he said democracy was not a bad system, but not a panacea for all political shortcomings.

"Democracy is the best form of government, it is not the easiest to govern because people do not understand the limitations of democracy," he added.

(Bernama)

"I Back Najib, He Is A Better Man" - Dr M

Thaksin To Receive New Thai Passport

Saturday, 03 December 2011 06:40

BANGKOK -- The Thai government will soon re-issue a passport for fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a New Year's gift, according to China's Xinhua news agency cited a local press reports on Friday.

Speaking to reporters, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told said that the ministry is preparing to return Thai passport to former prime minister Thaksin.

Thaksin's diplomatic passport was revoked in April 2009 by Foreign Ministry under pro-establishment Democrat Party government.

The Democrat government claimed that the passport needed to be revoked as Thaksin violated passport issuing regulations, which state that the ministry can cancel or recall a passport if it can prove that a person has caused damage to the country.

In April 2009, Thaksin's phoning-in to anti-Democrat government demonstration by Red Shirt camp was considered as inciting violence by the then Democrat government.

Thaksin was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and lives in exile to avoid a two-year jail term for a corruption conviction.

"When Thaksin's passport was revoked, there was no order from the courts or the police to seize it," Surapong Tovichakchaikul told reporters.

"I will therefore use my authority and proceed legally under the regulations of the ministry to issue a new passport to ex- premier Thaksin," he said.

(Bernama)

Thaksin To Receive New Thai Passport

Clinton Concludes Landmark Burma Trip

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By BA KAUNG Friday, December 2, 2011

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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concluded a landmark visit to Burma on Friday, and left behind several possibilities for a normalization in long-strained relations between the United States and the isolated Southeast Asian country.

During her two-day visit which brought her to Rangoon and Naypyidaw, Clinton met with Burmese President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, both of whom described her visit as “historic.”

After a formal meeting with Clinton at her home in Rangoon on Friday morning, Suu Kyi said she is happy with the way the US is engaging with Burma, describing the Western superpower's policy as one that aspires to promote the process of democratization.

Speaking at a joint press briefing from the veranda of her Rangoon home with Clinton, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said, “We are so happy that Secretary Clinton had a very good meeting in Naypyidaw [with President Thein Sein] and we are happy with the way in which the United States is engaging with us. It is true engagement that we hope will promote the process of democratization.”

Read more Clinton Concludes Landmark Burma Trip

Workers Mass at Shanghai Factory in Latest Unrest

By ELAINE KURTENBACH/ AP WRITER Friday, December 2, 2011

SHANGHAI— Hundreds of laid-off workers massed Friday outside a Shanghai factory of a Singaporean supplier to major consumer electronics companies such as Motorola and HP, in the latest of a spate of unrest as manufacturers struggle with higher costs and slowing exports.

Some of the 300-400 workers at the factory gate of Hi-P International in the eastern industrial suburbs of Shanghai said it was their third day of protesting over mass layoffs due to the company's decision to relocate some manufacturing.

They said they were seeking more information, and improved terms for themselves. Police in vans and unmarked cars watched but did not intervene. One worker showed bruises he said were from an earlier beating by police.

Company officials contacted by phone in Shanghai and Singapore refused comment on the protest. Shanghai city government and police also did not immediately respond to inquiries about the strike or the workers' claims of injuries from scuffles with police.

Reports of recent strikes at factories and other major employers show the increased pressure on China's manufacturers amid weak demand in Europe and the U.S., and surging costs for labor and materials. The country's manufacturing contracted in November for the first time in nearly three years, according to a survey released Thursday.

A nervous Beijing has begun reversing a two-year effort to cool the world's second-biggest economy, seeking to counter slowdowns in manufacturing and property that are dragging growth lower and spurring unrest.

Hi-P International's net profit margin plunged 80 percent — to 2.1 percent from 11.6 percent — in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, mainly due to higher costs, according to its latest financial report. Net profit in July-September fell 42 percent to 6.5 million Singapore dollars ($5.1 million) from a year earlier.

The company, founded in 1980 as a tooling factory, said its third-quarter revenue rose 34 percent, but so did costs for materials and taxes.

