DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “3rd Ld-Writethru-China Focus: New loans, money supply drop in September on government grips” plus 9 more

BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's new yuan-denominated loans in September hit the lowest in 20 months and the money supply grew at the slowest pace in almost a decade, as the government strives to reduce liquidity to combat inflation.

New yuan-denominated loans stood at 470 billion yuan (73.7 billion U.S. dollars) in September, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), or the central bank, said in a statement on its website on Friday.

The amount represented a drop of 131.1 billion yuan from the same month last year and 78.5 billion yuan from August this year, creating the lowest since January 2010.

Total new loans in the first nine months of this year was 5.68 trillion yuan, 597.7 billion yuan less than the same period last year, according to the statement.

By the end of September, the outstanding broad money supply (M2), which covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 13 percent year-on-year to 78.74 trillion yuan, the statement said.

The growth rate was 0.5 percentage points lower than that by August this year and 6.7 percentage points lower than that at the end of last year, the slowest since March 2002.

The narrow measure of money supply (M1), which covers cash in circulation plus demand deposits, increased 8.9 percent year-on-year to 26.72 trillion yuan by the end of last month, the statement said. The growth rate was the lowest since February 2009.

"Although new yuan-denominated loans in September dropped beyond previous expectations, new loans are still sufficient to meet the demand of China's economic growth," said Zhuang Jian, a senior economist with the Asian Development Bank.

Yang Ruilong, an economics professor at Renmin University, said the drop in new loans should be attributed to government efforts to tighten its monetary policy.

The central bank has raised interest rates three times this year and hiked the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks six times to mop up excessive liquidity to ease inflation.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, climbed 6.1 percent year-on-year in September, easing slightly from 6.2 percent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5 percent last month. The Chinese government's full-year inflation target was around 4 percent for 2011.

"Controlling runaway prices can only be effective when the growth in money supply slows down," Yang said.

The central bank also said in the statement that China's foreign exchange reserves totaled 3.2017 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of September, compared with 3.1975 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of June.

Yang said that affected by the debt crisis in European and American countries, China's exports are facing increasingly great pressures, the trade surplus is narrowing, and the inflow of foreign capital is also dropping.

Even though China's new loans and money supply dropped, experts are warning that it is too soon to put an end to the country's prudent monetary policy.

Zhao Qingming, a senior researcher with China Construction Bank, said there are still many uncertainties around China's price level in the next period, so the government should not change its prudent monetary policy.

"However, considering the difficult situation faced by many small- and medium-sized companies in China and the deterioration of the global economic environment, the monetary policy cannot be further tightened either," Zhao said.

Yang Ruilong said that although reining in inflation remains the top priority of the government at present, China should adjust the structure of its new loans and give more preference to small- and medium-sized companies in making loans.

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen have shot dead a prominent Pakistani Taliban commander in North Waziristan tribal region, a tribal elder in the area said on Friday.

Maulvi Muhammad Iftikhar, listed among the six top level commanders of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, was attacked in Miranshah, main town in North Waziristan, late Thursday evening when he was travelling in a car with his guards. One of his guards was also killed while two others were injured, he said.

Motives behind the killing were not known but security officials believe that internal differences within the militants may be resulted into the incident.

Slain Iftikhar, who had been running a religious school in North Waziristan, was wanted to the authorities for attacks on security forces.

He was also one of the main suspects in attack on the security personnel in the Islamabad's Red Mosque gun-battle in July 2008. He shifted to North Waziristan after the Red Mosque operation, which had killed several security personnel and militants, including deputy chief of the mosque.

Witnesses said the gunmen in a car with tented screens opened fire on the TTP commander who was heading to market from his religious school. They fled after the attack.

No group claimed responsibility for the incident. Security sources believe that the killing may be the result of differences in the ranks of different militant groups in North Waziristan, bordering Afghanistan. The U.S. officials consider North Waziristan a main base for al-Qaida and Haqqani network, whose members cross-border into Afghanistan for attacks on foreign and Afghan forces.

