Philippine Airlines workers refuse to end strike Ground employees of Philippine Airlines (PAL) Friday defied a Association (PALEA). The strike was mounted Wednesday over wage increases and job security. Capili's reaction came hours after the Labour Department ordered the Acting Labour Secretary Cresencio Trajano, who is mediating the Labour Department's order and had only read about it in newspaper As the deadline passed, there were no signs of workers returning to Operations at the Manila international and domestic airports remained PALEA groups PAL's ground employees, including mechanics, cargo Airline pilots, flight attendants and cabin crew have not joined the Sixteen international flights left Manila on Friday and nine flights The officer said seven departing flights and nine arriving flights of PAL were cancelled. Trajano ordered the airline's management to accept the return of The strikers are pressing for higher wages and other benefits, Management has defended the refleeting and modernization program, Strikers were also protesting a company policy of contracting out Among those stranded were thousands of Filipinos going to the Trajano said the strike would embarrass the country, which is to host Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) officials and November 25. Russia: Gaidar denies Security Council post offer Yegor Gaidar, leader of the Democratic Choice of Russia party, has Security Council, Interfax news agency reported. Reports on Thursday, said Gaidar, an advocate of economic reforms, had Gaidar also dismissed criticism by Communist Party leaders of the High probability of a cut in Australian interest rates: economists by Richard Breeze Australian Prime Minister John Howard remained coy Friday about Reserve Bank, it's not a matter for me," Howard said at a function The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia is to meet Tuesday as Any announcement of a cut would come Wednesday. Australia. Hans Kunnen, chief economist at the Colonial State Bank, said there Some banks have already lowered their home loan rates in anticipation The fall of 8.6 percent in dwelling approvals in September showed that Howard said most economic forecasts suggested stronger economic The Reserve Bank of Australia last adjusted rates on July 31, when it Economists note that two good numbers have laid the ground for a Wages grew by 0.7 percent in the August quarter for an annual rate of Inflation figures for the September quarter showed a 0.3 percent Howard saw the economic outlook for the Australian as favourable. Prabhakar seeks return to international cricket Indian all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar, who quit international cricket in Prabhakar, 32, said Friday he was keen to play for India again after a Prabhakar announced his retirement at the international level after But he changed his mind after World Cup captain Mohammad Azharuddin Prabhakar contested parliamentary elections in May in the South Delhi There was no immediate reaction from Tendulkar or Madan Lal on Prabhakar's comeback decision, which may well answer their prayers for China expels Hong Kong pro-democracy pair China on Friday expelled two Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters for Chui Pak-tai and Wong Chung-ki were woken and taken from their rooms GMT Thursday) and put on a morning flight to the British territory, a Hong Kong television reporter said. Hong Kong government radio RTHK quoted Wong as saying they were He said the pair refused to sign confessions saying they were guilty The ban prevents the two from returning to the ongoing meeting here of Saturday. The expulsion order was issued after officials at the Beijing Asia Hotel filed a public disturbance complaint Thursday evening against Chui and Wong had called a press conference at the hotel, during which According to the official Xinhua news agency, the Beijing public Hong Kong within a stated time." Chui and Wong had already been detained along with two other Thursday morning. Both were allowed to proceed to Beijing but the other men were held Kong. All four are members of the Coalition to Oppose the Provisional Legislature. The Preparatory Committee meeting is to confirm a 400-member selection Chinese rule, as well as the provisional legislature. Wong is a member of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood and a Beijing-appointed district affairs advisor. Chui is a RAM ties up with US-based Duff and Phelps to tap Asian region Rating Agency Malaysia Bhd. (RAM) Friday forged an alliance with US- RAM chairman Abdul Khalid Sahan said the deal was a "new phase in Malaysia's credit rating history" which would provide RAM with a Khalid said at the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the RAM was established in 1991 as the country's first rating agency and Both parties will hold equal shares in the joint venture, which will Asia requiring international rating services," he added. The company will focus its operations on the credit rating of Malaysia The partners plan to extend equity participation to domestic rating DCR executive president and general counsel Ernest Elsner said the Asian economies after successful tie-ups in Latin America, India and Canada. DCR was set up in 1932 based in Chicago and has three international The agency provides ratings and research on corporate, structured and DCR is ranked the world's third largest in terms of corporate ratings Canadian Prime Minister Chretien to visit Japan November 26 to 30 Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien will begin a five-day official Ryutaro Hashimoto, the foreign ministry said here Friday. The Canadian leader will meet with Hashimoto on November 27. Prior to Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren), a powerful business He is also to meet Emperor Akihito on November 29 after visiting the Chretien will arrive from the Philippines, where he is slated to Hashimoto, who is likely to be reelected as premier by parliament on November 7, is also scheduled to attend the APEC summit. APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Doctors perform tumor operation on panda in China Chinese surgeons have performed a tumor operation on a 16-year-old Doctors in central Henan province carried out the hour-long operation Pandas are native only to China and there are believed to be less than Thursday to come up with solid proof that his country is involved in the Beijing on Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty, Xinhua said. Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole announced a 96-hour non-stop Jiang Zemin's powerbase, has been transferred to Beijing in a reshuffle of its Moscow's influence as a key broker in the Middle East. Chinese futures trader jumps to death after huge losses A futures trading firm executive jumped to his death in Shanghai after Song Sucheng, managing director of Huanghai Futures Brokerage Co., Song's suicide came after he lost the firm's money in futures trading Securities Regulatory Commission for alleged abuses in the The Chinese futures industry was rocked by a treasury bond scam in Several suicides linked to failed market speculation have occurred in Shanghai and Shenzhen in recent years. Indian Hindu group accuses Marxists of murder spree Indian communists in the southern state of Kerala have killed 14 Hindu Friday. