China Manufacturing Expands for First Time in 2014 as Mini Stimulus Measures Help Economy

Employees assemble washing machines on the production line inside a factory in Hefei, ChinaReuters

China's manufacturing sector has expanded for the first time since the beginning of 2014, as the country's mini-stimulus measures have started helping the economy.

The flash China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) compiled by HSBC and Markit Economics rose to a seven-month high of 50.8 in June from 49.4 in May. Analysts expected a reading of 49.7 for the month.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

"The improvement was broad-based with both domestic orders and external demand sub-indices in expansionary territory," HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said in a statement.

Qu noted that inventory reduction quickened while the job market showed signs of stabilisation.

"This month's improvement is consistent with data suggesting that the authorities' mini-stimulus are filtering through the real economy," he added.

"We expect policy makers to continue their current path of accommodative policy stance until the recovery is sustained."

China is the world's fastest-growing major economy with annual gross domestic product growth rates averaging 10% for the last 30 years.

However, its economic growth has slowed down recently due to increasing exposure to foreign markets. In 2013, the economy expanded 7.7%, the lowest pace in more than a decade.

In the first quarter, the economy expanded at a pace of 7.4%, the lowest in 18 months due to weak domestic and international demand, prompting Beijing to undertake a series of modest stimulus measures.

In April, the second-largest economy announced a series of measures including tax breaks for small enterprises, more infrastructure investment and incentives for lending in rural areas.

Nevertheless, the leadership is willing to have a cut in growth rates for the sake of reforms. China wants its economic growth to be fuelled by domestic consumption rather than investment and exports.

Chinese officials expect the economy to grow at a rate of 7.5% in 2014. Both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund earlier said that the country would meet its yearly growth target.

Jordan Bolsters Border Security as Isis Sunnis Blitz Iraq's Western Border

Iraqi security forces fire artillery during clashes with Sunni militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the outskirts of the town of Udaim in Diyala province,Reuters

As Sunni extremists continue to advance in western Iraq, Jordan has bolstered its border security.

Traffic has reportedly thinned and the border crossing technically remains shut in a bid to stop the march by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) militants.

"The last traffic was around 7:30 pm (1630 GMT) and border officials are saying the situation is not normal on the other side of the border," Minister of State for Media and Communication Mohammad al-Momani told Reuters.

The checkpoints, which are presently controlled by the extremists, on the border serve as the main transit points for all passenger and trade flow between the two countries.

The troops of Jordan, a US ally, have also been deployed along the border amid the heightening tensions in Iraq.

Two key crossings in Anbar were seized by the Isis insurgents over the weekend alongside another strategic area in Qaim bordering Syria.

The capture of the crossings will allow Isis to transfer arms and other supplies to the insurgents fighting against the Shiite-led administration in Iraq.

On the border, police and other security personnel have been given safe passage after they loosely surrendered the frontier posts to avoid bloodletting.

US President Barack Obama has already warned that any spill-over of the conflict to neighbouring countries such as Jordan may have consequences. He told CBS TV network: "We're going to have to be vigilant generally. Their extreme ideology poses a medium and long-term threat."

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is on a Middle East tour, has visited Jordan and held a meeting with his counterpart Nasser Judeh.

Kerry, expressing concerns that the ongoing conflict threatens the entire region, has insisted all sides should work together to resolve the crisis.

Iran's Top Leader Khamenei Warns US Against Iraq Intervention

Iran's Top Leader Khamenei Warns US Against Iraq InterventionReuters

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said the US and other western powers were responsible for the current crisis in Iraq, even as Sunni rebels consolidated their positions along the Syrian border and continued their march towards Baghdad.

The supreme leader of the Shiite nation said the US was using the sectarian divide in Iraq as a ruse for re-occupying the country.

"In Iraq's issue, the hegemonic western powers, specially the US, are seeking to misuse the ignorance and bias of a number of elements with no decision-making power," Khamenei told a meeting of high-ranking officials in Tehran.

"The US is displeased with the current process of election with the people's high turnout and election of people's choices because the US intends to dominate Iraq and bring to power those who obey it."

“"We are strongly opposed to US and other intervention in Iraq ... We don't approve of it as we believe the Iraqi government, nation and religious authorities are capable of ending the sedition."”

- Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

With the Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite-led administration tottering under the offensive of the Sunni Islamist Isis, Iran had earlier suggested it was ready to support Baghdad. Iranian President Hassan Rohani had suggested Tehran could cooperate with arch-rival US in defending the Iraqi government against the surging Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isis) fighters.

However, the country's supreme leader unequivocally rejected any cooperation with the US and warned Washington against involvement in the country, which is gradually slipping into a civil war.

"We are strongly opposed to US and other intervention in Iraq ... We don't approve of it as we believe the Iraqi government, nation and religious authorities are capable of ending the sedition," said the leader who effectively controls the Shiite clerical administration in Iran.

