Malala asks Pakistan not to rename college for her

MINGORA, Pakistan (AP) — A 15-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for promoting girls' education has urged Pakistan to reverse a decision to rename a college in her honor to avert militant attacks on students, an official said Friday.
Malala Yousufzai, who became a symbol of youth resistance to the Taliban, made the request after students broke into the school, tore down Malala's pictures and boycotted classes in her home town of Mingora. They said renaming the college endangered their lives.
Senior government official Kamran Rehman said Malala called him from London, where she was being treated for critical wounds from the attack on Oct. 9. The Taliban said it targeted her for promoting education for secular girls.
Malala's case won worldwide recognition for the struggle for women's rights in Pakistan and Taliban have vowed to target her again.
Pakistani Taliban have a strong presence in the country's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
A bomb ripped through the office of a local militant commander Maulvi Abbas in Wana, a main town in the South Waziristan tribal region in the northwest, killing him and three of his guards, two intelligence officials said Friday.
Abbas was an associate of Hakimullah Mehsud, the head of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
It was unclear who had planted the bomb. The attack came weeks after a suicide bomber in the same town attacked Maulvi Nazir, a prominent militant commander who is believed to have a nonaggression pact with the army.
Nazir was wounded in the attack, and seven of his men were killed.
Since then there has been tension between followers of Nazir and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in the region.

Read More..

AP PHOTOS: A photo journey through North Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — My window on North Korea is sometimes, quite literally, a window — of a hotel room, the backseat of a car, a train. Fleeting moments of daily life present themselves suddenly, and they are opportunities to show a side of the country that is entirely at odds with the official portrait of marching troops and tightly coordinated pomp that the Pyongyang leadership presents to the world.
In April, I was part of a group of international journalists that traveled by train to the launch site for this year's first, failed rocket test. We traveled in a spotless train used by the Communist leadership, and I spent the five-hour journey inside my sleeper car looking out the large, clean window at a rural landscape seen by few foreign eyes. The tracks cut across fields where large groups of farmers were at work in clusters. Occasionally, there was a plow drawn by oxen or a brick-red tractor rolling along the gravel roads. On a rocky hilltop above the train tracks, a small boy sprinted and waved at the passing train. Every few hundred yards along the entire route, local officials in drab coats stood guard, their backs to the tracks, until its cargo of foreign reporters had safely passed.
I have made 17 trips into North Korea since 2000, including six since The Associated Press bureau in Pyongyang opened in January 2012. It is an endlessly fascinating and visually surreal place, but it is also one of the hardest countries I have ever photographed. As one of the few international photographers with regular access to the country, I consider it a huge responsibility to show life there as accurately as I can.
That can be a big challenge. Foreigners are almost always accompanied by a government guide — a "minder" in journalistic parlance — who helps facilitate our coverage requests but also monitors nearly everything we do. Despite the official oversight, we try to see and do as much as we can, push the limits, dig as deeply as possible, give an honest view of what we are able to see. Over time, there have been more and more opportunities to leave the showplace capital, Pyongyang, and mingle with the people. But they are usually wary of foreigners and aware that they too are being watched.
This has been a historic year for North Korea, with large-scale dramatic displays to mark important milestones, struggles with food shortages, crippling floods, drought and typhoons, as well as growing evidence that people's lives are changing in small but significant ways. But in a country that carefully choreographs what it shows to the outside world, separating what is real from what is part of the show is often very difficult.
Last spring, as North Korea was preparing for the 100th birthday of its late founder, Kim Il Sung, citizens practiced for weeks, even months, for the large-scale military parade and public folk dancing that was part of the celebration.
One morning, on our way through town, we saw small groups of performers walking home from an early rehearsal. They wore their brightly colored traditional clothing, but covered over with warm winter coats. In their hands were the red bunches of artificial flowers that they shake and wave in honor of country's leaders during mass rallies.
From the van window, I saw a woman standing alone, holding her bouquet as she waited for the bus. It was, to me, a more telling moment than the actual events we would cover a week later, a simple but provocative glimpse into one person's life.
For this project, I used a Hasselblad XPAN, a panoramic-view film camera that is no longer manufactured. Throughout the year, I wore it around my neck and shot several dozen rolls of color negative film in between my normal coverage of news and daily life with my AP-issued digital cameras.
The XPAN is quiet, discrete, manual and simple. Because it has a wide panoramic format, it literally gives me a different view of North Korea. The film also reflects how I feel when I'm in North Korea, wandering among the muted or gritty colors, and the fashions and styles that often seem to come from a past generation.
In my photography, I try to maintain a personal point of view, a critical eye, and shoot with a style that I think of as sometimes-whimsical and sometimes-melancholy. My aim is to open a window for the world on a place that is widely misunderstood and that would otherwise rarely be seen by outsiders.
I hope these images help people to develop their own understanding of the country, one that goes beyond the point-counterpoint presented by Pyongyang and Washington. And maybe they can help create some sort of bridge between the people of North Korea and the rest of the world.

