Search Results

AniDB: Otome Youkai Zakuro
Official Website: Otome Youkai Zakuro (Japanese)
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Shounen
Description:

Hmm this one seems interesting... haven't watched it yet, does it look promising?

BEIJING – China on Tuesday promised tougher enforcement against rampant illegal copying of movies, music and other goods that has added to tensions with Washington and hurt fledgling Chinese producers.

Beijing has promised repeatedly to stamp out product piracy, but trade groups say enforcement is inadequate and the problem is growing. The World Trade Organization upheld a U.S. complaint two years ago that Beijing was violating its trade commitments by failing to root out the problem.

Top police official Gao Feng defended China's progress, saying more than 4,000 people have been arrested since a half-year crackdown was launched in October. Speaking at a nationally televised news conference, Gao said that was three times the number detained for such offenses in the first half of 2009.

"This shows that police have been fighting against intellectual property crimes, but it also shows that such crimes are still rampant. Therefore, we need to strengthen the punishment for intellectual property infringement crimes," he said, without giving details.

When faced with such cases, "police departments must resolutely, severely, deeply and comprehensively crack down on them," said Gao, deputy chief of the Bureau of Economic Crime Investigation under the Ministry of Public Security.

The announcement comes ahead of a visit to Washington by Chinese President Hu Jintao next week. Piracy is a sensitive issue at a time when Washington and other governments want to boost exports and create jobs. Beijing also faces pressure to ease currency controls that critics say are swelling its trade surplus.

Trade groups say illegal Chinese copying of music, designer clothes and other goods costs legitimate producers billions of dollars a year in lost sales. American officials say phony Chinese-made heart and anti-cancer drugs have been found as far away as Africa.

Gao said the crackdown includes keeping better tabs on counterfeit goods, including trying to track items stored in warehouses and not on the market yet. There have also been problems with confiscated fake goods finding their way back onto markets.

Beijing has launched repeated crackdowns and boosted penalties in the past, but foreign governments and trade groups say its enforcement has not been strict enough.

In its WTO complaint, Washington complained about prosecution thresholds in Chinese law that allow violators to escape punishment if they make less than 500 copies of an item. It accused Beijing of violating trade rules by turning a blind eye to the piracy of CDs and DVDs that haven't been passed by state censors.

The WTO ruled in Washington's favor in January 2009, taking the U.S. government a step closer to being allowed to claim compensation from China for product piracy and possibly impose trade sanctions.

AniDB: Freezing
Official Website: Freezing (Japanese)
Genre: Action, Drama, Ecchi, Romance
Description:

AniDB: Rio: Rainbow Gate!
Official Website: Rio: Rainbow Gate! (Japanese)
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi
Description:

AniDB: Dragon Crisis!
Official Website: Dragon Crisis! (Japanese)
Genre: Action, Romantic comedy
Description:

AniDB: Beelzebub
Official Website: Beelzebub
Genre: Action, Comedy, Delinquents, Demons, Manga, School Life, Shounen
Description:

Lol I'll watch the first episodes of this one, it might be something worth watching. :P

PHOENIX – Jared Loughner, head shaved, a cut on his right temple and his hands cuffed, stared vacantly at a packed courtroom Monday and sat down. His attorney, who defended "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski, whispered to him.

It was the nation's first look at the 22-year-old loner accused of trying to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The three-term Democrat lay about a 100 miles away in a Tucson intensive care unit, gravely wounded after being shot through the head but able to give a thumbs-up sign that doctors found as a reason to hope.

Loughner seemed impassive and at one point stood at a lectern in his beige prison jumpsuit. A U.S. marshal stood guard nearby.

The judge asked if he understood that he could get life in prison — or the death penalty — for killing federal Judge John Roll, one of six who died in the shooting rampage at Giffords' outdoor meeting with constituents Saturday in Tucson.

"Yes," he said. His newly appointed lawyer, Judy Clarke, stood beside him as the judge ordered Loughner held without bail.

