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BEIJING (AP) — The U.N. body that oversees carbon credit trading said Thursday it was reviewing 10 Chinese wind power projects amid questions about how Beijing obtains money through the system.The board of the Clean Development Mechanism is looking at how Chinese power prices affect the viability of the projects, which would influence whether they are eligible for CDM money, the board’s chairman, Lex de Jonge, said in an e-mailed statement.

The CDM is expected to be a key issue at next week’s global climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark. European governments want to change the system, due partly to its failure to slow rapid emissions growth in China — the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide and other gases that scientists say trap the sun’s heat and are changing the climate.

China has received millions of dollars through the CDM, which allows industrialized economies to meet commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions by paying developing countries to curb their own instead. But environmentalists say some Chinese wind and hydropower projects improperly receive CDM money without showing they would not be built anyway, a requirement known as “additionality.”

A Chinese official and an industry consultant said the CDM board suspended approval of Chinese wind projects in July amid questions about cuts in prices that China’s utilities pay for wind power. Lower prices would make more projects qualify for CDM credits because they would need more foreign money to cover their expenses.

“The projects in question are not suspended, they are under review and at various stages of assessment,” de Jonge said. He said the CDM board, based in Bonn, Germany, would decide on the projects at a meeting this week in Copenhagen.

CDM officials raised questions after Beijing cut wind power prices in July, according to Lin Wei, general manager of Easy Carbon Consultancy Co. in Beijing, a consultant for CDM projects.

“They thought the government believed CDM money would be coming in anyway so the government was making prices lower so that Chinese projects could have extra ‘additionality’ to get extra funding,” Lin said Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economic recovery gained traction in late fall as shoppers spent a bit more and factories bumped up production. That assessment Wednesday by the Federal Reserve marked its most upbeat view since the economy tumbled into recession two years ago.The Fed’s new snapshot of business barometers nationwide found that conditions have generally improved since the last report in late October.

Eight of the Fed’s 12 regions surveyed reported some pickup in activity or improved conditions, the Fed said. Those regions were: Boston, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco.

The four other regions — Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond and Atlanta — described conditions as little changed or mixed.

The new report adds to evidence that the economy is rebounding after the worst recession since the 1930s.

The main challenge for Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will be on Capitol Hill on Thursday seeking confirmation for a second term, is to sustain the fledgling rebound, especially after the benefits of government support fade next year.

To that end, the Fed is expected to hold a key bank lending rate at a record low near zero when its meets on Dec. 15-16. Economists predict the Fed will keep rates at super-low levels well into next year.

With Wednesday’s survey also finding that inflation remains under control, the Fed has leeway to hold rates at record-lows. The central bank hopes that will entice people and businesses to step up spending, which would bolster the economy.

Although the jobs market remains lousy, the Fed survey found some scattered signs of improvement in some markets.

In the Boston region, some businesses were starting to hire and reverse pay cuts or wage freezes implemented earlier in the year. The St. Louis region noted that the service sector recently started to expand.

Still, holiday hiring expectations nationwide were mixed, the Fed report said. And most private economists predict that even as the pace of massive job losses slow, the nation’s unemployment rate — now at a 26-year high of 10.2 percent — will continue to climb into next year. Some predict it will rise as high as 11 percent by the middle of 2010 before slowly drifting down.

The Fed warned last week that it could take five or six years for the job market to return to normal.

That’s why Bernanke and others think that consumers — while appearing to hold up fairly well now to all the negative stresses — may turn more cautious, restraining the recovery.

“This slow-motion recovery is going to take an extraordinary amount of patience,” said Brian Bethune, economist at IHS Global Insight. He and other analysts predict the economy will see growth moderate in the months ahead.

Consumers in late November spent more, with general merchandise and auto sales improving across much of the country, the Fed report said. Unsure of customer demand, most merchants were keeping stocks fairly lean during the holiday season. Yet some retailers suggested that they have recently become more optimistic about the holiday sales outlook.

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PHNOM PENH, Dec. 2(Xinhua)– The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia announced Wednesday that Andrew T. Cayley was named as a new international co-prosecutor for the UN-backed court in Cambodia .

In the statement, the ECCC said Andrew T. Cayley, from the United Kingdom , has been appointed as a new international Co-Prosecutor.

Robert Petit, former international co-prosecutor resigned some six months ago and left the seat for William Smith, Australian, as acting international co-prosecutor since then.

