Samy Vellu to apologise to Mahathir

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said he will personally apologise to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the ‘slipper garland’ insult by an MIC member during the recent party congress.

He said he would seek an appointment with the former prime minister to tender his apology over the incident.

“I will meet him personally to explain the whole episode and extend my apology,” Samy Vellu said in a statement yesterday.

The MIC chief said he and the MIC regretted the incident.

“I have always had the highest respect for Tun Dr Mahathir. He is a great leader and a statesman.”

He said Dr Mahathir had brought tremendous development to the country and had united the people.

“He will always be respected by us and all Malaysians,” Samy Vellu said.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said he did not feel anything about the incident and added: “Nothing would have happened to me.”

Instead, he said he would have felt angry and saddened if such an insult had been made by Umno members.

“This is not the first time I have been insulted. People might have forgotten how Umno leaders had insulted me. Nazri (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz) and the previous mentri besar of Kedah wanted me expelled from Umno.

“However, then no one gave any reaction. No one dared to say anything,” he said.

On Sukumaran’s wish to apologise to him, Dr Mahathir said: “Apologise also okay, don’t want to apologise also don’t matter. It’s only when my own people hurl insults at me that I feel slighted.”

He said Sukumaran had now become a victim of his own action.

Royal brawl out in the open

KUALA LUMPUR: A brawl which allegedly erupted between two royal families last year has now blown up openly with one side demanding for a RM50mil compensation.

Tunku Nadzimuddin Tunku Mud­zaffar, a grandson of the late Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negri Sembilan, is publicly accusing Raja Muda of Johor Tunku Ismail Idris of putting a gun to his head and hitting him repeatedly for “unknown reasons” in the wee hours of Oct 25 last year.

He also voiced disappointment with the Criminal Investigations Depart­ment in Bukit Aman, the Dang Wangi police headquarters and the city police headquarters for what he described as “a serious lack of action.”

At a press conference yesterday, Tunku Nadzimuddin said he was at a club called Heritage Mansion with his then girlfriend and now wife Nur Azini Kamal, 32, to meet his friends on the night of Oct 24.

Royal row: Tunku Nadzimuddin showing pictures of himself taken after he was assaulted.

Tunku Nadzimuddin, 37, an institutional clients manager for MAAKL Mutual Bhd said it was a “time-out” for him because he had been undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

However, a scuffle broke out just after 1am and a bottle landed on one of his friends’ head.

Subsequently, he was contacted by a man who claimed to be Tunku Ismail.

Tunku Nadzimuddin said the other party wanted to apologise and asked him to go to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jalan Sultan Ismail.

As the group waited at the lobby, Tunku Nadzimuddin claimed that some of them were forced into a lift.

Once they were inside the lift, Tunku Nadzimuddin claimed that Tunku Ismail, who was armed with a gun, hit him on the head and face.

“He also held a gun in a threatening manner at my head. My friend who was also in the lift was assaulted until he lost consciousness,” he alleged.

The lift stopped on the 25th floor and they were forced into a room where his unconscious friend was left lying the floor. Tengku Nadzimuddin claimed that they were held captive for 45 minutes.

Asked whether he had insulted the Johor royalty previously, he said he had not done any such thing. Neither was he drunk at the time, he said.

台灣‧扁案3法官面對追殺‧特警持鎗貼身保護

（台灣‧台北）台北地方法院重判前總統陳水扁無期徒刑後，網絡上有人對扁案合議庭三位法官發出追殺令，台灣警方不敢大意，派特警持鎗保護三位法官蔡守訓、吳定亞、徐千惠。
台灣傳媒報導，警方已啟動維安機制，除了北院的法警全部停休外，還派出6名配備手鎗及衝鋒鎗的特勤人員，陪3人上下班，並在他們的住處設明崗暗哨警戒巡邏。

去年11月已發動追殺令

警方指出，陳水扁去年11月遭羈押後，網絡上即有人揚言要對蔡守訓發動追殺令，當時警方即曾詢問蔡等三位法官是否需保護，但他們以不想影響家人日常生活作息為由，婉拒偵防車接送上班的建議。

由於追殺說法一直延續至今，上週五（9月11日）一審宣判後，警方更擔心少數激情民眾會做出攻擊舉動，再度向三人提出提供保護的要求，三人亦表示接受。
明崗暗哨保護法官家人

警方表示，由於法院有法警戒護，目前僅派6名特勤人員，兩人一組對三人上下班途中進行保護，兩名特勤除配備短鎗，偵防車內並有一把MP5衝鋒鎗、一片防彈盾牌、無線電等，遇有危害情資，會視內容加強人員派遣及武器裝備，至於法官住家安全維護則交轄區派出所。

蔡守訓住處轄區派出所已主動將附近交通崗哨挪到蔡守訓住家巷口，另加派一名便衣刑警到蔡家樓下巡邏，一明崗一暗哨。徐千惠住家也比照相同規格，吳定亞因住在公家宿舍，原就有法警及轄區警察巡邏。

另外，三名法官老家也有警力加強對他們的父母、家人的保護。

Oct 11 date for Bagan Pinang

PUTRAJAYA: Polling day for the Bagan Pinang by-election is set for Oct 11 while nomination is on Oct 3, the Election Commission (EC) announced.

Its chairman Tan Sri Aziz Yusoff said both nomination and polling day would be on a weekend following “feedback” received by the EC. Oct 3 is a Saturday and Oct 11, a Sunday.

“The polling date is on a weekend not because the seat is a Barisan Nasional stronghold but to ensure better voter turnout.

“We have held several by-elections on weekdays where voter turnout was still good.

“The Manek Urai by-election was held on a weekday with 88% casting their votes,” he told a press conference here to announce the polling and nomination dates for the Bagan Pinang by-election yesterday.

This will be the ninth by-election after the March 8 general election in 2008.

The Bagan Pinang state seat in Negri Sembilan fell vacant after the death of the Barisan assemblyman Azman Mohammad Noor on Sept 4.

According to the EC records as of Sept 4, the Bagan Pinang constituency has 13,664 registered voters, including 4,604 postal voters, comprising 8,577 Malays (62.77%), 2,834 Indians (20.74%), 1,498 Chinese (10.96%) and 755 others (5.53%).

Those aged 21 to 39 made up 50.39% of the electorate and there are nine registered voters who are more than 100 years old – the oldest being 104.

Aziz also said that he would be calling representatives of political parties at the end of the month to inform them on the dos and don’ts during the by-election.

“We have repeatedly reminded political parties and their members and supporters of the things they are prohibited from doing during campaigning and on polling day, but there are those who still fail to heed the regulations.

“We allow the parties to go through an education period but don’t be surprised if we start taking action as sufficient reminders and warnings have been issued,” he said.