Read More..

World stocks fall as US budget negotiations stall

BANGKOK (AP) — Heightened uncertainty about the outcome of budget negotiations in Washington among President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican lawmakers drove world stock markets lower Friday.
If a compromise is not in place by Jan. 1, the Bush-era tax cuts will expire and spending cuts will kick in automatically — a one-two punch to the economy that many experts fear will push the U.S. economy back into recession just as it begins to recover from the last one.
European stocks were lower in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent to 5,938.01. Germany's DAX lost 0.3 percent to 7,646.76. France's CAC-40 was 0.1 percent lower at 3,662.38.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 1 to close at 9,940.06. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7 percent to 22,506.29. South Korea's Kospi shed 1 percent at 1,980.42. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 4,623.60. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan also fell. Malaysia and the Philippines rose. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed.
U.S. stock futures tumbled after rank-and-file Republican lawmakers failed to support an alternative tax plan by House Speaker John Boehner late Thursday in Washington. That plan would have allowed tax rates to rise on households earning $1 million and up. Obama wants the level to be $400,000.
"I think the Republicans will have to yield," said Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong. "Fighting for rich men does not endear you to voters. People earning more than $1 million are considered rich, so it doesn't do the Republican Party any good to really fight for the rights of rich people."
Ironically, the two leaders had significantly narrowed their differences toward a compromise. The latest setback, with Republicans bucking their leader, left precious little time for an agreement to be reached before the "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts goes into effect.
Dow Jones industrial futures dropped 1.1 percent to 13,116 and S&P 500 futures lost 1.2 percent to 1,423.90. Analysts cautioned, however, that market swings would be exaggerated because of light trading volumes that typically accompany end-of-year holidays.
"Approaching the weekend and holiday, volumes will likely remain thin, with choppy trading sessions while the 'fiscal cliff' talks will stay in the spotlight," said Kintai Cheung of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong in an email commentary.
Among individual stocks, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. fell 5.8 percent, days after Japan's Transport Ministry issued a warning to the carmaker over the handling of oil leaks in mini-vehicles. Australian surf wear maker Billabong International rose 3.1 percent a day after chief financial officer Craig White left the troubled retailer.
Among mainland Chinese shares, Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth, China's top rare earth producer, lost 2.2 percent.
Benchmark crude for February delivery fell 86 cents to $89.28 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 15 cents to finish at $90.13 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.
In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3209 from $1.3241 late Thursday in New York. The dollar fell to 84.03 yen from 84.42 yen.

Read More..

