NPA REBELS RAID ARMY POST, SEIZE 3 PEOPLE IN DAVAO CITY ZAMBOANGA CITY: Communist rebels disguised as soldiers held two people and used them as shield in raiding a military post in Davao City in the southern Philip- pines, officials said Saturday. Officials said New People’s Army (NPA) rebels led by Leoncio Pitao carted military weapons and also seized a government soldier before escaping with their hostages.


The Sunday Times


A 6


AL JACINTO


committee honored dissident Liu Xiaobo, with activists missing and strong security at his wife’s flat.


A ceremony in Liu’s honor was held Friday in Oslo, but neither Liu, who is serving an 11-year prison sen- tence, his wife—under house ar- rest—nor other members of his fam- ily were able to collect his award. China has reacted with fury to the


prize, blocking scores of activists and lawyers from leaving the coun- try in an apparent bid to stop them from going to the ceremony in the Norwegian capital. On Friday, many dissidents in China were either unaccounted for or under strict surveillance, with many unable to communicate to the outside world as their Internet ac- cess was cut off and phone use lim- ited, rights groups said. Security was strong in front of the Beijing apartment complex where


China clamps down on rebels as Nobel Peace prize awarded B


EIJING: China clamped down on dissidents, the media and the Internet Friday as the Nobel


in Oslo, while others decided to travel to avoid any problems with the authorities.


The whereabouts of other dissi-


Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, lives, with marked and unmarked police cars lining the road. Several officers stood guard, asking reporters for their names. Liu Xia has been essentially con- fined to the flat since the prize was announced in October. She was ini- tially able to communicate sporadi- cally via Twitter but has not been heard from directly in weeks. In Norway, the Nobel Committee called for Liu’s immediate release. “We regret that the laureate is not present here today,” committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said as he placed the peace prize diploma and gold medal on an empty chair in Oslo City Hall.


Some activists based in Beijing


have been forced to leave the capi- tal in anticipation of the ceremony


dents were unknown. CHRD said Zhang Zuhua, a co-author along with Liu of Charter 08, a petition calling for political reform in China, had been abducted Thursday by police from the street near his home. Charter 08 was published two


years ago to the day, on December 10, 2008. Liu was jailed in December 2009


for subversion and the government has denounced his Nobel prize as tantamount to encouraging crime. Meanwhile, more than 200 over- seas Chinese in Norway demon- strated on Friday to protest against the Nobel Committee’s decision to con- fer this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, a convicted Chinese criminal. The organizers said the overseas Chinese, who joined the demon- stration near Oslo city hall despite cold weather, were from 13 Chi- nese communities.


The protestors held banners read- ing “Liu Xiaobo Is A Criminal!” “No Meddling in China’s Internal Af-


news SUNDAY D e cember 12, 2010 worldinbrief


CHINA’S INFLATION RISES AT FASTEST PACE BEIJING: China said Saturday that inflation topped 5 percent for the first time in more than two years, a figure analysts said would lead to fresh interest rate hikes as officials battle to curb price rises. The country’s consumer price index rose a faster- than-expected 5.1 percent year-on-year in November as food costs continued to soar, compared with 4.4 percent in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said.


fairs!” “Peace Prize = Political Tool!” “Opposition to Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo” and “Oppose The Wrong Decision By The Norwegian Nobel Committee,” chanting slo- gans such as “China has contributed to world peace!” Ma Lie, president of Norway As- sociation for Promoting Peaceful Reunification of China, said the Nobel Committee made a wrong decision to confer the prize to Liu, noting it should not intervene in China’s domestic affairs and hoping the committee can really under- stand the notion of world peace. In Stockholm, the 2010 Nobel laureates in literature, economics, physics and chemistry received their prizes Friday from Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf at a gala ceremony in Stockholm followed by the tra- ditional Nobel banquet. This year’s medicine laureate


Robert Edwards, the pioneer of in- vitro fertilization, was too ill to attend and his wife Ruth collected the prize. While the 2009 Nobel season saw a record number of female laureates, no women got the award this year. AFP WITH REPORT FROM XINHUA


