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Cyclone aid conference opens in Myanmar

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew to Myanmar on Sunday to guide a conference with international agencies aimed at boosting donations for the cyclone-struck nation, now that its ruling military junta has agreed to accept aid.
Myanmar’s ruling military junta, which has kept a tight leash on relief workers, is hosting the donor conference, involving some 50 [...]

Read More » No commentMay 25, 2008

JPMorgan confirms merger pain

More than 7,600 Bear Stearns employees, about 55 percent of its staff, are expected to lose their jobs as the troubled investment bank is absorbed into JPMorgan Chase, JPMorgan chief executive James Dimon said.While discussing the historic US$1.5 billion (HK$11.7 billion) Bear Stearns takeover during Morgan’s annual shareholder meeting, Dimon said “we’re retaining 45 percent [...]

Read More » No commentMay 23, 2008

Filipino labor champion Beltran dies with his working clothes on

Left-wing Philippine lawmaker and veteran labor leader Representative Crispin Beltran died yesterday from head injuries after falling from a ladder at his house. He was 75.Beltran led the country’s largest left-wing labor federation – the May One Movement – and was arrested in 1982 under late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.But he escaped two years later and [...]

Read More » No commentMay 23, 2008

Island for sale, with own jail

One of the eight inhabited Channel Islands off the northern coast of France has gone on the market, the agency handling the sale said.Martel Maides, based on the island of Guernsey, said it was looking for a new buyer to take on the 40-year leasehold of Herm, about five kilometers away.
The island offers a beautiful [...]

Read More » No commentMay 23, 2008

Relay resumes after mourning

The march toward the Beijing Olympics got back on track yesterday with a minute of silence, followed by the resumption of the torch relay after a three-day mourning period for thousands of earthquake victims.The torch relay restarted on the dock of a container terminal in the eastern seaport city of Ningbo, then traveled through the [...]

Read More » No commentMay 23, 2008

Kwok feud takes new twist

Three documents suggesting he is mentally ill and a liar are among those cited by Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) chairman Walter Kwok Ping-sheung in a new writ against his two younger brothers whom he accuses of defamation.Kwok is claiming unspecified damages and seeking an injunction to prevent Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen, [...]

Read More » No commentMay 23, 2008

Heavenly hospitality

You are lounging in a warm plunge pool in the garden of a private villa and thinking about having a brie omelet, then a spa foot massage. Are you on the California coast or in Paris? Not even close.You are at the Banyan Tree in the mountains of southwestern China, at one of the sophisticated [...]

Read More » No commentMay 23, 2008

Li warns of oil-driven woe for world

Soaring oil prices will put the world economy under intense pressure, Cheung Kong (0001) chairman Li Ka- shing said.”The world today is facing a difficult situation. The subprime debacle is still troubling the US economy and oil price is soaring to a record high,” Li said yesterday.
Crude oil escalated to a record US$135.09 (HK$1,053.70) a [...]

Read More » No commentMay 23, 2008

China quake death toll passes 50,000

The death toll from last week’s earthquake in southwestern China has risen to 51,151, government officials reported on Thursday.
The 7.9-magnitude quake injured 288,431 people, with another 29,328 missing, authorities said.
As of midday Thursday, domestic and international donations to China’s earthquake zone had reached $3 billion, or 21.4 billion yuan, according to State Council officials.
So far, [...]

Read More » No commentMay 22, 2008

Court blocks Boracay hotel project on wetland

The future of a luxury hotel complex on the Philippine tourist island of Boracay looked in doubt Thursday after a court blocked completion of the project due to environmental concerns.
Overlooking Boracay’s world famous white powder sandy beach and crystal clear waters, the project has been at the centre of an environmental storm since construction began [...]

Read More » No commentMay 22, 2008