NewsLink Services Ltd. TEL: 357 25340360 FAX: 357 25340388 EMAIL: Info@NewsLinkServices.com
COPYRIGHT © - Information provided is the copyright of NewsLink Services Limited and must not be reproduced in any medium without license or should not be forwarded or re-transmitted to any other non-subscribing vessel or individual.
DISCLAIMER - Your Company's regulations & procedures take precedence over all information in NewsLink.

WEATHER - New York: 15-23c Mostly sunny, Washington: 20-26c PM Showers, London: 12-18c Showers, Moscow: 5-8c Showers, New Delhi: 26-34 Thunderstorms, Beijing: 17-28c Sunny, Tokyo: 22-26c Showers, Bangkok: 26-31 Thunderstorms, Canberra: 1-16c Partly cloudy, Brasilia: 16-31c Sunny, Buenos Aires: 3-18c Mostly cloudy.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE - EUR 1 = USD 1.4090; GBP 0.8020 (Source: European Central Bank); AUD 1 = USD 0.7960 (Reserve Bank of Australia); USD 1 = JPY 107.1600 (Source: Bank of Japan); INR 45.4450 (Source: UNI); PHP 47.0800 (Source: Bango Sentral ng Pilipinas); SGD 1.4420 (Source: DBS Singapore); THB 34.7450.

Europe: Chechen President Accuses US Of Provoking Russia-Georgia War
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov yesterday accused Washington of provoking Georgia to begin a war in breakaway province of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to test Russian resolve. He added that the way Moscow handled the situation showed that it was the stronger power. Kadyrov, a close ally of the US, further said, "The USA provoked Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to unleash war against South Ossetia. I don't think the United States of America have any future with such leaders. I'm ill disposed to the USA leaders, while I sincerely respect people of the USA." Czech Passes US Missile Defence Deal: Ignoring threats from Russia, the Czech government yesterday approved completely a missile defence pact with the US, allowing the US troops to station at a planned missile defence base near Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. A key bilateral treaty, allowing Washington to build a radar base in Czech Republic, has already been approved by the Czech government. Both the agreements, however, still needed to be passed by the Parliament and President Vaclav Klaus. Meanwhile, Czech Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova yesterday said that his country decided to purchase military materiel, including two transport planes Hercules, within its strategic co-operation with the US. "This (Hercules supply) could be part of the agreement and maybe I will be able to hand such information to the government next week," he added. Britain, Italy To Boost Nuke Energy Co-Operation: Italian Prime Minster Silvio Berlusconi, currently touring the UK, yesterday expressed his country's desire to boost co-operation with the UK on nuclear energy. He added that Rome needed to invest in nuclear power in order to fulfill his country's demand, and would co-operate with London to speed up investments. "We do hope that there is going to be a single nuclear policy for Europe," Berlusconi further said. For his part, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that he was pleased to announce that the UK and Italy would work together in the area of nuclear energy. "We both agreed that nuclear power can play an important part in achieving our shared objectives on climate change and energy security," he noted.

Asia, Asia Pacific: Thai Army Chief Calls For Emergency Decree Lift
Anupong Paojinda, Thailand's Army Commander-in-chief, yesterday called on the authorities to lift the state of emergency in Bangkok, imposed by the now disqualified Prime Minister Samak Sundaravejon on September 2. Paojinda added that he made the proposal to - Somchai Wongsawat - first deputy prime minister, who is also now the acting prime minister, on lifting the emergency decree, which came into existence following deadly clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters. Zardari Condemns Mosque Blast: Pakistani newly appointed President Asif Ali Zardari yesterday condemned the recent attack on a mosque that killed some 25 people and injured over 50. The incident took place at a mosque in lower Dir District of North West Frontier Province. Japan Announces ASDF Troops' Pull Out Timetable From Iraq: Japan Defense Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi yesterday said that the country would withdraw its Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) from Iraq by this year-end. He added that the decision was made, as the Iraqi government wanted to reduce foreign military presence in the country following an improvement in political and security situations in the war-torn nation. Strong Quake Rocks Japan: An earthquake with 7.1 magnitude yesterday rocked Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. There were no reports of injuries or damage. China's National Seismological Monitoring Network said in a statement that the turmoil occurred at 8:20am local time and the epicenter was at 41.8 degrees north and 144.0 degrees east.