Throngs of reporters and television news crews lined up outside the federal courthouse, where the hearing was moved from Tucson. The entire federal bench there recused itself because Roll was the chief judge.

President Barack Obama will travel to Arizona on Wednesday to attend a memorial service for the victims.

Earlier in the day, the nation observed a moment of silence for the victims, from the South Lawn of the White House and the steps of the U.S. Capitol to legislatures beyond Arizona and the planet itself. At the International Space Station, Giffords' brother-in-law, Scott, the commanding officer, spoke over the radio as flight controllers in Houston fell silent.

"As I look out the window, I see a very beautiful planet that seems very inviting and peaceful," he said. "Unfortunately, it is not.

"These days, we are constantly reminded of the unspeakable acts of violence and damage we can inflict upon one another, not just with our actions, but also with our irresponsible words," he said.

"We're better than this," he said. "We must do better."

On a frigid morning outside the White House, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stood side by side, each with their hands clasped, heads bowed and eyes closed. On the steps of the U.S. Capitol, congressional staff and other employees did the same.

At the Supreme Court, the justices paused for a moment of silence between the two cases they were hearing Monday morning.

The president called for the country to come together in prayer or reflection for those killed and those fighting to recover.

"In the coming days, we're going to have a lot of time to reflect," he said. "Right now the main thing we're doing is to offer our thoughts and prayers to those who've been impacted, making sure we're joining together and pulling together as a country."

Later Monday, a moment of silence was held at the BCS national championship between Oregon and Auburn in Glendale.

In total, six died and 14 were injured or wounded outside a supermarket where Giffords set up a booth to hear the concerns of constituents. Loughner was tackled to the ground minutes after the shooting began, authorities said. He has been silent ever since.

A Mass for all the victims was scheduled Tuesday at St. Odelia's Parish in Tucson.

Among the dead was 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who was born on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Her funeral is Thursday.

It was unclear when funerals will be held for the other victims, including one of Giffords' aides.

Loughner is charged with one count of attempted assassination of a member of Congress, two counts of killing an employee of the federal government and two counts of attempting to kill a federal employee. Those are federal charges.

State prosecutors, meanwhile, are researching whether they have to wait until after the federal case is resolved, or if they can proceed with local charges at the same time, an official said.

Giffords, 40, was shot in the head at close range. She was in critical condition at Tucson's University Medical Center. Two patients were discharged Sunday night. Seven others remained hospitalized.

Recent CT scans showed no further swelling in the brain, but doctors were guarded.

"We're not out of the woods yet," her neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Lemole said. "That swelling can sometimes take three days or five days to maximize. But every day that goes by and we don't see an increase, we're slightly more optimistic."

After Saturday's operation to temporarily remove half of her skull, doctors over the past two days had Giffords removed from her sedation and then asked basic commands such as: "Show me two fingers."

"When she did that, we were having a party in there," said Dr. Peter Rhee, adding that Giffords has also managed to give doctors a thumbs-up and has been reaching for her breathing tube, even while sedated.

"That's a purposeful movement. That's a great thing. She's always grabbing for the tube," he said.

Giffords' family is by her side and is receiving constant updates from doctors. On Monday, two well-known doctors with extensive experience in traumatic brain injury were en route to Tucson to help consult on Giffords' case.

Her doctors have declined to speculate on what specific disabilities Giffords may face.

With few new details emerging at the hearing, questions remained about what could have motivated someone to arm himself with a pistol and magazines carrying 33 bullets each, and rain gunfire on a supermarket parking lot crowded with men, women and children.

And who exactly was Jared Loughner?

Comments from friends and former classmates bolstered by Loughner's own Internet postings have painted a picture of a social outcast with almost indecipherable beliefs steeped in mistrust and paranoia.

"If you call me a terrorist then the argument to call me a terrorist is Ad hominem," he wrote Dec. 15 in a wide-ranging posting.

A military official in Washington said the Army rejected Loughner in 2008 because he failed a drug test. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because privacy laws prevent the military from disclosing such information about an individual's application.

