Swine flu death toll hits 200 in China

Beijing - November saw a sharp rise in the official swine flu death toll in China, with 194 deaths recorded in that month, local media reported Saturday. The A(H1N1) influenza strain has so far been involved in 200 deaths in China, with 194 fatalities recorded in November alone, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Ministry of Health figures.

In a statement on Friday, the Ministry said that 89.3 percent of all flu cases reported in November were of the A(H1N1) strain, an increase of 12.4 percent from the previous month.

China's reported swine death toll has, until this week, remained low in comparison to other countries, sparking suspicions of a cover- up.

In this context, the sharp increase in the death toll may be a sign of increased transparency.

The Ministry also reported that more than 92,000 Chinese have contracted swine flu, while nearly 27 million people have received the A(H1N1) vaccination.

Another 1 million World Cup tickets go on general sale

Cape Town - The third ticketing phase for the 2010 World Cup was launched by FIFA Saturday with another 1 million tickets for next year's finals in South Africa going on general sale. Approximately 680,000 tickets have so far been sold to the general public for the 64 matches in the 10 World Cup venues situated in nine host cities.

"This is a huge amount," Horst Schmidt, chairman of the FIFA's ticketing sub-committee told a press conference in Cape Town, a day after the draw for the 2010 finals.

"We are confident that our promotional activities will be a huge success."

Fans have until January 22 to apply for individual match tickets or team-specific series but a fourth sales phase will commence on February 9, followed by a final "last-minute" offer.

However, Schmidt warned fans against waiting until the final moment to purchase tickets.

"There are tickets also available last-minute but the question is what tickets and for what matches," he said.

Schmidt also revealed that 2000,000 seats have been reserved for the hospitality sector, but while he believed the World Cup would be "attractive for international demand" he also accepted the global economic crisis would take its toll on corporate sales.

"Personally I don't believe we need this full allocation for hospitality," said Schmidt, adding that any unsold tickets would then be released for general sale.

Prices for group matches range from 20 dollars to 160 dollars for the opening match on June 11 between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

Tickets for the final on July 11 at the same venue will range from 100 to 600 dollars.

Category 4 tickets, the most affordable, have been exclusively set aside for South African residents.

Also, the member associations of the 32 qualified will be allocated 12 per cent of all purchasable tickets in the stadiums where their three group games will be played.

There are approximately 3.7 million tickets for the tournament but almost a third will be snapped up by sponsors and FIFA members.

Germany begin search for World Cup test opponents

Cape Town - Germany have begun the search for suitable opponents for friendly matches ahead of the 2010 World Cup and will consider scrapping plans to play Chile. After drawing Australia, Serbia and Ghana, coach Joachim Loew wants to line up matches against opponents with similar playing styles before traveling to South Africa.

Germany canceled a friendly against Chile last month following the death of goalkeeper Rober Enke and intended to play the South Americans before the World Cup.

But having avoided South American opposition in the draw, Loew intends to look for alternatives.

"We are going to have to change things a bit. We were thinking about a game against Chile...Now we have to consider whether that's such a good thing," Loew said.

"We have an opponent in Serbia who play European (football), and an African opponent. We will have to adjust to the style of our opponents."

Germany's last friendly before Loew names his provisional World Cup squad is against Argentina in Munich on March 3.

While Loew described the group as "difficult but manageable", there was a mixed response in Germany where the mass-circulation Bild daily said Germany had again been "kissed by luck."

"We'll do that easily, Jogi (Loew)," Bild wrote.

Spiegel online agreed that it was "a manageable task for the German team" but the Sueddeutsche Zeitung said that for once Germany had not been given the easiest of groups.

"The Germans have ... not got the easiest group (but not the most difficult; conclusion: semi-difficult, a bit treacherous), it wrote in its online edition.

German playing legend Franz Beckenbauer, writing for Bild, said many in Germany would be happy with the "lucky draw" for the national team.