WikiLeaks’ Assange moved to isolation in British jail


LONDON: WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange was in an isolation unit of a London jail Saturday, as new leaked US diplomatic cables revealed a row between the Vatican and Ireland over a child abuse inquiry. The 39-year-old Australian had been


transferred from the main section of Wandsworth prison to an isolation unit, Jennifer Robinson, one of his legal team, said Friday. “The prison authorities are doing it


for his own safety, presumably,” she told Agence France-Presse. Assange is due to appear in a


London court for a second time Tuesday after being arrested on a warrant issued by Sweden. Prosecu-


Rep. Enrile caretaker for vacant House seat


TUGUEGARAO CITY: Rep. Juan Ponce Enrile Jr. of Cagayan’s first con- gressional district has been des- ignated as caretaker of the prov- ince’s second district, whose incumbent representative died in June this year. “I just received a call from Speaker [Feliciano] Belmonte [Jr.], who said that he has cho- sen me to be the official care- taker representing the Second District of Cagayan until such a time as special elections are to be held,” said Enrile, son and namesake of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile Sr. Cagayan’s Second District was then represented by congress- man Florencio Vargas, who suc- cumbed to leukemia in June or barely a week before the open- ing of the present Congress. Vargas, 79, had just been reelected to his third and last term as congressman when he passed away while being treated at the Saint Luke’s Hospital. Enrile, together with Rep.


Randolph Ting of the Third Dis- trict of Cagayan, filed House Resolution 377 a month after Vargas’ death to declare the sec- ond district vacant and also call for the conduct of special elec- tions there.


The Second District of Cagayan is composed of the municipalities Rizal, Sanchez Mira, Calayan, Claveria, Lasam, Allacapan, Ballesteros, Piat, Santa Praxedes, Santo Niño and Abulug, where the late Vargas also served as mayor for years. “It’s only proper to call for such an election to give justice to our constituents in the sec- ond district. Meanwhile, I as- sure our province mates in said district that I shall endeavor to serve the best of my ability while being the caretaker there,” Enrile said. FRANCIS C. HIDALGO JR


■ President Benigno Aquino 3rd leads the oath-taking ceremony for the barangay chairman and Sangguniang Kabataan chairman on Saturday during the nationwide Barangay Assembly Day in Barangay Central Azucarera de Tarlac National High School Tarlac City. MALACAÑANG PHOTO


Aquino lauds first Barangay Assembly Day


PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino 3rd and community leaders from an es- timated 42,000 barangays took part on the 2010 Barangay Assembly Day nationwide in an effort to promote good governance at the smallest po- litical unit of the country. Aquino led the counsilmen in reciting the Panunumpa Para sa Mabuting Pamamahala Tungo sa Tuwid na Landas as a declaration of commitment by the newly elected


barangay officials to uphold the principles of good governance. Earlier, President Aquino has is- sued Proclamation 74 declaring December 11 as Barangay Assembly Day throughout the country as en- shrined in the 1991 Local Govern- ment Code, which requires a barangay assembly every first Satur- day of March and the third Satur- day of October. Mr. Aquino said this first barangay


assembly in an opportunity for the newly elected community leaders to gather with their constituents to dis- cuss issues and lay down their plans and programs for the next three years. “Good governance starts in the community. We pushed for the barangay election because I believe in the importance of our villages in guiding our people,” the President added in Filipino.


MARIA NIKKA U. GARRIGA Binay leads first Ibong Dayo Festival


BALANGA CITY, Bataan: Vice President Jejomar Binay over the weekend led in the opening of the first Ibong Dayo Festival in Balanga City and later interacted with mayors in Bataan about the administration’s housing program. Binay rode in an open vehicle


with Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia 3rd of Balanga City and congressman Albert Garcia on the way from the Bataan Capitol to the Wetland Park in Barangay Tortugas, one of three seaside villages in Balanga desig- nated as bird-watching sites. Along the way, flag-waving kinder and primary school children and high school and college students cheered as the motorcade passed by. Tricycles donning colorful bird-


like designs adding festive mood to the occasion as real migratory birds feasted on a fishpond at the entrance of the first Wetland park in the prov- ince. Garcia said more than 20,000 migratory birds visit Balanga City yearly from October to March. The vice president in his address in the short program at the park tackled his assignment from Presi- dent Benigno Aquino 3rd as hous- ing czar and taking care of the wel- fare of overseas Filipino workers. He led in the blessing and cutting of ribbon of the Wetland Park Tour- ist Information Center where vari- ous exhibits on pictures and descrip- tions of migratory and local birds are on display.


