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arthur ndowora
Oct 1, 2012, 3:48:27 AM10/1/12
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From: "Zfn (Zimbabwe)" <z...@yoafrica.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2012 08:52:09 +0200
Subject: Overseas Press Summary + Alex Cartoon
To: "Zfn (Zimbabwe)" <z...@yoafrica.com>
Zfn
Realtime financial intelligence
__________________________________________________________________________________
Headlines
Financial & Global Economy
*Wall Street end strong quarter on a weak note - CNNMoney
*FTSE 100 falls to three-week low – Business Recorder
*Gold drifts lower as Spain worries weigh on euro – Reuters
*Oil declines from one-week high as China manufacturing weakens - Bloomberg
*News Corp hires U.S. compliance officials: FT - Reuters
*Apple CEO: "We are extremely sorry" for Maps frustration - CNNMoney
*Xstrata expected to recommend merger with Glencore – BBC News
*Foxconn’s Sharp deal may end as banks give Taiwanese an exit - Bloomberg
*U.S. group urges $2 trillion alternative to fiscal cliff "time bomb" - Reuters
*Economists reluctantly pick Romney - CNNMoney
*New Zealand’s GDP growth slowing in second half, treasury says - Bloomberg
*EADS, BAE chiefs tout merger, blast "misconceptions" - Reuters
*China manufacturing activity shrinks again in September – BBC News
*Chrysler Canada workers vote 90% in favor of four-year agreement - Bloomberg
International
*War of words awaits Obama and Romney - AFP
*Son of China's Bo Xilai defends his father - Reuters
*Mass evacuations as typhoon hits Japan – Al Jazeera
*Pakistani juvenile court to hear case of teen accused of blasphemy – CNN News
*Teen idol Bieber vomits on stage - AP
*One in 10 workers has taken time off for depression – BBC News
*Ex-wrestler props up India's PM, but he may want the job - Reuters
*Schwarzenegger admits habit of keeping secrets, including multiple
affairs – CNN News
*Pussy Riot case: Russian court to hear appeal – BBC News
*Polls open in Georgia election – Al Jazeera
*Bangladesh Muslims torch Buddhist shrines, police say – CNN News
*Climate change 'may shrink fish' – BBC News
*San Jose, Costa Rica to install its first street signs - Reuters
*Ronaldo treble as Real rout Deportivo – Super Sport
News from the Axis
*Venezuela opposition mourns slaying of Capriles activists - Reuters
*Iraq suffers deadliest day in nearly a month – CNN News
*Large part of ancient souk in Syria's Aleppo in ashes: activists - Reuters
*Iran's Q1 steel products exports up 176% compared to last year - PressTV
Political and General
*Tsvangirai apologises for love scandals – Radio VoP
*Mugabe’s poll timetable ‘impossible’ - AP
*Locardia ready to meet PM’s family – New Zimbabwe
*Police detain MDC-T officials in Bulawayo – SW Radio Africa
*Inquest into big cat handler's death begins – New Zimbabwe
Regional
*Favourites crash out of Moz succession race - AFP
*South Africa shooting: Marikana mine inquiry to begin – BBC News
*Zanzibar plagued by growing heroin addiction – Al Jazeera
*HIV 'made' new deadly Salmonella – study – BBC News
*Mozambique rulers celebrate Marxist roots, in style - Reuters
*Attack on Sunday school leaves child dead, others wounded, Red Cross
says – CNN News
Financial & Global Economy
Wall Street end strong quarter on a weak note
CNNMoney
Friday September 28
New York-The U.S. stock market ended a blockbuster quarter with a whimper.
Investors were spooked Friday after a dismal report showed
manufacturing declining in the United States. Even though results of
stress tests on Spanish banks offered some relief, concerns about
slowing global growth kept investors on edge.
Still, U.S. stocks closed out the third quarter of 2012 posting strong
gains: the Dow closed Friday up 4.3%, the S&P 500 gained 5.8%, and the
Nasdaq rose 6.2%. Year-to-date, the gains are even more impressive:
the Dow is up 10%, the S&P 500 is up 15% and the Nasdaq has surged
20%.
Can the rally continue into the fourth quarter? Dan
Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG, said yes. But he cautioned that a
lot depends on developments in Europe.
On Friday, stocks opened lower and the sell-off gained steam after the
Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for September, a key gauge of
manufacturing activity, came in far below expectations and showed a
contracting economy for the first time since 2009.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the
Nasdaq ended the trading day down 0.4% to 0.7%.