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP, All India Students Union) said it had asked the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted ABVP general secretary V. Murleedharan as saying: "They have let loose a reign of terror in Kerala. The ABVP said the victims included its own activists and those of its Kerala is one of the three Indian states ruled by the CPI-M. Clashes Japan new auto sales up 8.4 percent in October Sales of new motor vehicles in Japan rose 8.4 percent from a year Sales in September were also up 8.4 percent year-on-year. In October, car sales increased 14.1 percent from a year earlier to Sales of imported vehicles rose 11.6 percent to 33,550 units, it said. SKorean firms race for overseas investment to globalize The value of offshore investment by South Korean firms surged 53.9 Approved overseas projects numbered 1,266 from January through September, of which 1,010 worth a total of 3.12 billion dollars were Korean firms have begun active facility expansion abroad and the Investment in the manufacturing sector, including petrochemicals, The trading sector attracted 629.7 million dollars in the cited By region, Asia remained the most favoured, drawing 2.26 billion Approved investment in North America stood at 906 million dollars, Latin America, the BOK said. Dollar lower against yen in Tokyo mid-afternoon trading The dollar was near session lows against the yen here in mid-afternoon Japan, dealers said. The dollar was quoted at 113.55 yen at 2 p.m. (0500 GMT), down from Thursday. It also traded at 1.5222 marks, up from 1.5207 earlier and 1.5182 in New York Thursday. Against the mark, the dollar kept earlier gains, holding firm at the The dollar's tumble against the yen stemmed mainly from active profit- The declines were exacerbated by a lack of dollar-buying support In mark-yen trading, the mark fell back sharply to below the 74.60-yen The dollar rose to the 1.5235 mark level, but gains were eroded by But he added that trading would unlikely have enough follow-through Security breakdown as Diana swamped in Sydney Strict security measures surrounding Diana, the Princess of Wales, Diana was leaving the Commonwealth Day Council gala lunch at the Sydney Convention centre when journalists, photographers and Several police had been manning barriers holding back a 500-strong However, Diana was unharmed and did not appear to be concerned about She continued to talk to as many people as she could during her five Carlton hotel in the chic harbourside suburb of Double Bay. The Princess featured on the front page of nearly every Australian The institute, named after a pioneering heart surgeon who was murdered Sting made a surprise performance. Earlier Friday the Princess visited two medical institutions, SKorea's exports grow for first time in four months South Korea's exports ended a months-long downswing in October, But imports also jumped 14.8 percent to 13.5 billion dollars in October, leaving a monthly trade deficit of 1.57 billion dollars. Chinese watchdog threatens to punish stock market manipulators The watchdog China Securities Regulatory Commission has threatened The notice follows heavy turnover since early last month which has Shanghai and Shenzhen. The Shanghai Securities News daily reported that the notice was sent The CSRC said recently there had been some rumours and manipulation of It said that China's bourses were young and had already paid a high The Shanghai Stock Exchange's barometer composite index was 53.88 He said there was a lot of hot money around which had no place to go Commenting on the CSRC, he said: "There are just too few people to Guotai Securities vice-general manager Xu Zhilin said the ban was Welson Zheng of Shanghai Finance Securities said the move would have a Taiwanese investors, who tend to shrug off such directives. North Korea more positive towards four-way talks: report North Korea, changing its stance, is now willing to take part in a Friday. The North Korean foreign ministry made its positon clear in working- It was the first time that North Korea gave a positive reply response At the October 24 talks Pyongyang dropped conditions it had imposed Korea, the daily said. The US side is welcoming the move and plans to mediate compromises Washington plans to dispatch a State Department official to South Korea on November 11, while sending a representative to Pyongyang in North Korea previously said in talks with the United States in June But Ri Hyong Chol, a North Korean foreign ministry director who Sri Lanka honours World Cup winning cricketers Sri Lanka will confer the highest national honour on the country's World Cup winning cricket skipper, Arjuna Ranatunga, officials said Friday. Ranatunga who led Sri Lanka to victory at the World Cup in March will Chandrika Kumaratunga on Saturday, officials said. They said Ranatunga's vice captain, Aravinda de Silva, and four other Sanath Jayasuriya -- would also be honoured. President Kumaratunga has already announced a special honour called Whatmore, who pulls out of the local team shortly for a job in England. Whatmore, who guided Sri Lanka to their sensational World Cup triumph Zimbabwe decide to bat first against Pakistan Zimbabwe captain Alister Campbell won the toss and put his side in to Grant Flower and Mark Dekker opened the tourist's innings while Pakistan's attack was led by Wasim Akram and Shahid Nazeer. Pakistan made two changes in the team which won the first 50-over a Young Abdul Razzaq replaced opener Aamir Sohail, while fast bowler Azam Khan made his debut as the home side dropped Azhar Mahmood. Zimbabwe dropped Gary Brent, who was replaced by Mpumillo Mbangwa. The tourists, who lost their first match very closely, will play three Pakistan have already won the two Test series 1-0. Friday's match at the Kadhafi Stadium, named after the Libyan leader, Zimbabwe: Grant Flower, Mark Dekker, David Houghton, John Rennie, Alister Campbell, Andy Flower, Craig Wishart, Guy Whittal, Paul Strang, Gavin Rennie, and Mpumillo Mbangwa. Pakistan: Saeed Anwar, Hasan Raza, Azam Khan, Ijaz Ahmed, Salim Malik, Moeen Khan, Wasim Akram (captain), Saqlain Mushtaq, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, and Shahid Nazeer. Umpires: Shakoor Rana and Mahboob Khan of Pakistan. South Korea jacks up gasoline price South Korea raised the price of gasoline 2.7 percent Friday, citing Energy said. The price of a liter (0.26 gallons) of gasoline was increased 19 won, A barrel of crude oil was traded at 23.10 dollars in the international A second factor contributing to the increase in gasoline prices was South Korea's gasoline prices are higher than those of the United States, but about the same level as that of Japan and some 10 percent Various taxes account for more than half the price of gasoline price New poisoning outbreak spreads in northern Japan, 180 affected A new outbreak of food poisoning caused by the killer O-157 colon The number represents a jump from 89 on Thursday when the Hokkaido The bacillus caused Japan's worst food poisoning since World War II A total of 24 people, mostly kindergarten children, have been As of Friday morning, 143 of the 257 children attending the Education Minister Mikio Okuda told other ministers after the day's The bacillus has killed 11 people and affected more than 9,000 in Japan this year. The worst hit area was Sakai, a suburb of the western city of Okaka. The poisoning outbreak was officially declared over there Friday. A total of 5,727 people were affected in Sakai alone, mostly July. No new patients have been reported since August 8, officials said. But in southern Japan's Saga prefecture local officials announced that Beijing's new mayor rallies for support New Beijing mayor Jia Qinglin has sought support from city officials Jia, appointed mayor Wednesday after Li Qiyan was forced to resign, Li's resignation followed