Middle East: Iraq To Buy US Fighter Jets
Iraq is set to buy F-16 fighter jets from the US, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qadir Jasim Mohammad announced yesterday. "This advanced plane would help improve the future ability of the Iraqi Army in order to protect the entire country, including the Kurdistan region, from any foreign aggression," he noted while addressing media in Baghdad. Palestinians Seek Advance Timetables For Peace Talks: A Palestinian official yesterday said that his country wanted the new Israeli premier to set timetables in advance if the Jewish state was interested in continuing peace talks. "The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) will put conditions on the coming premier, if he/she wants to continue the negotiations, to set time limits for the talks to end them quickly without more delaying," the official added. The statement came as the current Israeli premier is set to resign on September 17 following an indictment for corruption. Blast Kills Lebanese Lawmaker: A car explosion yesterday killed a member of the pro-Syrian opposition in south-east area of Beirut, Lebanon. The Lebanese Democratic Party's Saleh Aridi was killed in explosion occurred in Mont Lebanon district of Aley, as he started his car's engine, a party official said

Oil Slides Even As OPEC Cuts Output
The price of crude oil maintained its downward swirl amidst weaker demand even as OPEC decided to reduce output levels. The Brent crude lost USD 1.37 to close at USD 98.87 as OPEC members held talks in Vienna to cut daily production levels by 520,000 barrels within 40 days. The US crude also ended lower to close at USD 102.58, a fall of 68 cents. The latest slump in prices comes at the heels of heightened concerns of global oil prices as it reached record prices in July this year amidst heightened demands from developing countries such as India and China. But since then the prices of crude in the international market have fallen by nearly 30%, which observers mainly attribute to reduction in global demand for oil. Many OPEC members urged it to reduce oil production to maintain the prices above USD 100 a barrel. But now the International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported that consumers in industrial nations are changing their lifestyle in order to adjust to the high prices of oil, thus decreasing demand. It has also cut its estimate for global oil demand for this year and the next.

Losses Mount At Lehman
US bank Lehman Brothers reported another massive net loss in the third quarter amidst outlining radical plans to strengthen its finances. The troubled bank made losses amounting to USD 3.9 billion between June and August totaling its net losses for the year to USD 6.6 billion. In a quick reaction the bank slashed its dividend and decided to sell a stake in its lucrative find management arm. But to make matters worst, none of its investors have come up to bolster the firm's finances. It, however, said that it will also reduce its exposure to residential mortgages and spin off its commercial real estate business as part of a shake-up of the company. On September 9, its shares plummeted by more than 45% and trading was down by 6.9%. "This is an extraordinary time for our industry, and one of the toughest periods in the firm's history," said chairman and chief executive of the bank, Richard Fuld. Lehman, the fourth-largest US investment bank, had hoped to secure a deal with the Korea Development Bank (KDB) before announcing its third-quarter earnings, but KDB earlier said that it had pulls out of talks due to disagreement over conditions of a transaction and considering domestic and foreign financial market conditions.

Marine Safety News
There has been a significant drop in piracy attacks in the Malacca Straits, over the last three years. In 2006 and 2007, the attacks were all against steaming ships. Berthed and anchored ships in Malaysian and Singaporean waters are relatively safe, indicating effective port security measures. Statistics indicate that the number of reported attacks has fallen more than 80% between 2004 and 2007. This is partly because, in 2004, the littoral states in the Malacca Straits area launched a trilateral initiative, co-ordinating patrol forces to provide year round security and launching "Eye in the Sky" during the same period. Both initiatives have provided visible deterrence and have contributed to a dramatic decline in the number of piracy and robbery incidents in the area.

