Thai Army Chief Calls for New Elections
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General Anupong Paochinda orders protesters to leave airport, end campaign against prime minister
General Anupong Paojinda Thailand's army commander has urged the government of Prime Minister
Somchai Wongsawat to step aside and call a new election to resolve the
country's political crisis.Speaking Wednesday after a meeting
of military, government and business leaders, General Anupong Paojinda
denied he was staging a coup. He also ordered anti-government
protesters to leave Bangkok's international airport and to end their
campaign against the government.The prime minister's office and protest leaders quickly rejected the suggestions.People's
Alliance for Democracy leaders say they will not leave the Suvarnabhumi
international airport until Mr. Somchai steps down.Tensions
between the two sides continue to escalate. Police say a gang of
government supporters in the northern city of Chiang Mai shot dead an
anti-government activist on Wednesday.The incident occurred just before Mr. Somchai arrived at an airport in the northern city.Mr.
Somchai was originally expected to return to Thailand's international
airport from an overseas trip, but flew to Chiang Mai instead. PAD protesters took over the international airport on Tuesday after months of demonstrations, stranding thousands of travelers.Thailand's current crisis began over two years ago when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup.Elections late last year failed to resolve the situation when former allies of Mr. Thaksin were voted into office. Protesters accuse Mr. Somchai of being a proxy for his brother-in-law, Mr. Thaksin.Protests
in Thailand intensified on Monday when opposition supporters forced
parliament to delay a session by blocking access to the building. On
Tuesday, anti-government protesters chased down government supporters
on a major highway in the capital, Bangkok. At least 11 people were
wounded during the street fight, some with gunshot wounds.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Obama Expected to Name More Economic Advisors
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US president-elect will name Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to head new economic advisory panel, announce new stimulus package that could cost as much as $500 billion
President-elect Barack Obama answers reporter's question during press conference in Chicago, 25 Nov 2008U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to name more appointees to his economic team Wednesday.The Wall Street Journal newspaper reports that Mr. Obama will name former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to head a new economic advisory panel.This week, Mr. Obama has already identified several people he wants to hold key economic posts in his administration, including his choice for Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, and Congressional Budget Director, Peter Orszag.He has also announced plans for a new economic stimulus package that could cost as much as $500 billion, and which he hopes will create or save 2.5 million jobs over a two year period.
Bush administration to spend $800 billion to buy up debt linked to home mortgagesThe outgoing administration of President George Bush has also announced plans to spend up to $800 billion to buy debt linked to home mortgages, and to spur consumer lending. The U.S. Congress earlier approved a $700 billion bailout fund to help banks and other financial companies.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the new plan will encourage financial institutions to increase lending to consumers and small businesses.By buying mortgage-related debt, the government also hopes to provide relief to the ailing housing industry. A wave of home foreclosures and mortgage defaults triggered the current credit freeze and the broader economic slowdown.
Obama instructs economic team to curb government spendingMr. Obama is also proceeding with a plan to trim government spending. He said he will direct his economic team to go through the federal budget to find unnecessary or outdated government programs that can be eliminated to save costs.The President-elect has also said bank executives should do without annual bonus payments, to show they recognize the struggle that many Americans are going through because of the economic crisis.In an interview with ABC news scheduled to air later Wednesday, Mr. Obama said executives who are already worth tens of millions of dollars should show they are willing to make some sacrifices.The government has provided billions of dollars in recent months to help large financial companies.