last year's 2.2 billion dollar corruption Beijing party secretary and politburo member Chen Xitong. Although not directly implicated in the graft, Li was blamed for According to Beijing government sources, Jia, who has only been Indian archaelogical activists bid to bunker below-par golf club Environmental activists have called for the Delhi Golf Club to be The activists claim several other valuable archaelogical sites within They also argue the club is not paying a realistic rent for the 183 The newspaper said a group of protestors had sent a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor P.K. Dave calling for him to get rid of the club. Australian stocks close 0.5 percent weaker Australian share prices slipped 0.5 percent Friday after a late sell- The Australian Stock Exchange's main indicator, the all ordinaries SKorea's exports grow for first time in four months South Korea's exports reversed a three-month fall in October, growing But imports also recorded a sharp 14.8 percent increase to 13.5 The cumulative trade deficit in the first 10 months of 1996 soared to The October export performance followed a 5.3 percent annual export September. October exports were the largest by volume in any month this year, the Shipments of semiconductors plunged 44.4 percent year-on-year to 1.31 Clinton under fire on campaign finance President Bill Clinton has come under fire again over allegedly With Clinton expected to outline reform plans in a speech on the issue The GOP (Grand Old Party, as the Republican is also called) was Dole ahead of Tuesday's presidential election. Meanwhile, a US judge granted a request Thursday from embattled Democratic fundraiser John Huang to end two days of aggressive In a one-page ruling, US District Judge Royce Lamberth said the Commerce Department. Huang, 51, worked for the Commerce Department in 1994-95 before He was suspended from the post amid reports this month that some of Both are banned under US campaign finance law. Among Huang's Democratic party fundraising activities were Commerce Department. Indonesia. The Democratic National Committee has returned 250,000 dollars donated Documents obtained by the US press Thursday appeared to bolster the Secret Service records showed he had visited the White House 65 times In addition, the New York Times reported that another former White House official, Mark Middleton, was still using official White House When the Republican Party on Thursday called the White House number Middleton's non-White House phone number. Clinton, criss-crossing the United States in a final campaign tour, But on Friday he was expected to talk about his support for a bill But these changes would not address all the areas that are currently While the Democratic Party is now the target of campaign-finance Bangladesh says factories cleared of child labour The Bangladesh garment industry, the country's main foreign exchange The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) The labour reforms were carried out under an agreement signed in July, Labour Organisation (ILO). Ahmed said factories were declared child labour-free from midnight Thursday and that workshops and factories would be kept open for Western importers, especially in the United States, had threatened to Sweatshops employing young children and women, were notorious for poor However, social workers have criticised the move saying many families Tokyo stocks end 0.8 percent higher Japanese share prices closed 0.8 percent higher on Friday as futures- The Nikkei stock average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 166.20 Japan's bad loan disposals total 434 million dollars in October Japanese financial institution disposed of 49.4 billion yen (434 The Cooperative Credit Purchasing Co., set up by Japanese banks in The agency said it had also recovered 25.6 billion yen, of which 23.8 The October figure brought the total amount of bad loan disposals Aum cult vacates last facility in Japan The doomsday cult Aum Supreme Truth Friday vacated its last facility Saburo Abe, a veteran lawyer serving as bankruptcy administrator, Arakai, barefoot and wearing a white tunic, appeared to be on the Press reported. Abe told villagers that Aum had "moved out completely," adding he By Friday morning, 30 cult members had moved out of the commune to Receivers plan to sell the site to help compensate victims of Aum March last year which killed 12 people and injured thousands. But the project will need some government assistance. Costs to Aum, led by guru Shoko Asahara, settled in Kamikuishiki in 1989. Villagers had protested against construction and other noise on the A Kamikuishiki resident told Japan Broadasting Corp. that she was Another resident said he feared the sect members could return. Indonesia starts bilateral consultations at WTO over car policy Indonesia started bilateral talks Friday with Japan, Europe and the United States over their complaints to the World Trade Organisation Indonesia daily quoted director general of custom and excise Suharjo The three economic powers filed their complaints to the WTO last President Suharto in February ruled that producers of a national car PT Timor -- controlled by Suharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra In a joint venture with Kia Motors, PT Timor is allowed to import the It was unclear whether the discussions would be held simultaneously Suharjo said that the Indonesian delegation to the talks included the Officials have said that Indonesia will be represented by three Bajaj Auto says net profit rises 27 percent Bajaj Auto said Friday its net profits rose 27 percent from a year Turnover of India's largest two-wheeler automotive manufacturer rose Former Indian minister in payoff scandal returns home A former Indian petroleum minister named in a bribery scandal The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reportedly asked Satish Sharma late Thursday to go to the CBI headquarters on Friday for Express said. The case is based on allegations that Rao and some of his political Sharma left for Europe on October 10 on a private visit as the CBI During his absence, detectives raided his farmhouse here as well as a Sharma, a former airline pilot who took to politics because of his London Thursday. His return came hours after the CBI informed the Delhi High Court that The CBI said Sharma, who was close to Rao, allegedly collected some February 1994 to pay the members of parliament, two of whom have since A former Sharma aide reportedly told CBI officials that he gave a box The money was later traced to an account of the four politicians in an Indian bank in New Delhi. On Wednesday, the CBI formally charged Rao, India's prime minister for The case is the third against Rao, who has also been charged by the CBI with cheating an expatriate Indian businessman in 1983 and with Singh, in 1989. Rao was in court on Wednesday and Thursday in an attempt to get his SKorea's exports grow for first time in four months South Korea's exports reversed a three-month downswing in October, But imports also recorded a sharp 14.8 percent increase to 13.5 The cumulative trade deficit in the first 10 months of 1996 soared to The October export performance followed a 5.3 percent annual export September. October exports were the largest by volume in any month this year, the Shipments of semiconductors plunged 44.4 percent year-on-year to 1.31 Exports of automobiles, petrochemicals and home-appliances were The sharp import increase was led mainly by consumer goods, including South Korea's trade imbalance was induced mostly by trade with But its exports to Latin