The Chicago PMI report was yet another sign of ongoing weakness in the
U.S. economy. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index
for September also fell short of expectations.
Stocks bounced off their lows after the results of stress
tests for Spanish banks were in line with expectations. But it seems
investors are waiting for the next shoe to drop in Europe. Greece,
which is seeking a two-year extension to comply with its bailout
terms, is expected to release its 2013 budget Monday.
Spain's 2013 budget boosted U.S. stocks in late trading Thursday, as
many interpreted it as a sign the country was willing to take
necessary steps to avert a deepening crisis. But that relief may prove
ephemeral as concerns about Spain remain.
In Britain, a government recommendation was published
Friday suggesting "a complete overhaul" of the interest rate benchmark
Libor, following the recent scandal that exposed how banks rigged the
rate for their own benefit.
European stocks closed lower. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.7%, while the
DAX in Germany fell 1.1% and France's CAC 40 dropped 2.5%.
In Asia, Chinese investors continued to rally on the
central bank's record injection of liquidity into money markets. The
Shanghai Composite ended 1.5% higher, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong
rose 0.4%.
But the outlook remained grim in Japan, where a government report
showed Japanese industrial production and prices fell in August, a
worrying development given the country's current territorial dispute
over islands that have hurt Japanese businesses in China. As a result,
Japan's Nikkei ended down 0.9%.
The first domestic report of the day showed personal
income grew at 0.1% in August -- the same as July. Personal spending
rose 0.5%, slightly higher than in July. Both are signs the recovery
continues to struggle.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that core prices
of household goods and services rose 0.1% in August, as expected.
Companies: Apple's CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology
for errors in its new maps application. Shares of Apple (AAPL, Fortune
500) closed down 2%
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) announced a $2.43 billion
settlement in a class action lawsuit for shareholders who questioned
the bank's decision to acquire Merrill Lynch. BofA's stock fell 1.5%.
Shares of the drugstore chain Walgreens (WAG, Fortune 500)
dropped, despite beating analysts' forecasts. Sales and profits were
down from a year ago.
Facebook (FB) shares rose 7% on news that the company has developed
another revenue source: a gift-giving service with partners like
Starbucks, Magnolia Bakery and 1-800-Flowers.
Shares of Research in Motion (RIMM) closed 5% higher,
after the BlackBerry maker reported a narrower-than-expected loss and
beat expectations on revenue.
Shares of Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) fell 1%, after the company warned of
slowing growth in China. Still the athletic shoe maker beat forecasts
on both revenue and profits.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar slid against the
euro but gained versus the British pound and Japanese yen.
Oil for November delivery rose 34 cents to $92.91 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery dropped $6.60 to
$1,773.90 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury hovered around
1.64% near its Thursday levels.
FTSE 100 falls to three-week low
Business Recorder
Friday September 28
London-Britain's benchmark share index fell to its lowest closing
level in more than three weeks on Friday as persistent worries over
Europe's debt crisis and the global economy hit markets, while
investors said any moves higher would be limited. The bluechip FTSE
100 closed down 0.7 percent, or 37.35 points lower, at 5,742.07 points
- marking its worst close since ending on 5,657.86 points on September
5.
The index rose 3.1 percent over the third quarter, but
finished the week down 1.9 percent.
It also failed to hold above the key 5,800 level, which technical
traders said was an important level to breach to ensure future moves
higher. Equity markets are still up since moves by major world central
banks from July onwards to inject liquidity into markets via
asset-purchasing programmes often known as 'quantitative easing' (QE).
However, EGR Broking managing director Steven Mayne said
some investors were growing sceptical over the ability of such central
bank interventions to spur economic growth. "The more QE they do, the
less effective it becomes.
The rally seems to have been manipulated by the central banks. It
makes more sense for the market to come back down before we can start
to see some value again," said Mayne.
Mayne added he would keep a 'short' trade out against the
FTSE 100 index - betting on further falls in the market - until the
FTSE 100 went back down to levels of around 5,700 points. "We have
people sitting on the sidelines, seeing if the FTSE can go down
another one percent to get a better buying opportunity," he said.
Motor insurer Admiral fell around 3 percent while rival insurer RSA
slipped 1.3 percent as an Office of Fair Trading probe into the UK
private motor insurance market hit the sector.
Support services group Compass also fell around 3 percent after broker
Natixis cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy".
Gains on major mining stocks such as Randgold Resources,
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton prevented the FTSE 100 from losing further
ground.
Expectations that China, the world's biggest metals consumer, may
unveil new stimulus measures have boosted mining stocks.
