Foreign News — GuardiansPress

World Markets Higher On Signs US Economy Improving

February 17, 2010 by admin ·

World stocks gained Wednesday on renewed investor confidence in the U.S. economy while concerns about Greece’s debt crisis eased.

Most major European and Asian equity markets rose, bolstered by a 1.7 percent jump in the Dow Jones industrial average Tuesday. Markets in China and Taiwan were closed for the Lunar New Year holiday.

Investors were cheered by signs the U.S. economy may be improving. On Tuesday. Kraft Foods Inc. and apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch reported earnings that beat expectations, while drugmaker Merck & Co. said profits jumped. UK banking giant Barclays also reported soaring profits.

Traders will be eyeing reports on housing starts, jobless claims and inflation later this week for more evidence the U.S. economy is rebounding strongly from last year’s recession.

Markets also got a boost from news European officials are working with Greece to control its debt crisis. European Union leaders on Tuesday gave Greece one month to prove it can cut its fiscal deficit.

Concerns about rising debt burdens in Greece, Portugal and Spain have undermined investor confidence during the last few weeks.

As trading got underway in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX index gained 0.9 percent, and France’s CAC-40 added 1.2 percent.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average jumped 272.58 points, or 2.7 percent, at 10,306.83 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 265.32, or 1.3 percent, to 20,534.01.

South Korea’s Kospi gained 26.38, or 1.7 percent, to 1,627.43 while Singapore added 1.3 percent and India 1.3 percent. Australia’s benchmark advanced 2.1 percent.

In the U.S. on Tuesday, the Dow rose 169.67, or 1.7 percent, to 10,268.81. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 19.36, or 1.8 percent, to 1,094.87, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 30.66, or 1.4 percent, to 2,214.19.

Oil prices extended gains above $77 a barrel in Asia amid expectations a growing U.S. economy will fuel increased crude demand.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 52 cents at $77.53 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.88 to settle at $77.01 on Tuesday.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 90.54 yen from 90.14 yen. The euro fell to $1.3752 from $1.3764. By Alex Kennedy, Philadelphia Daily News

Filed Under: Foreign News, Foreign Policy ·

Statistics Reveal Stunning Increase In Poverty

February 16, 2010 by admin ·

Statistics reveal stunning increase in poverty in Pakistan impacted by the prices of energy and food in the past three years.

These happen to be the worst years as far as the poverty situation in the country is concerned, data reveals.

The Federal Bureau of Statistics data updated for the Centre for Poverty Reduction and Social Policy Development (CPRSPD), Planning and Development Division, shared with The News indicates an upswing in the headcount poverty ratio for 2008-09.

The steep increase in the prices of petroleum products, electricity and natural gas as well as food items (especially flour, sugar and meat) began in 2007, while the situation worsened in 2008 with global increase in POL and commodity prices.

The financial meltdown followed as industry could not cope with the rising energy prices triggered sharp slowdown in growth and high inflation.

This situation impacted Pakistan’s economy generally and the poor households particularly, as the report indicates.

The government is yet to make this report public after its preparation is formalized and the relevant officials in high places approve its launch.

The News obtained salient figures from this report revealing that the increase in food and energy prices since late 2007 compelled the government to launch a household income and expenditure survey for assessment of poverty increase and vulnerability of the countryside and city-slum majority.

Survey to make such assessment got delayed for inexplicable reasons but the reports based on a 5-year old assessment got regularly updated for the federal cabinet’s appraisal.

The updated Planning Commission’s Interim Report based on 2004-05 poverty head count number of 23.9 percent put the increase in poverty at around 6 percent for the year 2008-09. The newly updated figures say this ratio must go as high as 29.9 percent.

The World Bank’s Task Force on Food Security had put the ratio at 29.2 percent in 2004-05, 33.8 percent in 2007-08 and 36.1 percent in 2008-09. Such estimates placed 62 million people of the country Below the Poverty Line (BPL) in 2008-09.

