Tokyo stocks off on fears of US economy

Tokyo stocks off on fears of US economy

Tokyo (dpa) - Lingering worries about the US economy weighed down Tokyo stocks Tuesday.

In morning trading, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average edged down 41.81 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 14,458.74.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was down 2.01 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 1,390.7.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 109.22-27 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 109.32-35 yen. The euro was quoted at 1.4680-85 dollars, up from Monday's 5 pm quote of 1.4665-68 dollars, and at 160.39-44 yen, up from 160.35-39 yen.

09:24 Jan 08, 2008


Bhutto book to go on sale next month

New York (dpa) - Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan who was assassinated last month, finished a book on Islam before her death, and the work will be published February 12, ahead of Pakistan's parliamentary elections, news reports said Monday.

For a preview of the book, Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the WestClick on this link

Publishing house HarperCollins said it rushed the publication date after Bhutto was killed December 27 during a suicide bomb attack in Rawalpindi in the midst of her electoral campaign. The book was originally scheduled to go on sale April 8.

HarperCollins said Bhutto completed Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West with her friend Mark Siegel, a Washington lobbyist, just days before her assassination. She argued in the book that Islam should reconcile with democratic principles as applied in the West.

Bhutto, a two-time prime minister who lived in exile for eight years before returning to Pakistan in October to run for the troubled country's leadership, was survived by husband, Asif Ali Zardari, and three children.

"No one could know that these would be Benazir Bhutto's final words, and somehow that makes them carry even more weight, especially at a time like this," Tim Duggan, who edited the book, told The New York Times.

HarperCollins has also bought the paperback rights of Bhutto's autobiography Daughters of the East, first published in Britain in 1988, which will be reissued in the United States in the spring under the new title, Daughter of Destiny.

09:01 Jan 08, 2008


Police arrest movie CD pirates in Bangkok

(BangkokPost.com) – Police succeeded in seizing hundreds of thousands of counterfeit CDs from a shop in Bangkok’s Pom Prap district said to be worth 20 million baht. Seven people were arrested in connection with the raid.

Police revealed that CDs of both local and international films currently showing at major cinemas were found as well as a large number of pornographic material.

The raid followed a tip-off from suspicious locals who told authorities that a counterfeit CD ring was operating in the area.

08:53 Jan 08, 2008


China, Singapore sign first defence agreement

Singapore (dpa) - Singapore and China have signed their first defence agreement to formalize existing exchanges between their armed forces and pledging to work together on humanitarian assistance, the two sides said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Defence and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) pact includes mutual visits, sending personnel to each other's seminars, port calls and cooperation on disaster relief.

"The signing of the agreement marks a significant milestone in Singapore's bilateral defence relationship and is testament to the growing defence ties between Singapore and China," a ministry statement said.

Singapore's Permanent Secretary for Defence Chiang Chie Foo and PLA Deputy Chief of General Staff Ma Xiaotian signed the agreement Monday at the end of an inaugural China-Singapore Defence Policy Dialogue.

They discussed regional security and security cooperation, the statement said.

Chiang's three-day visit to China was scheduled to conclude Tuesday.

08:46 Jan 08, 2008