Khamenei said the US was trying to portray the current crisis in Iraq as a sectarian war, and insisted "what is happening in Iraq is not a war between Shiites and Sunnis".

He also commented about the speculation that the US would press for the removal of Maliki as prime minister as a condition for military assistance.

"The US is seeking an Iraq under its hegemony and ruled by its stooges," top cleric said.

"We believe that the Iraqi government and nation and the country's religious leadership are able to end the sedition and God willing, they will end it."

The Isis fighters, who launched their campaign earlier this month with the capture of Mosul in the north, made further advances over the weekend, taking control of two key border posts and other towns near Syria.

The capture of al-Qaim and al-Waleed border posts and three towns in Anbar province has helped them secure supply lines to Syria and consolidate their grip on the area straddling the two countries where they aim to establish a Sunni Islamic caliphate.

The Isis has become a more dreaded outfit in the last two weeks following their confiscation of weapons from fleeing Iraqi troops and the looting of millions of dollars from banks in Mosul.

Ghana at Centre of Match Fixing Scandal after Undercover Investigation

Kwesi Nyantakyi agreed to a match fixing deal for $170,000 per match.AFP / Getty Images

Ghana has been implicated in a match-fixing scandal after an undercover investigation by The Telegraph and Channel 4's Dispatches programme.

The President of Ghana's Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi, was exposed after he was filmed agreeing to the team playing in rigged international matches, in return for payment of $170,000 per match.

The Telegraph and Channel 4's Dispatches launched a six-month investigation into match-fixing, after receiving information that suggested that some football associations were working with criminal gangs to rig scores in international games.

Reporters from The Telegraph went under cover, claiming to represent an investment company that wanted to "sponsor" matches during the tournament.

Christopher Forsythe, a registered Fifa agent and Obed Nketiah, a senior figure in the Ghanaian FA, reportedly bragged about employing corrupt officials who would rig matches played by Ghana.

The president of the country's football association then met the undercover reporter and finalised a contract which would see the team play in the rigged matches, in return for payment.

The contract stated that it would cost $170,000 (£100,000) for each match organised by the fixers involving the Ghanaian team, and would allow the bogus investment firm to appoint match officials and referees.

“That's why we will get the officials that we have greased their palms, so they will do it.”

- Christopher Forsythe, Registered Fifa Agent

"You [the company] will always have to come to us and say how you want it to go...the result," said Mr Forsythe. "That's why we will get the officials that we have greased their palms, so they will do it. If we bring in our own officials to do the match...You're making your money."

"You have to give them [the referees] something... they are going to do a lot of work for you, so you have to give them something," said Mr Nketiah.

Mr Forsythe said that match fixing was "everywhere" in football and that he could even arrange rigged matches between Ghana and British teams. "The referees can change the matches every time. Even in England it does happen," he said. "We will always choose associations/countries that we think we can corrupt their officials for all our matches."

Mr Forsythe and Mr Nketiah then introduced the undercover reporters to Kwesi Nyantakyi, the president of the Ghana FA, during a meeting at a five-star hotel in Miami earlier this month ahead of a match with South Korea.

During the meeting, the president agreed to a contract that stated each match would cost the investment company $170,000 and that they could appoint the match officials for each game.

When they were later confronted about their operation, both Mr Forsythe and Mr Nketiah denied any involvement in a plot to fix matches. Mr Nketiah said: "These are false allegations and I will never in my life do such a thing."

Mr Nyantakyi said that he had not read the contract and he did not know about the deal to fix games. He said that the proposed match would have been handled by a licensed Fifa match agent and that he was unaware that Mr Forsythe had demanded £30,000 for the football association.

Issuing a statement Mr Forsythe, said: "To be frank everything I told you about the match fixing was a figment of my own imagination because I am so naive that I don't even know how matches are done. They were promises just to be able to get something off you."

The Ghanaian FA announced it has asked the Ghana Police Service to investigate Mr Forsythe and Mr Nketiah for "misrepresenting the GFA with an attempt to defraud".

Ghana's national football team captain Asamoah Gyan (R)

The football body has also reported the matter to FIFA and CAF.

In a statement, it said: "We wish to assure the public that we will not tolerate such misrepresentations and we will seek strong sanctions against such individuals if such claims are found to be true."

Last week saw the first convictions of criminals in the UK for attempting to rig football matches, following an earlier investigation by this newspaper.

Chann Sankaran and Krishna Sanjey Ganeshan, businessmen from Singapore, and Michael Boateng, a former professional footballer, were found guilty of match–fixing after a six-week trial.

Sankaran and Ganeshan were sentenced to five years and Boateng 18 months. Sankaran and Ganeshan were found to have links to the notorious international match fixer Wilson Raj Perumal, and were said to be attempting to establish a network of corrupt footballers in Britain.