The official did not know what type of drug was detected.

Prosecutors say he scrawled on an envelope the words "my assassination" and "Giffords" sometime before he took a cab to the shopping center. Police said he bought the Glock pistol used in the attack at Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson in November.

The revelation about the shooter's high-capacity magazines led one longtime Senate gun control advocate, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., to announce plans to re-establish a prohibition that lapsed in 2004 on magazines that feed more than 10 rounds at a time.

Across the country, including Nebraska and Iowa, lawmakers opening their legislative sessions observed a moment of silence. Other states flew flags at half-staff.

In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer said the state is grieving but united and determined.

"We are yet in the first hours of our sorrow, but we have not been brought down. We will never be brought down," she said to a standing ovation from a joint session of the Legislature, where Giffords served before being elected to Congress.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Doctors treating U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said Monday the congresswoman was responding to verbal commands by raising two fingers of her left hand and even managed to give a thumbs-up.

Giffords, 40, is in critical condition in the intensive care unit of Tucson's University Medical Center after she was shot through the head Saturday during a meet-and-greet with voters outside a supermarket. Two patients were discharged Sunday night. Eight others, including Giffords, remained hospitalized.

Recent CAT scans showed no further swelling in the brain, but doctors were guarded.

"We're not out of the woods yet," said her neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Lemole. "That swelling can sometimes take three days or five days to maximize. But every day that goes by and we don't see an increase, we're slightly more optimistic."

After Saturday's operation to temporarily remove half of her skull, doctors over the past two days had Giffords removed from her sedation and then asked basic commands such as: "Show me two fingers."

"When she did that, we were having a party in there," said Dr. Peter Rhee, adding that Giffords has also managed to give doctors a thumbs-up and has been reaching for her breathing tube, even while sedated. "That's a purposeful movement. That's a great thing. She's always grabbing for the tube."

Giffords family is by her side and is receiving constant updates from doctors. On Monday, two well-known doctors with extensive experience in traumatic brain injury arrived in Tucson to help consult on Giffords' case.

Doctors had said the bullet traveled the length of the left side of the congresswoman's brain, entering the back of the skull and exiting the front. Her doctors have declined to speculate on what specific disabilities Giffords may face as her recovery progresses.

As for the other shooting victims who suffered injuries to the face, neck, stomach and other parts of the body, doctors said most will have a normal recovery. To ensure that they don't suffer post-traumatic stress, depression or other problems, teams of experts will guide them through the next phase.

CHICAGO – A study of antibodies from people infected with H1N1 swine flu adds proof that scientists are closing in on a "universal" flu shot that could neutralize many types of flu strains, including H1N1 swine flu and H5N1 bird flu, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said people who were infected in the H1N1 pandemic developed an unusual immune response, making antibodies that could protect them from all the seasonal H1N1 flu strains from the last decade, the deadly "Spanish flu" strain from 1918 and even a strain of the H5N1 avian flu.

"It says that a universal influenza vaccine is really possible," said Patrick Wilson of the University of Chicago, who worked on the paper published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Many teams are working on a "universal" flu shot that could protect people from all flu strains for decades or even life.

U.S. officials say an effective universal flu vaccine would have enormous ramifications for the control of influenza, which kills anywhere from 3,300 to 49,000 people in the United States each year.

Wilson's team started making the antibodies in 2009 from nine people who had been infected in the first wave of the H1N1 swine flu pandemic before an H1N1 vaccine had been produced. The hope was to develop a way to protect healthcare personnel.

Working with researchers from Emory University School of Medicine, the team produced 86 antibodies that reacted with the H1N1 virus, and tested them on different flu strains.

Of these, five were cross-protective, meaning they could interfere with many strains of flu including the 1918 "Spanish flu" and a strain of H5N1 or avian flu.

Tests of these antibodies in mice showed they were fully protected from an otherwise lethal dose of flu.

