BANGKOK, January 9 -- Thailand's former Prime Minister has defended her role in a controversial rice subsidy scheme, as she faced impeachment hearings that could see her banned from politics for five years and reignite the country's bitter divisions. Yingluck Shinawatra said on Friday that she tried to find ways of helping poor farmers as she appeared before a military-appointed legislature relating to the scheme that forced protests against her now toppled government. "I ran the government with honesty and in accordance with all laws," she said, rejecting the allegation of dereliction of duty by the nation's anti-corruption body that resulted in the impeachment bid. The former prime minister told the National Assembly, the scheme helped poor farmers and alleviated poverty, helping some 1.8 million people. Critics say the rice subsidy run up losses up to $15bn, and resulted in huge stockpiles with buyers baulking at Yingluck's attempt to hoard the grain and force up prices. Yingluck said the proceedings were futile as she no longer held any political post. "I was removed from my position as prime minister. I have no position left to be removed from," Yingluck told the assembly. She ended a detailed and impassioned defence by urging the assembly to "deliberate with virtue, without prejudice or a hidden political agenda". A successful impeachment needs three-fifths of the 250-strong assembly to vote in favour. A verdict is expected by the end of January. Criminal case Prosecutors are also in the process of deciding whether Yingluck should face a separate criminal case over the rice subsidy scheme. Thailand's first female prime minister and sister of self-exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck was ousted from office by a controversial court ruling shortly before the army seized power in a coup on May 22, 2014. Yingluck's supporters say the proceedings and the criminal charges are the latest attempt by the royalist elite to neuter the political influence of the Shinawatras, whose parties have won every election since 2001. If impeached, Yingluck faces a five-year ban from politics. But the move is not without risks. A vote to impeach Yingluck could galvanise her family's 'Red Shirt' supporters to protest, ending months of silence since the army grabbed power and imposed martial law. Protests are banned under martial law. Yingluck's billionaire brother Thaksin, who was deposed as prime minister in a 2006 coup, is loathed by the Bangkok-centred establishment, and its supporters, known as 'Yellow Shirts'. Since Thaksin swept to power in 2001, Shinawatra governments have been floored by two coups and bloodied by the removal of three other prime ministers by the kingdom's interventionist courts.
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PARIS, January 7 -- At least 12 people, including four cartoonists and two policemen, killed by three gunmen at Charlie Hebdo magazine. Three heavily armed men have attacked a French satirical magazine based in Paris, killing at least 12 people, including four cartoonists and two policemen, officials have said. The lawyer of the magazine confirmed that four cartoonists working with the publication, including the editor Stephane Charbonnier, known as 'Charb', were among the dead. Police said 11 people were wounded in the incident, adding that four were in a critical condition. The cartoonists known as Cabu, Tignous and Wolinski were also killed in the attack, AFP news agency quoted a judicial source as saying. Charlie Hebdo has drawn repeated threats for its caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, among other controversial sketches. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the assault was carried out by three attackers. According to witnesses, one was a driver and the other two were attackers in terms of their role in the incident, police said. In amateur camera footage shared on the internet, the attackers are heard shouting: "We have avenged the Prophet Mohammad." The gunmen fled eastwards towards the suburbs, dumping their car in a residential area, police said. They then hijacked two other cars, wounded their drivers and ran over a pedestrian. Reports from Paris, said journalists and cartoonists reported several masked men dressed in black entering the building who then began to fire with automatic weapons. "Some journalists took refuge on the roof," "Charlie Hebdo has pushed boundaries in the past, and continues to challenge the idea of censorship." President Francois Hollande, speaking outside the office of the magazine, described the attack as having been carried out by barbaric people. "This is an attack on free speech." he told reporters. "No one can harm the spirit of this country which is this newspaper". ROTTERDAM, January 3 -- People in emerging and developing nations are more optimistic for the next generation than publics in advanced economies. Still, there is a wide range of attitudes within each group.
BEIJING, January 1 -- China's official manufacturing purchasing manager's index (PMI), a key measure of factory activity in China, fell 0.2 percentage points to 50.1 in December. Workers assemble LED lights at a factory in Zouping, in eastern China's Shandong province on Dec 31. China’s manufacturing activity contracted in December, HSBC's closely watched purchasing managers' index showed. (AFP photo) The manufacturing PMI fell from 50.3 in November compared with 50.8 in October, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. A figure above 50 generally means a positive outlook in the manufacturing sector, while below 50 is taken as a negative reading. China's central bank cut interest rates on Nov 22 after growth in China dropped to 7.3% year-on-year in the third quarter, the lowest in five years. Prime Minister Li Keqiang told the World Economic Forum in September that the official target remained only "about" 7.5%, marking the weakest potential expansion for 24 years. |
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