Delhi police say they will protect women on buses

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian officials announced Friday a broad campaign to protect women in New Delhi following the gang rape and brutal beating of a 23-year-old student on a moving bus in the capital.
Police arrested a boy Thursday night, the fifth person detained in connection with the crime, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said. Authorities were hunting for the final assailant, he said. Those arrested were being charged with attempted murder in addition to kidnapping and rape.
The government is seeking life sentences for the assailants, Home Secretary R.K. Singh told reporters Friday.
"This is an incident which has shocked all of us," he said.
The attack sparked days of protests across the country from women demanding that authorities take tougher action to protect them against the daily threat of harassment and violence. The government said it is taking steps to address those concerns.
"There will not be any tolerance for crimes against women," Singh said.
Bus drivers in New Delhi will be required to display their identification prominently in the vehicles, buses are now required to remove tinting from their windows and plainclothes police are being placed on buses to protect female passengers, he said. In addition, chartered buses such as the one where the attack occurred will be impounded if they illegally ply for fares on the streets, he said.
Authorities are also cracking down on drunk driving and on loitering gangs of drunken youths, he said.
The victim and a companion were attacked after getting a ride on a chartered bus following a movie Sunday evening. Police said the men on the bus gang-raped her and beat her and her companion with iron rods as the bus drove through the city for hours, even passing through police checkpoints. The assailants eventually stripped the pair and dumped them on the side of a road.
Protesters marched Friday to the presidential mansion and toward Parliament, while theater troupes performed plays about women's safety in a park in central Delhi. A group blocked traffic near the hospital where the victim, who had severe internal injuries, was being treated.
Dr. B.D. Athani, the medical superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital, told reporters the victim was "stable, alert and conscious," but remained on a ventilator.
"We are ready to send the victim to anywhere in the world for treatment," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said. "I have given that assurance to the parents of the girl that we will give every kind of help, no matter what it costs."
Parliamentarian M. Venkaiah Naidu said a special legislative committee would meet next week to take action to protect women.
The government, Singh said, was proposing laws to make it easier for attacked women to come forward, to ensure rape cases are dealt with swiftly in the nation's notoriously slow court system and for increasing the punishment for the crime to a possible death sentence.
"(The) people of Delhi will feel safe moving through the streets of the city, at any point of time, day or night. That is our objective," Singh said.

Read More..

Russia's Gazprom to buy Kyrgyz state gas company

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — Kyrgyzstan's state-owned natural gas company says it is to be sold to Russia's energy monopoly Gazprom, raising hopes of an end to debilitating energy shortages in the impoverished Central Asian nation.
Kyrgyzgaz general director Turgunbek Kulmurzayev said Friday that the sale of the company to the Russian gas giant would be completed by April 1.
Last week, gas and electricity supplies to thousands of Kyrgyz households were suspended.
The crisis was provoked by a shortage in natural gas deliveries from neighboring Kazakhstan, which had to hold onto its own reserves after failing to receive imports from Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous nation of 5 million on China's western border, also has substantial unpaid debts to Kazakhstan.
Residents in the capital, Bishkek, and nearby towns were hits by days of gas and power shortages just as temperatures dropped to around minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit). Failure in gas deliveries pushes people into using more electricity for heating, which in turn leads to blackouts.
The inability of former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to fulfill basic energy needs led to his violent overthrow in 2010.
The sale of a major national asset to a company owned by a foreign government is likely to raise concerns. Russia has made similar efforts to gain control over important energy infrastructure in other former Soviet republic, such as Ukraine and Belarus.
Kyrgyzgaz's Kulmurzayev traveled to Moscow this week to hold a new round of talks with Gazprom, which offered to buy up the entire company. Kyrgyzgaz is currently 87 percent owned by the state. Another 4.5 percent is held by social investment funds, with the remainder belonging to private investors.
"The Russians now want to buy the entire stock, even from private shareholders," Kulmurzayev said in Bishkek.
Kulmurzayev gave no figure for the sale, but the sum is expected to be nominal due to the company's outstanding debts of around $31 million. He added that Gazprom officials said they plan to invest $650 million over five years on modernizing Kyrgyzstan's gas pipeline network.
"The price for fuel will be substantially cheaper than what is paid to Kazakhstan — $224 per thousand cubic meters — or Uzbekistan — $290 per thousand cubic meters," Kulmurzayev said. "We hope Gazprom will solve the fuel delivery problem in 2013."

Read More..

Canada economy ekes out 0.1 percent growth in October

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian economy grew by just 0.1 percent in October from September, indicating a very slow start to the fourth quarter amid foreign and domestic economic woes, Statistics Canada data indicated on Friday.
The figure matched analysts' expectations. The Bank of Canada says fourth quarter growth will be 2.5 percent annualized but the October data confirm market suspicions the real figure will be much less impressive.
Overall, output rose in 12 of 18 sectors. Service industries grew by 0.1 percent on strength in wholesale and retail trade while goods production was unchanged.
Mining and oil and gas extraction advanced by 0.3 percent while support activities for the mining industry grew by 1.3 percent, reflecting higher drilling and rigging services. Canada is the single biggest exporter of energy to the United States.
Manufacturing output fell by 0.4 percent. Canadian firms are struggling to cope with weak markets in the United States and Europe as well as the challenges posed by a strong dollar.

