Thursday, November 12, 2009
china confidential
China, Taiwan Poised for Financial Cooperation
China and Taiwan are ready to sign a financial cooperation agreement, another sign of improved relations between Beijing and Taipei. Click here for the story.
The Case for Peak Gold
A Canadian mining giant says gold production peaked in 2000, implying that the roaring bull market in the precious metal is going to continue for some years. Click here for the story.
Yuan Expected to Rise Soon
China's currency is likely to soon rise in value relative to the dollar, as reported here.
Lula Defends Iranian Hitler
Brazil's President justified the scheduled visit of Iran's president to his country in two weeks.
President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva rejected criticism over the upcoming visit of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, slated for Nov. 23.
"You don't build the necessary peace in the Middle East if you don't talk to all the political and religious forces that both want peace and are opposed to peace", Lula told journalists Wednesday during a joint press conference with Israel's President Shimon Peres in Brasilia.
Peres has had a weeklong agenda in Brazil, which includes meetings with government officials and businessmen. Peres also gave a historic speech in Brazil's Congress about the political, economical and cultural ties between Israel and Brazil.
"I don't want to discuss Iran here on Brazilian soil. But I can't ignore the fact that their government is developing nuclear weapons and wants to destroy Israel," Peres said.
The first Israeli president to visit Brazil in 40 years, Peres was granted the title of honorary citizen of Brasilia, Brazil's capital.
Between Peres' and Ahmadinejad's visits, President Lula will welcome Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Nov. 20.
-JTA
N. Korea Threatens South over Naval Incident
North Korea says South Korea will pay "an expensive price" for firing at a North Korean patrol boat on Tuesday.
The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published a commentary Thursday saying the clash in the Yellow Sea was not an accident, but instead was a "premeditated act of aggression" by the South. The commentary said the incident was meant to escalate tensions and dampen a positive atmosphere between the two countries.
South Korea's military has been on high alert for possible retaliatory moves after the North Korean boat was set ablaze Tuesday. The South said it fired warning shots after the North Korean patrol crossed its maritime border in the Yellow Sea.
Seoul sent two additional warships to guard the maritime border Wednesday.
The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper published a commentary Thursday saying the clash in the Yellow Sea was not an accident, but instead was a "premeditated act of aggression" by the South. The commentary said the incident was meant to escalate tensions and dampen a positive atmosphere between the two countries.
South Korea's military has been on high alert for possible retaliatory moves after the North Korean boat was set ablaze Tuesday. The South said it fired warning shots after the North Korean patrol crossed its maritime border in the Yellow Sea.
Seoul sent two additional warships to guard the maritime border Wednesday.
US Accuses Iran of Violating UN Arms Embargo
At a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, the United States has accused Iran of violating a United Nations arms embargo imposed on it by secretly sending weapons to Syria in a cargo ship seized by Israel. Britain also expressed "very serious concern" at suggestions that Iran was caught illegally exporting weapons but saying it was waiting for more information about the ship's origin, destination, cargo and seizure. US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff and British deputy ambassador Philip Parham raised Israel's seizure of the cargo vessel ‘Francop’ last week in the Mediterranean during a closed-door council debate on implementation of the 2006 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Wolff reportedly told the council that the concealed arms shipment, "clearly manifested from Iran to Syria" in violation of the UN arms embargo, provides "unambiguous evidence of the destabilizing proliferation of arms in the region." The United States also called on Syria and Iran to end their "material support" for Hezbollah and other terror groups in Lebanon, which violated the 2006 ceasefire resolution.
UN Security Council Resolution 1747 of March 2007 states “that Iran shall not supply, sell or transfer directly or indirectly from its territory or by its nationals or using its flag vessels or aircraft any arms or related materiel, and that all States shall prohibit the procurement of such items from Iran by their nationals, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, and whether or not originating in the territory of Iran.”
-World Jewish Congress
Wolff reportedly told the council that the concealed arms shipment, "clearly manifested from Iran to Syria" in violation of the UN arms embargo, provides "unambiguous evidence of the destabilizing proliferation of arms in the region." The United States also called on Syria and Iran to end their "material support" for Hezbollah and other terror groups in Lebanon, which violated the 2006 ceasefire resolution.
UN Security Council Resolution 1747 of March 2007 states “that Iran shall not supply, sell or transfer directly or indirectly from its territory or by its nationals or using its flag vessels or aircraft any arms or related materiel, and that all States shall prohibit the procurement of such items from Iran by their nationals, or using their flag vessels or aircraft, and whether or not originating in the territory of Iran.”
-World Jewish Congress
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