Jan 02 2012
Filed In: 2012
Authorities say the body of an Iraq war veteran suspected in the slaying of a Mount Rainier National Park ranger was believed to have been found dead.
He apparently died after trudging into chest-deep snow while trying to elude snow-shoe wearing SWAT team members and other police who were on his trail.
Twenty-four-year-old Benjamin Colton Barnes reportedly fled to the remote park following an earlier shooting that wounded four near Seattle. Washington State Patrol spokesman Guy Gill says a body believed to be Barnes was found face down in the snow. The identity of the body has not been confirmed.
Almost all park visitors had been evacuated from the area following the Sunday slaying of Margaret Anderson. The park remained closed for a second day Monday.
Trooper Guy Gill tweets: https://twitter.com/wspd1pio
Several large publicly trading technology companies in Asia have seen a drop in share value today following the announcement of the death of Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader.
Smartphone giant Samsung saw a drop of 3.6 percent in large cap stocks. Stocks in LG Electronics also dropped 4.7 percent, and LG Display fell 5.3 percent on the Korean Exchange.
The two South Korean companies account for over 50 percent of the global LCD Panel market.
Overall, South Korean shares have fallen as much as five percent today following the death of North Korean leader.
The South Korean Won also fell 1.8 percent following the announcement, made this morning at 12 noon Pyongyang local time.
The sudden drop in shares stems from fears about the stability of the region following Jong-il’s death; a potential consequence of the leadership transition in North Korea.
South Korean companies are not the only ones that might be affected by Jong-il’s death, with Japan’s Nikkei shares average also falling to a three-week low.
“The risk or fear that the death of Kim Jong-il will lead to provocation from North Korea is pressuring selling,” said Hiroyuki Fukunaga, chief executive of Tokyo-based Investrust. “Right now, there’s going to be a sell off as part of a risk off”, he added.
Japan’s finance minister Jun Azumi also expressed concern over the drop, saying that he was monitoring the financial market after the news.
He added that the news has put regional powers on edge over the potentially tumultuous leadership transfer, as the countries collapsing economy, and nuclear ambitions could pose a big threat to north-east Asia.
The Eurozone financial crisis has already been causing instability in stocks, and has been pushing down the price of commodities under the pressure.
Gold, often considered a safe asset in unsteady financial times dropped 0.7 percent this week. The Euro also fell 0.5 percent.
With credit downgrades anticipated in Europe, it’s a bad time for further instability.
Oct 25 2011
Filed In: 2011
The decision by the United States to launch the two days of discussions in Geneva, Switzerland, stems in part from recent meetings between North Korea and South Korea, a senior State Department official told reporters traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Afghanistan last week.
“We are moving in a positive direction,” U.S. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth said from the Kempinski Hotel in Geneva after the meeting concluded. “We have narrowed some differences but we still have differences that we have to resolve.”
At a previous meeting between the two countries in July, Washington laid out a list of things it was looking for from Pyongyang to demonstrate its seriousness about abandoning its nuclear ambitions, the State Department official told reporters last week.
One of the things the United States was seeking is North Korean engagement with South Korea, the official said, adding that a recent “constructive meeting” between the two countries helped get the parties to this point.
The State Department did not give a specific reason for Bosworth’s decision to step down, but Toner said he believes it is a “personal” decision. In addition to his role at the State Department, Bosworth has also maintained his position on the faculty at the Fletcher School of Diplomacy at Tufts University outside Boston.
Hart, a foreign policy adviser to the U.S. Navy and an expert on China and Taiwan, will become the new chief U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks and will report to Davies in his new role.
Oct 20 2011
Filed In: 2011
Gadhafi had himself declared “King of Kings” of Africa. But Thursday, he appeared bloody and lifeless in cell phone images aired across the world.
Libyans took to the streets to celebrate the end of a brutal era, to mark the historic day that the former strongman, once thought of as untouchable, was gone. They sighed relief that after many months of fierce fighting, the war was over. They had won what had been dubbed one of the Arab Spring’s most improbable uprisings.
Libyan interim Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril declared Gadhafi dead.
Also killed Thursday were Gadhafi’s son Mutassim and the chief of intelligence, Abdullah al-Senussi, said Anees al Sharif, a spokesman for the National Transitional Council’s military arm in Tripoli.
A grisly video aired on the Al Jazeera Arabic network showing a lifeless Gadhafi with a wound to his head.
“I think today is a day to remember all of Col. Gadhafi’s victims,” said British Prime Minister David Cameron. “People in Libya today have an even greater chance of building themselves a strong and democratic future.”
Oct 19 2011
Filed In: 2011
China Mining Conference will call attention to and encourage original and forward-thinking business communities between international mining interests and those of China.