Aziz also dismissed claims that postal votes could be tampered with to help Barisan win an election, adding that when votes are cast and sealed by election officials, agents of candidates would be present during the process.

“Cheating cannot take place,” he said when commenting on claims Barisan had won the seat due to postal votes in the last election.

In the March 2008 general election, Ramli Ismail of PAS lost to Azman by a 2,333 vote-majority.

Azman polled 6,430 votes while Ramli secured 4,097. Of the 4,800 postal votes, 3,080 went to Barisan and 1,189 to PAS.

The remaining votes were either spoilt or the ballot papers were not returned.

One EGM, five motions

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be only one EGM with five resolutions to re solve the problems faced by the MCA.

This was the agreement reached by the two sides in the party after a five-hour meeting which they said was “conducted amicably”.

The EGM will be held by Oct 11 as the party secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng had only received the requisition for the meeting on Friday. Under the party constitution, he has 30 days to call for the EGM upon receiving the notice.

Yesterday’s meeting also decided that the five proposed resolutions submitted by the supporters of sacked deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek would be the only ones to be tabled at the EGM.

Party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, commenting on the decision in his blog, said he ordered his representatives to accept the other side’s resolutions because it was “imperative to have one EGM.”

“As the party president, I do not want to see the party further divided. It is my wish that MCA members close ranks as swiftly as possible and continue with its reform agenda in the run-up to the 13th general election,” Ong added.

Wong said the meeting also agreed that he would fix the date and issue a notice of the EGM on Wednesday.

He added that the meeting was conducted amicably and whatever decisions made were in the best interest of the party.

“President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has agreed to adopt in toto the five motions proposed by the requisitionists,’’ said Wong at a press conference held at Wisma MCA at 8.30 pm.

The proposed resolutions submitted by Dr Chua’s supporters are:

> That the members of the general assembly have no confidence in the leadership of president Ong;

> That the presidential council’s decision on Aug 26 in accepting the recommendation of the disciplinary board and the subsequent decision of the central committee (if any) to expel or suspend Dr Chua is annulled;

> Dr Chua be rightfully restored as deputy president of MCA;

> The appointment made by the central committee, including that of the deputy president of MCA, be revoked; and

> There shall be no disciplinary action taken against any or all of the requisitionists by the disciplinary board, the central committee or the presidential council.

Central delegates would vote on each of the proposed resolutions during the EGM, which Dr Chua would not be allowed to attend, Wong said.

“In the best interest of the party, our meeting also unanimously agreed that debates and speeches would be excluded during the EGM.

“Each side agreed to appoint one chief scrutineer and eight scrutineers,” he said.

The EGM would be chaired by speaker Datuk Yik Phooi Hong, while Hoo Seong Chang and Datuk Paduka Lee Pit Chern would be the deputy speakers.

Central committee member Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho, who is leading Dr Chua’s faction, thanked Wong for conducting the fruitful meeting in a fair manner while Ong’s representative and another central committee member, Gan Ping Sieu, described the decisions as a win-win situation.

Gan said Ong was prepared to face the central delegates during the EGM in a bid to solve the matter through the internal means.

“The president respects the central delegates’ wishes and decided not to change the five proposed resolutions.

“The president believes that the central delegates will be rational in casting their vote with the party’s interest topmost in their minds,” Gan said.

Besides Gan, MCA Youth secretary-general Datuk Chai Kim Sen and Ong’s political secretary Simon Lim also represented the party president.

Tan came with central committee members Datuk Chong Itt Chew and Loh Seng Kok, who represented Dr Chua at the meeting.

Japan Democrats take power, fiscal challenges loom

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's next prime minister began forming a government on Monday as investors worried that the untested Democratic Party would overspend in a bid to revive the economy or would ruffle ties with Tokyo's closest ally, Washington.

Sunday's historic election win by Yukio Hatoyama's party breaks a deadlock in parliament and will usher in a government that has promised to focus spending on consumers, cut wasteful budget outlays and reduce the power of bureaucrats.

The defeated Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was left to lick its wounds after its worst election performance since the conservative party was founded in 1955. The party had ruled Japan for most of the last half-century.

"It's taken a long time, but we have at last reached the starting line," Hatoyama told a news conference at his home a day after voters gave his party a sweeping mandate for change.

"This is by no means the destination. At long last we are able to move politics, to create a new kind of politics that will fulfil the expectations of the people."

The yen rose to a 7-week high, buoyed by the end of electoral uncertainty. Japanese stocks, after hitting a near 11-month high earlier in the day, closed slightly down as the stronger yen sent shares of exporters lower.

Hatoyama is to set up a transition team to organise the change of government, but has said he will not announce his cabinet until he is officially elected prime minister by a special session of parliament, probably in about two weeks.

The Democratic Party's landslide win failed to lift a downbeat mood in a rainy Tokyo, where there was little post-election euphoria. Many voters and analysts said the victory was driven more by frustration with the LDP than broad support for the decade-old opposition.

"It's not that the Democrats were good. I voted for them as a punishment for the LDP. The LDP has to change," said Etsuji Inuzuka, 47, who works in the furniture business.

SPENDING WORRIES

Investors welcomed the end to a political deadlock that has stymied policies as Japan struggled with its worst recession since World War Two. The Democrats and its small allies won control of the upper house in 2007, enabling them to delay bills.

But many were concerned about whether the party would be able to maintain fiscal discipline after promising policies such as cash handouts for families with young children and the abolition of expressway tolls, a Reuters survey showed.

"Fiscal issues, together with diplomacy and security, will be a major issue," said Junko Nishioka, chief Japan economist at RBS Securities.

Media forecasts show the Democrats won about 308 seats in the lower house, nearly tripling their strength in the 480-member chamber. The LDP won only 119 seats, down from 300.

"The problem is how much the Democrats can truly deliver in the first 100 days," said Koichi Haji, chief economist at NLI Research Institute.

The Democrats, who will face an upper house election in less than a year, must move fast to keep support among voters worried about a record jobless rate and a rapidly ageing population that is inflating social security costs.

Japan is ageing more quickly than any other rich country. More than a quarter of Japanese will be 65 or older by 2015.

Analysts say the Democrats' spending plans might give a short-term lift to the economy, just now emerging from recession, but worry that its programmes will boost a public debt already equal to about 170 percent of GDP.

"I hope that the new government will implement appropriate policies to overcome the various challenges Japan is facing," Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa told a news conference.

STRAINS IN U.S. TIES?

A fourth-generation politician, Hatoyama is known less for economic policies than for his stance on security and diplomacy.

He has advocated revising Japan's pacifist constitution to acknowledge the nation's right to defend itself and said Tokyo's foreign policy was too subservient to Washington.