And some of these cross-protective antibodies were similar in structure to those discovered by other teams as having potential for a universal flu vaccine.

"It demonstrates how to make a single vaccine that could potentially provide permanent immunity to all influenza," Wilson said in a telephone interview.

"LOLLIPOP STICK"

Flu vaccines and drugs focus on proteins found on the surface of the flu virus called hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, which give influenza A viruses their names, as in H5N1 or H1N1.

Hemagglutinin is a lollipop-shaped structure with a big, round head. This head is so large it attracts most of the immune system antibodies, but it mutates readily.

Two years ago, researchers working for Crucell NV and a separate team found that antibodies that attach to the "stick" or stalk part of the hemagglutinin lollipop mutate much less -- providing a perfect target for a vaccine that could neutralize a range of different flu viruses.

"Previously, this type of broadly protective, stalk-reactive antibody was thought to be very rare," Jens Wrammert of Emory said in a statement. But in the H1N1 patients, he said, they were "surprisingly abundant."

That may be because the H1N1 virus was so different from other flu strains that the immune system made antibodies for the only parts of the virus it recognized -- this "stick" or stalk region that is common to many flu strains.

Wilson said the study proves it is possible to get the immune system to make these antibodies if it has the right stimulation. The team is working with an unnamed biotechnology company to develop a vaccine or drugs based on this notion.

And a team at the National Institutes of Health is testing a two-step vaccine that uses DNA from stalk-reactive antibodies to "prime" the immune system, followed by a regular flu shot.

A study in July showed this two-step approach protected mice and ferrets against flu strains from 1934 through 2007. This vaccine is now being tested in people.

BRISBANE, Australia – Thousands of people were urged to leave the outskirts of Australia's third-largest city, Brisbane, on Tuesday as flood waters raced eastwards after a surging two-meter wall of water killed eight people overnight.

Cars and pedestrians were swept away on Monday night when a "super rainstorm" sent water charging through the streets of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. Police said more than 40 people were pulled from rooftops by helicopters, but by mid-afternoon 66 were still missing.

Traffic jams formed in central Brisbane as people headed out by car amid heavy rains and initial flooding. Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said some 6,500 homes, businesses and properties would be flooded by Thursday.

"The situation has obviously demonstrably deteriorated, Newman told a news conference. "Today is very significant, tomorrow is bad, and Thursday is going to be devastating for the residents and businesses affected."

He said Brisbane's main dam, which had so far protected the city from flooding, was full and authorities now had to release water which would send floods into Brisbane.

Authorities fear the Brisbane flooding may be worse than devastating floods in 1974, when the Brisbane River burst its banks, flooding thousands of homes and killing 14 people.

Workers deserted high-rise office towers in the center of the city as constant rain continued to swell the Brisbane River, which was lapping boardwalks and riverbank buildings.

"It's taking on new proportions and getting worse by the minute," said Gary McGowan, a businessman who lives and works in a western suburb of the city. "I wasn't concerned until an hour or so ago but it's getting serious now," he added, noting that boats and pontoons were being swept away.

The worst flooding in the coal-exporting state of Queensland in half a century has at times covered an area the size of France and Germany combined and has killed at least 13 people.

The Australian dollar sank to a three-week low on Tuesday on concerns that Queensland's flooded coal mines may take months to return to normal production and economic analysts said the floods would hit Australia's economic growth.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the flooding would not derail an expected budget surplus in 2012-13.

The Queensland deluge has been blamed on a La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific, with Australia recording its third-wettest year on record in 2010, with two wet-season months to go. Weather officials are also forecasting an above average cyclone season.

"The Queensland floods are caused by what is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, La Nina events since our records began in the late 19th century," said Professor Neville Nicholls, an environmental science expert at Monash University.

RESIDENTS SANDBAG HOMES, TIE UP CROCODILES

Television footage showed brown floodwater gushing through the center of Toowoomba on Monday laden with debris, as people clung to telephone poles and rooftops to survive.