Read More..

Ugandan shilling steady, seen weaker after Christmas holiday

KAMPALA (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling was unchanged against the dollar on Friday but traders said they expected it to weaken once more active trading resumed next year.
At 1238 GMT commercial banks in Kampala quoted the currency of east Africa's third-largest economy at 2,645/2,655, unchanged from Thursday's close.
"The market is pretty flat because (dollar) demand is not there but going into 2013 we anticipate some small depreciation for the shilling," said Shahzad Kamaluddin, trader at Crane Bank.
"Considering the negative factors like a growing current account deficit, aid cuts and the central bank's loose policy stance I reckon the shilling will weaken when business resumes."
The shilling has lost 6.4 percent against the dollar this year but it has been strengthening since late November, lifted by decreased demand for the hard currency ahead of the year-end festivities.
Traders say the central bank's cuts to its key lending rate will keep yields on Ugandan government securities low and possibly erode the interest of offshore investors - whose dollar flows partly support the shilling's exchange rate.
At the last auction on November 29, the yield on the benchmark 91-day Treasury bill was unchanged from the previous auction at 9.8 percent.
Bank of Uganda is due to sell 110 billion shillings' worth of Treasury bills of all maturities on December 27.
The bank cut its key lending rate by 50 basis points to 12 percent this month, extending its policy easing cycle aimed at resuscitating economic growth.
"Because of low demand, market sentiment favours limited shilling appreciation for the remaining trading sessions of this year beyond which it (shilling) will come under pressure," said a trader at a leading commercial bank.
The central bank says Uganda's projected growth rate of about 4.3 percent for the 2012/13 (July-June) fiscal year is below the country's potential growth rate of around 7 percent.

Read More..

Instant View: November personal income, durable goods up

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer spending rose in November by the most in three years as incomes climbed, suggesting fourth-quarter economic growth might be stronger than currently expected.
The Commerce Department said on Friday inflation-adjusted consumer spending rose 0.6 percent, and after-tax income climbed 0.8 percent when adjusting for inflation.
A gauge of planned U.S. business spending rose much more than expected in November, a hint that worries over tighter fiscal policy may not be holding back the factory sector as much as feared.
The Commerce Department said on Friday that non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for investment plans, jumped 2.7 percent last month, the second straight month of solid gains.
Economists had expected so-called core capital goods orders to rise just 0.3 percent. The reading for October was upwardly revised to a 3.2 percent gain from a previously reported 2.9 percent increase.
COMMENTS
DAVID ADER, SENIOR GOVERNMENT BOND STRATEGIST, CRT CAPITAL GROUP, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT:
"These are generally very good figures for the economy and stock market as the gains we see here are real and inflation clearly less of a threat."
TIM GHRISKEY, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER OF SOLARIS GROUP IN BEDFORD HILLS, NEW YORK
"Durable goods orders (was) a strong number for the second month in a row. That flies in the face of the weakness we have seen in the manufacturing sector."
"This definitely shows economic strength above expectations. It's not a roaring recovery by any means, we all know that, but this really shows some momentum here."
TOM DI GALOMA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, NAVIGATE ADVISORS LLC, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT
"This morning's economic data is better across the board however the overwhelming factor remains the fiscal cliff which keeping Treasuries well bid."
OMER ESINER, CHIEF MARKET ANALYST, COMMONWEALTH FOREIGN EXCHANGE, WASHINGTON D.C.
"The numbers look good across the board and while durable goods is notoriously a volatile indicator the sharp upside surprises top November figures as well as upward revisions suggest that capital spending was on stronger footing than previously expected.
"Overall these were strong figures, but they will likely not impact trading as all eyes are on Washington D.C. and fiscal cliff discussion."
GARY THAYER, CHIEF MACRO STRATEGIST, WELLS FARGO ADVISORS, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
"The data were better than expected. It shows the economy is holding in here at the end of the year despite the concerns about the fiscal cliff.
"The durable goods orders figures show businesses are holding back on new spending, but not cutting spending. It looks like the economy still has some underlying strength that may help us get through the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff.
"The personal spending data was decent. It suggests that consumers, though they are still dealing with relatively high unemployment, are spending cautiously and that continues a trend we've seen much of this past year. We probably need to see better employment numbers to see stronger spending numbers."
WAYNE KAUFMAN, CHIEF MARKET ANALYST AT JOHN THOMAS FINANCIAL IN NEW YORK
"Data looks good. Personal income has been one of the things we were worried about, so this looks really good. Durable goods were also better than expected. These are signs of an improving economy."
FOREX: The dollar trimmed losses versus yen, the euro cut losses versus dollar
GRAPHICS
Consumer spending rose by 0.6 percent in November - the largest jump in three years - suggesting fourth-quarter economic growth might be stronger than expected. http://link.reuters.com/hed44t
U.S. durable goods: New orders for durable goods rose by 0.7 percent in November. Excluding transportation and defense, new orders increased by 1.8 percent. http://link.reuters.com/xyk34t
(Americas Economics and Markets Desk; +1-646 223-6300)

