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Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Mitigation proposed fund worth 3 trillion rupiah (about 300 million U.S. dollars) to the central government to reconstruct damaged houses hit by earthquake on Sept. 30, Kompas Daily reported on Saturday.

The agency planned to donate 5-15 million rupiah (about 500-1.500 U.S. dollars) for each house, depending on the scale of the damage.

“The proposal has entered to the financial ministry and it should be approved by parliament. The fund is special for houses reconstruction,” said Priyadi Kardono, the agency’s head of Data, Information and Public Relation Center, on Friday.

The house reconstruction is one of the programs in reconstruction and rehabilitation phases, apart of fixing on infrastructure and public facilities. Total budget is expected to reach 7 trillion rupiah (700 million dollars).

Apart of the central government, the local one is also asked to provide the fund.

According to Priyadi, the number of damaged houses is still validated and it is expected that they would not as many as the early estimation of 135,233 units. The data was later revised to 119,005 units on Oct. 27. Most revision was at Padang Pariaman regency.

On Oct. 31, the central government closed emergency response phase, followed by reconstruction and rehabilitation ones.

A massive 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit on Sept. 30, claiming more than 1,100 lives and destroying thousands of houses.

Philippine agriculture officials are preparing seeds and warehouses to protect rice farmers from the possible damages caused by typhoon Mirinae.

The Philippine weather bureau has forecast Thursday that Mirinae is moving towards Central Luzon.

Central Luzon, located in northern Philippines, is the country’s rice granary. The region accounts for about 20 percent of total rice production. Rice farmers in Central Luzon are now harvesting their crop. The region’s rice farmers are yet to fully recover from massive flooding caused by the release of water from dams at the height of typhoon Parma.

Philippine agricultural officials assured the farmers that the department would be ready to assist them in case Mirinae wreaks havoc on the region.

“We have asked the National Food Authority (NFA) to open its warehouses and drying facilities for farmers who would be affected by typhoon Mirinae,” said Philippine Agriculture Undersecretary Jesus Emmanuel Paras in a text message sent to reporters.

Frisco Malabanan, director of the agriculture department’s rice program, said the government will be ready to distribute seeds to rice farmers should Mirinae damage crops and farmlands in Central Luzon.

“We hope the typhoon would spare Central Luzon. But in any case, we are ready to distribute seeds so farmers can plant rice in November and December,” Malabanan said in a phone interview.

He added NFA warehouses will be open to farmers and seed growers but the priority will be accredited seed growers. The NFA will also reduce its fee for the use of its drying facilities.

“We need to prioritize accredited seed growers so we can have enough planting materials for farmers,” Malabanan said.

Typhoons Ketsana and Parma, which recently swept Luzon, destroyed 24 billion pesos (50.6 million U.S. dollars) worth of crops and farm infrastructure. The rice sector was the most affected, with crop and infrastructure losses valued at 19 billion pesos (40 million U.S. dollars).

Despite the threat posed by typhoon Mirinae and the destruction caused by the past two typhoons, Malabanan said the Philippines would still be able to produce around 17 million metric tons of paddy rice for 2009.

The Kuomintang (KMT) on Monday decided to hold a by-election of its Central Standing Committee in mid November after committee members were either ousted or forced to turn in resignations following a vote-buying scandal.

The by-election will be held on Nov. 14 and votes will be counted in six designated districts to avoid vote-buying, according to a KMT meeting held here Monday night.

All newly-elected members of the KMT Central Standing Committee will take office on Nov. 18, according to a decision reached during the meeting.

The move came after Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou vowed to press ahead with reforms within the KMT and called a halt to unhealthy voting practices after he was elected the party’s chairman on Oct.17.

Ma said before Monday’s meeting that it was urgent to have the by-election as the incumbent members and backups of the KMT Central Standing Committee had applied for resignation and a valid meeting is falling short of committee members.

He emphasized the importance of having a successful by-election in an effort to impress the people in Taiwan with KMT’s “fresh new look”.

On Oct. 11, 32 people were elected members of the KMT Central Standing Committee.

However, KMT participants complained of vote-buying during the election and prompted discipline authorities to launch investigations.

The party approved a decision to remove two from their newly-elected positions as the Central Standing Committee members after they were found being involved in vote-buying.

Following the removal, 21 members of the KMT Central Standing Committee applied for resignation to oppose vote-buying and prove their innocence and another 11 candidates gave up their positions as backups.

Discipline authorities of the KMT will continue their investigations into the vote-buying case, according to a decision reached at Monday’s meeting.

A security member and an insurgent were killed and 11 people injured on Saturday in a suicide bombing and a bomb explosion in the city of Tikrit, the capital of Iraq’s Salahudin province, a provincial police source said.

A guard was killed and seven people were wounded in the afternoon when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt in the building of the National Unit Party in central Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi security forces immediately cordoned off the area to secure the scene while ambulances rushed victims to nearby hospitals, the source said.

