TwistedSifter

Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.

Google postpones China mobiles after censorship row [BBC]

- Google says it has postponed the launch of two Android based mobile phones in China following a dispute with the government over censorship. The formal launch was due to take place on Wednesday, a spokesperson said
- Google said last week that it had been targeted in a sophisticated cyber attack thought to originate in China. The attacks were thought to target the e-mail accounts of human rights activists. As a result, the company said that it would no longer censor search engine results in China even if it meant it had to shut down operations in the country
- It also criticized Microsoft for failing to follow Google’s tough stance. Microsoft admitted that its Internet Explorer browser was a weak link in the recent attacks on Google’s systems. As a result, the governments of France and Germany have warned their citizens to switch to a new browser such as Firefox or Google’s Chrome

UN chief urges Haiti aid patience [BBC]

- UN and Oxfam staff are finally bringing food and water to some parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, but the airport remains clogged with loaded planes. The UN has launched an appeal for $562m intended to help three million people for six months, while some two million people are thought to need emergency relief
- The UN has warned about fuel shortages, which it says could affect humanitarian operations. “Fuel is the key issue,” Elisabeth Byrs told the BBC. “We need fuel to bring in supplies and carry the wounded.” The Haitian and Dominican Republic governments are planning an alternative 130km (80 miles) humanitarian road corridor to deliver relief supplies from the southern Dominican town of Barahona, the UN reports
- The UN says up to 80-90% of buildings in Leogane, about 19km west of Port-au-Prince, have been destroyed. Estimates of how many people died following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday have varied. The Pan American Health Organization put the death toll at 50,000-100,000, while Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said 100,000 “would seem a minimum”

Japan Airlines files for $25 billion bankruptcy [Reuters]

- Japan Airlines Corp (JAL) filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday owing more than $25 billion, and vowed to slash 15,700 jobs and unprofitable routes as it tries to survive volatile fuel costs and fickle flyers
- JAL, Asia’s largest airline by revenues and an ambassador for Japan across the world, will remain in the skies thanks to nearly 1 trillion yen ($11 billion) in state-backed support and faces a sweeping restructuring under a new board and management
- Shareholders will be wiped out and creditors will forgive 730 billion yen in debt, with banks waiving 350 billion yen in loans. JAL, which has now been bailed out by the Japanese government four times in the past 10 years, will replace many of its older and less fuel-efficient planes. With a market value of about $150 million, JAL is now smaller than minor carriers Croatia Airlines and Jazeera Airways and is worth less than one Boeing 747

Kraft snares Cadbury for $19.6 billion [Reuters]

- Kraft Foods (KFT.N) sealed a friendly deal to buy British candy maker Cadbury (CBRY.L) for about $19.6 billion USD after frantic last-minute talks broke an impasse over price. Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld injected more cash into her bid and dropped the number of new shares in the offer to win over Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr and mollify billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the U.S. food company’s top shareholder
- The deal would create the world’s biggest confectioner, and analysts see little likelihood of a counterbid. It marks the largest European food and beverage deal on record, according to Thomson Reuters data
- The combined company will just overtake privately owned Mars-Wrigley as the world’s top sweet maker, bringing under one roof Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate and Trident gum and Kraft’s Milka, Toblerone and Terry’s chocolate brands. Kraft sought Cadbury because of its strong growth in emerging markets, like India and Latin America

Chile shifts right as billionaire wins presidency [Reuters]