Tokyo's contributions to U.S. military operations abroad could cause friction under the Democrats, although the party has stressed continuity in ties with Washington.

Hatoyama himself raised eyebrows this month in an essay that railed at the "unrestrained market fundamentalism" of U.S.-led globalisation. He played down those comments late on Sunday.

"Washington can take some comfort from knowing that dire predictions of a dramatic leftward-course shift from the Japanese ship of state are wrong," said Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.

"But even minor policy changes or alterations in tone will have far-reaching implications and cause strains."

The Democrats have also vowed to improve ties with Asian neighbours, often frayed by bitter wartime memories.

The party's victory ended the "iron triangle" -- a three-way partnership between the LDP, big business and bureaucrats that turned Japan into an economic juggernaut from the ashes of the country's ruin in World War Two.

That strategy foundered when Japan's "bubble" economy burst in the late 1980s and growth has stagnated since.

(Additional reporting by David Dolan, Yumi Otagaki, Yoko Kubota, Yoko Nishikawa, Risa Maeda and Paul Eckert)

Copyright © 2008 Reuters

Terrorist was not traded for oil, British PM insists

Story Highlights

• # British Prime Minister's office insists there was no deal to free al Megrahi
• # Libyan was serving life sentence for bombing Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988
• # Passenger jet exploded over Scottish town, killing 270 people
• # Newspaper alleged UK government allowed release to smooth oil deal

In Taiwan, Dalai Lama disputes China's claims

JIA SHI'AN, Taiwan (CNN) -- The Dalai Lama -- on a visit to Taiwan that includes prayers for recent typhoon victims -- has rebutted China's claims that he is there for political reasons.

In a Monday interview with CNN's Sara Sidner, the Tibetan spiritual leader said he was visiting the island to comfort victims of Typhoon Morakot. He added that he would not meet Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou, to avoid politicizing the trip.

"As soon as I received the invitation, I know there's some complications maybe. But it is my sort of moral responsibility to come and to see, show my face, to those people who are passing through a difficult period," he said.

The Dalai Lama was in southern Taiwan on Monday to meet and pray with survivors of the disaster, a day after he arrived from India. Morakot caused heavy flooding in the south and killed more than 500 people when it struck August 8.

"As a Buddhist monk, it is my moral principle to go there, see them and at least share some of their sorrow, some of their sadness," he told CNN shortly after he arrived on Sunday.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency said Sunday that Beijing maintained "resolute opposition" to the visit, which it said "is bound to have a negative influence on the relations between the mainland and Taiwan."

"We will keep a close eye on the situation," Xinhua quoted an unnamed spokesman for the government's Taiwan Affairs Office as saying.

Beijing considers Taiwan a renegade province and accuses the Dalai Lama of advocating Tibetan independence from China.

Asked about Taiwan's relations with mainland China, the Dalai Lama said he has told Taiwanese leaders that should have close relations with China.

"Your case, of course ultimately up to your people. But in any case because of economic reasons, because of defense, (you) should have very close relations with mainland China, that's how I feel," the spiritual leader said.

"So now in recent times seems closer relations with mainland China, this is good. I think it reduces fear here, obviously."

The Buddhist leader is to give a public talk on compassion and religious harmony before returning to India on Friday, his spokesman, Tenzin Taklha, said last week.

Typhoon Morakot dumped more than 3.3 meters (100 inches) of rain on the island before moving onto the mainland. The resulting flooding and landslides killed at least 543 people, Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Center said last week, with at least 117 more still missing.

Rescuers struggled to find many of those who were missing in the island's remote southern mountains, and Ma apologized last week for the government's slow response to the disaster.

Price of RON 95 at RM1.80 from Tuesday

KUALA LUMPUR: The newly introduced RON 95 fuel is now priced at RM1.80 - five sen higher than the previous RM1.75.

Meanwhile, RON 97 is upgraded as a premium product and has gone up to RM2.05 from RM1.80.

Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the new prices were decided based on the current method of Automatic Pricing Mechanism (APM).

“Although the price is now 5 sen higher, the Government is still subsidising 33.81 sen per litre (of RON 95) which is equivalent to RM304mil monthly,” he told reporters after the launch of Primax 95 by Petronas here on Monday.

Currently, the Government is subsidising RON 97 by 42.72 sen per litre.

The cost for RON 95 went up 102% from USD$ 40.75 per barrel to USD$ 82.30 in December last year and August respectively.

“If there is any changes in the global prices, we would revise it accordingly. It is up to the Economic Council to decide.

“RON 95 also adheres to the EURO2M specification where it can lessen pollution,” said Ismail Sabri, adding that consumers would get quality petroleum at a subsidised price.

With the new pricing, Ismail Sabri added that RON 92 was phased out from the market as the usage was only 5% from total petrol sale in the country.

In April last year, then Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad said the Government was considering the use of petrol with higher research octane number (RON) to reduce fuel subsidies without hurting the lower-and-medium income groups.

A higher octane number means higher resistance to engine “knocking”. “Knocking” could possibly damage the engine over time.

Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia president Datuk Hashim Othman said petrol stations could easily recalibrate their pumps to adjust to the new price.

“With technology, all you need to do is push some buttons. It is almost automatic in most stations now, except for a few in the rural areas which are still using the manual system,” he told The Star.

He added that petrol dealers would make a slight gain with the price increase as they had bought their current stock at the old price.

“It is only a little as the price increase is small,” he said.

MCA president calls for EGM

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has instructed party secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng to convene an emergency general meeting (EGM) within 30 days.

Ong, who is also the Transport Minister, said he had decided to call for an EGM under Article 30.1 of MCA’s constitution just as the country was celebrating Merdeka Day to give party members to reflect on where it should be heading next.

“It is also to allow members to deliver a verdict on the decisions made by the MCA leadership - whether on its renewal and rejuvenation efforts, on disciplinary cases or in the handling of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) issue.

“With the EGM, I also hope to quell speculations, end uncertainties and put to rest elements that will split MCA as it seeks to regain public support in time for the next general election.

“I am prepared to accept whatever verdict the EGM delivers,” he wrote in his blog on Monday.

Describing the holding of the EGM as a “serious matter”, Ong said he believed in listening to the members’ voice, which was the reason he made direct election of the MCA presidency part of his electoral pledges in last year’s party poll.

“I fervently believe in transparency and accountability. If I were afraid or do not subscribe to these principles, I would have easily brushed aside dissenting views in the party and carry on with what I am doing.

“But that’s not me, as one can see from the level of transparency and accountability I place in dealing with the PKFZ issue,” he said.

Ong said he believed that with sufficient explanation and briefings, members would make the right choice on what was best for the party.