Fashion In Sydney Goes Underwater
Fashion has stooped to new lows, literally. Fashionists in Australia staged an underwater fashion show with lots of flailing arms and a mass bad hair day. The show, which also included Australia's first public underwater fashion shoot, delighted tourists and passers-by in Sydney's picturesque Circular Quay. "I felt sorry for the hair and makeup artists because they spent so long doing my hair and makeup and as soon as I got in it just washed away, but it's all fun", said Jaynie Seal, a television weather presenter who was part of the show, sponsored by a women's magazine. The official event photographer Daniel Smith said that it was fairly hard to look glamorous under water and they had to get specialist make up that doesn't runs out. The show saw a dripping wet team of photographers who were shivering after the event. It featured nine sharply dressed models who climbed up a ladder and plunged into a large tank of water. The show, for obvious reasons, had no 'catwalk'.

Indians Turn To God In Face Of Big Bang Test
People in the Indian state of Orissa have been flocking to places of religious worship after news televisions in the country flashed news of the scientific experiments that are being conducted on the border of Switzerland and France. Though the scientists conducting the experiment have ruled out any trouble, the worshippers have said that the experiment might bring the end of the universe. ''Some television channels have shown that the experiment may affect the earth, and we are afraid and are therefore turning to God," Sanghamitra Biswal a housewife in Bhubaneswar, capital of the state. But she is not the only one to believe the news channels. According to reports, people visited temples in different parts of the state early yesterday with many temples witnessing large crowds in the morning. Subhendu Patnaik, director of the Pathani Samanta Planetarium said that people have been calling at the Planetarium to inquire about the experiment. "We have received large number of queries from people. They are asking us if there is any threat to the earth. We are telling them it is like any other scientific experiment and nothing bad is going to happen,'' Patnaik said.

Football: England Beat Zagreb
England yesterday thrashed Croatia 4-1 in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, thanks to a stunning hat-trick by Theo Walcott. The 19-year-old gave England lead in the 26th minute and added his second in the 60th minute, capitalising a perfect pass by Wayne Rooney. The third goal came from the boots of Rooney in the 63rd minute. For Croatia, Mario Mandzukic scored a goal in the 76th minute after getting a pass from Darijo Srna. Walcott scored his third goal, which was England's fourth, in the 82nd minute. "We played well, like a team and without problems," England coach Fabio Capello said. "But, this is only one victory, a good performance and nothing else," he added.

F1: Raikkonen: I'll Fight Till End
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who is 19 points behind the world championship leader Lewis Hamilton, admitted that his position was not ideal, but said that he would fight till the end. The Finn added that he was currently focussing on this weekend's Italian Grand Prix. "I will fight until the very end. The points will be counted after the final race - nothing is certain before that," Raikkonen noted. The 28-year-old is now fourth in the drivers' championship after dramatically crashing out of the Belgian Grand Prix last weekend. "I had just one goal when I came to Belgium: victory. I just wanted to win the race, anything else would not have been enough for me, also because it meant that my competitors could have widened the gap." He added, "There's no point in complaining now. I did my very best, but it wasn't enough. These things happen. It's the same in ice hockey or in motocross: you give and you take, but you never give up."

Boxing: DeGale: Khan Will Come Back Stronger
Olympic gold medallist James DeGale yesterday said that he was convinced Amir Khan would come back stronger after recovering from his defeat by Breidis Prescott. "The mark of a great champion is not always how they win but how they come back from defeat," added, Degale, who was one of the guests of honour in Manchester, as the 21-year-old Bolton boxer was knock out in 54 seconds by Prescott. "I'm convinced he'll come back stronger - he's destined to reach the top," he added. It was the first defeat of Khan's 19-fight professional career, after which many said that he would struggle to make a renewed world title push. However, DeGale supported Khan and said, "I know Amir and I know he'll react positively to this. He'll come to terms with his defeat."