In full sight from the center are two


viewing decks and the vast sea where nearby street dancers performed. Binay later addressed the induc- tion of new officers of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) Mount Samat Chap- ter. The vice president is an APO member. He asked his fraternity brothers to be true in their theme of “One APO One Advocacy in Building a New Tomorrow.” He then interacted with provin- cial officials led by Gov. Enrique Garcia of Bataan, Representatives Albert Garcia and Herminia Roman and municipal mayors about his program on housing. Binay said his target was to build


350,000 housing units a year that he claimed has enough fund. ERNIE B. ESCONDE


tors there want to question him about two women’s allegations of rape and sexual molestation. WikiLeaks insists the allegations


are politically motivated because the whistleblowing website has enraged Washington and govern- ments around the world by releasing thousands of classified US diplomatic cables. Robinson complained that Assange was getting no recreation time in the prison and was having difficulties getting phone calls out. “He is on his own,” she said. The former computer hacker was not


allowed to have a laptop in his cell, but his lawyers have requested one.


“We are trying to prepare a legal appeal and he has difficulties hand writing, so it would be much easier in order to assist us in the preparation if he had a laptop,” Robinson said, without explaining why he had difficulty writing. Assange was in “very good” spirits but “frustrated” that he could not answer the allegations that WikiLeaks was behind cyber attacks launched on credit card firms that have refused to do business with the website. The websites of the Dutch


prosecutor’s office and police became the latest target of cyber attacks Friday, “probably” linked to


the arrest of a 16-year-old WikiLeaks supporter, officials said. Assange’s lawyer however


denied reports that his legal team believed a US indictment over WikiLeaks was imminent. But she added: “Our position is


that any prosecution under the espionage act would be unconstitu- tional and call into question First Amendment protections for all media organizations.” Meanwhile, former WikiLeaks


supporters who have fallen out with Assange said they would launch a rival project aiming to get secret documents directly to media, called OpenLeaks.


AFP


N.KOREA SENDS MINISTER TO RUSSIA AMID TENSIONS SEOUL: North Korea’s foreign minister left for Russia Saturday amid a flurry of diplomatic attempts to ease tensions following the North’s deadly attack on a South Korean island last month. Pak Ui-Chun departed for Moscow, the North’s official news agency said, a day after defending his country’s move to strengthen its nuclear weaponry.


ROADSIDE BOMB KILLS 15 CIVILIANS IN AFGHANISTAN KANDAHAR, Afghanistan: A roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan killed 15 civilians, including children, a provincial spokesman said on Saturday, blaming the attack on Taliban militants. A truck carrying the people was on its way from Khair Abad village to Khansheen district center in Helmand province when it was hit by a home- made device on Friday, provincial spokesman Daud Ahmadi told Agence France-Presse.


SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 11 AT PAKISTAN HOSPITAL PESHAWAR, Pakistan: A suicide bomber blew up a trailer packed with explosives at a northwest Pakistan hospital Friday, killing 11 people and apparently targeting Shiite Muslims in the fourth bombing this week. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but northwestern Pakistan is one of the most volatile parts of the nuclear-armed Muslim nation, hard hit by sectarian attacks and Taliban bombings.


IRAN TV AIRS STONING WOMAN’S ‘CONFESSION’ TEHRAN: Iran’s English-language Press TV on Friday aired footage of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to death by stoning, reenacting what it said was the murder of her husband. The broadcast came a day after reports from Germany that she had been released, with the Iranian authorities on Friday saying Mohammadi Ashtiani was still in custody and mocking Western talk of her release.


BOLIVIA CRITICIZES UN CLIMATE DRAFT CANCUN, Mexico: Bolivia on Friday (Saturday in Mainila) criticized a draft UN agreement on climate change as too weak and accused other nations of trying to isolate the leftist-led nation at a crunch conference in Mexico. Global talks on climate change looked set on Saturday to set up a new global fund to manage billions of dollars in aid to poor nations in a hard-fought package urging deep cuts in industrial emissions. More than 190 nations Friday considered “deep cuts” in emissions to hold back climate change in a hard-fought package that would pave the way for billions of dollars in aid to poor countries.