Instances of match fixing ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa had prompted FIFA and its partners in the betting and law enforcement agencies to monitor all friendlies ahead of this World Cup.

Watch 'How to fix a football match', Channel 4 Dispatches, 7.30pm on 23 June 2014.

President Barack Obama Warns ISIS is a Growing Threat to the US

U.S. President Barack Obama has warned of the growing threat of ISIS.Reuters

President Barack Obama has said that Islamist group ISIS represents a growing threat to the US.

In an interview with CBS News the president said Sunni militants pose a "medium- and long-term threat" to the US because of their extreme ideology.

"I think it's important for us to recognize that ISIS is just one of a number of organizations that we have to stay focused on," he explained.

"This is going to be a global challenge and one that the United States is going to have to address, but we're not going to be able to address it alone," Mr Obama added

"We're going to have to be vigilant generally. Right now the problem with ISIS is the fact that they're destabilising the country. That could spill over into some of our allies like Jordan."

Mr. Obama has rejected the idea of sending US troops to fight militant organizations around the world and instead is focused on providing training and resources to each nation's troops.

"... what we can't do is think that we're just going to play whack-a-mole and send US troops occupying various countries wherever these organizations pop up. We're going to have to have a more focused, more targeted strategy and we're going to have to partner and train local law enforcement and military to do their jobs as well."'

His comments come just hours after rebel fighters from ISIS captured four more towns in Iraq including a crossing on the border with Syria.

Haditha, Anah, Rawa, Rotba were taken as the (ISIS) swept east from the Syrian border, in its latest offensive.

ISIS had already taken control of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in predominantly Sunni Anbar province before it seized Iraq's second city Mosul, and Baiji, home to the country's largest oil refinery, in an aggressive offensive in the north.

While Foreign Secretary William Hague had earlier suggested Britain would provide humanitarian aid, cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith has said the UK could provide logistical support if the US were to begin its own bombing raids.

"The Government has said it's not going to be doing any airstrikes or putting soldiers into Iraq but I think there are lots of other things we can do to help support them," he said.

He explained Britain could "make sure they get the right spare parts and support in maintaining those kind of aircraft and equipment and also support the Americans where they need it in terms of supply, et cetera."

Meanwhile, young Iraqis have been flocking to recruitment centres at the weekend to join the counter-offensive against ISIS. According to official records, some two million young men have volunteered in the past seven days.

North Korea Threatens to 'Punish' Australian Foreign Minister Over Kim Jong-un Criticism

North Korea’s state news agency KCNA launched a scathing attack against Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop after she criticised Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions.Reuters

North Korea has suggested that it will "resolutely punish" Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop over comments she made about Kim Jong-un to US media.

The state Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said North Korea's foreign ministry was enraged that Bishop had "dared to hurt the dignity of the leadership of the DRPK" after she criticised Jong-un's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Speaking in an interview with the Voice of America radio station's Korean service on Thursday, Bishop said: "Nuclear tests and missile launches needlessly risk accidents or reprisal.

"It is a fact that no country [can] improve its economy or security by threatening its neighbours and by impoverishing its own people."

"[Kim Jong-un] can hardly claim legitimacy as a leader when his regime continues to defy international expectations," she added.

Bishop said Australia's government has had "very serious concerns" about Jong-un's policies, specifically regarding human rights issues and nuclear armament, ever since he took power in 2011.

In a blistering riposte, the KCNA said: "She is not entitled to call for legitimacy, as she is no more than a stooge carrying out the US hostile policy toward the DPRK, and echoing others' sophism without her own foreign policy and view.

Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop incurred North Korea's wrath after she questioned Kim Jong-un's legitimacy.Reuters

"The DPRK will never pardon but resolutely punish anyone who dares slander the dignity of its supreme leadership."

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that while North Korea is usually outspoken in its condemnation of outside criticism, it is relatively rare for the isolated communist state to directly criticise a senior diplomat from Australia.

The latest incident is not the first time North Korea has been embroiled in a diplomatic firestorm with Australia.

In 2012, North Korea issued a rambling 14-page attack on Australian commuter publication mX, accusing it of "sordid behaviour" after the daily referred to the country as "naughty Korea" in its London 2012 Olympics medals table.

"The paper behaved so foolish [sic] as to use the London Olympics that has caught the world interest for degrading itself," the statement read. "Editors were so incompetent as to tarnish the reputation of the paper."

The agency added that the "pitiful" paper had "cooked up a way of moneymaking, challenging the authority of the dignified sovereign state", and concluded that "it will remain as a symbol of [a] rogue paper, to be cursed long in Olympic history".

The bemused Melbourne publication said the stunt was a harmless gesture and was not intended to offend.