“I have faith that at the end of the day, we will be able to see past fiery emotions and will put the party above everything else,” he said.

When contacted, Wong confirmed that he had received the instruction and said he would start making preparations for the EGM today by issuing a notice to inform delegates of the date, time and venue for the meeting.

Issues expected at the meeting are the PKFZ project, the presidential council’s decision on Aug 26 to sack deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and other matters.

Wong said to convene an EGM, it would require 200 central delegates or one third of its total number of 2,402 delegates, which was around 800 - whichever was less - to meet the quorum.

“The EGM may dismiss any party official if at least two-thirds of the delegates present at the meeting voted for such a resolution,” Wong said.

Ong’s call for an EGM came at a time when Dr Chua’s supporters were gathering signatures from central delegates to convene an EGM of their own under Article 30.3, of which they would need 800.

They started collecting signatures in Federal Territory, Selangor and Johor from Sunday.

Among others, they sought to nullify the council’ s decision to expel him and reinstate him as deputy president, and a no confidence vote against Ong.

Selangor MB told to pay RM66mil

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has been ordered by the High Court to pay RM66.67mil to Bank Islam Malaysia for a loan he took to purchase Guthrie shares in 2001 when he was the company’s chief executive officer.

Justice Rohana Yusuf, who made the order in chambers yesterday, however, granted Khalid’s application for an interim stay of execution pending a formal application on Sept 16.

Khalid’s counsel, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, told reporters that Rohana allowed Bank Islam’s application for a summary judgment on grounds that the case need not enter into a full trial as there were no triable issues.

A summary judgment is a final decision by a judge which resolves a lawsuit in favour of one of the parties. A motion for summary judgment is made after discovery is completed but before the case goes to full trial.

Malik Imtiaz said an appeal would be lodged with the Court of Appeal against today’s outcome as he felt the matter should go before a full trial.

He said he would file a proper stay application by next week.

The court fixed Sept 16 to hear the formal stay application and to mention Khalid’s suit against Bank Islam.

Khalid had sued the bank on May 18, 2007, seeking damages and a declaration that there existed a collateral contract between him and the bank in the Al BaiBithaman Ajil (BBA) loan agreement dated April 30, 2001.

He also wanted a declaration that the BBA facility, in isolation, and without the collateral contract, was null and void and that Bank Islam had breached the collateral contract and the BBA facility.

The bank counter-sued Khalid on May 24, 2007, claiming that he had breached its contract in the loan agreement in the purchase of Guthrie shares.

Khalid was not present in court while Bank Islam was represented by counsel Tommy Thomas. — Bernama

Insurance firms to cover claims

PETALING JAYA: Insurance companies have decided to allow payouts on claims for treatment, hospitalisation and death as a result of Influenza A(H1N1).

The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) said yesterday that its 16 member companies would honour such claims.

Its president, Md Adnan Md Zain said policyholders could contact their respective insurance companies for further details.

“Even though a majority of medical policies carry exclusions on communicable diseases requiring quarantine by law, life insurers are responding to an immediate need of the nation in light of the increasing number of people who have been infected,” said Md Adnan.

“In the event of any review of this decision on life insurance coverage, the policyholders will be duly informed,” he added.

On Thursday, Depu-ty Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told insurance companies to explain clearly whether those infect-ed with Influenza A(H1N1) could make claims for treatment, hospitalisation and in the event of death.

Etiqa Insurance Berhad said it would be paying out on claims made by its medical and health plan policyholders if they are hospitalised for A(H1N1).

Great Eastern Life Assurances Berhad and Overseas Assurances Corporation (Malaysia) Berhad also released statements saying their companies would compensate policyholders hospitalised for treatment of the disease.

An ING Malaysia agent said the guidelines on claims varied for different policies but the company generally covered hospitalisation claims for those with the illness.

Children with lead poisoning jam China hospital

FENGXIANG COUNTY, China (CNN) -- At the Fengxiang County Hospital in Shaanxi Province, children are sleeping two to a bed. Cots line the hallways and hospital beds crowd offices to accommodate the ceaseless flow of new patients. In the last two weeks, so many children have been diagnosed with lead poisoning that there's barely enough room for everyone.

Their parents are outraged and confused.

"My toddler is a year and nine months old," says Pen Xiaoxia holding her daughter in the hospital ward. "Her hair isn't growing and she's sick all the time."

"My older daughter's nails stopped growing, and her hands are bigger than normal," Pen told CNN. "She doesn't listen to me and she's very rebellious. She can't remember what I told her and she always has a headache."

Holding their children in one arm, every parent in the hospital clutched a thin white sheet of paper in the other, showing the results of their child's blood tests.

In the room next door, nine-year-old Lei Xinyuan was said to have one of the most serious cases in the hospital. She looked like she could be six or seven years old.

"She stopped growing last year," says her father, Mr. Lei.

In total, more than 850 children in the area have tested positive for excessive levels of lead in their blood, according to government officials. All of them live in Madaokou, Sunjianantou, and other villages clustered around the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Plant. Angry parents attacked the plant this week and police were called in to restore order.

After repeated phone calls, company officials said they could not comment and referred all questions to the county government.

County officials said they have ordered the plant to shut down within days.

"We are planning to relocate all residents as fast as possible," says He Hongnian, Vice Governor of Fengxiang County.

State-run media reports the relocation could take as long as two years. Environmentalists say the area is already polluted and extremely dangerous. Lead poisoning can continue to occur via contaminated air, water, soil or food, especially crops grown in tainted areas.

Doctors say chronic exposure can lead to life-long consequences, even death.

"[With] children in international settings, you see a lot more fatalities from lead poisoning," says Dr. Mary Jean Brown with the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control.

"Children can become mentally retarded, and even children who don't have serious symptoms, you might look at them and not even know they've had lead poisoning," Brown adds. "Those children will later have problems in school, they'll have attentional deficits, they may have behavioral problems that will make it difficult for them to learn how to control themselves and their tempers."

China has faced problems with pollution as the country has moved forward with industrial development and economic growth. The government has committed to clean-up measures. But concerns remain.

Chinese authorities closed a second metal smelter this month after more than 1,300 children were found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood, according to state-run media. That case involved children living near a manganese plant near Wugang, in Hunan Province, Xinhua news agency said. Angry parents there also protested.

Back in Shaanxi province, on the streets of Sunjianantou village, which is situated right next to the Dongling plant, parents clamored to discuss their children's test results, scribbled onto white pieces of official paper.

Only the most serious cases of lead poisoning are being treated at the county hospital, all expenses paid by the government.

Zhang Juntao is the father of two children who both tested positive for abnormal blood-lead levels, but not high enough to go to the hospital.