America, China and east Europe continued to Russian tax police seize property of Scientologists Russian tax police have seized property belonging to a St. Petersburg Scientology center for non-payment of debts, the ITAR-TASS news Police seized 1.2 million rubles (217 dollars) belonging to the center In early September police informed the center that it had to Police say that despite the warning the Scientologists refused to pay In this manner, the centre reportedly collected approximately 625 Police also accuse the Scientologists of faking documents which As a result of its illegl activities, tax authorities have levied 80 Japan admits missing deadline on APEC free trade plan Japan admitted Friday failing to submit its free trade plan by an October 30 deadline ahead of this year's summit of Asia-Pacific The delay was due to last-minute efforts to upgrade Japan's free trade An official in Manila said Thursday five of the 18 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum had failed to submit APEC members have been strengthening earlier outlined individual free APEC leaders' summit in Subic Bay next month. At Bogor, Indonesia, the APEC members agreed in 1994 to remove trade Diplomatic sources in Manila said the APEC members who missed the Among the economies caught in the election season are Japan, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. Japanese officials earlier APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Security tightened ahead of Bangladesh parliament session Security was tightened in Dhaka ahead of Friday's start of a new Bangladesh's two major political parties. Police banned marches and carrying of explosives and weapons near The Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed is expected to Bangladesh founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, father of the prime Former prime minister Khaleda Zia's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is set to attack the government on several The session, the second for the 330-seat parliament elected in June, BNP. On Thursday, Sheikh Hasina said the BNP could no longer join her States. Asked if she would initiate talks with Zia, the premier retorted that Sheikh Hasina's "national consensus government" includes the minority Jatiya Party of jailed ex-president Hussain Muhammad Ershad and the Taipei weekly share prices close 0.1 percent lower Share prices in Taiwan eased a fractional 0.1 percent in the holiday- The Taiwan Stock Exchange weighted price index declined 3.8 points to Ltd. Average daily turnover dwindled to 1.05 billion issues from 1.12 Taiwan dollars (1.34 billion US), up 1.4 percent from 36.29 billion The market started the week with the index sliding 34.19 points Monday The index recovered 66.42 points Wednesday and 29.02 points Friday as The market was closed Thursday for a holiday. Analysts said the index would move between 6,300 and 6,500 points in Australian stocks close 0.5 percent lower Australian share prices slipped 0.5 percent Friday after an early The Australian Stock Exchange's main indicator, the all ordinaries The all resources index eased 8.5 points to 1,348.8 while the all National turnover totalled 311.9 million shares worth 835.0 million Australian dollars (661 million US), with falling stocks outnumbering BHP finished 10 cents firmer at 16.85 dollars, global miner RTZ-CRA URGENTFormer Sir Lankan president dies Former Sir Lankan president Junius Jayewardene, who had been receiving SKorean firms race for overseas investment to globalize The value of offshore investment by South Korean firms surged 53.9 Approved overseas projects numbered 1,266 from January through September, of which 1,010 projects worth a total of 3.12 billion Korean firms have begun active facility expansion abroad and the Economists here say the current level of overseas investment by South Korean companies stands at some 0.6-to-0.7 percent of the nation's They urged local firms to strengthen their globalization drive, Investment in the manufacturing sector, including petrochemicals, The trading sector attracted 629.7 million dollars in the cited By region, Asia remained the most favoured, drawing 2.26 billion Approved investment in North America stood at 906 million dollars, Latin America, the BOK said. Former Sir Lankan president dies Former Sir Lankan president Junius Jayewardene, who had been receiving Jayewardene, president from 1978 to 1989, had only recently been German, Japanese leaders agree on an annual summit Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany and Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto agreed at a meeting Friday to hold an annual summit. The decision, taken at a 110-minute meeting, came a day after Kohl Hashimoto as saying. The annual summit will not have a great impact as the Japanese and German leaders already meet at least once a year at the Group of Seven Kohl's Tokyo visit is the third meeting between the two politicians Kohl and Hashimoto agreed to a visit to Japan by German President Roman Herzog next April, his first trip to Japan since becoming They also agreed to study means to increase Japanese investment in Tokyo stocks end 0.8 percent higher on futures-led buying Japanese share prices closed 0.8 percent higher on Friday as futures- The Nikkei stock average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 166.20 Turnover on the major board came to an estimated 280 million shares Brokers said gains were led by active futures-led buying along with Brokers also said buying via mutual funds, which was modest in early He said a rumor that financial guru George Soros' funds were cutting Japanese equities continued to overhang the market. Investors stayed out of the market most of the day ahead of the Mitsubishi Heavy gained nine yen to 884 yen in active trading as Nikon ended down 20 yen at 1,240 yen, off the low of 1,230, hit by Jakarta pours scorn on "dogs" attack by Nobel winner Indonesian leaders hit back Friday at comments by Nobel Peace Prize Defence Minister Edi Sudrajat commented: "I can only ask, whether it Noble prize, to say such words," State Secretary Murdiono said separately: "From the beginning, I have Horta and Belo." Indonesia was stunned last month after the Roman Catholic bishop of East Timor and exiled East Timorese fighter Jose Ramos Horta were In an interview published by the German magazine Der Spiegel shortly He also said Indonesians viewed East Timorese as "slaves." Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it the following year In the interview, Belo also said the East Timorese population wanted He accused the Indonesian military of being the main stumbling bloc to The bishop also said there had been nine attempts to assassinate him. Indonesian officials mostly refrained to comment on Belo's Nobel prize Australian tourism industry urges Asians to ignore race debate An Australian tourism industry group urged Asian travellers Friday to The statement, which followed assaults on Singaporean troops training Hanson's views are not shared by all Australians on both moral and But right below Brown's statement was a letter from an Asian- Australian, Bala Varadarajan of New South Wales, who complained of The letter said "mainstream Australia" appeared to be "solidly behind Ms. Hanson" and "the message to Asia from Australia is simply this -- Both statements were published by Singapore's leading newspaper one Asian markets and investments as well as Asian "brains and skills." But there has been muted media coverage here of attacks on Singapore The incidents occurred ahead of the inaugural round of ministerial