JN Financial senior trader Rick Jones said the fact that
"high beta" stocks such as banks and miners - which either outperform
a rising market or underperform a falling market - had not been hit
too hard made him feel the FTSE 100 could still rally back. "I am
buying dips in mining stocks.
We've seen fairly shallow declines across the higher beta areas of the
market, and to us, this means there is actual conviction in the
market," he said.
Others were more cautious, and expected the FTSE to stay
within a tight trading range between 5,600-5,800 points while worries
over the weak global economy and euro zone debt crisis, which is
pushing Spain towards a bailout, remained. Brown Shipley fund manager
John Smith said the uncertain environment meant he was favouring
"defensive" stocks, such as food or tobacco companies which are less
dependent on the economic growth cycle, to financial or mining stocks.
"We're still biased towards defensives. We've had QE (quantitative
easing) now for three years.
It's holding markets up but QE is not creating growth," he said.
Gold drifts lower as Spain worries weigh on euro
Reuters
Monday October 1
singapore-Gold drifted lower on Monday after posting its biggest
quarterly rise in more than two years, tracking a weaker euro as
Spain's struggle to control its finances worried investors.
Caution has returned to the market after central banks'
stimulus measures greatly cheered gold bugs and sent bullion up for
four straight months. Investors are now seeking fresh catalysts amid
the still-grim picture in the euro zone.
Spain's debt levels are set to rise next year, piling pressure on the
government to apply for aid as it pours funds into cash-strapped
regions, an ailing banking system and rising refinancing costs, its
budget showed on Saturday.
The euro fell to its lowest in nearly three weeks on
uncertainty over Spain's bailout plan, while the dollar index .DXY
rose to its highest since mid-September, making dollar-priced gold
less attractive to buyers holding other currencies. <USD/>
"In the short term, the weaker euro/dollar does have an impact on gold
prices," said Dominic Schnider, an analyst at UBS Wealth Management in
Singapore.
"While structural change in Europe will take years, the
short-term solution to the debt crisis is money-printing, which will
support gold."
Dollar-priced gold closed last week barely changed, despite a
0.8-percent rise in the dollar index, showing bullion's resilience, he
said.
Euro-priced gold hit a record high of 1,381.15 euros an
ounce last Friday.
Spot gold inched down 0.4 percent to $1,764.19 an ounce by 0342 GMT,
after finishing the last quarter up nearly 11 percent, its biggest
quarterly rise since the second quarter of 2010.
U.S. gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,767.20.
A few key markets in the region, including China and Hong Kong, are
closed for public holidays. China will remain closed for the rest of
the week.
Equities, oil and base metals also weakened as growth
worries took the centre stage, while investors await a string of
purchasing managers index data from the euro zone nations and United
states to better gauge the global economy, after China's official PMI
number offered more signs of a slowing economy.
Hedge funds and money managers raised their gold future positions to
their most bullish in almost seven months in the week ended September
25, as investors expecting continued monetary stimulus from major
central banks sought a hedge against inflation.
Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds posted a small gain
to 73.98 million ounces by September 29, towards a historical high of
74.288 million ounces hit last week.
Oil declines from one-week high as China manufacturing weakens
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Melbourne-Oil dropped from the highest close in a week in New York as
manufacturing contracted unexpectedly in China, raising speculation
that fuel demand may decline in the world’s second-biggest crude
consumer.
Futures slid as much as 1 percent after peaking on Sept.
28 in the biggest quarterly gain since December. China’s Purchasing
Managers’ Index was 49.8 in September, the government said today. That
compares with the median forecast of 50.1 in a Bloomberg survey. An
index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics showed an 11th
contraction.
U.S. manufacturing data released later today is expected to show a
fourth month of contraction.
“China PMI was not so good,” said Ken Hasegawa, a sales
manager at Newedge Group in Tokyo.
“Eleven straight months of negative numbers has had some bearish
impact on oil prices.”
Crude for November delivery fell as much as 93 cents to
$91.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile
Exchange and was at $91.40 at 12:09 p.m. Singapore time. It climbed
0.4 percent on Sept. 28 to $92.19, the highest close since Sept. 21.
Prices rose 8.5 percent in the third quarter.
Brent oil for November settlement dropped 83 cents to $111.56 a barrel
on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European
benchmark grade’s premium to New York crude was at $20.18, after
closing at a six-week high of $20.20 on Sept. 28.
