Japan’s fiscal-year current account surplus marks sharpest fall on record
TOKYO, May 10 (Xinhua) — Japan’s current account surplus in fiscal 2011 ending in March plunged 52.6 percent on year to mark the sharpest fall since comparable data was collected in fiscal 1985, the government said Thursday.
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The surplus in the current account stood at 7.893 trillion yen (about 99 billion U.S. dollars) for the recording year, according to a report released by the Finance Ministry.
For March alone, Japan logged a surplus of 1.589 trillion yen, down 8.6 percent from a year earlier. The surplus reading is widely considered the broadest measure of trade with other countries.taylormade irons
Japan has recorded the worst ever trade deficit in the past fiscal year, partly due to the slowing exports after the earthquake and tsunami disasters in March last year.
The disasters that devastated wide parts of the northeastern Japan last year not only caused disruptions in the supply chain of auto parts but also triggered a nuclear crisis that led to suspension of reactors. Currently, all 54 reactors in the nation are off-line.callaway drivers
Nuclear power accounted for about 30 percent of Japan’s total power supply before the accident.
The nation’s imports rocketed because of higher oils costs, and expanded appetite for fossil fuel to make up for the power difference in the wake of the disaster-triggered nuclear accident, the world’s worst since Chernobyl.taylormade r11 driver
The accident had made the resource-poor nation rethink its energy policy. And, restarting nuclear reactors in the country has been difficult amid widespread concerns sparked by the accident over nuclear power safety.taylormade rocketballz driver
With a sharp cut in power supply by nuclear power plant, the demand for fuels soared last year.
In addition, the massive flooding in Thailand and an appreciating yen in the past year weighed on the exports industry of the nation.
Exports contracted 2.8 percent to 62.627 trillion yen, marking the first fall in two years, while imports surged 14.0 percent to 66.077 trillion yen, rising for the second straight year, according to the Finance Ministry’s report.taylormade r11s driver
UN, AL urge Syria to meet ceasefire commitment
UNITED NATIONS/DAMASCUS, April 27 (Xinhua) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Arab League (AL) urged Thursday the Syrian government to fulfill its ceasefire commitment, while Syria said it has done so and accused the armed groups of violating the truce.
“The secretary-general remains deeply troubled by the continued presence of heavy weapons, military equipment and army personnel in population centers, as reported by United Nations Military Observers, which is in contravention of the Syrian government’s commitments to withdrawing its troops and heavy weapons from these areas,” a statement released Thursday by Ban’s spokesman said.
Ban has demanded that Syria “comply with its commitments without delay.”
“The secretary-general reminds all concerned parties, particularly the government of Syria, of the need to ensure that conditions for the effective operation of the United Nations Military Observers are put in place immediately, including a sustained cessation of armed violence,” the statement said.scotty cameron putter
Ban “is gravely alarmed by reports of continued violence and killings in Syria, including shelling and explosions in various residential areas as well as armed clashes,” said the statement.
“He condemns in the strongest terms the continued repression against the Syrian civilian population and violence from any quarter. This situation is unacceptable and must stop immediately,” the statement said.TaylorMade R11S Irons
Meanwhile, the Arab League (AL) said at an extraordinary meeting at the ministerial level that it would ask the UN Security Council to stop violence and protect Syrian civilians immediately.
AL Secretary General Nabil al-Arabi expressed his sorrow over the ongoing violence in Syria, urging to maintain the ceasefire.
Arabi called on the UN Security Council to deploy monitors to Syria as soon as possible, demanding the Syrian government to facilitate their work.
Currently, there are 15 observers on ground in Syria, six of whom were dispatched evenly to Homs, Hama and Daraa. The number of the team is to grow to 100 within the next month and eventually would reach 300 in accordance with the UN Security Council’s recent resolution.TaylorMade R11s Driver
Arabi said that Arab foreign ministers had authorized him to invite all the Syrian opposition parties to meet in Cairo on May 16.
Also on Thursday, Syrian Minister of Information Adnan Mahmoud said his country has abided by international envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan, stressing that the halt of violence requires an even-handed and transparent observation as well as stopping the armed groups’ violations.
Syria’s official statistics showed that a total of 1,300 violations of the UN-backed ceasefire have been committed by armed groups since the truce went into effect on April 12.
Mahmoud accused armed groups of ramping up their crimes, kidnappings and assassinations since the activation of the ceasefire.
On the opposition side, representatives of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation in Syria called on all parties in the country to launch an inter dialogue in a bid to resolve the year-long crisis.TaylorMade R11 Driver
Qadri Jamil, leader of the group, said it was the first Syrian opposition to express its willingness to start a dialogue with the government.
Russia hailed the stance of the opposition, vowing to support the launch of an inter-Syrian dialogue.