The new assessments say at least 20 million people might have joined the previous headcount on BPL population.

The poverty increase situation thus stood as follows: 22.3 percent of the population in 2005-06 to between 30-35 percent in 2008-09; now this population is beyond 40 percent.

The data is explained in a manner that the increase in BPL population in the rural areas is more tragic as people lost their small holdings to inflation and overall expenditure per family unit increased by more than 20 percent in the past 3 years.

Though the increase of inflation-hit population in the urban areas remained more pronounced, the net impact was far lower than in the rural areas.

More than 50 percent of the urban workforce underwent decrease in actual wages viz a viz inflation.

The high food prices undermined the government efforts for poverty reduction as food price hike severely eroded poor households’ purchasing power.

This situation indicates a serious risk of massive school dropouts at primary levels while fresh enrolments would also be on the decline.

The poorest households are compelled to spend more than 78 percent of incomes on food and other most essential expenditure, while health and education are tragically compromised areas. By Ikram Hoti, The News International

Filed Under: Foreign News, Foreign Policy ·

13 Teenagers Shot Dead As Gunmen Burst Into Party In Mexico Border City

February 1, 2010 by admin ·

A gang of heavily armed men stormed a party inside a house in the border city of Ciudad Juárez killing 13 teenagers in the early hours of yesterday morning. A further 17 young people were injured in the attack, which was apparently a mistaken drugs hit.

The gunmen arrived in a convoy of up to seven 4x4s, according to local reports. While some gunmen closed off surrounding streets, others burst into the party and started shooting to kill.

There were conflicting reports as to whether the victims were celebrating victory in a local American Football championship, or had gathered to watch a boxing match. It was unclear last night as to why they were targeted, but it was immediately assumed the attack was by one of the drug trafficking gangs struggling for supremacy in the city.

“The men were well-armed. They went into the house and shot at everyone, you could hear the gunfire all around,” a neighbour said.

Army spokesman Enrique Torres said the dead were from 15 to 20 years old, and an additional 17 party-goers were wounded, some critically. “They were about 15 men, they closed off the surrounding streets and began shooting at the house as they moved inside,” he said.

Witnesses of the slaughter told the Associated Press they thought those behind the attack were acting on false information.

“It must have been a huge mistake,” said Martha Lujan, who lives nearby.

Ciudad Juárez is just across the US border from El Paso in Texas, and is the bloodiest front in the turf wars raging around Mexico, which intensified following a government offensive launched three years ago. More than 16,000 have died since in related violence. Last year, more than 2,000 people were killed in Juárez, about a third of the national total.

The city has also had Mexico’s heaviest military presence, with 10,000 soldiers patrolling the streets for most of last year. Last month the government announced it was reducing the number of soldiers present and increasing the number of federal police officers in the city. The killing has continued regardless.

Most victims in Juárez die in ones or twos, often small-time dealers associated with one gang and killed by a rival gang. But the arbitrariness of much of the violence has been underlined by a growing number of deaths with no apparent link to the underworld. There have also been periodic massacres, such as two attacks on drug rehabilitation clinics in September last year which left 28 dead.

Another witness to yesterday’s massacre, who only gave his first name, Hector, because he feared retaliation, said he was just outside when the gunfire broke out. He said the party was an innocuous gathering of friends targeted in error. “I think there was some confusion,” he said. “We’re seeking justice.”

The ongoing drug feuds in Juárez are said to be caused by the Sinaloa cartel trying to out-muscle the Juárez cartel at one of the most important points for smuggling drugs into the US. In the 1990s, the Juárez cartel was the most powerful trafficker, but in recent years its influence has waned. The Sinaloa cartel is led by Mexico’s most infamous trafficker of the moment, Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.

In other drug violence elsewhere yesterday, 20 gunmen attacked a police station in the Pacific port city of Lázaro Cárdenas with grenades and assault rifles, killing a police officer and a mother and her son who were in the building to pay a fine.