China Manufacturing
Oil’s decline in New York may stall along its 100-day
moving average, at $90.10 a barrel today, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg. Futures last week rebounded after falling to this
indicator. Buy orders tend to be clustered near technical-support
levels.
China’s manufacturing shrank for a second month for the first time
since 2009, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of
Logistics and Purchasing said today. The report added to signs that
growth is at risk of reaching a 22- year low as the ruling Communist
Party prepares to begin installing a new generation of leaders next
month.
OPEC production fell the most in 18 months in September,
led by reductions in Angola and Nigeria, a Bloomberg survey showed.
Output in the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
slipped 454,000 barrels, or 1.4 percent, to an average 31.979 million
barrels a day last month from a revised 32.433 million in August,
according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts.
Money managers reduced wagers on rising prices for the
first time in six weeks, cutting net-long positions by 17 percent in
the seven days ended Sept. 25, according to the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report on Sept. 28.
It was the biggest reduction since May 8.
New York crude advanced a second day on Sept. 28 after the White
House said President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu are in “full agreement” on preventing Iran from getting a
nuclear weapon.
News Corp hires U.S. compliance officials: FT
Reuters
Sunday September 30
London-Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA.O) has hired a senior official
from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a former federal
prosecutor to lead new compliance units, the Financial Times reported
on Monday.
Gerson Zweifach, News Corp's general counsel and new chief
compliance officer, is set to announce five appointments on Monday,
the FT said.
They include John McCoy, the associate regional director of the SEC's
enforcement arm in Los Angeles, and Brian Michael, a former federal
prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York.
News Corp had moved to a more centralized compliance
structure with five officers reporting to Zweifach and responsible for
the company's activities in different geographical regions.
"They will study internal controls, figure out how to make them
stronger, test them and report directly to me on anything that needs
further examination," the newspaper quoted Zweifach as saying.
Apple CEO: "We are extremely sorry" for Maps frustration
CNNMoney
Friday September 28
New York-In a rare public apology, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday wrote
an open letter to customers that acknowledged widespread complaints
about the company's new Maps application.
"At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that
deliver the best experience possible to our customers," Cook wrote.
"With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this
commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused
our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."
(Click here to view the full letter).
After using Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) mapping data for five years,
Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) went in a new direction with the iOS 6
update to its mobile operating system, which rolled out to millions of
iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices on Sept. 19. The new Apple Maps
is also built into all iPhone 5s, which went on sale a week ago.
Apple Maps is powered by significantly less data than its
predecessor. Google's enormous database of geographical points has
been replaced by Yelp's far less substantial list, as well as Apple's
own compiled "places of interest" database. In other words, good luck
searching for your favorite off-the-beaten-path restaurant if it's not
on Yelp. Spelling variations also seem to trip up the new Maps app.
Beyond search, iPhone users have already found some giant goofs in
Apple's data.
The info on some well-known landmarks is comically off target or
woefully incomplete.
The tech giant partnered with TomTom, Waze, Yelp (YELP)
and others to create its own map, complete with turn-by-turn
navigation, voice integration and a cool new 3D "Flyover" feature. In
his letter of apology, Cook noted that Apple "had to create a new
version of Maps from the ground up" in order to offer these new
features. It has been widely reported that Google, which includes most
of those features in its Android smartphone software, refused to hand
those features over to Apple.
Apple has preached patience in its earlier comments about Maps. Cook
reiterated that, noting that "the more our customers use our Maps the
better it will get."
He said more than 100 million Apple devices are using the
new Maps, and customers have used the app to search for nearly 500
million locations so far. Apple engineers will continue "working
non-stop" until Maps reaches the "high standard" Apple customers have
grown to expect from the company, he said.
In the meantime, the CEO made a surprising move: He recommended
alternatives to Apple's app, including Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500)
Bing, AOL's (AOL) MapQuest, Nokia (NOK), Waze -- and yes, even Google.
Xstrata expected to recommend merger with Glencore
BBC News
Sunday September 30
London-The board of mining group Xstrata is expected to recommend on
Monday that its shareholders back the terms of a planned merger with
commodities trader Glencore, the BBC understands.
The announcement is expected at 0700 BST on Monday, to
meet a deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel.
Under the expected final terms of the deal, each Xstrata share will be
valued at 3.05 times each Glencore share.
Neither Swiss firm Glencore, nor Anglo-Swiss group Xstrata
have commented. Both companies have their shares listed on the London
Stock Exchange.
Improved terms
The planned merger was first proposed by Glencore back in
May, and has dragged on since then.
