8/14/2019 TheSun 2008-12-26 Page11 Obama Basks in Political Honeymoon

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Germans save Egyptian

ship from Somali piratesKUALA LUMPUR: A Germanwarship and helicopter yesterdaysucceeded in foiling an attempt bypirates to board an Egyptian bulkcarrier travelling in the troubledGulf of Aden off Somalias coast.

The ship, which had 31 crewaboard, was headed for an Asianport from the Egyptian port ofSuez when pirates approached the

vessel and started firing at crewmembers, said Noel Choong, headof the anti-piracy InternationalMaritime Bureau (IMB) reportingcentre in Kuala Lumpur.

Upon being attacked, crewmembers immediately called foraid from international coalitionforces patrolling the troubled

Somalia waters, Choong said.The pirates were randomlyfiring at the ship, resulting in one

of the crew members sustaininginjuries to his leg, he said.

However, before the piratescould board the ship, a Germannaval warship and helicopter,responding to the call for help,arrived at the scene and managedto chase off the pirates.

Later, the helicopter returned tothe Egyptian carrier and airliftedthe injured crew member onto thewarship, Choong said.

While the IMB hailed thethwarting the attack, Choongwarned pirate activity continued togrow in the Gulf of Aden.

Japan said it is consideringdispatching a destroyer to guardagainst the pirates who are inflicting

a costly toll on the shipping industry.A growing number of nations

are sending navy ships to fight

pirates near the lawless EastAfrican country, with China setto dispatch three vessels today.

Japan has to deal quicklywith this issue, chief cabinetsecretary Takeo Kawamura, thegovernment spokesman, said.

But Japan has legal problemswith sending warships becauseof its pacifist post-World War IIconstitution. Under domestic laws,the navy can only protect shipsflying the Japanese flag or carryingJapanese nationals.

Kawamura said ruling bloclawmakers will study changes inlegislation.

The Mainichi Shimbun, quotingunnamed sources, said that Prime

Minister Taro Aso may announcea decision on an operation by theend of the year. Agencies

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11theSun | FRIDAY DECEMBER 26 2008

WASHINGTON: Barack Obama isriding the crest of the best approvalratings of any president-elect in dec-ades, a new poll showed Wednesdayas the next US leader relaxed on hisHawaii Christmas vacation.

Less than a month before Obamatakes office in the teeth of the worsteconomic slump since the 1930s, anew CNN/Opinion Research surveyfound 82% of Americans approve of

how he is handling his transition topower.

Obamas rating is higher thanPresident George W. Bushs cor-responding figure of 65% after thedisputed 2000 election and higherthan the 67% posted by Bill Clintonin 1992.

The poll was taken between Fridayand Sunday, at the end of a period inwhich Obama has rolled out a high-profile cabinet line-up and hostedalmost daily press conferences aseconomic turmoil deepens.

Barack Obama is having a betterhoneymoon with the American public

than any incoming president in thepast three decades, said CNN pollingdirector Keating Holland on the newschannels website.

Hes putting up better numbers,usually by double digits, than Bill Clin-ton, Ronald Reagan, or either GeorgeBush on every item traditionallymeasured in transition polls.

The survey also found that 56% ofthose asked backed Obamas plans

for a huge stimulus package to ignitethe crisis-hit economy, with 42%against.

The president-elect was spendingChristmas Eve at a beachfront com-pound in Hawaii with his family, a dayafter paying tribute to his grandmotherMadelyn Dunham, who helped raisehim, but died aged 86 two days beforehe was elected in November.

Obama attended a private me-morial for Dunham, whom he knewaffectionately as Toot, at a Honoluluchurch on Tuesday before her asheswere scattered by family and friendsat an ocean overlook. AFP

Obama acknowledgesObama acknowledgespeople watching himpeople watching himas he walks to hisas he walks to hismotorcade to leavemotorcade to leaveMid-Pacific CountryMid-Pacific CountryClub in Kailua, Hawaii.Club in Kailua, Hawaii.

YEVPATORIA (Ukraine): Nineteen people were killed andat least ten more were missing after an explosion rippedthrough an apartment block in a Ukrainian Black Sea resorttown, local officials said yesterday.

Rescuers and residents were desperately searching thewreckage for survivors after the explosion struck a five-story residential building in the Crimean Black Sea town ofYevpatoria on Wednesday night.

This is a horrible, irreparable loss for all the relatives and

loved ones of those who died, said Ukrainian President ViktorYushchenko, who declared a day of national mourning.

Yushchenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whohave been engaged in a ferocious political row over the lastmonths, arrived in Crimea and even headed to the scene inthe same car, in a rare show of unity.

A spokesman for the regional emergency situationsministry said 21 people had been rescued from the rubbleso far. AFP

Obama basks inpolitical honeymoon

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Nineteen dead in Ukraine apartment explosion