Below follows a news precis
taken from a favourite news source -
Radio Netherlands -
it presents a different perspective to that normally found in the Anglo-Saxon press
it presents a different perspective to that normally found in the Anglo-Saxon press
World news briefs at Thursday 1st January 2009
Fire in Bangkok club kills over 50
Over 50 people have been killed and about 100 injured in a fire at a New Year's party in a nightclub in the Thai capital Bangkok. It is thought the blaze may have been caused by a short circuit. The club is in a street popular with tourists, but it is not yet known whether any foreigners died in the fire.
Russian Gazprom to cut gas supplies to Ukraine
Russia's Gazprom monopoly says it will cut off gas supplies to Ukraine from Thursday. The move follows the failure of talks on a gas price rise for 2009 and on Ukraine's outstanding debts to Gazprom.
Three years ago, a similar dispute led to Russian gas supplies to Europe being reduced for a few days. About 80 percent of the gas Russia supplies to Europe is transported via pipelines running through Ukraine. The government in Kiev, however, is promising that European gas supplies will not be affected this time round.
Ethiopians prepare to withdraw from Somalia
Ethiopian troops appear to be preparing to pull out of Somalia, with eyewitnesses saying the soldiers are loading up lorries. Initially, they were to have withdrawn on Wednesday, but the Somali government says they will now leave in the first week of January.
An estimated 3,000 Ethiopian troops have been in Somalia since helping to expel Islamist rebels from the capital Mogadishu two years ago. The rebels are now in control of large parts of southern Somalia.
Some observers fear that a power vacuum will be created when the Ethiopians leave. Others, however, see the Ethiopian withdrawal as an opportunity for a decisive government to get to work after a long period of anarchy in Somalia.
Australia and New Zealand celebrate 2009
Sydney has become the first major world city to welcome in 2009. About one and a half million people assembled to witness the New Year fireworks display.
True to tradition, it took place on Harbour Bridge so that the fireworks could explode over the famous Sydney Opera House. Some people had been waiting for 12 hours to ensure good viewing positions.
A total of 5,000 kilos of fireworks, at a cost of about two million euros, went up in smoke. Two hours earlier, New Zealand celebrated the New Year, with a firework display from Aukland's Sky Tower.
Israel rejects Gaza truce
The Israeli cabinet has rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid to be brought in. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says conditions are not right for a truce at the moment.
Arab foreign ministers have been meeting in Cairo to discuss the situation in Gaza. The Arab world is deeply divided over what attitude it should take to the radical standpoint of the Hamas movement.
Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Dubai have all cancelled their New Year's festivities because of Israel's attacks on Gaza in which at least 380 people have been killed. Over the last few days, four people have died as a result of Hamas rocket attacks targetting Israel.
The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered that from Thursday morning foreign journalists must be allowed into the Gaza Strip. The court, however, limited the number of journalists permitted through to 12 each time the border is opened for aid supplies.
China and Vietnam settle border dispute
China and Vietnam have settled their long-standing border dispute. Nine years ago, Hanoi and Beijing agreed to resolve the issue by the end of 2008. Teams from both countries have been busy ever since defining the approximately 1,400 kilometres of border. The final stretch was fixed shortly before the expiry of the deadline.
Almost 30 years ago, China invaded Vietnam because of the border question. The war lasted one month, claimed 10,000 lives and ended without a clear winner. The countries normalised their relations in 1991, and are now important trading partners. The border territory is now intended to become a joint economic growth zone.
Chinese melamine-milk boss pleads guilty
The 66-year-old former head of the dairy company at the heart of the Chinese melamine-milk case has pleaded guilty to the charges against her. Tian Wenhua appeared in court on Wednesday with three other executives. All four face charges of producing fake or sub-standard products. They face possible life imprisonment.
Ms Tian was the head of the Sanlu Group, the firm that added melamine to milk used in dairy products for babies. The melamine, a chemical used to make plastics, was added to the milk to conceal the fact that it had been diluted with water. Almost 3,000 babies fell sick after drinking the contaminated products. Six of them died. The Sanlu Group has since gone bankrupt.
Although 20 other dairy firms were also involved in the scam, the Sanlu Group was the main offender. Last week, the Chinese government ordered the other firms to pay an estimated 110 million euros in damages to the families affected.
Poland wants own minister to succeed NATO head
Poland has submitted its Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, as the new secretary general of NATO. Warsaw wants to see Mr Sikorski succeed the current secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, who is due to step down in 2009.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk says new members of organisations such as NATO should given more say in how they are run. Poland became a member of NATO in 1999. Mr De Hoop Scheffer's successor is due to be announced at a NATO summit in April.