"They always bite their fingers. Sometimes they even bite other kids when they get mad," Zhang says. "I've been reading in books that those are symptoms of lead poisoning."

He says his four-year-old son, Zhang Yicong, is two years behind in school and is underperforming in math. His four-year-old daughter, Zhang Jia, has chronic stomach aches.
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Their father says he feels helpless, like he can't protect his children from being poisoned in their own home.

"If I had the means, I wouldn't allow my children to go to school here," he says. "The only way is to leave this place, but we can't afford it."

Condemnation over Suu Kyi sentence

YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- The White House criticized the sentencing of Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 more months of house arrest Tuesday, joining a chorus of condemnation from figures ranging from the Dalai Lama to the U.N. secretary-general.

"This is not somebody that should be tried and not somebody certainly that should have been convicted," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, adding that President Barack Obama was likely to make a statement later. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "saddened and angry at the verdict... following the sham trial of Aung San Suu Kyi." "The U.N. Security Council -- whose will has been flouted -- must also now respond resolutely and impose a world wide ban on the sale of arms to the regime," he said, calling the verdict a "purely political sentence designed to prevent her from taking part in the regime's planned elections next year.

" A military court found Suu Kyi guilty earlier on Tuesday of violating the terms of her house arrest. The court initially sentenced Suu Kyi to three years in prison, but the head of the country's ruling junta commuted it to a year and a half of house arrest. "We continue to call for her release from continuing house arrest," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on a diplomatic trip to Africa. "We also call for the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners, including the American John Yettaw," who swam, uninvited, across a lake to Suu Kyi's residence earlier this year, prompting the charge she had violated her house arrest.

The Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were among a group of Nobel laureates who also condemned the verdict. They demanded that the U.N. Security Council investigate "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed by the military junta that rules the country, which is also called Burma.

"This illegal verdict is just one more instance of the junta's contempt for justice, security and democracy for the Burmese people," said Nobel Laureate Jody Williams. The United Nations issued a statement saying U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "strongly deplores this decision" and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Suu Kyi and "all other political prisoners.

" In many ways, the court's decision is a continuation of Suu Kyi's current punishment. The 64-year-old has spent 14 of the past 20 years in one form of confinement or another -- most recently under house arrest. Yettaw, who Suu Kyi said she did not know, was sentenced to seven years of hard labor. He was convicted of violating immigration laws, municipal laws and the house arrest terms.

Hundreds missing in Taiwan after typhoon hits

(CNN) -- Hundreds of people remained unaccounted for Tuesday in Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot ravaged the island, triggering mudslides, damaging homes and killing at least 62 people.
The number of missing remained elusive Tuesday night because of the breadth of destruction in Taiwan, officials said.

Morakot dumped 83 inches of rain on parts of the island over the weekend, unleashing the worst flooding there in half a century, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Buildings collapsed in the floodwater, and mudslides buried everything in their paths.

After hitting Taiwan Sunday, the storm roared on to mainland China and sowed chaos there, killing at least six people and displacing 1.4 million, authorities said.

Yet the death toll was much higher in Taiwan. And there were fears that it could rise amid reports that several hundred people may have been buried in mudslides that struck two villages in Kaohsiung County on the southern part of the island

Raub gold mine gets nod to carry on

KUANTAN: Gold-mining activities using cyanide in Bukit Koman, Raub, have been given the green light to proceed, said Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Datuk T. Murugiah.

He said the decision was reached after taking into consideration environment and health reports from the state.

He said all complaints and concerns raised by residents about the usage of cyanide had been addressed by the authorities.

“As such, I do not see why we should issue a stop-work order on the gold-mining activities.

“If the residents can furnish proof that their health is at risk, we will take prompt action,” he said after chairing a meeting on public complaints at the state Public Complaints Bureau headquarters in Teruntum Complex yesterday.

Murugiah was disappointed that none of the affected residents turned up for the meeting except for a few representatives from an opposition party.

In detailing the reports, he said the noise level emitted from the mine was within the permissible level of 55dBA.

“Samples taken from rivers and underground water showed there were no traces of poison and that it is safe for human consumption.

“Interviews and medical check-ups conducted on 246 residents in March showed they were all healthy except for six who complained of headache and dizziness,” he said, adding that health officers confirmed that their sickness was not due to the effects of cyanide.

The authorities, he said, would continue to monitor the situation and conduct periodical checks on the water quality, environment and health of the residents.

Next week, he would meet residents and inspect the mine.

“I was told that the nearest house to the mine was 600m away which is in compliance with the Environment Department requirements,” he said.

Raub Australian Gold Mining Sdn Bhd director Datuk Azinudin Abd Rahim, who was also present, said they had invested RM80mil for the entire project and adhered to international safety standards.

He said the mine started operations in February, providing em-ployment to 170 workers, mostly locals.

“If health is the issue, then our workers will be the first to experience sickness. To date, we have no workers falling sick as all precautionary measures are in place,” he said.

A(H1N1): 19-month-old toddler among 11 new cases

PUTRAJAYA: A 19-month-old baby is among 11 new cases of influenza A (H1N1), Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

The toddler, the 84th case, was among those placed under home quarantine after being found to have had contact with the 72nd confirmed case in the country, an 11-year-old Indonesian boy who arrived at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal on board Flight AK702 on Monday at 1.55pm.

Liow said the child was warded at Seremban Hospital on Tuesday after developing a cough and test results the next day confirmed the presence of the flu virus.

“However, the child’s three other family members who were also quarantined have tested negative,” he told a press conference after handing out excellent service awards to 535 ministry staff yesterday.

Liow said yesterday’s three locally transmitted cases and eight imported cases brought the total number now to 91, but 35 of the patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

One of the three locally transmitted cases involved a foreign student in Kuala Lumpur while three of the imported cases were foreigners – from Ireland, Australia and the Philippines.

The foreign student is a 24-year-old Yemeni studying at a private institution and living in Kuala Lumpur, who had contact with the 63rd confirmed case on Tuesday – a Yemeni on holiday here.

In Alor Setar, the Kedah Health Department is looking for those who came into contact with a 29-year-old woman from Sungai Petani, who is the 86th patient in the country. The woman was among 10 people who had gone to Phuket for five days before returning to the LCCT on Flight AK823 (Seat 28A) at 10am on Sunday.

The group continued its journey to Penang the same day on Flight AK5368 (her seat was 22F) and arrived in Penang at 4.30pm.

Three other people confirmed as having the virus in Kedah were a 21-year-old university student, who returned from Toronto with his two sisters aged 18 and 25.

Bodies of Air France captain, steward found

(CNN) -- Search crews have recovered the bodies of the flight captain and a steward from the Air France flight that crashed off the coast of Brazil

The two flight members are among the victims that have been identified, Air France said in a statement Thursday. About a dozen victims have been identified among roughly 50 bodies recovered from the crash of Flight 447, which killed 228 people on June 1, authorities in Brazil said this week.

