The world, it seems, wants a dearer yuan. The assumption is that if the yuan strengthens, it would weaken China's unbeatable export competitiveness, narrow trade deficits, and preserve more jobs at home. Chinese goods would become more expensive, and consumers in Europe, the United States and elsewhere will start buying locally-made products again. If only. On Monday, China did allow the yuan to strengthen, and the Chinese currency crossed the level of eight to the dollar. This excited currency speculators and traders, who saw this as further sign of weakening of the US dollar. Some manufacturers in the west may have even heaved a collective sigh of relief. The pressure on China to revalue its currency has indeed been enormous, and it has been growing over the years. Last week, the US Treasury avoided the temptation of calling China a "currency manipulator", and some analysts believe the appreciation of yuan was China's way of saying thank you....
http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Editor - 11:48:00 05-17-06
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 China evacuates 600,000 amid record typhoon South China Sea’s strongest-ever May storm delays flights, ships |
China evacuated more than 600,000 people as the strongest typhoon on record to enter the South China Sea in May bore down on the south coast on Wednesday, causing flight and shipping delays around the region.Typhoon Chanchu, packing winds up to 106 mph, was forecast to make landfall northeast of Hong Kong in Guangdong province later on Wednesday after killing 37 people as it swept across the Philippines last weekend.Chinese state television news said some 320,000 people were evacuated from their homes along the coast of Guangdong province, while over 300,000 were moved in neighboring Fujian province. Fujian called back all ships to port, and Guangdong called back in more than 58,000 vessels as schools suspended classes, it said, adding that strong rainfalls brought by Chanchu were posing flood threats....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12829941/from/RSS/
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Editor - 11:44:00 05-17-06
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| South Russia blast kills minister |
The deputy interior minister of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia is among at least seven people killed in a car bomb attack. Dzhabrail Kostoyev was on his way to work in the main city of Nazran when his car was hit by a blast. Authorities said it may have been a suicide attack. Mr Kostoyev, who oversaw the Ingush police, had been the target of several previous assassination attempts. His two bodyguards and four civilians were also killed in the attack. It is thought the civilians were in at least one other passing car that was caught up in the explosion. "Almost nothing remains from the car that contained the explosive," a police spokesman, quoted by Itar-Tass news agency, said. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4988748.stm
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Editor - 11:02:00 05-17-06
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| Enron defence team wraps up case |
Government prosecutors rewrote Enron history and bullied witnesses into backing their case against its former bosses, their defence team has argued. The claims came on the second day of closing arguments in the case against former Enron bosses Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. They are accused of trying to hide $32bn (£18bn) of debts at the firm, but deny any wrongdoing. The jury in Houston, Texas, is expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday. Energy giant Enron collapsed in 2001 when the massive debts were revealed. Thousands of people lost their jobs and investments. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4988424.stm
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Editor - 10:06:00 05-17-06
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| Senate Bars Immigrant-Felons From Gaining U.S. Legal Status |
The Senate today agreed to exclude as many as 500,000 criminal aliens from a plan to give undocumented immigrants legal status, agreeing to compromise on a proposal that nearly killed immigration legislation last month. The Senate voted 99-0 to accept an amendment by Rep John Cornyn of Texas & Jon Kyl or Arizona to bar felons, repeat offenders & other criminal aliens from gaining legal status under a provision to give many of the 11 million immigrants illegally in the US a path to citizenship. ``We don't want people who are convicted felons, guilty of crimes, to be eligible for citizenship in this country,'' Arizona Rep John McCain said. ``At the same time we didn't want to go too far.'' The Senate is working through more than 20 amendments to an overhaul of immigration policy that would also strengthen border security & create a new guest-worker program. Notice that they use “Undocumented Immigrants” instead of Illegal Immigrants, they don’t want to upset potential voters. ...
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a1FL77QAyonA&refer=home
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Editor - 09:54:00 05-17-06
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| India vets Da Vinci amid protests |
Indian officials have held a special screening of controversial Hollywood blockbuster The Da Vinci Code after protests by Christians. Government officials and Catholic leaders viewed the film after broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi received over 200 complaints. Mr Dasmunsi said opinions would be sent by Friday to censors who would take a final decision on the film's release. The film receives its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. India's Central Board of Film Certification cleared the film on Monday, saying it would give it an adult rating if the film-makers agreed to a disclaimer at the start of the movie saying it was a work of fiction. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4989062.stm
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Editor - 09:45:00 05-17-06
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