Maulvi Iftikhar had shifted to North Waziristan, the only Taliban stronghold, after the Red Mosque military operation. He was studied in a Taliban-linked "madrassa" in Islamabad, according to TTP sources and his students.

It is the second killing of the TTP senior member in North Waziristan in less than four months.

In late June, gunmen had shot dead a senior Pakistani Taliban commander Shakirullah Shakir near Miranshah.

Also in August, Muhamamd Hanif, a prominent militant commander of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, an associate of the Haqqani network, was killed in North Waziristan during a clash with a rival group.

Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the Taliban is not part of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who had signed a peace deal with the security forces in 2007 and both sides hold the agreement.

The militants in North Waziristan have formed a new group "Saif- ul-Furqan" to deal with the alleged spies in the region, according to a pamphlet distributed in Miranshah. The outfit has been formed weeks after the Hafiz Gul Bahadar group disowned the dubious secretive "Khurasan" group, which was behind the killing and abduction of the people.

The North Waziristan Taliban Shura or council had said last month that it had encouraged "Khurasan" to stop their mysterious activities but was disowned after the group ignored the call.

ISTANBUL, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Istanbul police department appointed 78 law enforcement officers to provide quick-response protection for women facing the threat of violence from men in 39 districts, local media reported Friday.

All the police stations in the city's 39 districts will assign two staff members to work full time to handle violence toward women, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News reported Friday.

Some 67 women who have already been subjected to violence are now protected by special police units in Istanbul. District police units will conduct patrols at intervals near the homes of women under special protection.

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed on Friday afternoon when a U.S. pilotless plane attacked a house in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region, official sources said.

GAZA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been captive in Gaza since 2006, will go home on Tuesday as part of a prisoners swap deal reached between his captors Hamas and Israel, officials said Friday.

The Israel Radio quoted Israeli army chief of staff Benny Gantz as saying that Shalit will be handed on Tuesday morning to the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) before he goes to Egypt.

Gantz told the radio that Shalit will then be taken to Egypt through the Rafah crossing between Gaza Strip and Egypt and will be handed over to the Egyptian army in an Egyptian military base in northern Sinai.

He said that after than, Shalit will be flown to an Israeli military base in central Israel, adding that a senior Israeli official from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will head to Cairo on Friday.

Gantz noted that the Israeli Prisons Administration will start on Sunday preparing the prisoners that will be freed, adding that the official list of names will be published either on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Abu Mujahid, spokesman of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), one of Shalit's captors said that the measures of handing Shalit to Egypt and the release of the prisoners will start on Tuesday.

"The measure will start when Israel frees 450 prisoners and all the 27 female prisoners and we see them out of jail, then Shalit will be handed over to Egypt," said Abu Mujahid.

He added that the leaders of the freed prisoners will have with them cellular phones to report that they were released. He also said that the process will continue until they reach the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Hamas militants and two other armed groups, including the PRC kidnapped Shalit during a cross-borders raid on an Israeli army base southeast of the Gaza Strip in June 2006. Two Israeli soldiers and six Palestinians killed in the attack.

The deal, that had been reached on Tuesday and was mediated by Egypt, where 1,027 male and female prisoners will be freed for the release of Shalit, will be implemented on Tuesday in two phases.

The first phase will be implemented on Tuesday, where 450 male and 27 female prisoners will be freed as soon as Shalit is handed over to Egypt, and then after two months, the second phase will be implemented and 550 prisoners will be released.

MANILA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government acknowledges that more minors have been getting involved in criminal activities, but lowering the age on criminal liability is not the solution to the problem, officials said Friday.

Government officials have to discuss as to "what is the best solution" on the matter, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said, adding "We recognize that the crime syndicates are using minors for their crime."

There were calls from various groups to amend the juvenile justice law to lower the age of criminal liability from 15 years old to nine.

But Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman rejected the proposal to amend the law.

"The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act was enacted in compliance with our obligations under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child and pursuant to the provisions of the Philippine Constitution. A child-sensitive justice system promotes and protects the physical and psychological well-being of children, while holding them accountable for their actions," said De Lima.