Alexander Lukashevich, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, called on countries that have influence on the opposition to devote their efforts to starting the inter-Syrian dialogue rather than carrying out scenarios that could interfere in the implementation of Annan’s plan.TaylorMade RocketBallz Driver
Apple asks Samsung to stop copying
Apple Inc, maker of the iPhone and iPad, asked a United States appeals court to block sales of some products made by Samsung Electronics Co that it contends “slavishly copy” the two devices.
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| Models display the white model of Samsung’s Galaxy Note smartphone during a publicity event in Seoul. Apple Inc says Samsung “slavishly copies” its iPhone and iPad devices. [Photo / Provided to China Daily] |
“Apple is widely regarded as an innovator of beautiful designs,” Apple lawyer Michael Jacobs of Morrison & Foerster told a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington this month.
“What we’re asking Samsung to do is stop copying. There are other beautiful designs out there.”
Apple is challenging a trial judge’s December decision allowing some of Samsung’s Galaxy tablets and phones to remain on the market while a patent-infringement case is pending. The Cupertino, California-based smartphone maker contends Samsung has copied the look and feel of the iPhone and iPad to lure away customers. A trial is scheduled to begin July 30 in San Francisco.
“There is no clear error that would warrant reversing the judge’s decision, especially since we’re on a July trial schedule,” said Samsung lawyer Kathleen Sullivan of Quinn Emanuel.
Jacobs said that it would be months before the judge in the case would rule on post-trial motions, so the request to halt sales quickly is still important.
Apple, Sullivan said, was trying to get a monopoly on rectangular tablets with flat screens and rounded corners.
“There was no evidence that consumers were basing their decision to buy a Samsung product or drop an Apple product because of design features,” Sullivan said. “Our phones are very different if you strip out their over-broad claims.”
The Samsung dispute is the biggest front in Apple’s efforts to curtail the growth of phones that run on Google Inc’s Android operating system, the most popular platform for mobile devices. Apple contends Android devices have copied features that make the iPhone and iPad unique, and it has also filed patent-infringement suits against Android-phone makers HTC Corp and Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.
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The case argued early this month is one of more than 30 filed in 10 countries between Samsung and Apple. Samsung was forced to delay the release of some Galaxy devices or alter the product in Germany, the Netherlands and Australia because of the legal battle.taylormade irons
The three judges questioned both sides on the proper standard for patent owners to block products where only one feature is infringing on a patent. Circuit Judge Timothy Bryson asked whether Ford Motor Co would be able to halt sales of Chrysler Corp cars that copied a cup-holder design.
“People may have been flocking to Chrysler and leaving Ford because they have neat ads or a great engine,” Bryson said.
Jacobs said consumers buy phones for a number of reasons and there is evidence Samsung changed its designs in reaction to the popularity of the Apple products.callaway drivers
“Consumers make purchases because of the elegance of the user interface, and this is an element of the user interface,” he said. To force a patent owner to prove that a design or feature alone drove sales “would set the bar too high” and limit the ability of a patent to exclude competition.
US District Judge Lucy Koh on Dec 2 denied Apple’s request to halt sales of the Galaxy S 4G, Infuse 4G and Droid Charge phones and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer made by Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung.
Koh said that while Apple had a good chance of winning the case on some of its claims, it would not suffer irreparable harm if Samsung were to remain on the market.taylormade r11 driver
“Although Apple and Samsung are direct competitors in the market for new smartphone purchases, Apple has not provided sufficient evidence to establish more than a mere possibility of future harm,” the judge said.
Apple introduced the iPhone in June 2007 and the iPad in April 2010. It claims that Samsung’s Galaxy products “blatantly imitate the appearance of Apple’s products to capitalize on Apple’s success”. Samsung began selling the Galaxy products that are the subject of the hearing in February 2011.
Apple claimed that Galaxy S and Infuse phones copied two of its patented designs, that the Galaxy Tab copied a design protected by a fourth patent, and that all three products, along with the Droid Charge, infringed on a patent for a function known as “bounce back”. That feature means that when an image is dragged past the final screen’s edge, it goes back to fill the entire screen.taylormade rocketballz driver
Koh said it was a “close question” as to whether the phones infringe on the two design patents and said Samsung had raised a “substantial question” of invalidity of Apple’s tablet patent. Samsung argued the tablet design was an obvious variation of tablets that existed as early as 1994, including one made by Hewlett-Packard Co.
As for the bounce-back patent, the judge said it would be unfair to block the Samsung products based on a single function of the device.
