Peru’s Vargas Llosa to take secret of Garcia Marquez spat to grave |
- Peru’s Vargas Llosa to take secret of Garcia Marquez spat to grave
- Obama faces emotional trip to South Korea
- Japan consumer prices up 1.3pc year-on-year in March
- Asian shares struggle, dollar slips as Ukraine tensions rise
- Kerry warns Russia against ‘expensive mistake’ in Ukraine
- Policeman guns down US citizens at Kabul hospital
| Peru’s Vargas Llosa to take secret of Garcia Marquez spat to grave Posted: 24 Apr 2014 05:53 PM PDT
The two Latin American literary greats were once friends, but stopped speaking to each other in 1976 when Vargas Llosa gave Garcia Marquez a black eye in a dispute — depending on who one believes — over politics or the Peruvian's wife. "There's a pact between Garcia Marquez and myself (not to talk about it)," Vargas Llosa, 78, said at a meeting of right-wing intellectuals in Caracas when a journalist popped the inevitable question following the Colombian's death last week. "He respected it until his death, and I will do the same. Let's leave it to our biographers, if we deserve them, to investigate that issue." Vargas Llosa, who once ran for president in Peru on a conservative ticket, lamented the passing of his erstwhile rival, a friend of Cuba's Fidel Castro with left-leaning views. Garcia Marquez had, he said, achieved what all writers aspire to: "That his work lives beyond him." Vargas Llosa's presence in Venezuela is once again controversial given his ferocious criticism of former president Hugo Chavez and successor Nicolas Maduro's socialist rule. Venezuela a "pathetic failure" On his last visit to Venezuela in 2009, he was held for several hours at the airport and criticised by Chavez for coming to "offend" and "provoke" Venezuelans. Again, Vargas Llosa did not hold back, saying 15 years of socialism in Venezuela was a "pathetic failure" akin to Cuba and North Korea, evidenced by the highest inflation in the Americas and other weak economic indicators. "What's happening in Venezuela is a radical anachronism," he said. "Venezuela has gone ever more backwards in the last 15 years and is approaching the most pathetic examples of economic, political and social failures like Cuba and North Korea, the last real exponents of socialism in the world." He added, however, that he had no wish to provoke anyone in Venezuela, and was grateful to the country for giving him his first international award, the Romulo Gallegos prize, in 1967. Vargas Llosa offered his support to students who have been protesting against Maduro since early February. "I hope the dialogue is genuine and authentic, and enables the pacification of the country," he said of talks between the government and moderate opposition leaders intended to stem violence that has killed 41 people in the last two-and-a-half months. — Reuters  |
| Obama faces emotional trip to South Korea Posted: 24 Apr 2014 05:43 PM PDT
The trip to Seoul was once billed as a routine, informal stop to catch up with old friends, but took on poignant overtones after the sinking of a ferry packed with high school students last week. US intelligence agencies meanwhile are watching and waiting amid indications that North Korea could rattle the peninsula with a fourth nuclear test, in a clear challenge to Obama's strategy of cementing America's role as a Pacific power. Obama will fly to Seoul from Tokyo, where he warned on the first stop of an Asian tour that China must play a "critically important" role in reining in its nominal ally in Pyongyang. "North Korea has engaged in provocative actions for the last several decades. "It's been an irresponsible actor on the international stage for the last several decades," he said. "They are the most isolated country in the world. They are subject to more international sanctions and international condemnation than any country in the world." US officials were puzzling over the always unpredictable Kim's next move — wondering whether he would show his defiance with a blast during Obama's Asian tour or if activity at the North's nuclear sites was a mere propaganda move. Certainly, any nuclear test would overwhelm the narrative of Obama's regional tour designed to reinvigorate his rebalancing of US strategy towards the region. But it would also have the affect of uniting Japan, South Korea and the United States in condemnation of the test and would place China in a deeply embarrassing spot. With South Korea still preoccupied by scenes of misery and grief after the sinking of the Sewol last week, Obama will be expected to offer words of comfort and condolence when he meets President Park Geun-Hye. The president has some idea what Park is going through as recriminations fly over the disaster, after serving as mourner-in-chief following several US tragedies, including the Newtown school shooting and the Boston bombing. In a show of respect for the key US ally, Obama paused before a news conference devoted to domestic politics and the Ukraine crisis last week to empathise with the agony of South Koreans who had lost their children. "Our hearts ache to see our Korean friends going through such a terrible loss, especially the loss of so many young students," he said. The confirmed death toll stood at 175, but 127 were still unaccounted for, their bodies believed trapped in the submerged ship that sank a week ago, according to Yonhap news agency. After a working dinner with Park today, Obama will visit US troops, before heading on to Malaysia, on the third leg of his Asian tour, which also includes the Philippines. — AFP |
| Japan consumer prices up 1.3pc year-on-year in March Posted: 24 Apr 2014 05:43 PM PDT
Stripping out volatile fresh food prices, prices rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year in March, the same rate since December, data from the internal affairs ministry showed. Prices were largely driven up by higher energy bills with electricity costs rising 10.0 per cent and petrol prices rising 2.1 per cent. But there were signs that demand for household goods picked up. Prices of household durable goods such as microwaves climbed 5.3 per cent on-year. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has put conquering deflation and stoking growth in the world's third-largest economy at the top of its agenda with a policy blitz dubbed "Abenomics". The central bank is targeting 2.0 per cent inflation. As for leading data for the Tokyo metropolitan area, the ministry said consumer inflation excluding fresh food prices hit an estimated 2.7 per cent, the largest gain since 1992. By a Bank of Japan measure that strips out the effects of a recent sales tax change on consumer price data, underlying inflation in the Japanese capital was at 1.0 per cent, unchanged from March, according to Dow Jones Newswires. ― AFP |
| Asian shares struggle, dollar slips as Ukraine tensions rise Posted: 24 Apr 2014 05:37 PM PDT
US Secretary of State John Kerry said yesterday that time was running out for Moscow to change its course in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Russia separatists yesterday and Russia conducted army drills near the border, raising fears its troops would invade. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a few ticks higher in early trade, while Japan's Nikkei stock average skidded 0.5 per cent as disappointment over a failed attempt to reach a US-Japan trade pact weighed on sentiment. The two countries made progress in trade talks at a bilateral summit in Tokyo but did not reach the trade deal that they were hoping to seal, Economy Minister Akira Amari said today. Core consumer prices in Tokyo, a leading indicator of nationwide inflation, rose 2.7 per cent in April from a year earlier, a hair shy of forecasts. But it was still the fastest gain since 1992 as a national sales tax hike drove up prices. "With share prices falling, political stress is on the rise. If additional easing measures are not introduced in May, the BOJ's monetary policy may become a political issue," analysts at Citi said in a note to clients. On Wall Street overnight, stocks managed to shrug off the rising Ukraine tensions after tech bellwethers Facebook and Apple posted upbeat results on Wednesday and US economic data suggested that growth picked up pace in the second quarter. Durable goods orders rose more than expected in March and a measure of business capital spending plans surged. The dollar last bought ¥102.27 (RM3.27), down about 0.1 per cent, while the euro also inched lower against its Japanese counterpart to ¥141.43. The US unit also edged lower against a basket of major currencies, with the dollar index edging down to 79.760. Against the dollar, the euro was steady on the day at US$1.3830, despite comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi repeating recent concerns about euro strength and the ECB's willingness to launch a "broad-based asset purchase programme" if low inflation become entrenched. The European unit was supported by an improvement in a German business sentiment index, which indicated that Europe's largest economy managed to overcome the rising Ukraine tensions. In the commodities front, spot gold XAU= was slightly lower at US$1,293.09 an ounce after earlier touching its lowest levels since February, though fears about the Ukraine crisis limited losses. ― Reuters |
| Kerry warns Russia against ‘expensive mistake’ in Ukraine Posted: 24 Apr 2014 05:36 PM PDT
In a surprise evening statement to reporters, the top US diplomat slammed Russia for breaking its promises by failing to implement the terms of a deal struck in Geneva last week with the US, EU and Kiev. "For seven days Russia has refused to take a single concrete step in the right direction, not a single Russian official... has publicly gone on television in Ukraine and called on the separatists to support the standdown, to give up their weapons and get out of the Ukrainian buildings," Kerry said. Ukraine's interim leaders had from "day one" kept their word after agreeing to the deal, Kerry said, adding that there had been "seven days, two opposite responses and one truth that cannot be ignored." He accused Moscow of a "full-throated effort to actively sabotage the democratic process through gross external intimidation" and described new Russian military exercises on the border of Ukraine on Thursday as "threatening." "Let me be clear: if Russia continues in this direction it will not just be a grave mistake, it will be an expensive mistake," the veteran diplomat said, adding "we are ready to act" as Washington tees up new economic sanctions against Moscow. He highlighted