Singapore Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar said in Canberra Thursday that The Straits Times, quoting Singapore officials, said Howard was In a rare display of bipartisan unity, Australia's political parties Wednesday condemned racism in a parliamentary motion which reaffirmed Australia v South Africa scoreboard Scoreboard of the triangular series one-day international between Australia and South Africa here on Friday: Australia M. Taylor c Rhodes b Symcox 38 S. Law c Cullinan b Klusener 22 S. Waugh c McMillan b Boje 37 M. Bevan c Symcox b Donald 79 R. Ponting b Boje 0 M. Slater not out 53 A. Gilchrist run out 0 B. Hogg not out 0 Extras: (lb7, w2) 9 Total (for 6 wkts) 238 Fall of wickets: 1-38, 2-94, 3-113, 4-113, 5-237, 6-237 Did not bat: P. Reiffel, D. Fleming, G. McGrath Bowling: McMillan 10-2-35-0, Symcox 10-0-32-1, Klusener 7-0-55-1, Donald 9-0-47-1, Boje 10-0-43-2, Cronje 4-0-19-0 Overs: 50 LDP secures alliance with Japan's new Democratic Party Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), still short of a Friday with the new Democratic Party, officials said. The accord came less than a week before parliament sits to elect a new Social Democratic Party (SDP) and New Party Sakigake, the LDP's two All three parties who have made accords will remain outside of the new Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto has said he wants to stay on as Singapore is a major source of tourism, investment and fee-paying The Australian tourism industry's appeal came ahead of the year-end Brett Anthony Simpson, acting first secretary for immigration at the He expected an increase this month over the 34,000 Australian visitor Chief cleric at Bangladesh's National Mosque faces treason charge A Bangladeshi court has ordered the arrest of Obaidul Haque, the chief Haque could not be reached for immediate comment, but he is expected A magistrate's court issued the arrest warrant for Haque, who is Abdullah Hil Quayum, leader of a faction of the left-leaning Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's student wing, said in his petition that Haque had Pakistan." Bangladesh is the former East Pakistan which broke away to become an Bevan, Slater carry Australia to 238-6 Michael Bevan and Michael Slater cracked 124 off as many balls to lift Australia to 238 for six in their one-match against South Africa here Left-hander Bevan made a career-best 79 off 70 balls and Slater Coming together in the 30th over with the score on 113 for four, the The assault set South Africa 4.8 runs an over to record their sixth The South Africans have already qualified for the November 6 final, Play began on schedule after bad weather cleared overnight and ground Mark Taylor's celebrations in his 100th one-day international were Stuart Law opened with Taylor after the Australian captain won the After Law fell for 22, superbly caught one-handed at mid-off by Daryll Cullinan, Taylor and Steve Waugh added 56 for the second wicket to Taylor was dismissed for 38 by off-spinner Pat Symcox, before left- Bevan and Slater came together to steady the innings and give Australia a chance to score their first win the series. SKorea mulling prison terms for human organ traffickers South Korea is mulling prison sentences for human organ traffickers in The Korea Times quoted Health and Welfare Ministry officials as saying The ministry's draft bill defines death as "brain dead" for the Medical sources say there is an underground trade in human organs in South Korea, where a kidney can fetch around 30 million won (36,000 URGENT Aid offices looted in Goma Looters ransacked international aid offices here Friday as tension Zairean Tutsi rebels. The headquarters of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent was looted, and youths, some of them armed, roamed the Commissioner for Refugees. Australian talkback radio tide turns against Hanson: media monitors The tide of opinion voiced on talkback radio has turned against Pauline Hanson, the MP who ignited Australia's row over race and The percentage of callers sounding positive about her has nearly The motion was a dramatic bid to calm a row which Hanson -- a fish and She said Australia was in danger of being "swamped" by Asians and Since Wednesday's move in parliament, 48 percent of talkback callers The previous week 63 percent of callers had been positive towards Hanson and 25 percent negative, he said. Rehame has monitored more than 1,400 callers on the Hanson issue Media commentators and the Labor opposition have criticised Howard for With Asian media echoing the row and publishing critical editorials, Australian trade, tourism and investment links with Asia. Howard forecast Friday that the controversy would fade. John Henderson, national sales and investment director for property But, Henderson said there was no evidence yet that the debate had From January 1990 to October 1996, Asian investors accounted for 20 Trade Minister Tim Fischer said he recognised the potential for damage He noted that Australia had a 46 billion dollar export trade with the Asian region and a net trade surplus of 18 billion dollars. The government was working systematically through its embassies and Corporation. The Australian Tourist Commission said Thursday that at least five Asian tour groups had cancelled visits because of the Hanson debate. Japan's foreign reserves hit record high in October Japan's foreign reserves rose 1.18 billion dollars in October to a It represented the 36th consecutive month-on-month increase, the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi sees higher interim profit Japan's Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd. Friday raised its interim parent But the world's biggest bank cut its operating income forecast to The bank attributed the upgrade in the parent pre-tax profit to lower Bank of Tokyo and Mitsubishi Bank merged on April 1. The new entity will post its first interim result on November 22. Moslem rebel faction welcomes Libyan mediation role in peace talks A Moslem rebel faction on Friday welcomed an offer by Libya to mediate Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vice chair for military affairs Newspaper reports Friday said Libya, through its ambassador to Manila Rajab Azzarouk, had offered to mediate the negotiations. Libya is a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a Manila and the main Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The accord, signed September 2, ended the MNLF's 24-year separatist The more fundamentalist MILF bolted from the MNLF in 1977. It was left Murad, speaking from MILF mountain headquarters outside Cotabato, said Meanwhile, a week of fierce fighting between government troops and the MILF in Basilan south of Cotabato eased Friday as guerrillas fled The military said 39 MILF rebels and five soldiers were killed, but Murad said MILF guerrillas had split into small groups in the face of The fighting had threatened to scuttle efforts to bring the two sides President Fidel Ramos' chief aide, Ruben Torres, said in Manila on Thursday that he had received a letter from MILF vice chair for November 10. Ramos had said he has standing orders for the government negotiating Murad also proposed that instead of exploratory talks the technical China executes 18 in on-going campaign Some 18 drug traffickers have been executed in southwest China -- part Friday. The death sentences were handed down Wednesday by the Kunming The executions were carried out immediately, the reports said. One of the victims, Yang Weijia, had been captured by police while The executions in Kunming follow reports of 62 people being executed Guangdong. The spate of executions is the clearest indication to date that the The campaign has already resulted in nearly 2,000 executions, LDP secures alliance with Japan's new Democratic Party Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), still short of a LDP secretary general Koichi Kato, who took part in the talks, said The accord came less than a week before parliament sits to elect a new Social Democratic Party (SDP) and New Party Sakigake, the LDP's two All three parties will remain outside of the new cabinet. Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto has said he wants to stay on as The Democratic Party was formed in late September only weeks before Sakigake, including Health and Welfare Minister Naoto Kan, who co- Unlike the SDP and Sakigake, the Democratic Party does not plan to set Following the agreement with Democratic Party, the LDP began separate The LDP won 239 seats in the election, 12 short of a majority. The New Frontier won 156 seats and the Democratic Party won 52 seats. Search for 150 missing from ferry disaster goes on Rescuers Friday kept up the search for bodies in a fast-flowing Indian Police and civilians were taking part in the search in the Brahmaputra The operation was launched after the accident Wednesday. Police But no more bodies have been found, officials said. "Due to strong The reason why the mechanised ferry, carrying more than 200 passengers Foreign brokerages enjoy higher profits in South Korea Foreign securities houses operating in South Korea enjoyed a combined The Securities Supervisory Board (SSB) said that the combined pre-tax The four losers were Morgan Stanley, Schroder, Merrill Lynch and Nikko. SSB official said. The board said in the cited period 33 South Korean securities firms, Stock Exchange. Among the foreign gainers, Bankers Trust topped the earnings list with Boston with 3.3 billion won and Jardine Fleming Securities with 3.2 James Capel chalked up a 2.7-billion-won profit, while W.I. Carr saw a Israelis want Jewish radicals out of Hebron: poll A majority of Israelis think police should expel right-wing Jewish The survey published in the mass circulation Yediot Aharonot said 62 Thirty-four percent of the 500 people polled this week disagreed. Under the 1995 Oslo peace accords, Israel is committed to withdrawing The accord permits Israel to maintain troops in the 20 percent of the The transfer of power was to have taken place in March but has been The opinion poll released Friday showed that 55 percent of Israelis Israeli security officials said this week that plans had been drawn up Commander Yossi Levy, head of the police investigations division, told Israeli television Thursday night that a special unit had been set up Certain far right-wing leaders have indicated they will go into hiding Hebron and Levy raised the possibility that there will be "the Australian stocks edge up 0.2 percent during cautious week Australian share prices ended just 0.2 percent higher after a week of The Australian Stock Exchange's key barometer, the all ordinaries Share prices closed marginally lower Monday after a slump in two of The next two sessions both saw 0.6 percent gains but the market The all industrials index rose 27.0 points, or 0.7 percent, to close Average daily turnover totalled 330.2 million shares worth 657.5 Among leading stocks, resource giant BHP lost 25 cents over the week Zaire: aid offices looted in Goma Looters ransacked international aid offices Friday and UN workers were The headquarters of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent was looted and youths, some of them armed, roamed the Commissioner for Refugees. Expatriate Red Cross workers had to be rescued by UNHCR staff, he UNHCR personnel were grouped at their headquarters early Friday, Bordin, the head of the Goma delegation, said he had been told to Sporadic mortar and machine-gun fire were heard from the nearby border Moumtzis said all the Red Cross vehicles had been stolen, while many Burma junta indicates thawing relations with Suu Kyi A senior Burmese intelligence official Friday indicated a possible Addressing the junta's monthly news conference, Kyaw Thein of the Office of Strategic Studies said: "We are always trying to improve the He cautioned that reconciliation between the junta and the opposition His comments followed recent meetings between the leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the former liaison officer Observers in Rangoon have suggested that the visits of Than Tun could The military's ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) Orogen Minerals makes strong debut on Australian bourse Papua New Guinean oil and gold entity Orogen Resources Ltd.'s debuted The shares hit the boards at 2.05 Australian dollars (1.62 US), They quickly shot to a high of 2.13 dollars before closing at 2.12 Orogen is the vehicle for the float of 49 percent of Papua New Guinea's holdings in the Kutubu and Gobe oil fields and the Porgera, Misima and Lihir mines. Managing director Charles Lepani said the demand for the company's Orogen float was particularly impressive. The gold sector on the Australian Stock Exchange fell 30.7 points to Another analyst said some investors had applied for 500,000 to one Jeremy Tasker, director of float manager Jardine Fleming Ord Minnett, Lepani said the support demonstrated investor confidence in Orogen and Papua New Guinea deputy prime minister Chris Haiveta said the The Papua New Guinea government raised about 285 million dollars Hindu leader's brother detained for suicide threat at Jackson concert Indian police detained a Hindu leader's brother for threatening to Bombay on Friday. Thackeray, who argues the US singer is a threat to traditional Hindu Police said he would be detained till "the situation was under His elder brother Bal Thackeray, a hardline Hindu nationalist, is the Indian state of Maharashtra. Bal Thackeray, a self-confessed admirer of Adolf Hitler and who has Jackson, on his first visit to India, is scheduled to perform Friday His sponsors had pledged to pay around 1.14 million dollars from the Bombay court ruled Thursday the money should be frozen following a tax Meanwhile a Bombay court today declined to issue a non-bailable arrest Lawyers for the Indian company Michael Jackson Fashions (India) Pvt Ltd had asked the court to issue an arrest warrant after they were Judge S.S. Parkar at the Bombay High Court agreed with a statement by Jackson's lawyers that they would accept the court summons on behalf Sri Lanka's first executive head of state dies Sri Lanka's first executive head of state, Junius Jayewardene died Jayewardene, who took office in 1978, retired from politics in 1989 He had celebrated his 90th birthday on September 17. Jayewardene is regarded as the architect of the country's free market His United National Party (UNP) ruled Sri Lanka from 1977 till it was URGENT Refugees flee Zaire camp under fire All 210,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees in the Katale camp north of Goma Taiwan allows labor insurance fund to invest in stocks The Taiwan goverment is to pour a maximum 30 percent of a 188.3 Under an amended regulation governing the management of the fund, the Shares of listed firms whose net profits averaged above six percent in The regulations, approved by the cabinet on September 30, are expected The fund is currently limited to investments in goverment bonds, The labor insurance fund, managed by the Council of Labor Affairs, was Bajaj Auto's net profit up 27 percent India's Bajaj Auto said Friday net profits rose 27 percent from a year Turnover of India's largest