USFK announces security measures, restrictions ahead of G-20

FT.com / In depth - US shifts G20 currency focus to trade deficits
US officials said they will push for firmer commitments at the forthcoming G20 meeting in Seoul to correct global economic imbalances, but played down the chance of a rapid resolution of tensions over China’s currency. Speaking on Monday ahead of next week’s meeting of G20 heads of government in South Korea, Mike Froman, the White House deputy National Security adviser and working-level representative to the grouping, said it was a chance for incremental change. EDITOR’S CHOICE Seoul opt

Japan, U.S. to seek cooperation in addressing global imbalances+
TOKYO, Nov. 6 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Saturday he and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner have shared the view that their countries must cooperate in undertaking policies that would help address global trade imbalances. "I think it is our shared goal that we will cooperate in macroeconomic policies and correct lasting imbalances," Noda told reporters after the two held talks on the sidelines of the meeting of Finance Ministers from the Asia-Pacific...

Klug named Seoul news editor for AP; Pennington to cover U.S.-Asia relations from Washington
NEW YORK — Foster Klug, a reporter who has covered U.S.-Asia relations for The Associated Press in Washington, has been named the AP's news editor in Seoul, South Korea. The appointment was announced Friday by Senior Managing Editor John Daniszewski, who oversees international news. Daniszewski also announced that Matthew Pennington, who has worked in Asia has a bureau chief, reporter and editor, will replace Klug in Washington. Klug, 37, will report to Jean H. Lee, the Seoul chief of b...

FT.com / China - China tees up G20 showdown with US
China has curtly dismissed a US proposal to address global economic imbalances, setting the stage for a potential showdown at next week’s G20 meeting in Seoul. Cui Tiankai, a deputy Foreign Minister and one of China’s lead negotiators at the G20, said on Friday that the US plan for limiting current account surpluses and Deficits to 4 per cent of gross domestic product harked back “to the days of planned economies”. EDITOR’S CHOICE In depth: G20...

China tees up G20 showdown with US
China has curtly dismissed a US proposal to address global economic imbalances, setting the stage for a potential showdown at next week’s G20 meeting in Seoul. Cui Tiankai, a deputy Foreign Minister and one of China’s lead negotiators at the G20, said on Friday that the US plan for limiting current account surpluses and Deficits to 4 per cent of gross domestic product harked back “to the days of planned economies”. EDITOR’S CHOICE In depth: G20...

China says flood of dollars could spark new crisis
Unrestrained printing of dollars could spark a new Global Crisis, an adviser to China's Central Bank warned Thursday as Asian Governments braced for an unwanted flood of capital into their Markets following the Federal Reserve's move to inject more money into the U.S. Economy. Opposition by Beijing and other Governments to the Fed's move might hamper efforts to agree on measures to fix strains in the Global Economy at next week's Group of 20 leaders summit in Seoul. "So long as the world shows n...

Germany criticizes U.S. Fed
Published: Nov. 5, 2010 at 4:20 PM BERLIN, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble harshly criticized the U.S. Federal Reserve's $600 Billion Quantitative Easing program announced Wednesday. Schauble said the United States had broken a promise made in June at the Group of 20 summit in Toronto to tighten Monetary Policy, EUobserver reported Friday. "That was the common Policy, that all developed countries, including the United States … explicitly obliged to undertake," Sch...

2ND LD: APEC financial chiefs vow to cut global imbalances+
KYOTO, Nov. 6 (AP) - (Kyodo)—(EDS: UPDATING. 3RD LEAD TO FOLLOW) Pacific Rim Finance Ministers pledged Saturday to make concerted efforts to address global trade imbalances, in a move that could put pressure on some surplus members, including China, to move away from unfairly undervaluing their currencies as a way to boost exports. The Ministers of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which accounts for some 40 percent of world trade and more than half of the global econ...

Germans protest against nuke waste train
AFP German Police scuffled with Protesters as tens of thousands of people gathered in Dannenberg, northern Germany, vowing to block a Nuclear waste convoy arriving from France. The heavily guarded train carrying a cargo that Activists say is "the most radioactive ever" crossed into Germany on Saturday after changing its route to avoid Protesters but halted at Kehl station, just over the border, to take on more Police. It then headed for Karlsruhe where demonstrators were waiting, German polic...

Exporting Our Way to Stability
AS the United States recovers from this Recession, the biggest mistake we could make would be to rebuild our economy on the same pile of Debt or the paper profits of Financial speculation. We need to rebuild on a new, stronger foundation for Economic Growth. And part of that foundation involves doing what Americans have always done best: discovering, creating and building products that are sold all over the world. We want to be known not just for what we consume, but for what we produce. And th...

President Obama arrives in India for start of Asian tour
President Obama arrived in India on Saturday for the start of his four-nation, 10-day tour through Asia. His first stop will be India's financial hub of Mumbai, scene of the deadly terror Attacks of November 2008 that left 164 people dead. His planned commemoration of the Terrorist Attack during his first event there underlines the importance that the U.S. is placing on boosting collaboration in dealing with Terrorism believed to be centered in the region across India's western borde...

Somali pirates release hijacked SKorean tanker, crew; huge ransom reportedly paid
Seoul, South Korea — Somali Pirates have freed a hijacked South Korean-operated supertanker and its 24 crew after seven months of captivity, officials said Sunday amid reports that a record ransom was paid. The Samho Dream was sailing toward a safe third country under the escort of a South Korean destroyer after being released Saturday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Its 24 crew — five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos — were all safe, Ministry officia...