Report finds reduction in Gross Domestic ProductNew reports will be issued Wednesday that will provide a glimpse into the state of U.S. manufacturing, consumer sentiment, employment and home sales.On Tuesday, a government report showed the measure of all goods and services produced in the United States (the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP) shrank by one-half of one percent between July and September. The report is one of the latest signs that the U.S. is facing a serious economic downturn.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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EU Unveils Economic Recovery Package
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European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso unveils package in Brussels as he urges EU countries to coordinate their economic recovery efforts
The European Union is urging EU member states to approve an ambitious $260-billion economic stimulus package.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, left, gestures while speaking during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday 26 Nov. 2008European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso unveiled the package today in Brussels as he urged EU countries to coordinate their economic recovery efforts. The proposals include extensions to welfare and unemployment benefits, tax cuts, and $6.5 billion to support the European auto industry.Most of the funding will come from national governments, and it remains to be seen whether member states will agree to the plan when they debate the proposals in December.Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that Britain will host the next G-20 meeting of key industrialized and developing nations in April. Mr. Brown said he had already spoken with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who confirmed he will attend the summit. The People's Bank of China Wednesday said it is slashing interest rates for the fourth time since September in an effort to boost economic growth. The bank said it will lower the key one-year lending rate by more than one percent and reduce the amount of money that banks must hold in reserves, in order to increase lending.Britain reported Wednesday that its economy shrank by one-half of one percent between July and September - its first decline in 16 years. The contraction coincided with a sharp drop in consumer spending.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Iraqi Parliament Delays Vote on Security Pact until Thursday
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New deal may allow US troops to remain in Iraq for additional three years
Iraq's speaker of parliament says lawmakers have delayed a vote on a long-awaited security pact with the United States until Thursday.Parliament Speaker al-Mashhadani (C) and pol. leaders discuss the security pact in Baghdad (file)The vote was scheduled Wednesday on the deal to allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq for another three years, but political factions have been wrangling over some of the conditions.Parliamentary speaker Mahmoud Al-Mashhadani says he still believes there will be an agreement. He did not elaborate on the reasons for the delay.Iraqi Shi'ite and Kurdish parties are believed to have enough votes to secure narrow passage of the pact in the 275-member assembly. But they are urging parliament's main Sunni faction, the Iraqi Accordance Front, to back the deal to give it greater legitimacy. The Sunni faction is demanding political reforms giving it a greater say in political decisions. It also wants the security pact to be put to a national referendum.Members of the ruling Shi'ite coalition say they are willing to hold a national referendum on the security pact next year. Once approved, the security pact will replace the United Nations mandate for the U.S. military presence in Iraq. That mandate expires on December 31.Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Israeli PM: Agreement Possible With Palestinians
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Ehud Olmert says two sides do not need months to make a decision on a peace agreement
Israel's prime minister says he believes he can reach agreement with the Palestinians on core peace issues soon, despite his limited time in office.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud OlmertEhud Olmert said in Washington Tuesday that the two sides do not need months to make a decision on a peace agreement. He was speaking a day after meeting with U.S. President George Bush, who helped to relaunch Middle East peace talks last year.Time is running out for both leaders, who said they wanted to conclude a Middle East peace deal by the end of this year. Mr. Bush leaves office on January 20, and Israel will elect Mr. Olmert's successor three weeks later.Israel again shut its borders with the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in response to rocket attacks from the Hamas-run territory.Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Malki said he is very worried about the situation following Israel's frequent closures of the aid-dependent territory. Prime Minister Olmert denied that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.In other news, the human rights organization Yesh Din says the Israeli military filed charges against just six percent of Israeli soldiers accused of criminal offenses against Palestinians from late 2000 until 2007.In a report released Tuesday, the groups says more than 1,200 investigations were opened against military personnel, and only 78 of them resulted in charges being filed. Of those soldiers indicted, many were given sentences far from the maximum sentences permitted by law.Yesh Din says its report is based on information provided by the Israeli Defense Force.Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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Indian Navy Insists Destroyed Ship Was Controlled by Pirates
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But International Maritime Bureau backs claim of Thai fishing company that vessel was trawler that had been seized by pirates
India's navy says its warship, which sank a pirate-controlled vessel in the Gulf of Aden, had no indication the ship it encountered at sea may have been a Thai fishing boat with hostages on board. The owner of the Ekawat Nava 5 says the Indians should not have fired on the hijacked vessel, which may have claimed the lives of up to 15 fishermen. VOA correspondent Steve Herman has the story from New Delhi. In file photo made available by Indian navy, warship INS Tabar, right, escorts MV Jag Arnav to safety after rescuing it from hijack attempt by Somali piratesThe International Maritime Bureau is backing the claim of a Thai fishing company that the vessel destroyed by the Indian navy off Yemen was a trawler that had been seized by pirates. The IMB says one Thai fisherman died and 14 others are missing as a result of the maritime clash on November 18. India's navy is reiterating its claim that the vessel it encountered 285 nautical miles from shore was a "mother ship" of a group of pirates, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, who first fired upon the Indian naval ship Tabar. Indian Navy Lt. Commander Rajesh Nair tells VOA News the warship had no choice but to retaliate. "Any vessel, on challenging in international waters, is a threat. It being a pirate ship, it was acting as one and we had to fire upon them," he said.The navy spokesman says the crew of the Tabar saw no markings on the hostile vessel indicating it might have been a legitimate fishing vessel that had been seized. The owner of Sirichai Fisheries in Thailand, Wicharn Sirichaiekawat, tells VOA News he is angry that the Indian navy frigate did not try to search for and render aid to his men who were on the destroyed trawler, the Ekawat Nava 5."They have to accept that OK, they sank our boat by accident or mistake or whatever," he said. "And we'd like to ask them whether have they looked for the missing crew because they are humans. Even during war, if people survive, you have to help them no matter whether they're enemy or not." The IMB says other vessels in the area, including naval ships, were quickly notified that the Kiribati-registered boat, with a crew of 16, had been hijacked. A Cambodian survived and was rescued five days later by Yemeni fishermen. He told them one of his Thai colleagues had died at sea while they awaited rescue, but he did not know the fate of the others - some of whom may have been killed on board when the Indian navy opened fire.