two-wheeler automotive manufacturer rose Two-wheeler and three-wheeler sales grew 18 percent to 722,467 Gross profit before tax jumped 30 percent to 114 million dollars. But exports dropped seven percent to 25 million dollars. Analyst S.Hariharan of Prime Securities said though the inventories of Kubota rides public spending to lift pre-tax profit 7.4 percent Heavy public spending helped Japan's Kubota Corp. post Friday a 7.4 September. The top maker of ductile pipes said revenue rose 6.3 percent to 367.91 It forecast for the full year to March a parent pre-tax profit of 35 Kubota's interim dividend was unchanged at 3.0 yen. Executive vice president Katsumi Tomita said the company met its first Revenue from the piping system division in the half rose 10.9 percent The company forecast revenue from the piping system division in the In the first half, revenue from the machinery division rose 4.6 The company forecasts revenue for the division in the year to March of As public sector demand is expected to weaken over time, Tomita said Kubota forecast revenue of its environmental system division in the Revenue of its building material division was forecast at 89 billion In the first half to September, Kubota's operating profit fell 1.1 Zaire: aid offices looted in Goma Looters ransacked international aid offices Friday and UN workers were The headquarters of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent was looted and youths, some of them armed, roamed the Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Expatriate Red Cross workers had to be rescued by UNHCR staff, he Sporadic mortar and machine-gun fire were heard from the nearby border UNHCR workers were grouped at their headquarters early Friday, guarded Lino Bordin, the head of the UNHCR delegation in Goma, said he had He said he was waiting to hear from Zairean authorities if they would Moumtzis said all the Red Cross vehicles had been stolen, while many UNHCR and Unicef had been commandeered by Zairean soldiers. On Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata called for Rebel Zairean Tutsis known as Banyamulenge have been fighting Zairean Burundi as well. Zairean military commander General Ngwala Panzu said Thursday his men Rwanda to capture Goma airport. The UNHCR in Geneva also Thursday announced it was pulling out its Goma as we have done in Uvira and Bukavu" further south along the Goma is the base for aid agencies helping the Rwandan refugees, whose The fighting has already spurred massive refugee movements -- 750,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees are sheltering in the Goma region. They fled fighting elsewhere in eastern Zaire, only to find it Cambodian government accused of new violations of logging policy A British environmental group on Friday accused the Cambodian The allegation comes just two days before a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due in Phnom Penh to decide London-based Global Witness said the government, which promised the The group cited three secret agreements with Thai logging companies Documents detailing the deals "confirm suspicions that (the Friday was a public holiday in Cambodia and government officials, According to documents covering the May deals, the national treasury They also charged that at least some of the wood was cut illegally In early October, the IMF warned the government that it would cut off The cabinet met in a special session last week and approved three of It is not clear whether the IMF will be satisfied with the measures. Hong Kong shares close 0.4 percent higher Hong Kong share prices rose 0.4 percent to a record high close Friday The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng index rose 51.71 Manila to exhume workers entombed in Imelda Marcos building The Philippines will exhume the remains of scores of workers The Daily Inquirer quoted Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) An undetermined number of workers were buried alive when a portion of Most of the victims were mixed with cement that still had to dry and The building, whose columns were patterned after the Parthenon in Athens, was being hastily completed on orders of Imelda Marcos in time Government-controlled media at that time reported only a few people Survivors and relatives of the scores of missing workers questioned Marcos. The building housed some government offices after Ferdinand Marcos was Employees and security guards had reported several incidents of Mediums who held seance sessions inside the building a few months ago Hong Kong shares rise 0.4 percent to record close Hong Kong share prices rose 0.4 percent to a record high close Friday The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng index gained 51.71 The value of turnover amounted to 7.297 billion Hong Kong dollars (944 The market started strongly with the key barometer gaining 76.91 Dealers said trading was cautious ahead of the US October employment Hongkong Bank gained 1.50 dollars to 159.00 dollars, Cheung Kong rose Seoul shares close 1.4 percent higher Share prices closed 1.4 percent higher on the Korea Stock Exchange Friday as bargain-hunting emerged after recent falls, dealers said. The composite index rose 10.25 points to finish at 767.84. Malaysia's oldest prison closes its doors Malaysia's oldest prison, Pudu Jail, finally closed its doors Friday More than 1,500 prisoners were relocated to the country's new 170 Sungai Buloh, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the federal capital. Prisons department director-general Zaman Khan said the relocation was The Urban Development Authority Holdings (UDAH), which is redeveloping UDAH has been given the 10-hectare (24-acre) prime land in the heart Buloh prison. The relocation of the Pudu prison would remove an eyesore from a city The new Sungai Buloh prison complex, equipped with state-of-the-art The "sophisticated" prison has steel cell doors with automatic locks, Shanghai share prices close 4.7 percent weaker Share prices fell 4.7 percent on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Friday The composite index fell 45.93 points to close at 930.78 points and Chief cleric of Bangladesh's National Mosque faces treason charge A Bangladeshi court has ordered the arrest of Obaidul Haque, the chief Supporters of Haque staged a brief protest after the cleric led Friday Police kept a close watch as the demonstrators chanted slogans such as But Haque, a government employee, made no comment himself. A magistrate's court issued the arrest warrant against Haque, who is Abdullah Hil Quayum, leader of a faction of the left-leaning Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's student wing, said in his petition that Haque had Pakistan." Bangladesh is the former East Pakistan, which broke away to become an Hong Kong weekly share prices rise 1.1 percent to record finish Hong Kong share prices rose 1.1 percent to record finish during the Street, dealers said. The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index gained 140.89 The previous record high close was set on October 18 at 12,510.05. Average daily turnover for the four trading days amounted to 7.888 The Hong Kong market started on a weak note on Monday with the key But a stronger US market led Hong Kong's main index to gain 213.30 The market strengthened further on Friday with the key barometer Kohl, Hashimoto agree on annual summit Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany and Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto on Friday agreed to hold an annual summit. The decision, taken at a 110-minute meeting, cames a day after Kohl