Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.
Philippines Imposes Emergency; Massacre Toll Reaches 57 [Reuters]
- The Philippines placed two southern provinces and a city under emergency rule on Tuesday after gunmen killed 57 people in a brutal election-related massacre that has shocked the country. Many of the victims in the killings in Maguindanao province were women from the powerful Mangudadatu clan. About 22 journalists were also among the dead, making Monday’s attack the deadliest ever on the media anywhere in the world
- The Mangudadatus, accompanied by lawyers and journalists, were on their way to file the nomination of one of their clan in elections next May. No men from the family were present, since they believed that women would not be attacked by rivals. But the convoy was held up by about 100 armed men, who herded the group away from the highway and then attacked them with M-16 rifles and machetes
- The election process for the May 2010 national polls began last week with the filing of candidacies for more than 17,800 national and local positions. Elections in the Philippines are usually marred by violence, especially in the south, where security forces are battling communist rebels, Islamist radicals and clan rivalries. Many of the rich and powerful in the region employ private armies, which are often used to telling effect during elections
World Bank to Start Agriculture Fund with $1.5 Billion [Reuters]
- The World Bank will start a trust fund to boost agriculture in poor countries with an initial $1.5 billion, its president Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday. Crop shortages in India and the Philippines combined with increased speculation in commodity markets by investment funds have increased the risk that food prices could spike, as happened in 2008
- More than 1 billion people are now chronically hungry as food prices have been slow to fall from last year’s record highs. The world’s richest nations pledged to give $20 billion over three years to help small farmers in developing countries grow more food, but diplomats and aid groups have estimated only $3 billion appears to be new spending
- The UN’s World Food Program, which feeds about 100 million people in 72 countries with government donations, has fallen far short of its emergency needs this year, raising only $3.7 billion against requirements of $6.4 billion
Over 33 Million Infected with AIDS Virus: U.N. [Reuters]
- An estimated 33.4 million people worldwide are infected with the AIDS virus, up from 33 million in 2007, but more people are living longer due to the availability of drugs, according to a United Nations report. However, more than half of the people who need life-saving drugs are not getting them, according to the 2009 AIDS epidemic update
- Teguest Guerma, acting director of WHO’s HIV/AIDS department, told a simultaneous press briefing in Geneva that while more than 4 million people were receiving HIV drugs at the end of 2008, up from 3 million at the end of 2007, many more were going without. “More than 5 million people need treatment and are not receiving it,” Guerma said. Second line drugs still cost a minimum of $800 per year in low-income countries
- In sub-Saharan Africa, where the scourge of AIDS is most keenly felt, there were 400,000 fewer infections in 2008, or down 15% compared to 2001. New HIV infections declined 25% in East Asia and 10% in south and southeast Asia within the same timeframe
Price War Brews Between Amazon and Wal-Mart [New York Times]
- The tussle began last month as a relatively trivial but highly public back-and-forth over which company had the lowest prices on the most anticipated new books and DVDs this fall. By last week, it had spread to select video game consoles, mobile phones, even to the humble Easy-Bake Oven
- Though online shopping accounts for only around 4% of retail sales, that percentage is growing quickly. E-commerce did not suffer as deeply as regular retailing and it is recovering faster than in-store shopping. In the third quarter of this year, regular retail sales dipped by about 4% and e-commerce over all was flat. But Amazon sales shot up 24%
- More important for Wal-Mart, sales in Amazon’s electronics and general merchandise business — which competes directly with much of the selection in Wal-Mart stores — were up 44%. Wal-Mart does not break out Web sales, but it has been reported that its online business produces revenue of several billion dollars
Home Sales at 2-1/2 Year High [Reuters]
- Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped last month to their highest level in more than 2-1/2 years. Sales of existing home sales surged a record 10.1% month-over-month in October, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Monday, as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit for first-time buyers that had been scheduled to end this month
- Analysts, however, cautioned of some slowdown in the sales pace, citing a drop to 12-year lows in demand for home loans during the week ended November 13. Distressed transactions accounted for 30% of sales last month and continued to weigh on home prices. First-time buyers made up a third of sales in October
- Recovery is being supported by the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers, low mortgage rates and falling house prices. The government this month extended the home buyers’ incentive into next year and added a $6,500 credit for home owners buying a new residence. It had been due to expire on November 30
China Families Protest Mine Disaster; Toll Hits 104 [Reuters]
- Relatives of miners killed by a gas blast at a coal pit in northeast China scuffled with police and demanded answers from the owners on Monday as the toll hit 104 and hopes faded that any more survivors would be found. The protest came a day after another 11 miners were killed in a blast at a pit in the southern province of Hunan
- China has the world’s deadliest coal-mining industry with more than 3,000 people killed in mine floods, explosions, collapses and other accidents in 2008 alone. Saturday’s explosion at the mine in Hegang came as more than 500 miners were underground, though most were rescued. Mine operators were at fault because they failed to evacuate workers fast enough after dangerously high gas levels were detected in the mine
- In 2007, after more than 180 miners died in a flooded coal mine in the northern province of Shandong, relatives stormed the offices of the company that operated the mine. Compared with other manual jobs, Chinese coal miners can earn relatively high wages, tempting workers and farmers into rickety and poorly ventilated shafts
For Search, Murdoch Looks to a Deal With Microsoft [New York Times]
- News Corporation, the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch, has engaged in early-stage discussions with Microsoft about a pact to get paid by Microsoft to remove its news content from Google’s search engine and be available on Bing
- Murdoch has been vocal of late about getting paid for the company’s content online. News Corporation owns many newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Times of London and The Sun in Britain
- Microsoft has also shown a willingness to tap its vast cash reserves and pay corporations that are willing to use its search service in favor of Google’s. It’s unclear how a partnership with news organizations that fragmented search results and content on the Internet would be received. The notion of walled off communities on the Web falls into a thorny area of debate
- Obama Says He Intends to ‘Finish the Job’ in Afghanistan [New York Times]
- Ruling Lets Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn Seize Land [New York Times]
- Two Executed in China Milk Scandal [New York Times]
- U.S. Moves to Confiscate a Fortune in Billion Dollar Ponzi Case [New York Times]
- Looking for a Leader in the Post-Oprah Landscape [New York Times]
- Russia Cuts Rates to Record Low to Stimulate Lending [New York Times]
- Facebook Will Form 2 Classes of Stock [New York Times]
– Hague prosecutor accuses Congo warlords [Reuters]
- Jordan king dissolves parliament, calls election [Reuters]
- Near Geneva, Particles Finally Come Together With a Bang [New York Times]
- Wind Power I.P.O. Lures Big Names [New York Times]
Monday’s attack was the deadliest ever on the media anywhere in the world
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