Somali pirates release South Korean tanker
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Somali Pirates have freed a hijacked South Korean-operated supertanker and its 24 crew after seven months of captivity, officials said Sunday amid reports that a record ransom was paid. The Samho Dream was sailing toward a safe third country under the escort of a South Korean destroyer after being released Saturday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Its 24 crew—five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos—were all safe, Ministry officials said. T...

Confidant of North Korea's Kim Jong Il dies
FILE -- In this Oct. 10, 2000 file photo released by the White House, then... Seoul, South Korea (AP) - Jo Myong Rok, a longtime confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il who traveled to Washington in 2000 on a then unprecedented goodwill mission, has died. He was 82. Jo—who had served as first vice chairman of the North's powerful National Defense Commission since 1998—died Saturday of inveterate heart disease, the official Korean Central News Agency reported in a dispatch from Py...

Report: Somali Pirates Release South Korean Ship
Seoul, South Korea -- Somali Pirates freed a hijacked South Korean supertanker and its crew, a South Korean news agency said Saturday. The Samho Dream is now sailing toward the United States, Yonhap news agency reported, citing Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Program. All the sailors were safe and healthy, Mwangura said, according to Yonhap.  South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it could not immediately confirm the report. It said the release was immin...

Somali pirates release South Korean tanker
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Somali Pirates have freed a hijacked South Korean-operated supertanker and its 24 crew, officials said Sunday amid news reports that a record ransom was paid. The Samho Dream was sailing toward a safe third country under the escort of a South Korean destroyer after being released Saturday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Its 24 crew—five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos—were all safe, Ministry officials said. The tanker, loaded with abou...

Confidant of North Korea's Kim Jong Il dies
FILE -- In this Oct. 10, 2000 file photo released by the White House, then... Seoul, South Korea (AP) - Jo Myong Rok, a longtime confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il who traveled to Washington in 2000 on a then unprecedented goodwill mission, has died. He was 82. Jo—who had served as first vice chairman of the North's powerful National Defense Commission since 1998—died Saturday of inveterate heart disease, the official Korean Central News Agency reported in a dispatch from Py...

Confidant of North Korea's Kim Jong Il dies
SEOUL, South Korea -- Jo Myong Rok, a longtime confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il who traveled to Washington in 2000 on a then unprecedented goodwill mission, has died. He was 82. Jo - who had served as first vice chairman of the North's powerful National Defense Commission since 1998 - died Saturday of inveterate Heart Disease, the official Korean Central News Agency reported in a dispatch from Pyongyang. "His death is a great loss to the party, The Army and people of (North Korea) w...

North Korean military leader and confidant of leader Kim Jong Il dies of heart ailment
Seoul, South Korea — Jo Myong Rok, a longtime confidant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il who traveled to Washington in 2000 on a then unprecedented goodwill mission, has died. He was 82. Jo — who had served as first vice chairman of the North's powerful National Defense Commission since 1998 — died Saturday of inveterate Heart Disease, the official Korean Central News Agency reported in a dispatch from Pyongyang. "His death is a great loss to the party, The Army and peop...

Somali pirates release hijacked SKorean tanker, crew; huge ransom reportedly paid
Seoul, South Korea — Somali Pirates have freed a hijacked South Korean-operated supertanker and its 24 crew after seven months of captivity, officials said Sunday amid reports that a record ransom was paid. The Samho Dream was sailing toward a safe third country under the escort of a South Korean destroyer after being released Saturday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Its 24 crew — five South Koreans and 19 Filipinos — were all safe, Ministry officia...

Oakland residents awaken to broken windows, debris
Oakland, Calif. – Looking out her front window in a usually quiet residential neighborhood in this city, Deanna Goldstein's knees began to shake. More than 100 Protesters were hemmed in by Police in Riot Gear. A trash can was blazing on the street. "I came home early from downtown to get away from the craziness, but the craziness came to me," she said. In the past, the violent Protests over a white transit Officer's slaying of an unarmed black man trashed downtown Oakland businesses. But...

Oakland residents wake up to broken car windows following protests in transit cop case
Oakland, CALIF. — Looking out her front window in a usually quiet residential neighborhood in this city, Deanna Goldstein's knees began to shake. More than 100 Protesters were hemmed in by Police in Riot Gear. A trash can was blazing on the street. "I came home early from downtown to get away from the craziness, but the craziness came to me," she said. In the past, the violent Protests over a white Transit Officer's slaying of an unarmed black man trashed downtown Oakland businesses. Bu...

Oakland residents wake up to broken car windows following protests in transit cop case
Oakland, CALIF. — Looking out her front window in a usually quiet residential neighborhood in this city, Deanna Goldstein's knees began to shake. More than 100 Protesters were hemmed in by Police in Riot Gear. A trash can was blazing on the street. "I came home early from downtown to get away from the craziness, but the craziness came to me," she said. In the past, the violent Protests over a white Transit Officer's slaying of an unarmed black man trashed downtown Oakland businesses. Bu...

US, Australia expand ties with an eye on China (AP)
Melbourne, Australia – The United States plans to expand its Military presence in Australia as the two nations maneuver to rein in an increasingly assertive China. U.S. and Australia are considering a joint or shared base arrangement in which U.S. Troops and assets such as planes or ships would piggyback on existing Australian Military facilities, a senior U.S. Defense official said Saturday. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said wider Military cooperation between the U.S. and longtim...

US, Australia consider joint military bases; look for ways to curb assertive China
Melbourne, Australia — The United States plans to expand its Military presence in Australia as the two nations maneuver to rein in an increasingly assertive China. U.S. and Australia are considering a joint or shared base arrangement in which U.S. Troops and assets such as planes or ships would piggyback on existing Australian Military facilities, a senior U.S. Defense official said Saturday. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said wider Military cooperation between the U.S. and longti...