The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Thailand under pressure to end rubber protest after violence
- Suspected U.S. drone strike kills seven militants in Pakistan
- Australia's opposition blunders on internet policy on election eve
| Thailand under pressure to end rubber protest after violence Posted: BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand faced pressure on Friday to end a two-week protest by rubber farmers after violent overnight clashes between riot police and a group of protesters who hurled rocks and bottles filled with an acidic liquid. Police fired tear gas to disperse a group of protesters in Prachuap Khiri Khan province on a main road from Bangkok to the southern beach resort region of Phuket. At least 21 policemen were injured, authorities said. "Acid and rocks were thrown at police, leaving one officer with a serious injury. Orders were issued to use teargas after a group of youths, who were not part of the protest, fired at police," Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok said on Friday. "The situation this morning is calm and the farmers have dispersed." Thailand is the world's biggest rubber producer and exporter with around 90 percent of its output heading overseas. The protests have disrupted distribution systems and delayed thousands of metric tons of Thai rubber shipments. Tens of thousands of farmers in the country's main southern rubber-producing region are demanding greater state support after a slowdown in demand from China and concerns over global economic growth sent prices tumbling to multi-year lows in mid-2012. China accounts for 35 percent of global rubber consumption. They mainly support the opposition Democrat Party and have accused Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra of supporting rice farmers in her key north and northeastern constituencies through a rice-buying programme, while neglecting rubber farmers in the south of the country. Earlier in the week, rubber farmers blocked roads and railways and threatened to shut down 14 city halls after the government rejected their demands for price rises. In a bid to lift prices, the government on Thursday scrapped a tax on rubber exports until the end of the year but the move failed to placate protesters. Deputy Prime Minister Pracha and other officials on Friday flew down to Nakhon Si Thammarat, the location of a major rally site in the south, to hold talks with protest leaders. "The Prime Minister wants this problem solved immediately so that the situation in the south returns to normal," said Pracha. A $690-million rubber subsidy programme that ended in May saw the government buy 210,000 tonnes of rubber at 10 percent more than the daily market price. The scheme was axed after criticism that it was costly and distorted market prices and industry officials say extending the rubber scheme could cost Thailand more than $620 million. Protesters have already shot down a government offer to give farmers 1,260 baht ($39.00) per acre of rubber plantations for up to 25 acres of land, arguing that the offer will not help support falling prices. ($1 = 32.3100 Thai baht) (Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Jason Szep and Michael Perry) |
| Suspected U.S. drone strike kills seven militants in Pakistan Posted: PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. drone aircraft killed at least seven militants in Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun tribal region on the Afghan border on Friday, Pakistani security officials and residents said. U.S. drones have fired missiles into troubled and inaccessible border areas such as North Waziristan, the main stronghold for militant groups aligned with al Qaeda and the Taliban, since 2004. Pakistan has been angered by reports of civilian casualties and what it sees as a violation of its sovereignty, and the United States has reduced their use in recent years. In the early hours of Friday, drones fired two missiles on a compound in the village of Dargah Mandi in North Waziristan, destroying the house and killing seven people. Security officials said all those who were killed were insurgents. The area where the attack took place is known as a stronghold for the Haqqani network, which regularly attacks U.S. forces in Afghanistan from its mountain hideouts in Pakistan. U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan have fallen significantly over the past two and a half years, totalling 20 this year. There were 48 in all of 2012 and 73 in 2011, according to a tally kept by the New America Foundation. It is hard to check their impact on both militants and civilians because independent observers and journalists have almost no access to the areas where most of the strikes occur. (Reporting by Jibran Ahmad; Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Robert Birsel) |
| Australia's opposition blunders on internet policy on election eve Posted: CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's conservative opposition was forced to make a quick about-turn on its internet policy to rule out more censorship on Friday, in a rare policy bungle on the eve of a general election it is poised to win. Opinion polls are pointing to a solid victory for opposition leader Tony Abbott, ending six years of often turbulent Labour rule and the past three years of political uncertainty over a hung parliament. Abbott has run a disciplined campaign, focussing on stability under his Liberal-National Party coalition in contrast to the infighting which saw the Labour Party dump Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2010, and then recall him in favour of Julia Gillard in late June. But the opposition's short-lived policy blunder, suggesting a British-style compulsory filter for "adult content", could also signal emerging divisions within Abbott's Liberal Party between social conservatives and free-speech liberals. "We made a mistake, we acknowledged the mistake. We corrected the mistake. It took about three minutes," Abbott said in his final media conference of the election campaign. "We do not support internet filtering," he added, saying his plan would allow people to choose to have filters on computers and smart phones if they wanted to block access to pornography. The latest polls show Abbott's conservatives set to win about 53 percent of the vote, which would give his coalition as many as 90 seats in the 150-seat parliament. Economists believe a clear result for either party would boost business confidence at a time when the economy is adjusting to lower growth and rising unemployment as a prolonged mining investment boom tapers off. "Removal of uncertainty is important for investors, businesses and consumers," said Craig James, chief economist at the CommSec stock broking firm. "There are good reasons to expect a stronger Australian economy once election uncertainty is resolved." NEWSPAPERS BACK ABBOTT Abbott's campaign has been strongly supported by media magnate Rupert Murdoch and his Australian newspapers, with most of the rival Fairfax Media newspapers on Friday also calling for a change of government. "A strong mandate at the top, especially for a government getting a grip on its own finances, will be welcome and will lift business confidence," Fairfax's Australian Financial Review said in its support for Abbott. Murdoch's top selling Melbourne Herald Sun said Abbott "stands ready to seize the day", while his The Australian national newspaper, which once employed Abbott as an editorial writer, said Abbott must be given a strong mandate. "Tony Abbott presents as an authentic leader possessed of personal and political integrity," The Australian said in an editorial. Fairfax's Melbourne Age stood out for its support of Rudd's Labour. "We believe the role of government is to build a strong, fair nation for future generations, and not to pander to sectional interests. It is with these values in mind that we endorse the Labour Party in this important election," the paper said. Voting is compulsory and about 14 million Australians are expected to cast their ballots. Rudd used his final campaign news conference to urge as many as 400,000 undecided voters to back his party to protect jobs, health and education services. "With 24 hours to go, if you have doubts about Mr Abbott's hidden massive cuts to your jobs, your schools, your hospitals, your childcare, your national broadband network, then don't vote for him," Rudd said. (Editing by Robert Birsel) |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan