Death toll from Taiwan plane crash on the rise, 31 killed, 12 missing

Death toll from Taiwan plane crash on the rise, 31 killed, 12 missing
China futures jump amid easing as Asia stocks fall on euro concern
Australian PM says no stone unturned in fight to stop execution of ‘Bali Nine’ pair
Next Media Video: Obese, sick Chilean man pleads for medical help
Glu to develop Katy Perry mobile phone game

Posted: 04 Feb 2015 05:00 PM PST

TAIPEI, Feb 5 — The death toll from a TransAsia Airways plane that crashed into a Taipei river shortly after taking off has risen to 31, Taiwanese officials said today, and could rise further with 12 people still missing.

TransAsia Flight GE235, carrying 58 passengers and crew, lurched between buildings, clipped an overpass with its port-side wing and crashed upside down into the shallow river shortly taking off from a downtown Taipei airport yesterday.

Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said 15 people survived. Three of those who were rescued were from a group of 31 tourists from mainland China.

The pilot and co-pilot of the turboprop ATR 72-600 were among those killed, the CAA said. — Reuters

Rescuers search inside the wreckage of a TransAsia Airways turboprop ATR 72-600 aircraft after it was recovered from a river, in New Taipei City, February 5, 2015. — Reuters pic

China futures jump amid easing as Asia stocks fall on euro concern

Posted: 04 Feb 2015 04:59 PM PST

Yuan notes are seen as an employee of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) talks to a customer at one of the bank's branch at the Shanghai Free Trade Zone in Pudong district, in Shanghai in this September 24, 2014 file photograph. — ReTOKYO, Feb 5 — Asian stocks fell as investors weighed the European Central Bank's tightening of the terms of Greece's bailout.

China stock index futures climbed after the government cut banks' reserve ratios for the first time since 2012.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2 per cent to 141.61 as of 9:24am in Tokyo.

The ECB heaped pressure on Greece's new government by restricting access to direct liquidity lines, citing concerns about the country's commitment to existing bailout pledges.

China reduced the amount of cash banks must set aside as reserves by 50 basis points, joining more than a dozen global counterparts in easing monetary policy this year to boost growth.

"The good news out of China could help offset the bad news out of Greece," Nader Naeimi, who helps manage about US$125 billion (RM445.438 billion) as Sydney-based head of dynamic asset allocation at AMP Capital Investors, said by phone.

"We'd get strong market reaction to China's move to cut reserve requirements, while the Greek situation is going to induce some volatility."

Japan's Topix fell 0.4 per cent. South Korea's Kospi index lost 0.3 per cent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 0.2 per cent, while New Zealand's NZX 50 Index was little changed. Markets in China and Hong Kong have yet to open. China's Shanghai Composite Index slipped 1 per cent yesterday after a private gauge of the nation's services industry expanded at the weakest pace in six months.

China Futures

FTSE China A50 futures jumped 5.1 per cent in the most recent trading session in Singapore on the cut the China's reserve-requirement ratios.

"This is very positive for the stock market," Khiem Do, Hong Kong-based head of multi-asset strategy at Baring Asset Management Asia Ltd., said by phone. "We should see a continuation of interest-rate and reserve-ratio cuts in the next six to 12 months. Financials and cyclical sectors will benefit the most."

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 0.3 per cent today. The US equity benchmark index sank 0.4 per cent yesterday on the ECB move and as oil retreated for the first time in five days.

Energy shares declined in Asia today after crude fell 8.7 per cent yesterday in New York and 6.5 per cent in London as a government report showed the highest US supply in at least three decades. — Bloomberg

Australian PM says no stone unturned in fight to stop execution of ‘Bali Nine’ pair

Posted: 04 Feb 2015 04:56 PM PST

Australian lawyer Julian McMahon speaks with the media after meeting with Australian death row prisoners Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, outside Kerobokan prison on the island of Bali January 23, 2015 in this picture taken by Antara Foto. — Reuters picSYDNEY, Feb 5 — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he had done all he could to save the lives of two of his citizens facing imminent execution in Indonesia today, as their lawyers admitted the situation was "bleak".

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug smuggling gang, lost a legal bid in the Balinese capital Denpasar to have their cases reviewed yesterday, dashing their final hope of avoiding the firing squad.

They were arrested in 2005 and sentenced to death the following year for attempting to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.

Abbott said today his government had "left no stone unturned" in the bid to save them.

"We oppose the death penalty, we do whatever we humanly can to try to ensure that no Australian suffers the death penalty," he told reporters.

"We are not going to engage in last-minute, megaphone diplomacy but I just want to assure people that the Australian government has left no stone unturned to try to ensure that these two Australians on death row have their sentences commuted."

Chan and Sukumaran's lawyers based their argument for a reprieve on past legal errors, and said the pair had been rehabilitated and this should be considered.

The pair's Australian lawyer Julian McMahon said he would work to continue their legal fight despite the setback.

"The basis of the application actually was that there was error of law so what we're looking at now are the legal options that flow from that but there's no doubt the situation is bleak," he told ABC radio.

Despite his image as a reformist, Indonesia's new President Joko Widodo has been a vocal supporter of capital punishment for drug offenders, disappointing rights activists who had hoped that he would take a softer line on the death penalty.

Last month Indonesia executed six drug offenders, including five foreigners, prompting a furious Brazil and the Netherlands — whose citizens were among those put to death — to recall their ambassadors.

McMahon said Chan and Sukumaran had been "just caught up in a giant political move here, and the merits of my clients' cases don't seem to be being given the attention that they deserve".

Abbott has appealed for Jakarta not to go ahead with the executions but Widodo, known as Jokowi, reiterated his tough line yesterday that traffickers would not be granted clemency.

No date has been set for their executions although Australian media reports suggest they could be put to death within a fortnight. — AFP

Next Media Video: Obese, sick Chilean man pleads for medical help

Posted: 04 Feb 2015 04:55 PM PST

Duration: 1:34, Published 5 Feb 2015

Worried that he may die if his obesity isn't treated, this Chilean man who weighs nearly 300 kilos or 600 pounds, pleads for help by talking to local reporters. — Reuters

Glu to develop Katy Perry mobile phone game

Posted: 04 Feb 2015 04:48 PM PST

Katy Perry performs at halftime. — Reuters picNEW YORK, Feb 5 — Mobile game developer Glu Mobile Inc said it would partner with top-selling singer Katy Perry to develop a new mobile game, which will include the "Firework" singer's voice and likeness.

The company, known for its popular "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" game, said it expects to release the game in the fourth quarter.

Shares of Glu, which also reported a 78 per cent jump in fourth-quarter adjusted revenue, rose 14 per cent to US$4.39 (RM15.644) in extended trading.

Katy Perry, who hosted the Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show on Sunday, is known for hit singles such as "Teenage Dream," "E.T." and "Roar."

"Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" is a free-to-download mobile game where the user can create a celebrity avatar and interact with celebrities in a virtual world filled with parties, paparazzi and luxury homes.

The top-grossing game, which was released in June last year, accounted for about a third of Glu's adjusted revenue for 2014.

Adjusted revenue rose to US$76.2 million, beating the average analyst estimate of US$63.8 million.

The company reported a profit of 11 cents per share, excluding items, for the quarter ended Dec 31.

This trumped the average analyst estimate of 2 cents per share. — Reuters