Crews continue to search for bodies, wreckage and flight-data recorders that apparently rest deep on the ocean floor. Data from the recorders may be crucial in helping investigators determine what caused the plane to crash.

Autopsies conducted on some of the 50 bodies found so far show they suffered broken bones, including arms, legs and hips, Brazilian authorities have told French investigators, according to Paul-Louis Arslanian, head of the French accident investigation board.

Such injuries suggest that the plane broke apart in midair, experts have said.

Asked about that theory, Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told France's RTL radio this week that he would not go that far.

"What I know is that the investigators would like to know the causes of death," Gourgeon said. "That knowledge of causes of death will better clarify what exactly happened. Were the victims killed before the impact, or during impact?"

Searchers have found dozens of pieces of debris in the water and think they know the general location of the wreck, but Arslanian said this week that there is a chance the entire aircraft may never be found.

Air France plans to pay relatives of the victims an initial compensation equivalent to about $24,500, or 17,500 euros, for each victim, Gourgeon has said. The airliner said this week that it has been in touch with about 1,800 relatives of the people who died when the Airbus A330 crashed, but that it has been difficult tracing the relatives of all 228 victims.

"The modern world is different and we often have only a cell phone, and as you can imagine, this cell phone is unfortunately in the aircraft," Gourgeon said. "So we probably (will put in) more hours to access all the relatives."
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The company is also providing families with counseling, he said.

The were 32 different nationalities present on Flight 447.

Michael Jackson dies in LA hospital

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted "King of Pop" who emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world's most influential singer and dancer before his life and career deteriorated in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. He was 50.

The person said Jackson died in a Los Angeles hospital. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.

The circumstances of his death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.

Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album "Thriller" — which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" — remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies.

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters.

His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

As years went by, he became an increasingly freakish figure — a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grownup life. His skin became lighter and his nose narrower. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.

In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him. The case took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.

Jackson was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13. He was in rehearsals in Los Angeles for the concert, an extravaganza that was to capture the classic Jackson magic: showstopping dance moves, elaborate staging and throbbing dance beats.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital as word of his death spread. The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson's rented home, was roped off with police tape.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson has just died," a woman boarding a Manhattan bus called out, shortly after the news was annunced. Immediately many riders reached for their cell phones.

In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.

"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend sent to his telephone. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."

2009 06 26

Driver dies after suspected Dutch royal attack

• Story Highlights
• Incident happened during the Netherlands annual Queen's Day celebration
  
• Car hit crowd near open-top bus carrying Queen Beatrix of Netherlands
  
• Police: No other clues that could lead to the involvement of other people
  
• Police: There was no one other than the driver in the car at the time

Police searched the man's house but found no weapons, explosives, "or any other clues that could lead to the involvement of other people," police said.

Five people, as well as the driver, were killed and 12 were wounded in the incident, which happened during the country's annual Queen's Day celebration, police said.

Crowds had lined the streets to see Queen Beatrix and her family ride by in an open-top bus during the Netherlands' annual holiday.

As the bus moved along, a black hatchback zoomed past it. The crowds were behind barriers off the road, but security officials and journalists, including many cameramen, were in the road as the car went by.

The car crashed into the low metal railing around a column on the side of the road. The vehicle appeared heavily damaged even before the crash, but the reason for that was unclear.

There was no one other than the driver in the car at the time, police spokeswoman Esther Naber said.

Members of the royal family saw the crash and gasped, then quickly sat down as the bus continued driving.

The attack caused outrage in the Netherlands, newspapers Friday widely expressing disbelief and suggesting the monarchy would have to change.

"Queens Day will never be the same," the Trouw newspaper said. "The Netherlands always has been proud of their no nonsense royal family. With this comes a Queen who not only cycles a bike, but also mixes with people without obvious security measurements. Is that still possible now the royal family has been the target of an attack?"

The Algemeen Dagblad newspaper agreed.

""What is going to happen on the 30th of April next year? And will we continue to see the members of the royal family cycling through the canals of Amsterdam or hunting for bargains in the Bijenkorf in The Hague?"

Queen's Day is a national holiday in the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. The tradition started in 1885 and celebrates the birthday of the queen.

Although Queen Beatrix's birthday is January 31, she officially celebrates her birthday April 30, according to the Dutch government.

Queen's Day is known for its free market all over the country, where anybody is allowed to sell things in the streets. Other activities include children's games and musical performances.

The day is marked with the color orange all over the country as a reference to the colors of the royal family, who come from the House of Orange-Nassau.

Confirmed number of flu cases jumps to 331

• Story Highlights
• WHO: Largest outbreak of the virus is in Mexico, with 156 confirmed cases
  
• Officials in Mexico suspect more than 150 deaths caused by H1N1 virus
  
• Virus has spread to 11 countries, with hardest hit areas in western hemisphere
  
• WHO: No sustained human to human transmission outside the Americas

沈老逝世

二零零九年二月六日 凌晨十二时二十七分

（马六甲5日讯）受人敬仰的我国华教斗士拿督沈慕羽局绅，于今晚9时15分在家中安详逝世，享年96岁。

沈老是于日前入住马六甲爱极乐班台医院休养。沈慕羽入院期间，槟城首席部长林冠英及华总总会长丹斯里林玉唐等人，亦前往医院探望老人家。

由于身体健康状况不见理想，院方即在老人家的本身意愿下，让他于今日傍晚返回本身位于甲市区怡力路的住家，其到家后不久即过世。

根据家属透露，沈老乃安详逝世，其子孙亦陪伴在旁。

由于沈老乃华社闻人，再加上拥有许多子孙及亲戚，因此丧府将于明日共商讨论后，才决定确实的出殡日期。

沈慕羽是于去年12月26日因肺部积水而入住医院疗养，直至新年前夕才获准出院回家过年，接着又于农历初九凌晨再度入院。

尽管沈老于新年前夕出院，可是却碍于身体衰弱，而没有如往年般出席沈志明家族会的新春大团拜，沈志明家族大家长拿督沈慕羽由于出院后仍卧在病榻休养，除夕夜并没有和家人一起围着吃团年饭，也没有出席大年初一在东街纳祖屋志明堂举办的家族新春大团拜。

不过，沈老初一在精神较好时，穿上红色唐装，坐在怡力住家正厅，按照数十年来的传统，让上门的沈氏家族成员向他跪拜与祝贺新年。

沈老的儿子沈墨义表示，他本身从小到大，这是父亲首次没有和家人一起吃团年饭。

依照惯例，沈老的子孙除夕夜都齐聚在他怡力的住家，和沈老一同吃团圆饭，然后听他老人家训话。

96岁高龄的沈老于去年12月26日因为身体不适入院，一度入住加护病房，过后情况好转转入普通病房，于1月21日出院回家休养，与家人一同过农历新年。

Hundreds sign petition

IPOH: Hundreds of people turned up at the Jelapang market here to sign a petition demanding their assemblyman Hee Yit Foong resign as their elected representative.

