position of having no guidelines on what to do with them.Although the United Nations gave international forces in the Gulf of Aden permission to pursue pirates on land, criminal prosecution of pirates has become a thorn in the forces’ side due to uncertainty over questions of jurisdiction.On 3 December, Absalon was told by military headquarters in Bahrain not to pursue surrendering pirates - even though the ship’s crew was certain the pirates were responsible for the attack on Australian cruise ship MV Athena that day.Earlier in September, 10 pirates captured by the Navy had to be released because legal experts in Denmark were uncertain they could be prosecuted here and they could not be handed over to Somali authorities due to concerns that they risked capital punishment there.The Foreign Ministry indicated it has been in contact with Dutch officials about the pirates held by Absalon, but no decision has been made.

2, the company filed a motion asking the court toconvert all its Chapter 11 cases to Chapter 7 cases.

Hard Rock Park is a 50 acre rock ‘n’ roll theme parklocated in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter11 in September, saying a fall in consumer spending and risingfuel costs had hurt tourism in Myrtle Beach and other markets.

In a court filing, the company said its efforts torefinance its pre-bankruptcy secured debt and add workingcapital availability could not be completed within thenecessary timeframe.

The deal is significant, as it will not only help the company avoid peer competition with its parent but also lift its profits.Statistics show that the net profit the dual-listed company gained in the first three quarters of 2008 totaled CNY 13.11 billion, with earnings per share hitting CNY 0.08.

Operating profit touched CNY 12.8 billion, down 55.71 percent from CNY 28.91 billion in the same period of 2007.

Investment assets hit CNY 888.7 billion, of which, CNY 12.78 billion was tradable financial assets, reducing 49.14 percent from 2008.Source: www.shihua.com.cn (January 01, 2009)