Soliman, for her part, urged the government, the private sector, parents and families to look into the root causes of why children commit the crimes instead of punishing them and branding them as criminals.

"We should protect the welfare of the child in conflict with the law by understanding the circumstances in which a child commits such offenses. If we address that and provide appropriate assistance and services to the child, then they have a better chance at becoming productive members of society," said Soliman.

JAKARTA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The recent spate of natural disasters have reaffirmed the need for ASEAN to remain on constant alert, and ASEAN Member States must establish the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) Centre soonest to react to the emergencies, a statement released by the ASEAN secretariat said here on Friday.

"ASEAN needs to able to coordinate, so as to effectively respond to the calamities," said Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, in his letter of condolences to the Foreign Ministers and Secretaries of Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Surin also wrote to the Defense Chiefs of these affected countries, to voice his sympathies and support for the relief teams.

Over the past two weeks, torrential rains and violent storms have wrecked havoc in several ASEAN Member States. In the Philippines, the combined destruction from Typhoons Nesat and Nalgae has claimed 102 lives, and affected more than 2 million people.

In the Laos nearly half a million people were hit by floods. The same weather havoc also claimed some 170 casualties in neighboring Cambodia, and affected some 18,000 households.

The worst-hit so far is Thailand. More than 200 people have died in one of the worst floods to hit the country. Another 2.6 million people had their lives disrupted by the freak weather condition.

Noting the quick responses from the respective military, Surin noted "it is particularly heartening to see closer military engagement with civil society."

"These complex measures are very much in accordance with the spirit of the 3rd ASEAN Defence Ministers Meetings (ADMM) Joint Declaration on Strengthening ASEAN Defence Establishments to Meet the Challenges of Non-Traditional Security Threats," he added.

In his letter to Thai Foreign Minister, Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Surin also conveyed the readiness to deploy the ASEAN Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT), to observe and do a preliminary assessment of the situation in Thailand.

ERAT will consist of four to five experts, and they are ready to be deployed in 24 hours. They will help co-ordinate ASEAN and international cooperation, for immediate relief and long term recovery.

JAKARTA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Japan will deepen its decades-old partnership with ASEAN, through active efforts to support ASEAN's disaster-relief efforts as the group approaches its 2015 target of an ASEAN Community, a statement released by the ASEAN Secretariat said here on Friday.

The commitment was made by Japanese Foreign Minister, Koichiro Gemba, when he met the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Surin Pitsuwan, here Friday.

"The Japan-ASEAN cooperation will continue beyond 2015, and Japan is committed to providing support, and Tokyo wants to see the partnership developing with great care," Gemba said.

He also outlined a four-point proposal to guide the partnership. This includes Tokyo's full support for ASEAN Connectivity; disaster management support including assistance for the ASEAN Co- ordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management, or AHA Center and the disaster emergency stockpile; the continuation of the youth exchange programme, especially upon the expiry of the current JENESYS programme; and a joint statement on the partnership at the Japan-ASEAN Summit.

Thanking Gemba, Surin assured the Japanese Minister that Japan' s commitment is deeply appreciated by ASEAN.

The two sides have enjoyed excellent relations since the establishment of formal ties in March 1977. Japan's relations with ASEAN have been shaped by the Fukuda Doctrine, which was named after then Japanese Prime Minister Takeo Fukuda.

The Japanese leader had then told ASEAN leaders that the peace and prosperity of Southeast Asian nations is a major concern of Japan. "It is from this perspective that we intend to extend co- operation to their various efforts to develop themselves in the spirit of self-reliance as seen in the efforts by ASEAN through personal exchanges, active contribution to nation-building and other means," he said.

The relevance and importance of people-to-people exchanges are still crucial today, said Dr Surin, adding that increasing awareness among the youth should be a cornerstone in ASEAN's relations with its Dialogue and non-Dialogue Partners. This is because they are the ones who will manifest the desire for better ties and cooperation between ASEAN and Japan.

As for the floods and bad weather that is currently threatening several ASEAN Member States, Dr Surin expressed his hope that ASEAN Member States will establish the AHA Center soon to better respond to disasters within the region. AHA Center will be launched at the sidelines of the 19th ASEAN Summit in Bali next month.