Neither the scorching heat or the lack of parking spaces kept them away from ensuring they got the message through to Hee that she was no longer wanted.

Within 90 minutes, 720 signatures were collected from the time the signature campaign started at 9.30am yesterday.

Perak DAP organising secretary Thomas Su Keong Siong said the petition would be handed over to the DAP-turned-Independent assemblyman.

“If she does not want to accept the petition then we will hand it over to her parents at their home in Kanthan, Chemor,” he said.

DAP supports Anwar as Pakatan leader: Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP will continue to support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as the opposition leader, its secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said.

He said Anwar, the PKR de facto leader, would remain as Pakatan Rakyat leader and as the oppostion leader as agreed to by Pakatan party leaders.

“He will remain, as no single leader has ever questioned this during internal meetings, whether at the highest level or otherwise,” he said in a statement here Monday.

He said Pakatan had endorsed a position that no individual party policy could be regarded a policy for the entire alliance unless it was approved by all three parties.

He also appealed to DAP chairman Karpal Singh to use internal party channels if he wished to change policies within Pakatan, instead of using the media. On Sunday, Karpal had told a news conference that Anwar was not fit to lead Pakatan and that he had been “nothing but trouble” for the opposition alliance.

His remarks came in the wake of Pakatan losing the Perak state government to the Barisan Nasional on Friday, which Karpal blamed on Anwar for trying to seek defectors from Barisan to shore up Pakatan. -- Bernama

Raja Petra trial: ‘Najib not involved’

PETALING JAYA: A chief investigator repeatedly denied that Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was involved in the killing of Mongolian translator Altantuya Shaariibuu when the counsel for Malaysia Today Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin tried to link the Deputy Prime Minister to the murder.

The former ISA detainee attempted this at his sedition trial Tuesday through his counsel Gobind Singh Deo during the cross-examination of the chief investigator, Supt Gan Tack Guan.

Supt Gan, 50, who is Interpol’s National Centre Bureau assistant director based at Bukit Aman, said a statement was not taken from Najib as he was not involved in Altantuya’s murder.

When pressed further, he said Najib was an important witness.

“It is my opinion that every witness is important. We have seen his connections. Najib is not involved in this case,” said Supt Gan, who is also a complainant in the sedition trial.

When asked if it was not important to record a statement from Najib when he was considered an important witness, Supt Gan claimed Najib had been slandered.

When asked how he knew Najib was not involved in the murder although the Deputy Prime Minister was among four people implicated in Altantuya’s murder, Supt Gan said he had the chance to study the investigation papers.

“I am the supervisor for the investigations of the Altantuya case. I had a team of investigators to assist (investigating officer) Asst Supt Tonny Lunggan for the case. Investigations revealed that Najib is not involved,” he testified at a Sessions Court here.

Raja Petra had on May 6 last year claimed trial to publishing a seditious article on the news portal on April 25.

The 59-year-old is accused of publishing the article Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell on the website www.malaysia-today.net. The article is alleged to have contained nine paragraphs of seditious words.

The blogger is said to have committed the offence at his house on Jalan BRP 5/5 in Bukit Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh, that day.

When Gobind Singh suggested that there was a reason for Gan not to question Najib as the police knew that Najib was involved in Altantuya’s murder and the police had no guts to reveal this in their investigations, Gan disagreed.

He denied that he was not in the position to substantiate his police report against Raja Petra.

“Actually I lodged a police report (against Raja Petra) as certain contents of the article were simply fabricated,” he said.

To a question, he said he did not underline the paragraphs of the alleged seditious article.

He disagreed to a suggestion that it was not his decision to lodge a police report against Raja Petra and that it was a politically motivated decision to do so.

Supt Gan also admitted that three accused persons in the Altantuya murder trial had denied killing her.

He agreed that police investigations had revealed that two policemen implicated in her murder trial at Shah Alam High Court had murdered Altantuya.

He agreed that one area of police investigations was that the two policemen had been paid to murder her.

He disagreed that there were several paragraphs in the seditious article which were fair comment and factual.

When asked that Altantuya could be the seventh victim in light of Razak’s affidavit which was affirmed on Jan 4, 2007, he agreed.

He said he had read Razak’s affidavit but did not investigate its contents.

The hearing before Sessions Court judge Rozina Ayob will continue on Thursday.

Frustration for survivors as bushfires smoulder

Wildfires continue to smoulder across large sections of bushland in southeast Australia, as rescue officials in the state of Victoria attempt to offer solace to hundreds burned out of their homes. Frustration brews as many residents are prevented from returning to their homes, or what was left of them, because of safety fears.

Ash rains down on Tokyo as volcano erupts

TOKYO - A volcano near Tokyo erupted Monday, shooting up billowing smoke and showering parts of the capital with a fine ash that sent some city residents to the car wash and left others puzzled over the white powder they initially mistook for snow.

Mount Asama erupted in the early hours of Monday, belching out a plume that rose about a mile high, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

There were no reports of injuries or damage from the eruption of the volcano, 90 miles northwest of Tokyo. It last erupted in August, 2008, causing no major damage.

Chunks of rock from the explosion were found about 3,300 feet away from the volcano. Ash was detected over a wide area, including central Tokyo and as far as eastern Chiba.

'Mysterious white powder'
In Tokyo's western district of Fussa, the local government office was flooded with calls from residents asking about "the mysterious white powder" falling from the sky and fire departments fielded calls from people afraid the ash was from a nearby blaze.

In the town of Karuizawa, southeast of the volcano, the ash was thick enough to obscure road markings in some areas, town official Noboru Yanagishi said.

"Some people said they heard a strange noise in the morning when the eruption occurred," he said.

The eruption was not big enough to disrupt daily life near the volcano, though many people awoke to find their cars covered in a fine layer of powder. National broadcaster NHK showed people in Tokyo lining up to get their cars washed or wiping the ash from their windows, with some drivers saying they first thought it was snow.

In Tachikawa, a district in northwestern Tokyo, some farming areas were coated with ash.

"Because it's February and not harvesting season, there was no real damage to any crops," said Shoichi Matsumoto, a local official.

For many, business as usual
In Tsumagoi, a small town on the volcano with ski resorts and hot spring baths, residents went about their business as usual. Travelers planning vacations to the area had called to inquire, but no one canceled, said Masaru Yoshida, a spokesman for the local tourist association.