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South Korean Officials Plan Exit from Joint Industry Zone in North
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Seoul bringing home at least six of its officials prior to border closure promised by North
North and South Korea are drawing a step closer to what some fear may
become the shutdown of a highly symbolic joint industrial project. As
VOA's Kurt Achin reports from Seoul, the South is bringing home at
least six of its officials prior to a border closure promised by the
North.Women workers sewing in Kaesong, North Korea South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun
says government officials will depart the Kaesong industrial park in
North Korea and return home this week.He says on Friday
afternoon, they will cross the military demarcation line separating the
two Koreas and "pull out" to the South.The Kaesong park, built
and managed by South Korea, is one of the centerpieces of the South's 10-year effort to engage the communist North peacefully with aid and
investment. However, North-South relations have steadily chilled since
conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office in January and
tightened the no-strings-attached generosity of previous
administrations.Mr. Lee, whom the North labels a "traitor," has
made South Korean assistance more contingent on Pyongyang's cooperation
on key issues, such as getting rid of its nuclear weapons arsenal. This
week, the North suspended a tour program to Kaesong and halted daily
freight train service from the South. A separate tourism program to
the North's Mount Kumgang has been frozen since the North's military
shot a visiting South Korean housewife to death, then refused to
cooperate in an investigation of the incident. Pyongyang has warned it
will completely restrict border crossings by South Korea starting
Monday.South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-Joong (file photo)South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong told
lawmakers Wednesday he cannot rule out the complete shutdown of the
Kaesong industrial project. He says he views the possibility of a shutdown as unlikely - but one he cannot eliminate completely from consideration.Kim
adds, North Korea's latest decisions have nothing to do with a hardline
policy by South Korea. Rather, he says, North Korea is unwilling to
resume dialogue with South Korea.North Korea accuses the Lee
administration of failing to uphold previous North-South agreements
which promise the North billions of dollars in infrastructure
investments and aid. In a radio interview this week, the chairman of
President Lee's conservative ruling party described those agreements as
"impractical."North and South Korea are still planning to sit
down together next month at multinational talks aimed at ending North
Korea's nuclear weapons capabilities. Those talks also involve the
United States. U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens said
Wednesday any attempt by Pyongyang to isolate South Korea from its
American ally would be unsuccessful.
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Botswana's Foreign Minister Says Mugabe Must Be Isolated
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Phandu Skelemani says neighboring African countries need to close their borders with Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe looks on during the opening plenary of the Southern African Development Community Extraordinary Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, 09 Nov 2008Botswana's foreign minister says the international community must isolate Zimbabwe to end the regime of President Robert Mugabe.In
an interview aired on British radio Wednesday, Phandu Skelemani also
said African countries need to close their borders with Zimbabwe.
Skelemani said President Mugabe could not stay in power if his
landlocked country was cut off from fuel for a week.Power-sharing
talks between Mr. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party and the opposition
Movement for Democratic Change have stalled since the sides signed a
basic agreement in September. The talks resumed in South Africa Tuesday, but MDC officials say they are pessimistic about reaching a final deal. The parties are divided over which will control key ministries in a proposed unity government.On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said an agreement is urgent in light of Zimbabwe's humanitarian crisis. The
U.N. says more than 360 people have died and almost nine-thousand have
been infected in a cholera outbreak that began three months ago. Zimbabwe's
deputy health minister, Edwin Maguti, said Wednesday the situation is
"under control," and that there is no need to declare an emergency.