- Billionaire Sebastian Pinera was elected Chile’s president on Sunday in a political shift to the right after 20 years of leftist rule and will try to build on policies that made the economy Latin America’s most stable. Pinera won almost 52% of Sunday’s run-off vote, the first time the right has wrested power from the center-left since General Augusto Pinochet’s 1973-1990 dictatorship ended
- Pinera’s victory over ex-President Eduardo Frei of the ruling leftist coalition marks a shift to the right in South America, a region dominated by leftist rulers from Venezuela to Brazil. The Harvard-educated airline magnate takes office in March. Pinera, 60, has vowed to give Chile’s state a business-like overhaul to boost efficiency, promising to create a million jobs and boost economic growth to average 6% a year. The economy shrank in 2009, its first recession in a decade
- A divided Congress and likely resistance from powerful mining unions will mean Pinera will have to reach out to his opponents to be able to push through legislation, meaning he could be forced to water down some of his policy plans. Possible further fragmentation of the left could make it harder for Pinera to seal deals. Pinera succeeded in distancing himself from the legacy of Pinochet’s rule, when more than 3,000 people were killed or “disappeared” and around 28,000 were tortured

Somali pirates free oil tanker after record ransom [Reuters]

- Somali pirates freed a Greek-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil on Monday, a day after the biggest ransom yet paid to them was dropped onto its deck. The Maran Centaurus was seized on November 29 with 16 Filipinos, nine Greeks, two Ukrainians and a Romanian on board. An aircraft dropped a ransom believed to be between $5.5 million and $7 million onto the vessel on Sunday
- The ransom dwarfed sums paid previously for vessels held by Somali sea gangs. A dispute between two rival pirate groups over the spoils had delayed its release. Ecoterra International said two pirates had been killed in a gun battle with a rival gang as they returned to shore. The pirates bragged that they even had dished out $500,000 to the crew for what they call ‘good co-operation’
- A $3 million ransom was paid for the release of another oil tanker, the Sirius Star, in January 2009. Similar sums have been paid subsequently for the release of merchant vessels. Worldwide piracy attacks rose nearly 40% in 2009, with Somali pirates accounting for more than half of the 406 reported incidents

6.1 Magnitude Aftershock Hits Haiti [New York Times]

- A powerful aftershock struck Haiti on Wednesday, shaking buildings and sending screaming people running into the streets only eight days after the country’s capital was devastated by a major earthquake. The magnitude-6.1 temblor was the largest aftershock yet to the apocalyptic Jan. 12 quake that shattered Haiti’s capital
- The new quake hit at 6:03 a.m. (1103 GMT) about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of the capital of Port-au-Prince and 13.7 miles (22 kilometers) below the surface
- Last week’s magnitude-7 quake killed an estimated 200,000 people in Haiti, left 250,000 injured and made 1.5 million homeless, according to the European Union Commission. A massive international aid effort has been launched, but is struggling with overwhelming logistical problems

Shell signs Iraq oil field deal [BBC]

- Oil giant Shell and Malaysia’s state-run Petronas oil company finalised a contract on Sunday to develop Iraq’s giant Majnoon oil field. In December Shell and Petronas beat a rival bid from France’s Total and China’s CNPC to develop the 12.6 billion barrel field in southern Iraq
- The field currently produces just 46,000 barrels per day. Shell and Petronas have pledged to increase that output to 1.8 million barrels per day. Royal Dutch Shell owns 60% of the venture, with Petronas owning the remainder. Their joint-venture, which includes a 20-year service contract, will see the firms receive a fee of $1.39 a barrel of oil
- Iraq’s known reserves of conventional oil rank behind only Saudi Arabia and Iran. Its daily output is relatively small - about 2.4 million barrels - but it aims to triple that over the next few years. It needs the expertise of foreign companies to reach that goal of reviving its oil industry, which has been battered by years of war and sanctions

- Virginia shootings leave eight dead [BBC]
- China allows texting in Xinjiang six months after riots [BBC]
- EU offers over $575.6 million quake aid to Haiti [Reuters]
- NY financiers to reap $64 billion in bonuses in 2010 [Reuters]
- Kabul “under control” after brazen Taliban assault [Reuters]
- Fourth death sentence for ‘Chemical Ali’ [BBC]

Photograph by Tyler Anderson

A temporary camp for homeless Haitians is seen from a Canadian Forces helicopter fly-over in Port-au-Prince on Sunday Jan. 17, 2010. (AP Photo/Tyler Anderson, Pool)

via the Big Picture


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