The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Romney in New York as world focuses on United Nations
- China announces formal handover of first aircraft carrier
- Japan fires water cannon to turn away Taiwan boats
| Romney in New York as world focuses on United Nations Posted: 24 Sep 2012 09:34 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will try to take advantage of a focus on the United Nations on Tuesday to outline how he would promote development in countries that need it as he tries to get his campaign back on track.
Romney is to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York shortly before his opponent in the November 6 election, President Barack Obama, claims the bigger stage by addressing the United Nations General Assembly. The former Massachusetts governor, who has been sliding in polls in battleground states where the election will be decided, is attempting to return his campaign to solid ground with six weeks left of campaigning. After his visit to New York, he will go on a two-day bus tour of Ohio, widely considered to be a state he must win. He will be joined at a rally in Dayton by his vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, to try to recreate the energy for his campaign that the pair generated when he picked Ryan to join the ticket last month. In New York, Romney will address a foundation begun by the popular former President Bill Clinton, whose speech at the Democratic National Convention this month helped Obama regain some momentum and gave him a bounce in support. Romney will propose that the United States put a greater focus on using U.S. foreign assistance to encourage free enterprise as a way of creating jobs in the developing world. According to his campaign, Romney will argue that much of U.S. development aid has had limited success at lifting people out of poverty and that U.S. foreign aid programs frequently have tried to supplant private enterprise. "To be effective, our aid programs must leverage private investment and trade to foster environments conducive to job creation," Romney will argue, according to his campaign. He will propose a "prosperity pact" program that would use financial assistance to support development of free enterprise. The United States has backed "micro-credit programs" for years to fund small loans to help entrepreneurs in developing nations create businesses. Bill Clinton was a prime advocate for these policies. Romney would take that a step further to provide assistance to help medium-sized businesses develop and connect them to the global market. Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| China announces formal handover of first aircraft carrier Posted: 24 Sep 2012 09:07 PM PDT BEIJING (Reuters) - China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, officially entered naval ranks on Tuesday, the country's Ministry of Defence announced, in a move that it said would help project maritime power and defend Chinese territory. The ministry announcement of the handover to the navy came while Beijing and Tokyo are embroiled in a dispute over islands claimed by both sides. "The entry into the ranks of this aircraft carrier will raise the level of modernisation of China's overall naval operational forces," the ministry said on its website (www.mod.gov.cn). It did not say whether the announcement meant the carrier had formally entered service. The Liaoning will help "effectively protect national sovereignty, security and development interests", said the announcement. The carrier, named after a northeast Chinese province, is likely to be used for training only. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by Nick Macfie) Copyright © 2012 Reuters | ||
| Japan fires water cannon to turn away Taiwan boats Posted: 24 Sep 2012 08:58 PM PDT TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Coast Guard vessels fired water cannon to turn away about 40 Taiwan fishing boats and eight Taiwan Coast Guard vessels from waters Japan considers its own on Tuesday in the latest twist to a row between Tokyo and Beijing.
Japan protested to Taiwan, a day after it lodged a complaint with China over what it said was a similar intrusion by Chinese boats. Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply this month after Japan bought disputed East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from their private owner, sparking anti-Japan protests across China. Taiwan has friendly ties with Japan, but the two countries have long squabbled over fishing rights in the area. China and Taiwan both argue they have inherited China's historic sovereignty over the islands. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the coast guard used water cannon and other measures to get the Taiwan ships to change course. All the Taiwan fishing boats and coast guard ships had since left territorial waters, the Japanese Coast Guard said. Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed footage of a Japanese Coast Guard ship shooting water at a Taiwan fishing boat, while a Taiwan patrol vessel blasted water at the Coast Guard ship in reply. While few experts expect a military confrontation, an unintended clash at sea would increase tension, although all sides are expected to try to manage the row before it spirals out of control. Japan's top diplomat, Vice Foreign Minister Chikao Kawai, was in Beijing for a meeting with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun in a bid to ease tensions between Asia's two biggest economies. "We've just lodged a protest with the Taiwan side," Fujimura told a news conference. "...Our stance is that this is something that needs to be solved in the context of good bilateral ties between Japan and Taiwan. We would like to address the issue calmly." China's Ministry of Agriculture for its part said close to 200 Chinese boats have been fishing in seas around a group of rocky islands, near rich fishing grounds and potentially huge gas reserves, disputed with Japan. The Chinese statement did not specify whether the boats were all there at once or say how close they were to the islands. Beijing, which regards self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province, may have included Taiwan fishing boats in its estimate. The flare-up in tension comes at a time when both China and Japan confront domestic political pressures. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government faces an election in months, adding pressure on him not to look weak on China. China's Communist Party is preoccupied with a leadership turnover, with President Hu Jintao due to step down as party leader at a congress that could open as soon as next month. A group of Taiwan fishing boats left for the islands in heavy rain on Monday. The group said the boats would sail around the islands and assert their right to fish there - and did not rule out attempting to land. As many as 100 Taiwan fishing boats may be in the area, Japanese media said. Japan said that four Chinese surveillance vessels and two Chinese fishery patrol ships were in nearby waters but outside its territory. (Writing by Linda Sieg in Tokyo; additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Sui-Lee Wee in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie) Copyright © 2012 Reuters |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: World Updates To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