Separately, an insurgent was killed and four others were injured when a home-made bomb went off as they were practicing on manufacturing bombs in a house in Tikrit’s northern neighborhood of al-Qadsiyah, he said.

Iraqi security forces rushed to the scene and immediately started an investigation with the woman householder who confessed the incident, he added.

Sporadic attacks continue in Iraq as part of recent deterioration in security which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country after more than three months of U.S. troops’ pullout of cities and towns.

The recent declaration of President Mahmoud Abbas to go for elections on January 25, in response to the failure of reaching a reconciliation pact, had brought controversy among the Palestinians on the viability of this step and its expected scenarios.

Abbas’ recent declaration to hold elections on time was made after his bitter rival Hamas hasn’t yet signed the Egyptian-drafted pact for reconciliation.

Hamas has been asking for amending some points of the draft, while Fatah unilaterally signed on the pact with no reservations.

According to the amended Palestinian constitution, the four-year terms for the president and the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) end on the night of January 24. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) president should issue a decree to confirm the election’s date three month before it is held.

The Palestinian scene is divided into two contradictory views, the first calls for holding elections on time as a constitutional merit and a major solution for the current rift between Fatah and Hamas.

Rajab Abu Serreya, a Gaza-based political analyst told Xinhua that President Abbas will most likely issue a decree on October 25to announce holding the presidential and legislative elections on January 25.

The second view warns of the consequences of holding the elections before reaching a reconciliation agreement, and considers holding the elections amid the current feuds would deepen the rift.

“It (holding the elections before reaching a reconciliation) would deepen split among the Palestinians and would offer legitimacy to nobody,” said Hani Habib, a Gaza-based think tank.

The differences of the views over holding the elections on time or postpone it, had emerged as Egypt set up October 25 as a date for signing the reconciliation pact, which calls for holding the elections on June 28 next year after Palestinian factions implement the pact.

Abu Serreya expected that Abbas would call for holding the elections depending on the full proportional system “to avoid Hamas’ attempts to block the elections, while guaranteeing the participation of other factions which support his decision.”

“According to his earlier statements, Abbas is convinced that holding the elections on time has become the only exit and solution for the current split,” said Abu Serreya, adding “if there is no election on time, Abbas and his authority will be illegal.”

Abbas is facing pressure from some figures in his Fatah movement to hold the elections upon its constitutional time, at the same time, he is also facing pressure from Egypt and Hamas to postpone the elections for another six months to give the internal dialogue an opportunity.

“Although not holding the general elections on time would be a violation of the Palestinian constitution, postponing it for another six months would keep the door open for reaching a national reconciliation,” said Habib.

Palestinian observers say there are four possible scenarios for holding the elections, the first scenario is to stand for election as one consolidated list of all Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) factions, the list will include candidates from Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem.

According to those who support this scenario, this would put Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, in an embarrassing position and will show it as the illegal power which prevents the enclave’s population from voting.

This scenario is opposed by some figures from Fatah and other factions, who believe that this would make Hamas to hold its own elections in the Gaza Strip.

The second scenario is that Abbas would issue on October 25 a decree to hold the elections on January 25, then within the coming three months, Fatah and Hamas might reach a reconciliation deal, and then Abbas will issue another decree deciding that elections be postponed until June 28, 2010.

The third scenario is that Abbas issues a decree on October 25 to hold the elections on January 25, but before going to the ballots, Abbas would issue another decree saying that elections are postponed till a further notice, or till a reconciliation agreement is reached.

Those who support this scenario say the mandate of the president and the PLC does not end unless a new elected president and PLC are sworn in. However, those who oppose this scenario believe that this will be a yield to Hamas’ demand to postpone the elections after two years.

The fourth scenario is that Abbas calls for holding the elections in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on January 25 without Hamas’ participation, and leave an opportunity for the Gaza Strip to hold the elections later on to fulfill the seats into the PLC.

Palestinian officials say that all these scenarios will be on the table of the PLO central council that will convene on Saturday for debates. If the Palestinians fail to agree on holding the elections, then the PLO council will choose one of the four scenarios or choose another alternative to the crisis.

China set up a foundation on Tuesday to protect the Yellow River, the country’s second longest river, from over exploitation and pollution.

The non-profit foundation, named China Yellow River Conservation Foundation, will promote protection programs, fund scientific researches and sponsor international cooperation on the protection of the river.

Organizations and individuals, that have made outstanding contributions to the protection of the Yellow River, will be rewarded by the foundation, according to the foundation’s media office.

Launched by the Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) of the Water Resources Ministry, the foundation is open to public donations, both domestic and overseas.

Stretching 5,464 kilometers from the northwest Tibetan plateau to the east coast, the Yellow River suffers the most serious soil erosion in the world, especially along its middle and upper reaches. The average amount of mud and sand washed into the river every year reaches 1.6 billion tons.

One third of the Yellow River system had been polluted, according to a bulletin issued by the YRCC last year. Industrial sector was blamed as the No.1 polluter, followed by living sewage contributed by urbanites living along the river system and the service trade.