"The wind has blown the ash to the other side of the mountain," he said. "It's a clear day so you can see some smoke, but not as much as we've had in the past."

The $115b that got away

FREE insulation for 2.7 million homes will be included in the Government's second economic stimulus package to be announced this week. The package will be be presented as a mini-budget after Kevin Rudd revealed yesterday that forecast tax revenues would plunge by $115 billion over four years.

An update of the state of the rapidly deteriorating economy was needed now and could not wait for the budget in May. The Prime Minister also said the Government would issue Commonwealth bonds to service a series of budget deficits for this and the next few years, making it the first new net borrowings by a government since 1996.

The free insulation will fund work on 2.5 million owner-occupied homes and 500,000 rental properties. It will be available to anyone who needs it and will be badged as an instant job creator and economic stimulus - with the long-term benefits of reducing energy bills by $200 a year and cutting greenhouse gases by 49.4 million tonnes by 2020.

The $115 billion budget shortfall means that since November, when tax revenues were forecast to fall by $40 billion, another $75 billion is expected to be lost.

"Six of Australia's top 10 trading partners are now in recession and that list grows," Mr Rudd said.

He said China's slowdown was a significant factor in the revenue shortfall which comprised $90 billion in company and capital gains taxes, $13 billion in income tax due to forecast lost jobs, $2 billion in miscellaneous taxes and $10 billion in GST.

The states, which receive all GST revenue, will be consoled by billions of dollars in quick-start infrastructure projects to be included in this week's stimulus package. Mr Rudd unveiled more detail on the parlous state of the economy before today's meeting of the Reserve Bank, clearing the way for a stimulatory rate cut of at least 1 percentage point.

The theme of the mini-budget will be jobs and nation building. Other measures will include wage subsidies to keep people in work.

It will not include tax cuts, despite constant speculation and Opposition demands. The infrastructure projects will be those that could begin quickly and are defined as "shovel ready".

Large projects that have a long lag time and no instant economic benefit, such as the west metro the NSW Government wants built, are subject to the separate Infrastructure Australia process that will not be completed until March.

The revised budget figures will show the $5.4 billion surplus forecast in November will be a deficit, as will the surpluses forecast for the next three years. The 2 per cent growth forecast for this year will be reduced to just above zero.

A recession involves two successive quarters of negative growth but Mr Rudd said yesterday the Government would "move heaven and earth to try and keep growth positive".

Defending the deficit, Mr Rudd said the alternative was cutting "spending on education, health or even defence".

He maintained that plans to reform the payments for the nation's 3.5 million pensioners in the budget would go ahead. The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, said savings would be found to accommodate the cost.

The Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, said the first stimulus package was a dud but Mr Rudd said unemployment for the December quarter would have been a lot worse without it. The Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner, said restoring economic growth was the best way to return the budget to surplus.

For full details on interest rates, see smh.com.au at 2.30pm.

Israel tightens grip on Gaza City; Hamas stays defiant

GAZA CITY, Gaza (CNN) -- The rumble of artillery fire and the roar of ensuing explosions continued to roll through Gaza early Tuesday despite pronouncements by an Israeli official earlier that the military operation may be in its final days.

Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza City from the al-Karramah neighborhood in the northwest and the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in the northeast, approaching the headquarters of Hamas' preventative security building.

But after the respite, the explosive sounds that punctuated the nighttime hours underscored a resumption in offensive operations.

"We are tightening the encirclement of the city," Brig. Eyal Eisenberg, commander of the Israeli offensive, told a small group of reporters brought in to Gaza to observe the deployment.

"We are not static. We are careful to be constantly on the move," Eisenberg said.

CPO fall again..

KUALA LUMPUR: Crude palm oil futures for third month delivery fell RM128 to RM1,860 at midday on Tuesday, tracking the losses on soyabeans and vegetable oils traded in China on concerns about weaker demand.

The 6.4% decline in CPO price pushed plantation stocks lower, including KL Kepong and IOI Corp.

At 12.30pm, the KL Composite Index had fallen 8.04 points to 915.53. There were 279 million units traded at RM310.8mil. There were 99 gainers, 272 losers and 158 stocks unchanged.

All major Asian markets except Singapore, posted declines.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 was the worst performer, down 404 points or 4.58% to 8,432.21, Shanghai’s A Share Index lost 1.19% to 1,971.25 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index eased 0.07% to 13,980.91. Singapore’s Straits Times Index bucked the trend, adding 1.42% to 1,801.45.

Crude oil also fell, shedding 37 cents to US$37.22.

Earlier, Citigroup Research cut Malaysia’s economic growth to 0.5% for this year. On equities, the foreign research house said it expected the bear market likely to bottom earliest in the first quarter.

Among plantations, Chin Tek fell 40 sen to RM5.60 while KL Kepong lost 20 sen to RM9.80 and IOI Corp shed 12 sen to RM3.88. PPB fell 20 sen to RM9.80, Asiatic 12 sen to 12 sen to RM4.04.

Tanjong lost 30 sen to RM13.90, Petronas Dagangan 25 sen to RM7.45 and Parkson 14 sen to RM3.36.

Penny stocks were among the major gainers but in thin trade. Abric jumped 29.5 sen to 40.5 sen, De Gem 11 sen to 96 sen, PCCS 8.5 sen to 38 sen and Amtel 6.5 sen to 48.5 sen.

Tong Herr added eight sen to RM2.20, HL Bank five sen ti RM5.45 and JTI four sen higher to RM4.52.

Yap Sin Tian hitted !

KAJANG: Police have identified the man who punched New Era College senate chairman Dr Yap Sin Tian during the convocation on Sunday.

Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Shakaruddin Che Mood said they were also studying the closed-circuit TV clip to determine the gravity of the assault.

Dr Yap was punched while giving a speech. The attacker was wearing a shirt used by members of a fund-raising event at the college and is said to be a former student.

ACP Shakaruddin declined to say if the attack was linked to a squabble between Dr Yap and the college’s former principal Dr Kua Kia Soong.

Dr Yap, who is Dong Zong (United Chinese School Commit-tees Association of Malaysia) president, is said to have supported the decision not to extend Dr Kua’s contract when it expired last month.

Dr Kua has condemned the attack.

“Of course I am not involved. I am no longer working in the college,” he said.

He added that the man who had punched Dr Yap had done damage to the cause he and others were fighting for, which was for a more democratic college.

Deputy Higher Education Minister Dr Hou Kok Chung expressed shock and regret over the incident.

“I hope all parties involved will be able to give their cooperation to the police so that the case can be solved as soon as possible,” he said at Parliament yesterday.

He said the assault had marred the image of private institutions of higher learning.