Panicked motorists climbed onto cars to escape the deluge, which destroyed homes and bridges, and hurled cars into trees and buildings like corks.

"Early reports would indicate that what hit Toowoomba could best be described as an inland, instant tsunami, with a massive wall of water that's gone down through the Lockyer Valley," Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said.

Police warned people living in up to 32 low-lying Brisbane River suburbs and further west to head to high ground as a second day of torrential rain was expected to see rivers eventually swell by up to 19 meters in height.

Some parts of the city outskirts were being evacuated, while crocodiles at a nearby Sunshine Coast zoo founded by the late television wildlife star Steve Irwin were being tied up in case they escaped in the deluge.

Local Brisbane woman Julia Zhu piled sandbags into a Mercedes and made plans to defend her high-end gown business in a low-lying part of the city,

"We have half-a-million dollars worth of stock and no insurance cover," Zhu told Reuters.

Damage caused by floods in Queensland that started after heavy rains before Christmas could reach $6 billion after destroying homes, roads and rail lines, and severely cut the exports from the state's key coal mining sector, economists say.

The floods have paralyzed operations that produce 35 percent of Australia's estimated 259 million metric tons of exportable coal. Australia contributes two-thirds of world exports of steelmaking raw material coking coal.

Coal seam gas drilling in the Surat Basin, a big source of gas for an estimated $200 billion in proposed liquefied natural gas projects, was halted on Monday by flooding.

Global miners Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Xstrata and BHP Billiton, have been hit by the floods, and all have made force majeure declarations, which release firms from delivery commitments.

Flooding has begun to recede in the main Bowen Basin coal region, but many mines remain flooded and will take weeks to drain and resume full production. While some rail links between mines and the ports have been opened, others are under water.

Coal stocks were running low at the key coal port of Dalrymple Bay, but it was receiving enough to keep loading ships, while the port of Gladstone said it could be days to weeks before it starts getting coal supplies back to normal.

Hotel operators said the rain had caused cancellations in popular tourist strips on the Sunshine and Gold coasts, which claim a large slice of the $32 billion tourism industry.

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department asked a court on Monday to reject a request by lawyers for a Somali-born man accused of planning an Oregon bombing to bar Attorney General Eric Holder from talking about the case.

In a filing with a federal court in Portland, the department defended Holder's comments regarding the case against Mohamed Osman Mohamud, who was arrested in November in an FBI sting operation and charged with plotting to bomb a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in the city.

Defense lawyers last month sought a court order barring Holder from talking publicly about the case, arguing that the attorney general's comments could prejudice the pool of potential jurors. The attorney general heads the Justice Department.

Mohamud's lawyers have argued that the government essentially set up and entrapped their client, a naturalized U.S. citizen who had attended Oregon State University. Mohamud has pleaded not guilty in the case.

Following the arrest, Holder said Mohamud had declined "a number of opportunities" to back out of the alleged plot and that he was sure there was no entrapment.

"The Attorney General's comments were entirely appropriate and resulted in no unfair prejudice to defendant," the Justice Department said in its filing. "Further, an order as requested by defendant would serve no legitimate purpose."

Mohamud was arrested when he tried to detonate what he thought was a car bomb during the crowded ceremony in Portland on November 26, U.S. authorities said. However, the bomb was instead fake explosives provided by undercover agents.

Mohamud's arrest was one of several sting operations in the last two years in which individuals were tracked by undercover FBI agents and later tried to detonate fake bombs in various locations.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The euro languished near a four-month low on Tuesday after a brief rally triggered by a Japanese plan to buy euro bonds, while Asian stocks drifted, fearful of Portugal becoming the next casualty of the euro zone's debt crisis.

All eyes were on whether Lisbon would be able to raise funds in the debt market on Wednesday, its first bond auction of the year, or if soaring borrowing costs will force it to turn to the IMF and European Union for help.

Japan offered a show of support for Europe's struggle with debt, saying it would tap its euro reserves to buy bonds this month for an Irish rescue plan, but the market doubted it would provide much relief.