During the Conferences, government officials, industry leaders, and experts from both Chinese and foreign mining industries have in-depth mining dialogues on questions related to the mining industry.
Conference, exhibition and featured events are the three parts that make up the China Mining Conference. Leaders from both Chinese and foreign mining industries will present and discuss new developments, investment policies and programs for the Chinese mining industry.
Also on the agenda will be discussed, mining industry trends, the global mineral commodity market, domestic and international investment opportunities, sustainable mining development, geological surveys, mining technologies and equipment.
China Mining has developed over the years into one of the premier mining trade shows in the world. In 2011, the Congress & Expo will be celebrating the 13th annual event at Tianjin Meijing Convention Center, the hosting venue of Dovas World Economic Forum 2011.
Country pavilions, mining and exploration companies, investment and financing institutions, evaluation consultancies, (technical) service providers and equipment suppliers just to name a few on exhibit.
Featured events will include a warm welcome cocktail party, awards gala dinner and mine site visit.
The Congress & Expo will be an enhanced center of global mining communities with capital, technology, information and services welcomes you, and is looking forward to seeing you at China Mining 2011.
“There are still thought to be several dangerous animals on the loose, creating a public safety threat.”
In nearby Licking County, Sheriff Randy Thorp said he has activated the county SWAT team “who will be equipped with night vision and the necessary weapons to deal with any encounters with such animals.”
The menagerie of about 48 animals on the loose also includes wolves, giraffes and camels.
Deputies shot dead about two dozen of them Tuesday.
Schools in at least four districts were declared closed for Wednesday, as authorities asked residents to stay inside until the rest of the animals were rounded up or killed.
Officials in eastern Ohio declared schools closed Wednesday as sheriff’s deputies equipped with night vision attempted to hunt down dozens of exotic animals — including bears, lions, tigers and cheetahs — that escaped from a preserve following the death of its owner.
On Tuesday, commuters reported spotting bears and wolves along I-70.
The animals escaped from the Muskingum County Animal Farm in Zanesville on Tuesday. Police later found the farm’s owner, Terry Thompson, dead.
Authorities did not elaborate on how Thompson died.
Oct 05 2011
Filed In: 2011
Jobs announced he was suffering from pancreatic cancer in 2004.
Microsoft boss Bill Gates said Jobs’ “profound impact” would ” be felt for many generations to come”.
Mr Gates added: “For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honour. I will miss Steve immensely.”
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that “America lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein, and whose ideas will shape the world for generations to come”.
Oct 04 2011
Filed In: 2011
Italian prosecutors say they will appeal. Only Rudy Guede, 24, has been convicted for Miss Kercher’s murder.
Knox has since left Italy and is on her way back to the US.
She is travelling back to her hometown of Seattle on a commercial flight and is expected to land at around 0100 BST on Wednesday (0000 GMT, 1700 PDT on Tuesday).
Speaking to reporters in Perugia, where his sister was studying at the time of her death, Mr Kercher said: “We accept the decision and respect the court and the Italian justice system.
“We do find we are now left looking at this again and thinking how a decision that was so certain two years ago has been so emphatically overturned, which raises other questions.
Speaking after an Italian court cleared Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito of murder, Meredith’s brother Lyle said it felt like it was “back to square one”.
Their mother, Arline, said: “What happened to my daughter, Meredith, is every parent’s nightmare.
“Of something so terrible happening, when basically she was in the safest place, her bedroom.”
Prosecutors said Miss Kercher was killed in a brutal sex game which went wrong.
Mrs Kercher admitted she could appreciate why Knox would feel she had lost her life over the last few years.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to get off scot-free,” she said. “Their lives have been disrupted – no-one is untouched by this.”
Earlier, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he felt sympathy for the Kerchers.
“They previously had an explanation about what happened to their daughter and they don’t have that any more, and I think all of us should be thinking of them,” he said.
Oct 03 2011
Filed In: 2011
Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito have been acquitted of the murder of UK student Meredith Kercher following a successful appeal in Perugia, Italy.
Miss Knox, 24, and her ex-boyfriend Mr Sollecito, 27, had spent nearly four years in jail since they were convicted of killing the 21-year-old, from Coulsdon, south London, in 2007.
American Miss Knox sobbed as the judge said the pair would walk free.
Her family said she “suffered for four years for a crime she did not commit”.
The judge upheld Miss Knox’s conviction for slander after she accused bar owner Patrick Diya Lumumba of carrying out the killing. He set the sentence at three years, time that Miss Knox has already served.
Speaking on the steps of the court, Miss Knox’s sister Deanna said: “We are thankful to the court for having the courage to look for the truth and to overturn this conviction.”
She said Miss Knox’s “nightmare was over” and asked for privacy for her family to recover from “this horrible ordeal”. -MORE
