Thursday, January 22, 2009
International
TOP STORIES as of 0900 HKT -- 23 January, 2009
DOWNTURN SPURS HUGE CHINESE NEW YEAR MOVE
On the eve of Chinese New Year holidays, millions of migrant
workers are leaving the cities and returning to their homes in
the vast Chinese countryside. But not all will be celebrating as the
global economic downturn hits home.
TWO PEACEMAKERS GET KEY OBAMA JOBS
Two proven peacemakers have accepted key jobs in U.S. President
Barack Obama's diplomatic corps. Richard Holbrooke, who helped
end war in Bosnia, was made special envoy for Pakistan and
Afghanistan, and George Mitchell, who played a key role in
bringing peace to Northern Ireland, is the special envoy to the
Mideast.
OBAMA SIGNS ORDER TO CLOSE GUANTANAMO BAY
U.S. President Barack Obama issues four executive orders to
demonstrate a clean break from the Bush administration on the
war on terror, including one requiring that the U.S. military
detention facility at Guantanamo Bay be closed within a year.
FREED GITMO PRISONER CONSIDERS LAWSUIT
Saad Muhammad Iqbal is a free man after serving more than six
years at the U.S. military's detention facility in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba -- without any charge.
AFGHAN GIRLS MAIMED BY ACID STILL WANT SCHOOL
Shivering in pain and calling for her mother, Shamsia's hands
shake uncontrollably, her eyes swollen shut and her skin peeling
from terrible acid burns. But the 19-year-old's resolve is
undimmed: she and other victims of Taliban acid attacks in
Kandahar will not prevent them from being educated.
U.S. ENVOY SEES DANGERS IN ABRUPT IRAQ PULLOUT
The U.S. ambassador to Iraq on Thursday warned against an abrupt
American military departure from Iraq, saying "a precipitous
withdrawal runs some very severe risks."
OSCAR NOMINATIONS SPRING A FEW SURPRISES
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" leads all films --
including the early favorite "Slumdog Millionaire" -- at the
nominations for the 81st annual Academy Awards, picking up 13.
The film about a man who ages backwards earns Brad Pitt a best
actor nomination while his wife Angelina Jolie also wins a best
actress nod for her role in "Changeling."
ECONOMIC CRISIS DOMINATES DAVOS AGENDA
Heads of state, influential politicians, business leaders and
global powerbrokers will gather in the Swiss Alps next week for
the World Economic Forum -- with the perilous state of the
planet's financial system set to top this year's agenda.
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BUSINESS
CHINA'S ECONOMY SLOWS
China's economic growth slumped to 9 percent for 2008, according
to numbers released by the government Thursday -- in line with
expectations, but still the slowest rate the nation has seen in
seven years.
CHINA MILK CASE YIELDS DEATH, LIFE SENTENCES
A Chinese court sentenced one man to death and another to life
in prison for their roles in the country's tainted milk scandal,
which killed at least six infants and sickened nearly 300,000
others.
SONY SAYS LOSSES COULD HIT $2.9B
Electronics manufacturer Sony announced Thursday that it will
close out the year in the red -- the first time in 14 years that
the company will report an operating loss.
