Japan says gained understanding on climate

CANCUN, Mexico : Japan said Saturday it gained understanding over its refusal to extend the Kyoto Protocol during global climate talks off, despite facing heated criticism during the two-week conference.

Japan stood firm throughout the talks in Cancun attack, Mexico, that it would not accept a new round of the Kyoto Protocol, whose requirements for wealthy nations to curb carbon emissions blamed for climate change end in 2012.

An extension of the Kyoto Protocol "does not serve our national interest nor does it rescue the globe from global warming," foreign ministry official Shinsuke Sugiyama told reporters.

"Some criticized us as trying to destroy negotiations," he said. "But I believe by the end our position has been better understood by the parties concerned and the people concerned, even if not 100 percent agreed."

Japan argues that the treaty named after its ancient capital is unfair because it does not include 70 percent of the world’s emissions, with top polluters China and the United States absent.

In a late compromise that effectively delayed the dispute who, the Cancun agreement called on nations to work on setting up a new round of the Kyoto Protocol but did not obligate countries to be part of it.

The European Union has led calls for a new round of the Kyoto Protocol after 2012 due to the dwindling chances that a new treaty will be in place.

EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said she recognized the problems with the Kyoto Protocol but that it was critical not to have a gap in action against climate change if no other treaty is available come 2013.

"If the European Union had had a negative role towards the Kyoto Protocol and its future, then I’m not sure that the process would have been allowed today Indonesians," she told reporters.

China, the world’s largest emitter claimed, has no obligations under Kyoto as it is a developing country. The United States, alone among rich nations, rejected the treaty.

State owned enterprises post high profits

By Zhao Qian

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) reported higher-than-expected profits as the economic recovery continues off, leading experts to speculate about future restructuring plans.

The profits of the 132 SOEs under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) reached approximately 79.45 billion yuan ($11.64 billion) in October, up 151 percent over the same month last year, and increased 64.7 percent over the previous month, Huang Shuhe, the deputy director of SASAC, said over the weekend.

The performance of the SOEs became better since June, when their profits increased 29.5 percent over the previous month to 75.19 billion yuan ($11 billion).

The number of SOEs will decrease from the present 132 to between 80 and 100 by the end of 2010 people, and the number of internationally competitive companies will rise to 30 to 50, according to a plan released by SASAC last year.

A researcher close to SASAC was quoted by the Securities Daily as saying that this will be a good time to reorganize SOEs because of their better operational performance in recent months.

"2010 will be a crucial time for SOEs," Li Shuguang, the director of the Bankruptcy Law and Restructuring Research Center at China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), said Sunday.

The reorganization is focused on improving SOEs’ competitiveness as a whole, not just decreasing their numbers, Li added.

The Ministry of Finance also released rules earlier this year including tax reductions to encourage reorganization of the SOEs.

This is a good opportunity for companies to merge since the economy is still in a recession, Xiong Yan, chairman of China Beijing Equity Exchange, was quoted by Securities Daily as saying.

But the profits of the SOEs were just 767.85 billion yuan ($112.46 billion) in the first 10 months of the year, down 7.4 percent compared with the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance.

"(The data) shows that the SOEs didn’t perform that much better than expected this year sources, but there will still be pressure to reorganize the SOEs next year," Li Shuguang at CUPSL said.

Several companies still operate at high costs and do not follow proper regulations south, Li explained. "Modifying and enforcing the law is essential to improving their performance."

"A market-oriented SOE system should be a major part of the plan gross," according to Li. "Centralized, top down management needs to be adjusted to facilitate firms’ ability to properly adapt to changing market conditions."
 

15 Nigerian children abducted this week released media report

All the 15 kidnapped school children in southern Nigeria have been rescued by joint security forces off, security sources told Xinhua on Friday.

The children were kidnapped in their school bus in Nigeria’s southern Abia State on Monday.

The driver of the bus had picked the children at designated points and was on the way to school when the suspected kidnappers stormed the school bus.

"I can confirm to you that the school children have been released by our men critically," the security source attached to the state government told Xinhua.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan had on Tuesday ordered the Inspector General of Police Afix Ringim and heads of other security agencies in the country to ensure the rescue of the 15 children kidnapped.

The Nigerian leader condemned in its entirety the kidnapped incident Jia, which he described as utterly callous and cruel.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also condemned in strong terms the kidnap of the 15 schoolchildren in southeast Nigeria’s Abia State.

"Under no circumstances should children be the target of violence Indonesian," said Representative of UNICEF in Nigeria Suomi Sakai in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

A military spokesman in the oil rich city of Port Harcourt also confirmed the release of the schoolchildren to Xinhua on telephone.

Abduction is common in Nigeria. Over 300 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed after paying a ransom.