Microsoft Bends to China
Reporters Without Borders, an organization that fights for press freedom and denounces violations of human rights throughout the world, recently discovered that Microsoft was censoring the Chinese version of its MSN spaces blog tool. The system was found to automatically reject certain words upon input, such as “democracy,” “Falungong,” “Dalai Lama” and “4 June” (date of Tiananmen Square massacre).
Another group, Worldwide Press Freedom Organization stated, “The lack of ethics on the part of these companies is extremely worrying. Their management frequently justifies collaboration with Chinese censorship by saying that all they are doing is obeying local legislation.”
Rats Plaguing Central China Croplands
BEIJING –– Rising waters in China’s central Dongting Lake, one of the nation’s largest freshwater bodies, are forcing millions of rats into surrounding farmlands where the rodents are ravaging crops.
The plague of rats is so bad that officials in Shapanzhou township in Hunan province, are paying two U.S. cents per rat tail collected, with one farmer bringing in more than 1,000 tails in a two-day period, Xinhua news agency reported.
Experts fear the rats will reproduce at tremendous speeds and ravage cropland in the region, one of China’s major breadbaskets.
Officials have also put epidemic prevention teams on alert for potential diseases caused by the pests.
Besides eating the rice harvest, the rats are also attacking pumpkins, watermelon, cotton and aspen seedlings.
B of A Banking on China
BEIJING –– China’s creaky and debt-laden financial system got a major shot in the arm with the announcement that Bank of America Corp. is buying a major stake in China’s largest property lender.
The milestone $3 billion deal underscored U.S. corporate enthusiasm for China, a nation with a high-powered economy but an anachronistic financial sector. It is the single largest foreign investment in a Chinese company ever.
Analysts said such mega-deals are linking the economies of China and the United States more tightly, potentially mitigating political conflicts.
Charlotte-based Bank of America, the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets, agreed to buy a 9% stake in the state-run China Construction Bank, with rights to boost ownership to 19.9% in the near future.
The deal may open the door for new foreign bids. Many foreign banks have been reluctant to invest because China offers little direct management control.
Investors Sour on Philippines Corruption
A political storm unleashed by allegations of vote rigging and corruption against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is souring the Philippines investment climate, key aides say.
“Of course, we are making our economy suffer due to this,” Vice President Noli de Castro told reporters, citing the weakening peso and a skittish stock exchange.
“The president now has to go see investors in Hong Kong and Singapore,” he said. “I mean, if I were the foreign investor or even the domestic investor, I would adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude just like in the past.”
Foreign direct investment in the Philippines plunged to $57 million last year, according to the Manila-based Asian Development Bank.
Senate president Franklin Drilon, a key Arroyo ally, said that while the president still had the “full support” of the legislature, “she must take the initiative [and] confront the issue” of allegations of election cheating.
Japan Teen Promiscuity Rising
Once praised for their studiousness, Japan’s teenagers are gaining a less wholesome reputation –– for promiscuity.
Official figures show that Japanese schoolchildren are having more sex than ever before, and that many are shunning condoms, unaware of the risks of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Japan, which has an estimated 10,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, is the only G7 country in which new cases of the virus have increased since 1993. About 40% of all newly infected Japanese are in their teens or 20s.
While many parents and conservative politicians are appalled by graphic images in some sex education textbooks, health experts say teachers need to offer even franker explanations of the risks of unprotected sex.
A recent survey found nearly 40% of students ages 15 to 18 have had sex. Nearly half of 17-year-old girls have had sex, compared with 17% in 1990.
India Successfully Tests Surface-to-air Missile
BHUBANESWAR, India –– India has test-fired a surface-to-air missile from a range in the eastern state of Orissa, defense ministry officials said.
The missile named Akash –– sky in Hindi –– was fired from the Chandipur-on-Sea testing site, 125 miles northeast of Bhubaneswar, Orissa’s state capital.
The official said the missile successfully hit and destroyed a flying drone. Akash was last tested in February.
The 1,540-pound Akash can carry a 154-pound warhead and is capable of traveling 17 miles.
Akash is one of five missiles being developed by India’s state-run Defense Research and Development Organization.
Korean Cloning Pioneer Faces Catholic Critics
SEOUL, South Korea –– The world’s leading stem-cell researcher, Hwang Woo-suk, said he would push forward with his research while maintaining respect for human dignity after a meeting with Seoul Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk.
“I will take lessons from the great teachings and guidance,” Hwang told reporters. “I will not fail to meet the Archbishop’s expectations.”
The debate over stem cell research was rekindled after Hwang’s team created the first embryonic stem cells that genetically match injured or sick patients –– a major step in the quest to grow replacement tissue to treat diseases. Last year, Hwang’s team created the world’s first cloned human embryos.
Cheong said he was somewhat relieved to find out Hwang’s research would be “complementary” to research into adult stem cells –– an area supported by many as an alternative that doesn’t involve destroying embryos.
“I will pray for God’s blessing for his future research,” Cheong said.
Ex-Worker Led Shooting of Cambodian Kids
A man driven by a grudge against his former employer spearheaded an assault on an international school in northwestern Cambodia, taking dozens of children hostage and silencing a crying two-year-old Canadian boy by shooting him in the head, police said.
The 23-year-old ringleader allegedly persuaded three friends to don masks and storm the school in the town of Siem Reap.
Police say the men, all in their early 20s, wanted to extort money from the foreigners and well-off Cambodians, whose children attend the school near the famed Angkor Wat temple complex — the biggest tourist attraction in this impoverished country. The children, ages from approximately 2 to 6 years old, came from about 15 countries.
The suspect said his South Korean employer recently got angry with him and slapped his face, causing him to quit his job and return to his hometown in the central province of Kandal.
U.S. Not Worried about China’s Energy Investment
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia –– China’s increasing investment in oil and natural gas projects in Canada and Latin America to secure supplies for its growing needs isn’t a concern to the United States, said Guy Caruso, administrator of the U.S. Department of Energy statistical arm.
“Huge investments are required, particularly in the Canadian oil sands project … and it’s a free and competitive environment,” he said.
The need to fuel its expanding economy has taken emerging giant China to Central Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and even Canada, all areas that the U.S. is counting on to meet its own record-high demand.
Researchers say by 2020, China will consume 34 percent of the world coal and 14 percent of oil.