Apple and Samsung vie for the title of world’s largest maker of smartphones. Apple had 23.9 percent of the global market in the fourth quarter, while Samsung was No 2 with 23.5 percent, according to data from Boston-based researcher Strategy Analytics.taylormade r11s driver
In the tablet market, Apple had 58 percent of the market in the fourth quarter, while Android products, which also include Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Inc’s Nook readers, had 39 percent, the analyst group said.
Profile: Malawi’s new President Joyce Banda
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon has welcomed the peaceful transition of power in Malawi following the death of its president.titleist 910D3 Driver
Born in 1950, Joyce Banda spent her life as a grass roots gender activist and educator, before turning to politics. In May 2009, she was elected Vice President of Malawi, after serving in the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry for gender, children’s affairs.Ping G20
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| Joyce Banda inspects the guard of honour during her inauguration as Malawi’s new president. Banda has won praise for keeping a young democracy on track, but southern Africa’s first woman leader must now put the brakes on an economic and diplomatic nosedive. |
Prior to an active career in politics she was the founder of the Joyce Banda Foundation, founder of the National Association of Business Women, Young Women Leaders Network and the Hunger Project. In 2011 she was listed in Forbes Magazine as the third most powerful woman in Africa. Banda ran as the vice-presidential candidate of the Democratic Progressive Party in the May 2009 presidential election, running alongside Bingu wa Mutharika.TaylorMade R11s Drivers
However, relations between Banda and Mutharika turned sour in 2010, when she was fired as the vice President of the DPP political party by Mutharika for undefined “anti-party” activities. Despite her disagreements, she stayed on as vice president, and is now Malawi’s new leader. Many see Banda as a new chance for the country, and welcome the future ahead.
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| Joyce Banda, Malawi’s then-vice president, announces the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika in Lilongwe on April 7. |
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| Malawian new president Joyce Banda addresses a media conference in the capital Lilongwe April 7, 2012. |
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| Joyce Banda holds a ceremonial sword at her inauguration on April 7, 2012 as Malawi’s new president, becoming its first female leader in a ceremony in the capital Lilongwe. |
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| Joyce Banda greets the audience at her inauguration as Malawi’s new president, becoming its first female leader in a ceremony in the capital Lilongwe. |
Iranian President grilled by parliament
Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been grilled by parliament after being accused of mismanaging the national economy and defying the country’s supreme leader.Taylormade Driver
Ahmadinejad has been criticized by religious hard-liners in recent months and the summons follows a petition by a group of parliamentarians for a review of his policy decisions.titleist putters
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| Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad answers questions in an open session in parliament in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 14, 2012. |
He’s the first president in Iran’s history to be hauled before parliament and it could prove a serious blow in his fight with lawmakers and the country’s powerful clerical establishment.Taylormade r11 Driver
The president mounted a defiant defense, despite the strained ties with religious leaders that could prove unpopular with voters.Taylormade R11S Driver
Ahmadinejad said: “These false labels cannot be applied to the government. My life shows that I’ve always tried to defend the religious position of the supreme leader through my actions and through proper, correct and logical statements. I’ve tried to demonstrate that our system is one of compassion, justice, progress, hard work and solidarity.”TaylorMade RocketBallz Driver
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| Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, listens to conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari, unseen, a prominent opponent of the president, as he reads out a series of questions to Ahmadinejad in an open session in parliament in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 14, 2012. |
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| Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, leaves the podium after answering questions in an open session in parliament in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 14, 2012. |
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| A general view shows the Iranian parliament after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad answered questions in an open session in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 14, 2012. |
Expert: Earth’s crust to remain active under Japan
It’s been almost a year since the devastating earthquake hit Japan. Yet, a recent research there shows movement of the earth’s crust remains active in the Northeast and Kanto areas, far from the epicenter. And they fear it will remain so for quite a while.
An expert from Kyoto University says last year’s earthquake has triggered frequent tremors across the country and it may take decades for them to end.TaylorMade R11s Drivers
Meanwhile, recent research warns a major earthquake could hit Japan’s capital, Tokyo, potentially with a magnitude as high as seven.Ping G20
The National Police Agency has announced it will ban vehicles on 52 expressways and other roads if a major earthquake hits the greater Tokyo area.titleist 910D3 Driver
Valencia down Granada 1-0
Sofiane Feghouli struck after 32 minutes, and thatr was the vital opener for Valencia. The shot just trickled over the line to make it 1-nil.