The deputy health minister blamed the cholera cases on sanctions
imposed by Western governments.Those sanctions are travel bans
and asset freezes aimed at individual government officials and Mugabe
allies. The United States sanctioned four more supporters of Mugabe on
Tuesday, saying they had helped the Zimbabwean leader undermine
democracy.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Teen Mega-Hit 'Twilight' Centers on Vampire Romance
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Movie is adapted from 2005 novel by Stephanie Meyer that began as series of four books
A moody romantic drama with more than a touch of the supernatural brings to the big screen the first in a series of romance novels enjoyed by teenaged girls around the world. Alan Silverman has this look at Twilight.Bella Swan and Edward Cullen feel an instant chemistry when they meet (appropriately enough) in their chemistry class at Forks High School in a rural corner of the American Pacific Northwest. Misty and rainy much of the year, the tiny town has the perfect climate for Edward and his 'family' who need to avoid sunlight. The Cullens are a clan of vampires who have learned to control their lust for blood in order to live in peace among mere mortals.Bella is mortal, but the love she and Edward share transcends that fundamental difference even though every moment they spend together puts her life at risk.Stephenie Meyer, right, on set of TwilightTwilight is adapted from the 2005 novel by Stephenie Meyer that began as a series of four books which, translated into 20 languages, have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide and built a huge, mostly teenaged, fan base, which still amazes author Meyer."I don't know why people respond to these books," Meyer says. "I know why I do because I wrote it for me. It is exactly what I wanted to read so, of course, I'm really hooked on it. For other people …it's kind of bizarre, actually."Meyer admits she is not especially fond of vampires, but with the success of the books and now the screen adaptation, she has a theory about the appeal.Scene from Twilight"You look at the monsters we scare ourselves with and most of them are disgusting and gruesome and covered in nasty things and we just want to get away from them," she notes. "They are just there to scare us. Then we've got vampires who are often beautiful and eternally youthful and rich and cultured and they live in castles. There are so many things that are ideals in our culture that we want that they have. So there is this double-edged sword: they are going to kill us and they are terrifying and yet we may even want to be one."Director Catherine Hardwicke, who has tapped into, perhaps, more realistic teenaged experiences in previous films including Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, believes Meyer's story reaches for something deep and romantic.Catherine Hardwicke on the set of Twilight"I think when you read the book if you let yourself go with it you get into this tale of obsessive love that is almost intoxicating …almost like you are on a drug," Hardwicke says. "I thought that would be interesting to create that world of just falling so deeply in love with somebody and that connection; and then you have this razor's edge of tension. You cannot go too far. You can't get too passionate or you'll end up in a pool of blood, dead. So that is pretty cool. There are so many layers that work to draw you into her storytelling."However, Kristen Stewart, who plays Bella, says it was hard to speak some of the dialogue that reeks of so much passion on the page.Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in Twilight"You read it in a book through a girl's personal perspective and it works because that is how she experienced it; but to see it in real life, physically walking and talking and moving around, it doesn't work," Stewart explains. "There were times when I thought 'is this so stupid? Am I making a total fool of myself?' But I had to go through that to get to where I needed to be.""I like melodrama a lot and I don't think it's really done in the movies any more - these kind of operatic stories - and I really thought it was that," adds English actor Rob Pattinson, who co-stars as Edward. Pattinson says he knew his big challenge was to make a creature so often depicted as frightening into someone Bella - and the audience - can love.Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight"I was trying to humanize him as much as you can," he explains. "There is obviously the leap where you say, okay, if you get bitten by one of these guys then you live forever and you have all this kind of stuff; but I found once you know the fact of their existence it was quite easy to accept that and just say, okay, I have an unquenchable thirst for human blood and I never sleep and I'm going to live forever and I have super-strength and super-speed: how would I behave as a human from that point onwards? So I really didn't think about like playing a vampire. I just thought of the sum of its parts with the word 'vampire' on top. I didn't think about playing a vampire at all."To the legion of fans who love the novel so much: Kristin Stewart hopes they will embrace this interpretation."I care about the book just as much as they do," Stewart says. "I felt such a responsibility to the story and for the character, separate from what anybody else felt about it, and that drove me to do what I did. You project yourself onto her. Every girl who reads it experiences it through her. While you are reading the book you 'are' Bella, so there is really nothing right or wrong that I could have done."Twilight, with a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, also introduces many of the characters that play important roles in the subsequent books. So the material is ready if the success of this first film launches a series of Twilight sequels.
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