Hashimoto as saying. The annual summit will not make a great difference as the leaders Kohl and Hashimoto have also agreed to a visit to Japan by German President Roman Herzog in April next year, his first trip to the They also decided to study means to increase Japanese investment in Hashimoto congratulated Kohl on his 14-year record-breaking term as German Chancellor which came Thursday, when he became the long-serving Kohl is to visit the Kabuto-cho area housing the Tokyo bourse, before He will attend a banquet hosted by Hashimoto in the evening. On Saturday, Kohl is to breakfast with the Keidanren, the Japan Federation of Economic Organisations, before going to the University He leaves Japan on Saturday to carry out a stopover in Moscow to check Germany is Japan's biggest trading partner in Europe. According to Japanese figures, Japanese exports to Germany rose 14.2 percent in The trip was originally an official visit but was downgraded at the As a result, the Germans are calling the trip a "working visit" while Refugees flee Zaire camp under fire All 210,000 Rwandan Hutu refugees in the Katale camp north of Goma Michele Quintaglie, spokeswoman for the World Food Programme, said the Expatriate aid workers in Goma were preparing to evacuate Friday, Tutsi rebels and Zairean government troops. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees announced Thursday that it was Lino Bordin, the head of the UNHCR delegation in Goma, said he had in He said he was waiting to hear from Zairean authorities if they would Katale, the northernmost camp, is 54 kilometres (32 miles) from Goma. The 115,000 refugees in the Kahindo camp, the next one south, fled Thursday, and some 200,000 in the next camp, Kibumba, fled at the The Kibumba refugees moved into the Mugunga camp, which now holds more Some 500,000 Rwandan and Burundian refugees have meanwhile fled camps Shanghai share prices close 4.7 percent weaker Share prices fell 4.7 percent on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Friday Enwei, an analyst with Southern Securities Company. The composite index fell 45.93 points to close at 930.78 points and The A share index fell 49.36 points to finish below 1,000-mark at Turnover fell to 598.3 million units worth 5.467 billion yuan (658.67 Cai said the stock market might go through a longer period of Market analysts said it would be difficult to put an end to Chongqing Department Store was the top A share gainer, rising 0.54 Shanghai Hero led losers to close 2.45 yuan lower at 13 yuan with 2.39 Shanghai Belt headed the B share gainers' list to rise 2.8 cents to Electric Appliance led losers to close 1.8 cents lower at 0.33 dollars Gold closes lower in Hong Kong Gold closed lower here Friday at 377.70-378.00 US dollars an ounce, The closing rate was unchanged from its opening. Japan, Russia end aviation talks without accord Japan and Russia ended three-day aviation talks Friday without The focus of the talks was the possibility of opening the Russia- Sapporo route with Russian planes landing at New Chitose Airport on Russia expressed its strong displeasure at Japan's de facto rejection, Jiji Press and other news reports had said Tokyo was unlikely to Japan and the Netherlands agreed about a month ago on opening a new However, since the Japan-Russia aviation talks broke down, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which planned to fly the routes next year, is likely During the talks which began Wednesday, Tokyo also asked Moscow to Nearly nine Israelis out of 10 back US President Bill Clinton over Republican challenger Bob Dole in next week's American elections, The survey by the independent Dahaf institute showed that 87 percent A second survey by the Gallup institute came up with similar figures The Gallup poll showed that support for Clinton reached 93 percent Clinton openly supported Peres against his right-wing challenger Benjamin Netanyahu, who ultimately won the election. Clinton visited Israel three times during his first mandate in support Dole has been more sympathetic to Netanyahu and the Israeli right- Tel Aviv to disputed Jerusalem. DALLAS 9 2 0 34 22 18 Burma to retaliate against EU sanctions: Burmese FM Burma intends to retaliate against EU sanctions applied this week to Foreign Minister Ohn Gyaw said Friday. The European Union decided Monday to restrict visas for members of Burma's ruling junta, their families or senior military and security The steps, imposed to protest Burma's human rights record and lack of United States last month, to which Rangoon responded in kind. Novelist to wed in Taiwan's first-ever gay nuptials Taiwan next week will witness its first-ever wedding involving two Hsu said he and his "other half," American Gray Harrinan, will be The wedding will be marked with traditional rites, including ring Hsu said. The mayor's office said he was undecided about attending the wedding. Gay rights activists welcomed the event saying it would encourage more Taiwan's prurient society discourages homosexuals from openly Queen Elizabeth leaves Thailand after five-day visit Britain's Queen Elizabeth II left here Friday after a five-day state The queen boarded a flight to London after passing through the Thai During her visit the queen attended a royal barge procession through Bangkok, a sound and light show in the ruins of the ancient Siamese The queen was accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, who also Allied soldiers who died as prisoners of the Japanese during World War II. The queen's first visit to Thailand in 24 years comes as King Bhumibol Thai monarch. The queen's arrival Monday was covered by a large contingent from the British press -- many of whom jetted off to Sydney later in the week Diana. Seoul shares close 1.4 percent higher Share prices closed 1.4 percent higher on the Korea Stock Exchange Friday on a rebound following recent falls, dealers said. The composite index rose 10.25 points to finish at 767.84. Turnover rose to 29.2 million shares worth 460.6 billion won (555 Advancing issues outnumbered those declining 717 to 164, with 110 Samsung Electronics climbed by its daily permissible limit of 3,400 Hyundai Motor gained 500 won to 26,200 won. Kia Motors rose 800 won to 16,500 won, Pohang Iron and Steel Co. was Korea Electric Power Corp. edged down 100 won to 24,200 won. Banks were mixed, with Korea Long Term Credit down 200 won at 17,600 Dollar lower against yen in Tokyo mid-afternoon trading The dollar was near session lows against the yen here in mid-afternoon Japan, dealers said. The dollar was quoted at 113.64-65 yen at 5 p.m. (0800 GMT), down from Thursday. At the same time it traded at 1.5204-06 marks, down from 1.5207 The dollar's tumble against the yen stemmed mainly from active profit- The declines were exacerbated by a lack of dollar-buying support In mark-yen trading, the mark fell back sharply to below the 74.60-yen The dollar rose to the 1.5235 mark level, but gains were eroded by But he added that trading would unlikely have enough follow-through Rescuers search Brazilian plane crash site by Claire de Oliveira Rescue crews Friday searched the rubble of several homes leveled by a Brazilian airliner that crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 95 It was the third major air disaster in South America in one month. TAM Flight 402 bound for Rio de Janeiro was in the air only moments Airport in Sao Paulo. It crashed about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from The twin-engine Fokker 100 broke up as it plowed into a two-storey Film shot by an amateur cameraman and broadcast on Globo television Barbosa, a witness.