Read More..

US durable goods orders up 0.7 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. companies boosted their orders in November for long-lasting manufactured goods that reflect investment plans. It was the second straight such increase, an encouraging sign for the economy.
The Commerce Department said Friday that overall orders for durable goods rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent in November over October.
But a more closely watched category of orders that tracks business investment surged 2.7 percent. That followed an upwardly revised 3.2 percent jump in October, the biggest in 10 months.
Those back-to-back increases followed a period of weakness in so-called core capital goods that had raised concerns about business investment, a driving force in the economic rebound.
The overall increases in orders for durable goods were widespread in November. Only demand for commercial aircraft showed a big decline.
The surge in orders in the business investment category defied concerns that businesses might be reducing investment because of uncertainty about how the debate over the "fiscal cliff" will be resolved. The fiscal cliff refers to the set of automatic tax increases and spending cuts that will take effect in January if Congress and the Obama administration don't reach a budget deal first.
In addition, Europe's debt crisis and slower growth overseas have cut into U.S. exports and corporate profits and raised further concern.
Total orders for transportation equipment dropped 1.1 percent. The decline reflected a 13.9 percent fall in commercial aircraft orders, which offset a 3.5 percent gain in orders for motor vehicles and parts.
Excluding transportation, orders for nondurable goods, items expected to last at least three years, rose to $220.9 billion. For the year, they're up 7.3 percent.
Orders rose 3.3 percent for machinery rose, 2.4 percent for primary metals such as steel and 3.1 percent for computers.
A separate survey by the Institute for Supply Management showed that U.S. manufacturing shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009. The institute's manufacturing index dropped to 49.5, down from 51.7 in October. Readings above 50 signal growth in manufacturing; readings below 50 indicate contraction.
The government said Thursday that the overall economy grew at an annual rate of 3.1 percent in the July-September quarter. The increase occurred even though business spending on equipment and software fell at an annual rate of 2.6 percent, the first such decline since the spring of 2009, when the economy was in recession.
Many economists are concerned that further cutbacks in business investment and cautious consumer spending could help dampen growth in the current quarter to an annual rate of around 1.5 percent.
But most think the economy will gradually pick up in 2013 if Congress and the administration can achieve a budget deal that removes uncertainty over changes in taxes and government spending.

Read More..

Boehner says Congress, Obama must keep working on fiscal deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Friday that congressional leaders and President Barack Obama must try to move on from House Republicans' failed tax plan and work together to resolve the looming U.S. "fiscal cliff."
Boehner said he was not concerned that Thursday's withdrawn vote threatened his position as speaker, but did not outline a clear path forward.
Boehner said a divided Washington must come together to revamp the massive U.S. tax code in a way that helps spur economic growth. "How we get there, God only knows."

Read More..