The ECCC’s statement said over the last two years, Mr. Cayley, has been in private practice, defending Charles Taylor before the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Ivan Cermak before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Prior to this he served as Prosecuting Counsel at ICTY from 1995-2001, the first three years being seconded from the British army by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the ICTY.

Cayley holds an LL. B and LL.M. from University College London and is also a professional officer graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

ALMATY, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) — Uzbekistan quitted the unified Central Asian power grid on Tuesday due to its self-claimed attempt to ensure its energy security, the Interfax reported.

“Uzbekistan is to officially withdraw from the Central Asian power grid on Dec.1, the decision to withdraw will create conditions for a more stable and reliable operation of the national energy systems,” Uzbekistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Shoislam Shokasymov said in Dushanbe.

Shokasymov pointed out the Soviet Union-era Central Asian powergrid is “outdated and unreliable” to perform effectively, and often caused problems and disagreements among its members.

Last month, Kazakhstan accused Tajikistan of unauthorized extraction of energy from the unified system and threatened to withdraw from the regional grid, but officials in Dushanbe denied the accusation.

The Central Asian power grid was set up during the Soviet Union-era to let the former Central Asian Soviet republics share resources like electricity and water freely across their borders. Facing crippling energy shortages of 3-4 billion kilo watts during winter, Tajikistan is highly dependent on it.

Analysts said that Uzbekistan’s withdrawal from the energy body will make its neighbor face further difficulties in energy supply.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” rose to the top of movie box office charts for the second straight week on Sunday with a three-day haul of $42.5 million, pushing the film’s total ticket sales to nearly $231 million in North America, according to studio estimates.

Over the five-day U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, the vampire romance starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner took in $66 million in North America, said independent studio Summit Entertainment that backed the movie.

Coming in at No. 2, also for the second straight week, was Sandra Bullock football film, “The Blind Side,” with three-day sales of $40.1 million and a five-day haul of $57.5 million.

Total movie ticket sales for the five-day holiday period in North America reached a record $278 million, beating the old figure of $244 million set back in 2000 when “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Unbreakable” were the two top films, according to sales tracker Hollywood.com Box-Office.

“Blind Side” was produced by privately held Alcon Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Bill Trott)

GSTAAD, Switzerland - Roman Polanski is expected to trade the confines of a Swiss jail this week for house arrest in a luxury chalet with a view of the Alps, where he will await a Swiss decision whether to extradite him to the United States.

His three-story stucco and wood home on the edge of Gstaad has its own garden. He’ll be allowed to host parties. A local official has said he may move to protect the film director from the press.

The biggest drawback for Polanski will be that he will be unable to leave the 1,800-square-meter (19,000-square-foot) property without losing $4.5 million in bail.

“He will have no prison regime,” said Justice Ministry spokesman Falco Galli. “He is completely free to determine his daily schedule. It’s also up to him to get in food and other supplies.”

Swiss officials say they still think there is a high risk Polanski will try to flee, even though he will be wearing an electronic monitoring device that will detect any attempt to leave the property.

The arrival of the bail money in Switzerland appeared to be the main remaining obstacle to the transfer from prison, which could happen as soon as Monday, according to Galli.

No special police protection will be provided, either to make sure Polanski remains or to keep spectators and others away, Galli said. He said Polanski could call the local police or a security firm if he feels threatened.

Aldo Kropf, president of the Saanen-Gstaad community, told newspapers he didn’t rule out finding a way to remove reporters if neighbors complain. Kropf was quoted by the weekly SonntagsZeitung as saying the local government might stop the public from using the street leading to the Polanski house.

A security firm visited the chalet Saturday and made last-minute preparations for the 76-year-old film director’s arrival. Swiss authorities have said he could be there several weeks before a decision is made on the extradition.

Getting a jump on the coming onslaught of year-end film lists, the International Press Academy announced its nominations for its 14th annual Satellite Awards on Sunday.

The nominees for best drama are “The Hurt Locker,” “Bright Star,” “An Education,” “The Messenger,” “Precious” and “The Stoning of Soroya M.”

Nominees for best comedy or musical are “Julie & Julia,” “The Informant!,” “A Serious Man,” “It’s Complicated,” “Up in the Air” and “Nine.”

The group, which represents more than 100 entertainment journalists, also released a list of its 10 best films of 2009, voted by the IPA board, which included several titles that did not garner either best drama or best comedy/musical noms. Its top 10 are “(500) Days of Summer,” “A Serious Man,” “An Education,” “Bright Star,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Nine,” “Precious,” “The Hurt Lucker,” “The Stoning of Soraya M.” and “Up in the Air.”