Further north, in the city of Navolato, the bodies of three women and two men were found in their vehicle, which was riddled with bulletholes. By Jo Tuckman. The Guardian

Filed Under: Foreign News ·

China ‘Overtakes Germany As World’s Largest Exporter’

January 11, 2010 by admin ·

China’s exports rose 17.7% in December, state media have reported, suggesting the country has overtaken Germany as the world’s largest exporter.

The rise, compared to a year earlier, breaks a 13-month decline in trade as a result of the global downturn.

Xinhua said total exports for 2009 were $1.2tn (£749bn), but total foreign trade over the year was down 13.9%.

Correspondents say the figures will lead to new demands from China’s competitors that it revalue the yuan.

Last year saw a continuing decrease in China’s trade as the global economic downturn led to a fall in demand for its products.

But in the last few weeks of the year, there was a far greater rise than forecasters had expected, with foreign exports reaching $130.7bn, up 17.7% on the previous December.

China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) said exports overall in the year were $1.2tn, down 16% from in 2008, while imports were 11.2% down from a year earlier at $1.01tn.

The politically sensitive total trade surplus was down 34.2% to $196.1bn.

The figures suggests China will surpass Germany’s export total for the whole of 2009, although this will not be confirmed until Germany’s full-year data is published in February.

Yuan demand

A spokesman for GAC said the increase was “an important turning point” for the country.

“It is safe to say now that Chinese exporters have come right through the period of weakness,” Xinhua quoted statistician Huang Guohua as saying.

The BBC’s Chris Hogg in Shanghai says many of China’s producers are low-cost manufacturers who assemble equipment such as i-Pods using foreign components.

The latest figures are being seen as an indication that those manufacturers have proved resilient in the downturn and are benefitting as their customers restock, says our correspondent.

But the figures are likely to lead to renewed complaints from China’s trading competitors that its currency is undervalued, he added.

Led by the US, they say it is unfair that China has been able to make its good cheaper by keeping the yuan weak, but Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said China “will not yield” to foreign demands that it revalue the currency.

Beijing has long said that it will not allow the yuan to trade freely until its domestic economy was strong enough to pick up any resulting decline in exports.

The slowing decline in Chinese trade has also been taken as a sign that the country’s stimulus package is working.

Beijing raised tax rebates on exports several times in 2009, increased tax refunds and improved export credit insurance. BBC News

Filed Under: Business, Economy, Foreign News ·

Russia To Work On New Nuclear Missiles: Medvedev

December 25, 2009 by admin ·

Russia will work on a new generation of nuclear missiles to ensure its nuclear deterrent remains effective, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

Medvedev said the new missiles would be developed in full accordance with arms agreements made with the United States. “Of course, we will develop new systems, including delivery systems, that is, missiles,” Medvedev said in an end-of-year interview with state-controlled television channels.

“This process will be continued, and our nuclear shield will always be efficient and sufficient to protect our national interests,” Medvedev said.

The Kremlin chief said Russia and the United States were close to a new deal on reducing vast Cold War arsenals of nuclear weapons, adding that he had “trustworthy relations” with US President Barack Obama. Zeenews

Filed Under: Foreign News, Foreign Policy, Nuclear Facility, Technologies ·

Trapped In Tora Bora In 2001, Osama Had Written His Will

December 1, 2009 by admin ·

World’s most wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden had written his will as US troops closed in on his hideout in Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan in December 2001, but walked out “unmolested” after American military leaders decided not to send reinforcements to pursue him.

The US military “could have captured or killed Osama bin Laden in 2001 if it had launched a concerted attack on his hideout in Afghanistan,” according to a damning Congressional report that comes on the eve of unveiling of a new Af-Pak policy by the Barack Obama Administration.

The 49-page report “Tora Bora Revisited: How we failed to get Bin Laden and Why it Matters Today”, prepared by the staff of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and released today, points finger at then Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and his top military commander Tommy Franks for turning down requests for reinforcements to pursue Laden.