Commending Japan's active support to assist ASEAN in the area of disaster management, Dr Surin pointed out that "a timely and early response by Japan on this matter, will be seen as a dramatic and well meaning gesture by Tokyo towards ASEAN."

Surin also pointed out that ASEAN is planning to deploy a rapid assessment team from the ASEAN countries, known as ASEAN-ERAT ( Emergency Rapid Assessment Team), to Thailand within 24 hours.

The team is expected to do a preliminary assessment of the situation on the ground, and assess the most needed assistance that can be deployed by ASEAN Member States and the Dialogue Partners for immediate relief and recovery for the survivors.

Both the leaders agree that ASEAN and Japan have been on the receiving end of natural calamities year after year. This provides the perfect platform for Japan to share its resources, as well as to showcase its expertise on disaster relief management, and concern for the people of ASEAN.

Agreeing to look into the matter, Gemba also thanked Surin for leading the ASEAN Caravan of Goodwill, to express ASEAN's solidarity with the survivors of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.

The Caravan was a voluntary project funded by private partners of ASEAN and Dr Surin. It included survivors of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and tsunami, who brought along their greetings and condolences, and also shared their experience in recuperation with their Japanese counterparts.

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- International trade and foreign ministers from members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Kuala Lumpur  of Malaysia on Friday for a retreat aimed at strategizing policies to promote the region's economy.

The ASEAN Economic Council retreat, to be held through Sunday, will discuss ASEAN's economic thrust in the years ahead amid current global developments especially in the European Union and the United States, according to a statement issued by Malaysia's ministry of international trade and industry.

The ministers were expected to address ASEAN's economic strengths, strategies to engage trading partners in free trade agreements and measures to minimize trade barriers.

Recommendations formed at the retreat would be considered at the 19th ASEAN summit on Nov. 17-19 in Bali, Indonesia, according to the statement.

Secretary General of ASEAN, Surin Pitsuwan, ministers and trade officials from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia were among those attending the retreat.

The bloc is striving to become an integrated, single market economic community by 2015.

BEIJING, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Cao Yi is unknown to most of his fellow golf players before he came to play the 2011 Fangshan Changyang China Amateur Golf Championship in Beijing.

But the Canada-based youngster might be remembered after this tournament as he came out as the surprising leader after Friday's first-round play.

"It's my first amateur tournament in China in the past years as I spent most of my time in Canada studying and playing golf," said the 21-year-old man, who carded par 72 on Thursday, one shot ahead of Zhou Tian.

"I was a bit nervous coming into the early play because everything was new to me. Fortunately I adjusted myself very well and played much better golf in the afternoon. Hopefully, I could keep solid in the next two rounds and win the title."

Due to lack of domestic competitions, Cao should have had no right to play in this tournament, which requires players to have certain domestic ranking points or at least win a title in an amateur tournament in China.

Thanks to his overseas experiences, one of the sponsors gave him a wild card.

Cao flew to Canada to start his golf career in 2005 and as an older and more mature player, he now has his eyes on qualifying to become a professional next season.

"I will compete in the Chinese professional qualification next year and try to be a pro. China has more and more good golf events every year and I think I will come back home more and play more games in the future."

In the women's side, Ma Andrea Victoria from the Philippines and Wang Ziyi from China shared the first-round lead with one-under 71.

Victoria, 16, put up a steady performance with three birdies, 13 pars and two bogeys.

"The reason I played good today was due to my putting. I had only 27 putts today, which was unbelievable. I had never expected my putting so good," said Victoria, who added she had traveled around for tournaments since there are very few tournaments in the Philippines.

Speaking on the timetable of turning pro, she said she will first finish college education before turning pro.  "And then I would like to play in LPGA," said Victoria, saying she did not like boxing but love Manny Pacquiao (the first world eight-division boxing champion and politician).

The inaugural China Amateur Golf Championship is being promoted as China's highest level and most open amateur golf competition.

It has attracted 85 amateur golfers from home and abroad. Sixty-four locals will slug it out with their overseas counterparts.