"In Cape Town, I see it a bit differently. We have been given one of the most difficult groups," he said.

Beckenbauer said he thought Germany's group was even the second hardest after Group G containing Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea.

However he forecast Germany would progress to the last 16 along with Ghana.

Taiwan's opposition scores gains in local elections - Summary

Taipei - Taiwan's main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday scored gains in local elections, raising its hopes of regaining power from President Ma Ying-jeou's China-friendly KMT party. Out of the 17 city mayoral and country magistrate seats, the DPP held on to its three seats and won over Ilan County, a traditional stronghold of the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).

The KMT retained 12 of its 14 seats, losing one to DPP and the other to a KMT rebel.

As the DPP closed the gap in several other localities, it signaled the comeback of the DPP which lost to the KMT in the 2008 presidential polls - after eight years' rule - due to the corruption tainted administration of ex-president Chen Shui-bian.

"Today's election outcome shows the DPP has gained a steady foothold and the DPP has walked out of the bottom of the valley. It is the people of Taiwan's vote of no confidence for President Ma's performance," DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ying-wen said.

"It shows that Ma, in his political and economic policies, has strayed from the will of the people," she told a news conference.

Tsai, while happy to see the DPP successes, said there was still a long way before the DPP could reach its goal of seizing power.

President Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, acknowledged the KMT setback, calling it a "warning signal."

"We will humbly make self-examination. We are grateful that despite the economic downturn and high jobless rate, people still allow us to run 12 countries and cities," he said.

According to the Central Election Commission, the DPP snatched 45.3 per cent of votes, up from 42 per cent in the 2005 local elections, while the KMT captured 48 per cent votes, down from 51 per cent in 2005.

Analysts said the results will redefine the power bases of the KMT and DPP, and set the tone for next year's elections for four cities and counties directly controlled by the central government. These results will in turn affect the outcome of the 2012 presidential polls.

"In many constituencies, the KMT failed to win the majority vote, which should serve as a big warning to the ruling party," said Wang Yeh-lih, political science professor at National Taiwan University.

Wang acknowledged that the local polls were a mid-term test of Ma and his government's performances since he took office in May last year.

Ma's popularity has dropped due to several factors, including his moving too close to China, Taiwan's economic woes, the poor handling of Typhoon Morakot in August which killed more than 700, and the further opening of the market to US beef.

"Many people are disappointed by the incompetence of Ma's administration and the lack of transparency in his policy making. If the Ma government does not improve, it might lose the 2012 presidential election," Chen Ah-lu, a political analyst, told the German Press Agency dpa.

Iraq parliament fails to convene for election law debate - Summary

Baghdad - Iraq's parliament failed Saturday to convene the required number of legislators for a session to discuss details of a law covering voting in the 2010 parliamentary polls, an official said. According to the parliamentary official, who requested anonymity, the debate would now be postponed until Sunday.

Omar al-Mashhadani, a spokesman for parliament, had earlier told Sabah newspaper that a debate - without a vote - would take place on the distribution of parliamentary seats for the different provinces, including seats for minorities.

Some lawmakers had, however, predicted Friday that not enough enough members of the house would show up to fill the required quorum, as Shiite Muslims were still celebrating a holiday.

In the balance, Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni Muslim, must decide whether to veto a new version of the law by Sunday.

Reports have said backdoor negotiations continued based on both Iraqi proposals and one submitted by the United Nations.

After Hashami first vetoed the legislation in November on the grounds that he wanted to ensure more representation for displaced Iraqis, most of whom are thought to be Sunnis, parliament returned a new version of the law that Sunni lawmakers complained would further reduce their voice in the new parliament.

The ruling coalition, which is dominated by Shiite and Kurdish parties, says it has enough votes to overturn al-Hashemi's veto, should he choose to use it a second time.

A session next week at parliament is set to see a vote, with legislators predicting the elections will be set for March, though originally Iraqis were supposed to go to the polls in January.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/297936,iraq-parliament-fails-to-convene-for-election-law-debate--summary.html.