HAITI CHOLERA TOLL STARTS TO TAPER OFF PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haiti’s cholera death toll has risen to almost 2,200, but the latest official data on Friday contained encouraging signs that the epidemic could be starting to taper off. Health ministry figures showed 2,193 people had died and a total of 97,595 infections since the outbreak surfaced in the central Artibonite River valley in mid-October. Meanwhile, Haiti’s main opposition candidates refused to participate in a recount of disputed presidential poll results on Friday, increasing the tension on the quake-hit Caribbean nation.


POLICE PROBE UK STUDENT PROTESTS LONDON: British police began a wide-reaching probe Saturday into a recent wave of student protests, after the latest culminated in a mob attack on a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “very concerned” by the royal security lapse, which occurred Thursday during the most violent of a string of protests against his coalition government’s plans to raise university fees.


BILL CLINTON RIDES TO OBAMA RESCUE WASHINGTON, D.C.: In a rare return to the White House, Bill Clinton on Friday (Saturday in Manila) urged unhappy Democrats to unite behind President Barack Obama’s embattled plan to avert a massive New Year’s tax hike. “I personally believe this is a good deal and the best he could have gotten under the circumstances,” the former president said as he and Obama paid a surprise visit to the White House briefing room after private talks. Also, the United States said Friday it was looking for more ways to pressure Ivory Coast’s incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo into handing power over to his election rival Alassane Ouattara.


VATICAN AVOIDED POLITICS IN IRISH SEX ABUSE PROBE VATICAN CITY: The Vatican refused to cooperate with an Irish probe into child sex abuse by Catholic priests in Dublin because the requests were not made through official channels, a leaked US cable showed Saturday. Requests for information by the 2009 Murphy commission “offended many in the Vatican . . . because they saw them as an affront to Vatican sover- eignty,” according to a cable from the US embassy in Rome, leaked by WikiLeaks.


CLINTON SEEKS CLEAN START IN MIDEAST PEACE TALKS WASHINGTON, D.C.: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday (Saturday in Manila) sought a clean start in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks by urging both sides to tackle “without delay” the core issues of their decades-old conflict. Clinton made the appeal in a speech days after the Obama administration admitted it had failed to persuade Israel to renew a freeze on settlements in the West Bank, effectively ending direct peace talks launched three months ago. Meanwhile, a woman was indicted Friday for allegedly filing fraudulent claims for damage in the wake of the disastrous British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, bringing to seven the number of people charged so far.


PFIZER PULLS THELIN FROM MARKET DUE TO FATAL RISK NEW YORK CITY: US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced on Friday (Saturday in Manila) it is pulling its blood pressure drug Thelin off the market because of a potentially life-threatening risk of liver damage. Pfizer said it was voluntarily withdrawing Thelin in the European Union, Canada and Australia and is also suspending all clinical tests on the drug that treats pulmonary arterial hypertension, a rare, incurable disease that can result in heart failure and early death.


GERMAN, SIX SPANIARDS TO BE MADE SAINTS SOON VATICAN CITY: Pope Benedict XVI will beatify a German priest killed by the Nazis and six Spaniards who died during their country’s Civil War, opening the path for their canonization, the Vatican said Friday. The head of the Roman Catholic Church authorized the panel which oversees the process that leads to making saints to publish the documents that recognize their martyrdom.


OPEC TO LEAVE QUOTAS ALONE DESPITE PRICE SURGE QUITO: Organization of the Petroleun Exporting Countries (OPEC) was expected to leave its 2-year-old oil quotas unchanged in a meeting Saturday in Ecuador, amid rising demand but also some uncertainties over the generally bullish outlook for the world economy. The gathering in Quito of the 12-nation OPEC was also to mark the passing of the cartel’s rotating presidency to Iran—the first time in 36 years the Islamic republic has held the largely symbolic leadership.


MADOFF TRUSTEE SUES TO RECOVER $19.6 BILLION NEW YORK CITY: A trustee charged with recovering assets from the massive Bernard Madoff fraud case on Friday (Saturday in Manila) sued an Austrian banker and her alleged conspirators for $19.6 billion. In a lawsuit filed in a New York court—the largest civil lawsuit filed in the case to date—Irving Picard claims Sonja Kohn collaborated for more than 20 years with Madoff in his massive Ponzi scheme. part of an image makeover for the legend, go up for auction on Monday along with hundreds of snaps from the photo shoot.


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