Isis Hoodies and T-Shirts For Sale Online As Islamist 'Brand' Goes Global

Zirah Moslem jihadist T-shirt, yours for $13 (Facebook)

Its social media savvy has made Isis a "terror brand" to rival al-Qaida, with supporters worldwide following the brutal exploits of the Islamist group through its Twitter updates or even downloading the group's own app.

Now supporters can show their loyalty to the group by sporting a T-shirt or hoodie emblazoned with the group's black and white jihadist logo, after the items went on sale on Facebook.

The T-shirts, which are being sold on Indonesia-based websites, cost as little as $7 to $13, and have been on sale for several months, reports Vocativ.

With more than 9,000 likes on Facebook, retailer Zirah Moslem on its website calls itself a purveyor of "Islamic style" and sells clothing that promotes a range of Islamist groups.

Isis T-shirt for sale on the Facebook page of Kaos Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (Facebook)

In one design, emblazoned with the slogan "Mujahideen Around the World/ United We Stand", figures wearing keffiyeh and brandishing weapons pose like characters on a Hollywood movie poster.

Other T-shirts promote the Taliban and Hamas, both named as terrorist organisations by the US state department.

Kaos Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (Isis) sells T-shirts under the outdoor wear/sporting goods section with the name Isis alongside pictures of Kalashnikov rifles and a globe, presumably signifying the group's plans for world domination.

Other Indonesia-based companies selling jihad-themed clothing online include Kavkaz Struggle Wear, which sells T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan "I Love Jihad" in English and Arabic, and Rezji Islamic Clothing and Shop, which advertises small figures of Isis fighters, which come with a free sticker.

Isis figurine, sold by ReziMLTN, 'The Ultimate Islamic Brand', for $1. (Facebook)

Isis's bloody exploits in Iraq, where it is battling government forces for control of swathes of the country, have won it supporters among Indonesia's Sunni Muslim population.

"They see that Isis has succeeded in some areas in Syria and Iraq," Jakarta based terrorism expert Solahudin said. "They've already declared an Islamic state there. A caliphate is the ultimate goal for every jihadist in Indonesia."

Taliban T-shirt for sale on the Zirah Moslem Facebook page. (Facebook)

He said that some believed that the group's exploits in Syria, where it is locked in combat with government forces and other rebel groups, heralded Armageddon, in which unbelievers would be crushed in a final apocalyptic battle.

"Various hadith [sayings of the Prophet Muhammad] predict an apocalyptic war, with one hadith signaling that it will start in Syria," he said.

In Indonesia, it is not illegal to join or promote jihadist groups, and 50 Indonesians are believed to have travelled to Syria to fight for Isis and other Islamist groups since the beginning of the year.

In February, Indonesian Isis supporters held a public fundraiser on the outskirts of Jakarta, and collected more than $3,500 for the group.

In a video released last week, Indonesian jihadists called on their fellow countrymen to join the jihad in Iraq, and one man, who claimed to be a former soldier, called on troops and police and troops to lay down their arms and "repent" for their "idolatrous" defence of the faith-neutral state ideology Pancasila.

South Korean Army Sergeant Who Shot Five Dead Cornered in Border Shoot-Out

South Korean marines patrol the country's border with North Korea. (Reuters)

A South Korean army sergeant who shot dead five of his comrades is in a standoff with police who have surrounded an elementary school in Goseong, near an army border outpost.

Local media report that that there has been gunfire at the scene, and that authorities are trying to persuade the man, identified only by his family name of Lim, to surrender.

One military officer has been reported wounded in the shootout.

Five soldiers were killed and seven wounded on Saturday night at 8.15pm at the army outpost in Gangwon province, near the border with North Korea, when Lim fired 10 shots with his K-2 rifle, according to military authorities.

The South Korean military said that he had just finished a six-hour guard duty shift when he started shooting.

Defence official Kim Min-seok said Sunday at a televised briefing that all the wounded were expected to survive, although two were injured seriously.

A grenade also went off near the scene of the rampage, and investigators are trying to establish whether it caused injuries.

Lim fled with a grenade, a grenade, a gun and about 60 rounds of ammunition.

The Korean military set up a crisis management team to find the officer.

"Lim was on the list of those who require special attention, as he had difficulties in adapting to the military life," an officer told news agency Yonhap, adding that the motive for the shootings remains unknown.

"The military has strengthened vigilance against the possibility that he might commit more crimes," another army officer said. "We're also guarding against his possible crossing into North Korea."

It is not the first time a soldier with the South Korean military has murdered colleagues in a mass shooting spree.

In 2005 an army private set off a hand grenade and opened fire in a border outpost near North Korea, killing eight sleeping colleagues and wounding two others.

In 2011, a Marine Corps colonel went on a shooting rampage at a unit in Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul, killing four and wounding one.