The New York-based group China Labor Watch said Hi-P was shifting some of its production to the nearby city of Suzhou and had not paid the legally required amount of compensation to workers, who were laid off without notice.

According to its website, Hi-P International is a contract manufacturer for the wireless telecommunications, consumer electronics and computing and automotive industries, with two-dozen factories and about 18,000 employees.

Hi-P has factories in five other Chinese cities besides Shanghai and Suzhou. Motorola and other major electronics companies are among its customers.

Workers Mass at Shanghai Factory in Latest Unrest

Al-Qaida holds missing American – Al-Zawahiri | Asian Correspondent

Finally, the mystery surrounding the fate of 70 years old abducted American developmental expert Warren Weinstein has been cleared. In a 30 minutes long audio statement, the newly appointed chief of Al-Qaeda, Dr. Aiman Al-Zawahiri has claimed responsibility for Weinstein’s abduction. The statement was released by Al-Qaida’s official media wing As-Sahab through various Jihadist websites on December 1.

Dr Weinstein was kidnapped on gunpoint on August 13 from his residence in upscale Model Town of Provincial capital Lahore after the abductors overpowered his four guards. At the time of kidnapping, he was serving as chief of party for JAA (J E Austin Associates) on the Pakistan Initiative for Strategic Development and Competitiveness.

In the statement, Al-Zawahiri spelled out a series of demands to the US government for the safe release of Weinstein. The demands include halting US attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Gaza; release of Al-Qaida prisoners including 1 convicts of the World Trade center bombing; release of family members of his predecessor Osama bin Laden; closure of Guantanamo Bay and other secret prisons; and allowing trade between Egypt and Gaza.

Read more Al-Qaida holds missing American – Al-Zawahiri | Asian Correspondent

Mixed Messages on Whether U.S. Troops Will Re-Occupy Iraq -- News from Antiwar.com

Obama administration officials and Congress have been contradictory over whether future forces will return after December pullout

by John Glaser, December 01, 2011

A senior administration official traveling with Vice President Joe Biden told reporters on Wednesday that “There is no discussion, no contemplation, no thought of returning U.S. troops to Iraq.”

The claim comes after contradictory statements from Obama administration officials on whether U.S. forces would return to Iraq after the “full withdrawal” at the end of the month. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, for example, told lawmakers on Nov. 15 that some troops may return.

“Our hope would be that this isn’t just a State Department presence, but that ultimately we’ll be able to negotiate a further presence for the military as well,” Panetta told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

And Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki told reporters in Baghdad Wednesday “No doubt, the U.S. forces have a role in providing training of Iraqi forces.”

The true intentions of the administration are still unclear, as negotiations for a large NATO force remaining in Iraq broke down on the same basis of immunity that the the U.S. troop presence negotiations fell through.

A bid in the Senate to officially declare the Iraq war over and revoke the 2002 authorization for military force there failed by a 30-67 vote, again leaving open the possibility for a future U.S. military presence there.

Mixed Messages on Whether U.S. Troops Will Re-Occupy Iraq -- News from Antiwar.com

UN: 4,000 Killed in Syria, Civil War in Progress -- News from Antiwar.com

At Least 23 Civilians Killed Today

by Jason Ditz, December 01, 2011

At least 23 people, all civilians, were killed today across Syria in attacks by security forces loyal to the Assad regime. The largest such incident was in al-Tremeesa, near Hama, where 15 were killed.

The deaths further raise the toll of eight months of popular uprising against the Assad regime, and the United Nations now says that some 4,000 people have been killed overall. They also termed the situation officially a “civil war.”

The declaration of a “civil war” in progress comes as a result of an increase number of clashes between the Syrian Army and members of various factions of defectors from the army, the largest of which is the Free Syrian Army (FSA), based in Turkey.

The reality, however, is that the vast majority of the deaths are independent of the civil war, as thousands of civilian protesters have been killed in attacks by security forces. The deaths played a role in the defections and the nascent civil war, but the slain protesters weren’t necessarily supportive of the FSA or any other defector army, and many were simply pushing for free elections.

UN: 4,000 Killed in Syria, Civil War in Progress -- News from Antiwar.com