"I don't think these comments (by Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda) change the backdrop for the euro at all," said Todd Elmer, currency strategist for Citi in Singapore.

"Despite the fact that we're seeing this groundswell of international support, it doesn't really change or address the underlying problem and that's not going to change until the European authorities themselves come up with a more comprehensive solution to mitigate the fallout from the debt crisis."

Japan does not disclose the currency breakdown of its $1 trillion reserves and analysts think only a very small portion is in euro.

The euro rose as high as $1.2992 on trading platform EBS from around $1.2925 in early Asian trade, but quickly pared its gains to stand little changed on the day. At 0551 GMT, it was below its 200-day moving average at $1.2940, just above a four-month trough hit on Monday.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index (.N225) slid 0.3 percent on worries about the euro zone and overnight weakness on Wall Street, after hitting an eight-month closing high on Friday. Tokyo markets were closed on Monday for a public holiday. The broader Topix index was slightly higher.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks ex-Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) inched up 0.2 percent, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (.HSI) up almost 1 percent.

Gold rose on worries about Portugal's debt, maintaining bullion's appeal as a safety net. A softer dollar typically helps gold because it makes the metal more affordable for holders of the euro and other currencies.

Spot gold was up $1.35 at $1,375.80 an ounce at 0549 GMT. The focus for the metal was Portugal's Wednesday bond aution.

Portugal is widely seen by investors as next in line in the euro zone to need a bailout after Greece and Ireland, but the government has repeatedly denied that it will seek foreign financing.

The European Central Bank threw Lisbon a temporary lifeline on Monday by buying some of its bonds, traders said.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) lost 0.3 percent on Monday, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) edged down 0.1 percent. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) gained 0.2 percent. (.N)

U.S. crude prices were steady above $89 on Tuesday as a key Alaskan oil pipeline remained shut, cutting total crude output by nearly 12 percent in the world's largest oil user

TOKYO – Japan pledged to buy euro zone bonds this month in a show of support for Europe's struggle with a smouldering debt crisis, but market players doubted the gesture would offer the euro much relief.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Tokyo was considering buying about 20 percent of euro zone bonds to be jointly issued later this month to raise funds to support Ireland. Japan would use its existing euro reserves to pay for the debt, Noda said.

Japan's offer comes days after China reaffirmed its commitment to buy Spanish debt and analysts said it reflected both Tokyo's concern about the impact of the crisis on its export-reliant economy and an effort to reassert itself on the global stage.

"I think it's appropriate for Japan to purchase a certain amount of bonds to boost confidence in the EFSF (European Financial Stability Facility) and make a contribution as a major country," Noda said.

The European Union set up the 440 billion euro fund as a safety net for heavily indebted euro zone nations, but it failed to deter investors from betting on more bailouts.

A finance ministry source told Reuters that Japan would continue to buy bonds issued under the scheme as part of its commitment as a Group of Seven nation to stabilising the world economy and containing the debt crisis. The official declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Tokyo's pledge also follows reports that the European Central Bank was buying Portuguese bonds on Monday, after speculation that Portugal would soon follow Greece and Ireland in seeking an international bailout pushed the euro to four-month lows.

Breaking ranks with a chorus of European officials who have insisted that further rescues were by no means inevitable, Finnish Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen said on Tuesday that Ireland may not be the last country to seek financial aid.

Speaking to a local broadcaster, Katainen also said Lisbon needed to act decisively to calm markets, though he declined to say whether there were any talks about loans to Portugal.

Japan's announcement lifted the single currency as far as $1.2992 on trading platform EBS from around $1.2925.

But it pulled back later when it became clear that Tokyo would use its existing euro reserves to buy the bonds and analysts expected the impact of Japan's gesture to be short-lived.

"I don't think these comments change the backdrop for the euro at all," said Todd Elmer, currency strategist for Citi in Singapore.