Earlier this month, Glencore improved the terms of the deal to make
each Xstrata share worth 3.25 Glencore shares, compared with its
initial offer of 2.8.
This followed a demand by Xstrata's second-largest
shareholder, Qatar Holding, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf
state.
If the merger goes ahead it will create world's biggest exporter of
coal for power plants, and the largest producer of zinc.
Xstrata owns vast reserves of coal, copper and nickel
across Africa, South America and central Asia. About half of its
revenues came from its copper business in 2011, while coal contributed
the most to its profit growth.
Glencore only floated on the stock exchange in May last year in a
record share offering in London.
The traditionally secretive Swiss firm buys and sells metals,
crops and fuels in the financial market and invests in mining
companies, but - unlike Xstrata - Glencore does not itself usually
extract minerals out of the ground.
Foxconn’s Sharp deal may end as banks give Taiwanese an exit
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Taipei-Foxconn Technology Group’s plan to buy a stake in Sharp (6753)
Corp. may end after the Japanese TV maker signed loans from banks,
giving the Taiwanese manufacturer a reason to exit its commitment to
help the unprofitable company.
Sharp’s talks with Foxconn may continue until the
expiration of a self-imposed, one-year deadline in March, an executive
for the Osaka-based company said Sept. 28. The two probably would
continue cooperating even without an investment, both companies have
said.
A pedestrian walks past a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor
displaying the Sharp Corp. logo in Tokyo.
Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou has backed away from buying a
stake in Sharp after falling demand for TVs and display panels
prompted the company to widen its annual loss forecast eightfold.
Foxconn Group said it would renegotiate an earlier deal to buy 9.9
percent of the company for 67 billion yen ($863 million) as shares
have fallen 61 percent since that announcement. Sharp said Sept. 28 it
received 360 billion yen in financing from two banks.
“Sharp and Foxconn kept up the charade until the point there was an
out for both of them, which the loan provides, and neither of them
seem too excited about the deal now,” said Albert Moel, a Hong
Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “I think Terry Gou had
every intention to do the deal, but even he couldn’t have envisioned
that the price would drop so much.”
Seeking Help
Sharp shares were up 0.5 percent to 194 yen as of 11:30
a.m. in Tokyo trading and are down 71 percent this year. The stock is
the worst performer on Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average.
Japan’s biggest maker of liquid-crystal displays signed the funding
package with its lenders last week. Sharp earlier presented its main
banks with a revival plan that included cutting more than 10,000 jobs,
or 18 percent of its workforce, and selling overseas plants as well as
U.S. solar developer Recurrent Energy LLC, people with knowledge of
the proposal said Sept. 26.
The 100-year-old inventor of mechanical pencils had turned
to Foxconn, whose flagship Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. is listed in
Taipei and makes Apple Inc. iPads, in an attempt to restructure its
unprofitable LCD business. Sharp also sold a stake in its largest LCD
factory to Gou, who funded the deal from his own money, and renamed it
Sakai Display Products Corp.
Apple Relationship
Sharp plans to continue collaboration with Foxconn even
without investment from the Taiwanese manufacturer, the Sharp
executive said. The two companies are considering joining forces on
smartphones and displays, he said.
“It matters for Sharp whether it can build a closer relationship with
Apple,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees the equivalent of about
$600 million in assets at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in
Tokyo.
Hon Hai spokesman Simon Hsing said the companies are keen
to cooperate in many areas. He declined to comment on the status of
investment talks or whether it may buy Sharp factories around the
world. Miyuki Nakayama, a spokeswoman for Sharp, didn’t respond to a
message left on her mobile phone.
In June, after Sharp’s shares had fallen 29 percent below the deal
price, Gou reiterated his commitment to the transaction, saying it was
based on a long-term strategic partnership and not short-term share
value.
Later the same month, the Taiwanese company, through its
Hon Hai and Foxconn Technology Co. (2354) units, said it would post a
loss of NT$6.4 billion ($218 million) for the second quarter on the
pending transaction because of the decline. The loss would be reversed
the following quarter, it said later.
While Foxconn had also seen Sharp’s share price decline as an
opportunity to increase its holding beyond the original 9.9 percent
plan, Sharp management and board members resisted because the Japanese
feared it may be absorbed by the Taiwanese, Hon Hai Chief Financial
Officer Huang Chiu-lian told Bloomberg News in June.
Sharp in August predicted a net loss of 250 billion yen for the 12
months ending March 31, widening its earlier forecast for a loss of 30
billion yen.