The river, dubbed China’s “Mother River”, flows eastward through nine provinces and autonomous regions before emptying into the Bohai Sea. It has 35 main tributaries.

Supplying about 10 percent of China’s 1.3 billion population and 240 million mu (16 million hectares) of farmland, the river is the biggest water resource in northwest and north China.

The YRCC has its headquarters in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province. It is assigned with the mission of overseeing the welfare of the Yellow River system.

Vietnam confirmed that a 29-year-old woman in central province of Binh Dinh died of A/H1N1 influenza, raising the total number of flu deaths in the country to 24, said a daily report on the website of the Ministry of Health on Monday.

The woman was 39 weeks pregnant. She was admitted to the Bong Son Hospital of Binh Dinh on Oct. 10 with fever, coughing and difficulty in breathing. Doctors conducted an operation to save the baby as her conditions deteriorated.

The patient was then taken to the provincial general hospital with respiratory distress and higher fever. She died on Oct. 15. Her sample was tested positive with A/H1N1 influenza.

The ministry on Sunday said the number of flu patients has risen to 10,210 so far following the country’s confirmation of 54 more flu cases over the weekend.

China’s anti-graft chief He Guoqiang on Friday called for more international exchanges and cooperation to jointly combat corruption.

He, secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks when meeting with the attendees to an anti-corruption workshop of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

“The workshop is an important platform for APEC economies to increase anti-corruption cooperation,” He said, noting that China learned a lot from the speeches and discussions of the representatives.

During the meeting with the theme of “Applying APEC Anti-Corruption Principles, Preventing Conflicts of Interest”, about 150 representatives from 21 economies in the Asia-Pacific region, related international organizations and Chinese domestic organs exchanged views on setting principles and enhancing training to build honest and clean governments.

He Guoqiang said to fight corruption is a common responsibility for all governments.

“We are ready to work with the APEC economies and the whole world to increase international cooperation in anti-corruption,” he said, noting that this would help social harmony and progress.

As to China’s current anti-corruption work, He said remarkable achievements have been made but the situation is still serious.

He called for both confidence and resolution of the government to fight corruption, saying that China will attach more importance to the anti-corruption work and make new progress to win people’s trust.

The three-day workshop, co-sponsored by China and the United States, concluded in Beijing on Friday.

China’s foreign reserves, already the world’s largest, hit a record high $2.273 trillion by the end of September as surging asset prices and the economic recovery attracted investment.

The People’s Bank of China said in a report on its website yesterday that the reserves rose about $141 billion between July and September, from $2.13 trillion at the end of June.

China’s reserves have ballooned as the central bank has bought dollars generated by its trade surplus and investment inflows. China’s economic recovery and gains in the country’s currency against the dollar are also attracting outside money.

Blood tests on 968 children in China’s biggest lead smelting base have shown excessive lead levels.

The health bureau of Jiyuan City, in the central Henan Province, initiated the tests after a lead poisoning scandal was exposed in the neighboring Shaanxi Province.

Since Aug. 20, the city government had provided blood tests for 2,743 children under the age of 14, who lived near three major smelters, said Wei Zongchang, director of the Jiyuan health bureau, Tuesday.

“The news (of excessive lead levels) is like an earthquake. We are all worried about the health of our kids,” said Li Hongwei, a resident of Shibin Village.

Some villagers in Shibin demonstrated in front of the smelters late last month, holding banners saying, “Without health, what are we farming for?” and “Give us back blue sky, give us back clean water.”

Duan Xizhong, secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Jiyuan committee, said the city government had suspended production at 32 of the 35 electrolytic lead plants and on the pollution-prone production lines of the other three major plants.

Environment protection inspectors were stationed in the three big plants: Yuguang Gold and Lead Group, Wanyang Smeltery Group and Jinli Smelting.

All children living within 1,000 meters of the smelters had been moved away, with allowances and assistance in education provided by the government.

Some children under the age of 6 were living in a local hotel, and the government had opened a kindergarten for them.

Yang Anguo, board chairman of Yuguang Gold and Lead Group, the largest lead producer in the country, said, “We do bear responsibility for the pollution. Some pollution has accumulated over the past 20 years or more and the plant is too near homes.”

Li Yuanxiang, chief engineer of Wanyang Smelter Group, said the company used the sintering pot techniques for production from 2000 to 2004, which produced most of the plant’s pollution.

The excessive blood lead levels are a result of long term accumulation of pollution, and Jiyuan had a 52-year history of lead production, said Jiyuan Mayor Zhao Suping.

Zhao said more than 200 government officials had been sent to explain the situation in villages.

The government also organized a trip by representatives of villagers to Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province, where 851 children had excessive lead levels in their blood and 174 were considered serious enough to need hospital treatment, in a move to ease the villagers’ anxieties.

The mass lead poisoning in Fengxiang was exposed in August, and sparked public outrage after wide media coverage.