"Despite the fact that we're seeing this groundswell of international support, it doesn't really change or address the underlying problem and that's not going to change until the European authorities themselves come up with a more comprehensive solution."

CHINA'S CLOUT

Analysts said that besides concern that an escalating debt rout in Europe could thwart Japan's own recovery, Tokyo might also be acting to preserve its standing in global economic diplomacy after Beijing seized the initiative.

China's declared support for Spain -- euro zone's fourth-largest economy seen most at risk of contagion from Portugal's troubles -- follows Beijing's pledges last year to buy bonds issued by Greece, the first euro zone nation to need a rescue.

"With China pledging to buy euro zone bonds and its currency-based diplomacy increasingly prominent, Japan appears to be trying to follow suit to secure European support in possible future negotiations, either with the United States or China," said Yasunari Ueno, chief market economist at Mizuho Securities.

Analysts also say that just like Beijing, at odds with Europe and the United States over its yuan policy, Tokyo could do with some goodwill capital after its market intervention to curb the yen drew fire from its trading partners.

Data released on Tuesday confirmed that Japan spent more than $25 billion to halt the yen's rise in September out of its reserve stockpile that stood at $1.1 trillion at the end of last year -- second only to China's $2.85 trillion.

As part of its 80 billion euro rescue plan for Ireland agreed in December, the EU intends to launch four or five benchmark bonds this year, aiming for 3 billion to 5 billion euros ($3.9-6.5 billion) for each transaction.

A senior EU source told Reuters on Sunday that Germany, France and other euro zone countries were pushing Portugal to seek a similar EU-IMF rescue package that could be worth 50-100 billion euros.

($1=82.95 Yen, $1=.7722 Euro)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The company that operates the trans-Alaska pipeline was working Monday on building a bypass line so the flow of North Slope oil can be restarted despite a leak.

The pipeline, which transports crude from the nation's largest oil field to the Valdez tanker terminal, was shut down Saturday after the leak was discovered in an underground pipe near a pump station.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the 800-mile pipeline from Prudhoe Bay, had welders working around the clock on the bypass line to circumvent the leak and restore the flow of oil.

Meanwhile, oil production on the North Slope was cut by 95 percent.

The trans-Alaska pipeline normally carries 620,000 barrels of crude oil daily worth more than $50 million. The pipeline is owned by BP PLC and four other companies.

The shutdown helped push oil prices above $89 a barrel Monday.

"We are really focused on getting the pipeline restarted," said Katie Pesznecker, a spokeswoman for a joint information center of Alyeska, federal and state officials set up in Fairbanks. "It is critical that we get it moving again as soon as possible."

Shutdowns in winter are concerning because of the potential for ice buildup in the line that can damage machinery during a restart. Pesznecker said workers were placing temperature sensors on the pipeline and oil was being circulated at various pump stations to keep it warm and moving.

Alyeska engineers were designing a 170-foot-long, 24-inch-diameter bypass pipe to get oil to the main line. It wasn't known when the pipeline might be restarted. As of noon Monday, the shutdown had lasted more than 50 hours.

More than 200 people in Anchorage and the North Slope were working on the problem.

The leak was discovered Saturday morning by a crew that found oil in the basement of Pump Station 1. The pump station is the last stop before oil is sent into the main line and to the marine terminal in Valdez for West Coast delivery.

Dennis McLerran, regional administrator for the Environmentl Protection Agency, said in a statement late Monday that the leak remained contained to the pump station.

Vacuum trucks over the weekend sucked up between 378 and 420 gallons of oil from the pump station basement. Tom DeRuyter, the on-scene coordinator for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, said Monday there was still a small amount of oil trickling into the building.

The leak occurred in a particularly complex area of piping. The suspect pipe is one of several encased in concrete.

It isn't known whether oil has been released into the ground.

The most recent lengthy shutdown was last May after a storage tank overflowed at one of the pump stations. That shutdown lasted for 79 hours and 40 minutes, and there were no problems restarting the line.

Alaska's oil fields account for about 13 percent of domestic production.