Spain eye Rustenburg as World Cup base

MADRID: World Cup favorites Spain are due to choose Rustenburg, the mining city situated at altitude north east of Johannesburg, for their World Cup base, according to reports on Saturday.

The European champions, FIFA's top-ranked team, were pitted against fellow Hispanic nations Honduras and Chile in Group H, along with Switzerland, in the draw made in Cape Town on Friday.

Media reaction here to the draw was favorable, but the possibility of facing Brazil, Portugal or Ivory Coast, in the next round was described as "diabolical" by Sports daily Marca.

Spain's first match will be at Durban against the Swiss, followed by the Hondurans in Johannesburg and Chile in nearby Pretoria.

Reflecting on Friday's draw Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said: "We can't complain or be happy. But each team has its qualities -- Honduras is a good team, Chile is a great team and Switzerland will be a difficult rival."

If Spain do choose Rustenburg they will have as their neighbors England, who are due to set up camp at the town's Royal Bafokeng Sports Complex.

Morocco again blocks return of Sahara activist: Spain

LANZAROTE, Spain — Spain said Moroccan authorities Saturday again refused to allow Western Sahara activist Aminatou Haidar to return home, a decision it said it "deeply regrets."

The decision risked worsening the already tense diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco over the award-winning activist, who has been on a hunger strike for almost three weeks.

The chief of staff at the foreign ministry, Agustin Santos, said Rabat early Saturday refused to allow Haidar to return to her hometown of Laayoune in Western Sahara from Lanzarote in Spain's Canary Islands, even though she had an exit permit from Spain.

He told reporters in Lanzarote that Spain "deeply regrets" Rabat's decision which is "contrary to international law."

It was the second time in two days that Morocco has refused Haidar permission to return.

Spain said on Friday Rabat had initially allowed her to fly to Laayoune and then denied permission as the plane was preparing to take off.

Haidar, who campaigns for the independence of the Western Sahara from Morocco, had boarded the plane after calling off a hunger strike which she had staged at the airport on Lanzarote.

The 42-year-old on Saturday resumed the fast that she began on November 16, three days after Moroccan authorities denied her entry into Western Sahara, a disputed territory annexed by Morocco in 1975, allegedly confiscated her passport, and sent her back to Lanzarote.

The mother-of-two has camped out at the airport to draw attention to her cause, which has been backed by several celebrities, including Oscar-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem.

Spain had offered to give Haidar refugee status or Spanish citizenship so she could be allowed to return home but she rejected both options on the grounds that she did not want to become "a foreigner in her own home."

Santos said Saturday that Spain has offered to house her until the situation is resolved and also allow visits by her family.

Haidar responded by saying her only wish is to "go home to my children and my mother, in Laayoune."

And she again hit out at Spanish authorities, whom she has accused of collaborating with Morocco by accepting her after she was expelled from the Western Sahara.

"Spain is unable to resolve the situation," she said in a statement read by her lawyer, Ines Miranda.

"I say once again that Spain is Morocco's accomplice, and both governments want to push me to death. Spain is directly responsible for the consequences of the hunger strike that I have been keeping for 20 days."

The Moroccan embassy in Madrid issued a statement Saturday rejecting "all the versions, speculation and commentaries that have been going round about the supposed withdrawal of the supposed authorization" for Haidar's return.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri said Wednesday that Haidar had "disowned her identity and her nationality" and "must accept, on her own, the legal and moral consequences which result from this behavior".

Morocco annexed phosphate-rich Western Sahara after Spain left in 1975 and has pledged to grant it widespread autonomy, but rules out independence as demanded by the Polisario Front movement.

While fighting in the desert territory halted in 1991, UN-sponsored talks on Western Sahara's future have made no headway.

Haidar won the Robert Kennedy human rights prize in 2008 as well as several other awards for her activism on behalf of Western Sahara.