how international sanctions were already taking a toll on the Russian economy, saying investors' confidence has dwindled and some $70 billion in capital had fled the Russian financial system. And he accused the Russia Today television network of being deployed to "promote President Putin's fantasy of what is being played out on the ground." "No amount of propaganda will hide the truth," Kerry said, as he charged that Moscow was trying to create chaos in eastern Ukraine perhaps in a bid to give it an excuse for a full invasion of its neighbor. "Russia is stoking the very instability that they say they want to quell," Kerry said. "In plain sight Russia continues to fund, coordinate and fuel a heavily armed separatist movement in Donetsk. "What is happening in eastern Ukraine is a military operation that is well planned and organised, and we assess that it is being carried out at the direction of Russia." "The world knows that peaceful protestors don't come armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons," he added. "The window to change course is closing. President (Vladimir) Putin and Russia face a choice. If Russia chooses a path of de-escalation, the international community, all of us, will welcome it. "If Russia does not, the world will make sure that the costs for Russia will only grow." — AFP |
| Policeman guns down US citizens at Kabul hospital Posted: 24 Apr 2014 05:32 PM PDT
The gunman shot himself in the incident outside the CURE International hospital and was detained by police after being treated inside, officials said, adding that the motive for the killing was not clear. "He opened fire as the foreign nationals were entering the hospital, tragically killing three," Seddiq Sediqqi, spokesman for the interior ministry, told AFP. Health Minister Soraya Dalil said the victims were a US doctor who had worked for CURE for seven years and an American father and son visiting the facility. CURE identified the doctor as paediatrician Jerry Umanos, and paid tribute to his work "caring for the most vulnerable members of society - children and premature infants - and helping them survive the harsh realities of childbirth in Afghanistan". It said that the attacker was a member of the Afghan police detail assigned to protect the hospital and that CURE was working with Afghan authorities to investigate the details surrounding the incident. "The assailant shot himself after the attack and was taken into surgery by Jerry's colleagues at the hospital before being transferred out of our facility into the custody of the government of Afghanistan," said CURE president Dale Brantner. The US embassy condemned the deaths of the three Americans, saying that "this act of terror deprives the citizens of Afghanistan of valuable medical expertise". US National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: "Any such attack on civilians at a hospital is despicable and cowardly. We send our deepest condolences to the families of all those killed and injured." Kabul has been hit by a spate of attacks targeting foreign civilians this year, including a Lebanese restaurant where 21 people died, an attack on a luxury hotel and the daylight shooting of a Swedish radio journalist. Last month Taliban militants attacked a Kabul guesthouse used by Roots of Peace, a US anti-landmine charity, killing two people including a girl. And this month Associated Press (AP) photographer Anja Niedringhaus was shot dead by a police commander in the eastern province of Khost in an attack which also left her Canadian colleague Kathy Gannon badly wounded. That killing came on the eve of presidential elections to choose a successor to Hamid Karzai as US-led combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan after 13 years of fighting Taliban insurgents. Testing times as US troops exit CURE International is a non-profit organisation founded in 1998, based in Pennsylvania and working in 29 countries including conservative Muslim Afghanistan. It describes itself as an "unapologetically Christian organisation" on its website, but says that it offers "treatment regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity, or ability to pay". Its hospitals and health programmes specialise in treating children with conditions including clubfoot, cleft lips, burn injuries and brain diseases. CURE International took over the hospital in west Kabul in 2005 at the invitation of the Afghan government, and treats 37,000 patients a year at the site, focusing on maternity and paediatric care. There was no immediate comment from Taliban spokesmen after the shooting. Preliminary results from the April 5 presidential election are due to be released on Saturday. After about 80 percent ballots were counted, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah was ahead of his main rival Ashraf Ghani. The incoming president will have to impose security as 51,000 NATO combat troops pull out by the end of this year, as well as strengthening an economy reliant on declining aid money. Eight candidates ran in the election, with polling day hailed as a success by Afghan officials and foreign allies. Voters turned out in force and the Taliban failed to launch a major attack despite threats to disrupt the vote. — AFP |
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