Laden, trapped in the rugged mountainous area in eastern Afghanistan, expected to die and had even written a will, said the report, commissioned by Committee Chairman John Kerry.

“On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan’s unregulated tribal area. Most analysts say he is still there today,” the report said.

“Fewer than 100 American commandos were on the scene with their Afghan allies and calls for reinforcements to launch an assault were rejected. Requests were also turned down for US troops to block the mountain paths leading to sanctuary a few miles away in Pakistan,” it said. The Times Of India

Filed Under: Documentary, Facts, Foreign News ·

Lula Backs Iran’s Nuclear Programme

November 24, 2009 by admin ·

Brazil’s president has offered his backing for Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme. Speaking at a joint news conference in the capital Brasilia on Monday after holding talks with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, his visiting Iranian counterpart, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said Brazil backed Iran’s quest for “peaceful nuclear energy in full respect of international accords”.

He urged Ahmadinejad to “continue contacts with interested countries for a just and balanced solution on the nuclear issue in Iran”.

In his weekly radio address earlier, Lula said engaging Iran instead of isolating it was the way to push for peace and stability in the Middle East.

“It doesn’t help isolating Iran,” he said. “It’s important that someone sits down with Iran, talks with Iran and tries to establish some balance so that the Middle East can return to a certain sense of normalcy.”

Lula, who honed his negotiating skills as a union leader, says a new tactic is needed with the Iranians.

“I told President [Barack] Obama, I told President [Nicolas] Sarkozy, I told [German] Chancellor Angela Merkel that we will not get good things out of Iran if we corner them. You need to create space to talk,” he said last month.

During his radio show, Lula also proposed a football game in March pitting Brazil’s famed national team against a team comprising Israelis and Palestinians.

Security council ‘failure’

Ahmadinejad, for his part, supported Brazil’s bid to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Brazil is to take one of the 10 non-permanent seats – those without the power of veto – in 2010 and 2011.

“We support a reformed UN Security Council and for Brazil to have a permanent seat,” Ahmadinejad said.

He said the council “has failed over the past 60 years because of the veto power of a small number of countries, a source of insecurity for several countries in the world”.

The first visit by Ahmadinejad to Brazil provides Lula an opportunity to boost the international political clout of South America’s largest nation, analysts said.

But Brazilian opposition politicians criticised it, citing concern over Iran’s nuclear programme as its human rights record, as well as Ahmadinejad’s denial of the Holocaust.

Demonstrations against the visit were staged in Brasilia and other major cities across the country.

Lucia Newman, Al Jazeera’s Latin America editor, said: “He [Lula] has faced criticism not only from the Republicans in Washington but also in Brazil itself.

“They [critics] believe he has gone too far; that he’s isolating Brazil by going to the side of countries that are considered by some to be, as we know, on the axis of evil.”

Lula defended the visit, saying any progress on the nuclear standoff with Iran and on the stalled Middle East peace process required dialogue with all parties involved.

Ahmadinejad’s trip follows visits in the past two weeks by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Shimon Peres, his Israeli counterpart, who called on Lula to use Brazil’s influence to help curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iran’s nuclear programme, which it says is intended for civilian use, has drawn criticism from Western countries which suspect Tehran is seeking to build a nuclear bomb.

World powers have urged Iran to reconsider its rejection of a UN-drafted deal aimed at a peaceful resolution to its contested nuclear programme.

The deal would have seen Tehran shipping its low-grade enriched uranium to Russia and France where it could be processed to be used as fuel in Iran’s medical-purpose reactor.

Instead, Iran wants a direct swap of low-enriched uranium for processed nuclear fuel, taking place on Iranian soil.

Ahmadinejad’s visit comes as the military back home engages in large-scale war games centred on protecting Iran’s nuclear facilities from attack. The Iranian leader is set to visit allies in Bolivia and Venezuela next to shore up more South American support. Al Jazeera

Filed Under: Foreign News, Foreign Policy, Nuclear Facility ·