Granada almost scored after half-time. Jaime Romero bounced a shot off the inside of the post. That was the closest Granada came to an equalizer.TaylorMade R11s Drivers
This was a chippy affair with a total of 12 yellow cards shown during the match. But Valencia won it 1-0. The club only won one of their previous eight league games.Ping G20
So Real Madrid climbs to 67 points in La Liga. Barcelona’s second with 57 points. Valencia is third in the standings with 43 points. Athletic Bilbao is in 4th place after a win over Real Sociedad. Malaga is 5th.titleist 910D3 Driver
Pakistan test-fires nuclear capable ballistic missile
The Hatf-2 ballistic missile can travel up to 180 km and carry nuclear as well as conventional warheads with high accuracy, the statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations said.TaylorMade R11S Irons
The test is part of the process of validation of land based ballistic missile system, it said.scotty cameron putter
“The test provides an operational level capability to Pakistan’ s strategic forces, in addition to the strategic and technical level capability which Pakistan already possesses,” the military said.TaylorMade R11s Driver
Test was witnessed by director general of Strategic Planning Division, Lt. Gen. (retd) Khalid Kidwai and Commander of Strategic Force Command Lt Gen Tariq Nadeem Gilani.
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President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani congratulated the army and its engineers involved in the missile system on the successful test of the ballistic missile.TaylorMade R11S Irons
The statement did not identify the site of the test.scotty cameron putter
Belarus urges EU, Polish envoys to leave in response to EU sanctions
MINSK, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) — Minsk has told ambassadors of the European Union (EU) and Poland to leave the country in response to newly approved EU sanctions, the Belorussian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
Spokesman of the ministry Andrei Savinykh confirmed that Belarus had also recalled its ambassadors from Brussels and Warsaw.TaylorMade RocketBallz Driver
“The decision of the EU Council shows that the EU sticks to the policy of open pressure. We have repeatedly explained on various levels that such policy is unpromising,” Savinykh said, adding that Belarus would respond to the sanctions by barring EU officials who have contributed to the restrictive measures.
The spokesman stressed the moves were aimed at informing leadership of the EU and Poland Minsk’s firm position that pressure and sanctions “are unacceptable.”Taylormade R11S Driver
“If pressure on the Republic of Belarus continues, other measures will be taken to protect our interests,” Savinykh said.Taylormade r11 Driver
Minsk’s announcement came one day after the EU Council approved new sanctions against the country. The sanctions, including travel restrictions on 21 judges and senior police officers, are reportedly applying to persons “responsible for serious violations of human rights or the repression of civil society and democratic opposition.”titleist putters
Poland, bordering Belarus, is seen as playing an active role in making EU’s policy towards Minsk.Taylormade Driver
World Bank: China at turning point for long-term growth
World Bank President, Robert Zoellick has begun his three-day visit to China. He stopped by the country’s southern commercial hub of Guangzhou and this morning attended a seminar in Beijing.
Zoellick and Chinese officials met today for the launch of a joint report. The “China 20-30″ document is exactly what it sounds like a review of the country’s development through to the year 2030.
Zoellick says China faces a turning point for long-term economic growth and must deepen market reforms to sustain development.
The report, co-authored by the World Bank and the Development and Research Centre of China’s State Council, recommends reforms for China’s economy.
It forecasts that China’s growth will slow to between 5 percent and 6 percent per annum by the year 2030. The report argues the risks and challenges posed by the economic slowdown may be persistent if reforms aren’t made in a timely manner.
World Bank President, Robert Zoellick, says China’s leaders have recognized that the country’s growth model, which has been so successful for the past 30 years, will need to be changed to accommodate new challenges.
Robert Zoellick said: “As known by the Chinese leaders, China’s current economic growth model is not sustainable. China has recognized the challenges of moving away from the export-led growth towards and over reliance on investment towards greater domestic demand and consumption. China also faces challenges that are special to its own. Its population are getting old become getting wealthy.”
At the unveiling of the report, Chinese Minister of Finance, Xie Xuren, said that the Chinese government has and will always make unswerving efforts in effecting economic reform.
He reiterated, China will continue to deepen changes and accelerate the economic restructuring process.
Xie Xuren said: “China will attach greater importance to the overall design and plan of reforms, while valuing innovation. We will steadily push forward reforms in the economic, political, cultural and social sectors, and speed up the formation of mechanisms that are beneficial to economic development.”
Zoellick told reporters, the case for reform is compelling because China has now reached a turning point in its development path.
But he says he remains confident that China’s economy is not headed for a hard landing.
Zoellick said: “I believe China’s economic will head for a soft-landing, so I don’t see ’economic crisis’ today, China will a potential source of growth.”
Among other recommendations, report suggests China, should adjust the dominant role played by state-owned enterprises in its economy, and promote free markets – in order to maintain steady growth and avoid a potential crisis.
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Economic growth in China slowed last year, after the government hiked interest rates and tightened monetary controls to cool inflation and an overheated property sector.
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In recent months, Chinese policymakers have “fine-tuned” policy, by way of supporting more bank lending to companies, suggesting increasing concern over the domestic and global economic slowdown.