Asia Pacific | South Korea Poll Victor Seeks Changes in U.S. Alliance | SEOUL...
Asia Pacific
South Korea Poll Victor Seeks Changes in U.S. Alliance
SEOUL (Reuters) - President-elect Roh Moo-hyun called Friday for a revamp of South Korea's relationship with the United States, but ruled out radical change and pledged to work with Washington to curtail North Korea's nuclear arms program.
JAPAN: McDonald's sees full net year loss of 2.33 bn yen
The Japanese unit of US fastfood giant McDonald's has said that it expects to record its first net loss since 1973. The announcement by Japan’s top fastfood chain follows an announcement by its parent company earlier this week that McDonald’s Corp would post its first-ever quarterly loss as sales at its fastfood outlets deteriorate. McDonald’s Japan, which is 50% owned by McDonald’s Corp, cut its group net forecast for the year to December to a net loss of ¥2.33bn (US$19.1m).
USA
Democrats Say Misled by USDA in Meat Recall Probe
(12/19, Reuters)
Four Democratic lawmakers accused the U.S. Agriculture Department on Thursday of "misleading Congress" in its investigation of a former ConAgra Foods beef plant, blamed for an E. coli outbreak that sickened dozens of people this summer.
Economy Slowing After Solid Growth
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy expanded briskly in the third quarter on a wave of consumer spending, the Commerce Department confirmed on Friday, but growth is forecast to slow sharply in the closing months of the year. U.S. gross domestic product, the measure of total output within U.S. borders, rose at an annual rate of 4 percent in the July-September three-month period -- the same as estimated a month ago and more than triple the 1.3 percent rate posted in the second quarter.
New EPA Rules to Impact 1,000 Iowa Livestock Farms
Washington, D.C. - The Bush administration is imposing new environmental restrictions on thousands of large livestock farms nationwide to prevent pollution of water and streams. Rules to be issued today will require 15,000 hog, cattle and poultry farms to obtain permits under the Clean Water Act, administration officials said. Currently, about 2,500 farms are required to have the permits under rules that date back to the 1970s.
Americas
Venezuela Strikers Defy Court Order, Press Protest
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition, ignoring a temporary Supreme Court order to restart the strike-hit oil industry, planned on Friday to intensify street protests and keep a clamp on oil operations in a drive to pressure President Hugo Chavez to resign. The actions signaled no let-up in the crippling 19-day-old opposition strike that has hit oil production, choked off exports and caused unprecedented food and gasoline shortages in the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter.
Europe
US Boost for UK Livestock Industry
The USA has announced that trade in meat and genetics from the UK can resume. The Federal Register published the news that trade with Great Britain can resume on the same terms as before with effect from 17 December, now that the FMD status is all clear from their official angle.
Controlling Spread of Animal Diseases
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a regulation on the identification and registration of sheep and goats, as part of its bid to prevent the spread of animal diseases. The proposed regulation will reinforce current measures, specifically by introducing gradually in all EU states an identification system to mark each animal, making it possible to trace the individual movements of sheep and goats.
Convention for EU Foreign Minister, Solidarity Clause
Fri 12/20/02
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Europe's constitution builders on Friday overwhelmingly backed the creation of a single EU "foreign minister" and a solidarity clause pledging mutual assistance against terrorism. But the Convention drafting a constitution for an enlarged European Union failed to agree on a broader collective defense commitment, and leading integrationists said the proposals for streamlining EU foreign policy were too timid.