Hu calls for cooperation with Taiwan
In a live television broadcast, Chinese President Hu Jintao has appealed for military cooperation with Taiwan and for closer economic ties. The president did not comment on what such cooperation would entail, but his words can be seen as a new gesture of reconciliation with Taiwan.
Taiwan broke away from China in 1949. Ever since, the Chinese government has considered it a renegade province. However, relations between the two countries have improved considerably since President Ma Ying-jeou came to power in Taiwan at the beginning of 2008. Earlier in December, the two countries began direct daily flights and shipping services with each other.
Zimbabwe's Mukoko must stay in jail
In Zimbabwe, a Harare court has ruled that the prominent Zimbabwean human rights activist Jestina Mukoko must remain in jail. Ms Mukoko and 15 co-defendants will appear before a judge on Monday. They are accused of plotting a coup against President Robert Mugabe.
Ms Mukoko was taken from her home three weeks ago and held in a secret location. This led to fierce protests both in Zimbabwe and abroad. The European Union demanded her release and that of the other suspects.
The Zimbabwean opposition views the case as the latest attempt by the government to silence protesters. Almost all the 15 others accused with Ms Mukoko are members of the MDC opposition party.
The Zimbabwean Supreme Court ruled last week that the secret detention of Ms Mukoko and the other suspects was unlawful. The government appealed against the ruling.
Bangladesh winner offers government posts to rival
Sheikh Hasina, the winner of Bangladesh's parliamentary elections, has asked her rival to accept defeat. She says that in return she is prepared to offer members of Begum Khaled Zia's Bangladesh National Party (BNP) ministerial posts in the new government.
Ms Zia has accused her rival of massive vote rigging and says she will hand over evidence to the appropriate authorities in the next few days. International observers say the poll was largely free and fair.
According to the electoral commission, Ms Hasina's Awami League and allied parties won a combined total of 263 of the 300 seats in parliament. The BNP won just 29 seats. International observers are now calling on both sides to work together for the future of Bangladesh.
Indonesia clears spy of involvement in murder
A former high-ranking member of the Indonesian intelligence services has been cleared of any involvement in the murder of Munir Thalib, the human rights activist who was poisoned in 2004 during a flight from Jakarta to the Netherlands.
Justice officials had demanded a jail sentence of 15 years for Muchdi Purwoprandjono, but a judge in Jakarta said there was no evidence to prove that the spy had ordered the murder. During the trial, several key witnesses refused to give evidence. This prompted Indonesia human rights activities to say the authorities wanted to cover up the truth behind the murder.
An off-duty pilot on the plane in which Mr Munir was travelling when he died has already been given a 20-year jail sentence for administering the poison. The former director of Garuda Indonesian Airlines has been sentenced to one year in jail for his role in the affair.
Blagojevich appoints Obama successor
In the United States, Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois has appointed a 71-year-old African-American lawyer to the Senate seat left vacant by president-elect Barak Obama. During the 1990s, Roland Burris was the highest paid public prosecutor in Illinois. He was the first African-American to be elected to state office in Illinois when he won the 1978 election to be state comptroller.
Governor Blagojevich was recently embroiled in a scandal when it was revealed he had attempted to sell the vacant seat to the highest bidder. Since then, he has come under great pressure to resign. However, he says he has done nothing wrong and has ignored the calls to quit.
The Democrats in the Senate have announced that they do not intend to recognise the nomination of Mr Burris. Mr Obama has said he supports their decision.
Dutch News: Sex industry companies protest bank boycott
In a letter to Minister of Justice Hirsch Ballin, the National Association of Dutch Sex Companies says banks no longer want to do business with them. The letter says the banks intend to close existing accounts and refuse to open new ones. The banks involved are ABN AMRO, Fortis, ING, SNS and the Rabobank. Only the Postbank has refused to join the boycott.
The association says the banks are taking the action because they no longer want to be associated with firms that may be involved in money laundering and human trafficking. However, the association points out that the boycott also applies to companies that fully abide by the law.
The association says it does not object to companies or individuals that break the law being refused by the banks, but wants the government to ensure that bona fide firms are not subject to the boycott. It adds that if all firms are forced to open an account via a third party, this will make the activities of the sex industry less transparent, and points out that this is something the government has been working hard in recent years to avoid.
The association is a national organisation for brothels, swingers' clubs, massage parlours, erotic cafes, escort companies and SM studios.
This
report is summarised from Radio
Netherlands.
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