U.S. group urges $2 trillion alternative to fiscal cliff "time bomb"
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Washington-The independent watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense
will unveil a $2 trillion deficit-reduction proposal in hopes of
averting an economic debacle at year's end known as the fiscal cliff.
On Monday, the group plans to detail about 130 specific
deficit-reduction steps the U.S. Congress could take to replace
across-the-board spending cuts of $1.2 trillion that are scheduled to
take effect on January 2. These would occur just as tax increases for
all income groups are due to kick in.
The combination of looming spending cuts and tax increases is commonly
referred to in Washington as a "fiscal cliff" because economists say
it would knock the struggling U.S. economy back into recession early
next year.
Taxpayers for Common Sense noted that Congress and
President Barack Obama were responsible for the August 2011 budget and
debt limit deal that included the potentially harmful automatic
spending cuts scheduled to begin in January with a $109 billion
installment.
"And that's who is going to have to be responsible for defusing the
ticking budget time bomb that would cut $1.2 trillion
indiscriminately," the group said.
Targets of the group's plan include agriculture subsidies,
the oil and gas industry and defense projects.
With members of Congress currently campaigning for re-election more
than addressing the country's fiscal problems, private groups are
stepping up with their own deficit-reduction plans. They fear that if
such work is left for a short session following the November 6
presidential and congressional elections, Congress might end up
letting the country go over the fiscal cliff.
Many Washington politicians say that remedies for the
sluggish U.S. economy - and government budget deficits that have
topped $1 trillion for four consecutive years - should be debated in
this election season with the November 6 vote informing Congress on
what to do.
Unwilling to wait, Taxpayers for Common Sense is touting a remedy that
it argues would cleanse the U.S. budget and tax code of policies it
says result in an "inefficient, ineffective or wasteful use of
taxpayer dollars."
CROP SUBSIDIES TARGETED
The targeted budget reductions would eliminate all
government crop subsidies, saving $56.5 billion over 10 years, end a
manufacturing tax break cherished by the oil and gas industry, for a
$17.2 billion savings, and stop production of some big military
projects, such as the V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft built by
Boeing Co (BA.N) and Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc (TXT.N).
In its February budget proposal to Congress, the Obama administration
said it wanted to cut spending on the V-22 Osprey by reducing the
number of aircraft to be built.
Other non-governmental groups, such as the Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget, have been looking at ways to cut U.S.
deficit spending by about $4 trillion over 10 years.
The various ideas circulating in think tanks could be weighed by
Congress whenever it finally gets down to addressing the fiscal cliff.
The Taxpayers for Common Sense proposal, obtained by
Reuters, does not address some of the thorniest problems facing
Washington budget writers: the accelerating growth of huge
government-backed retirement and healthcare programs related to an
aging U.S. population.
For example, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates
that outlays for the Social Security retirement and disability
programs will grow from $725 billion last year to $1.35 trillion in
2022.
Similarly, the Medicare health insurance program for the
elderly is projected to expand from $560 billion last year to nearly
$1.1 trillion in 2022, CBO estimates.
Voters have not signaled a willingness to support significant cuts to
these programs and any reforms could take Congress many months, or
years, to address.
Besides cutting military and farm programs and ending some
corporate tax breaks, Taxpayers for Common Sense also would terminate
some alternative energy programs and several government research
projects.
In a move to save $645 billion over a decade, the group calls for
placing new limits on the tax deduction on home mortgage interest.
For members of Congress who have been unable to agree on
any new deficit-reduction package, there are many potentially
troubling proposals.
One would hit especially close to home. It would end "an elaborate and
lucrative" pension plan for lawmakers that Taxpayers for Common Sense
said "is more generous" than retirement plans available to most
Americans.
Economists reluctantly pick Romney
CNNMoney
Sunday September 30
New York-Economists think Republican presidential candidate Mitt
Romney would be better for the economy than President Obama. But
they're not very enthusiastic about either of them.
Nine of 17 top economists surveyed by CNNMoney picked
Romney when asked who's election would help the economy grow more.
Only three picked Obama.
The U.S. lost 4.3 million jobs in President Obama's first 13 months in
office. Track his progress since then.
But the remaining five made no pick, with several
suggesting neither would provide much of a lift to the sagging
economy.
"Obama doesn't really understand business and Romney doesn't really
understand how to govern. So pick your poison," said Gary Rosenberger
of EconoPlay, one of those surveyed who refused to give a pick.
And many of those picking Romney were more critical of, as
opposed to excited about, the Republican challenger's plans.
"Romney's policies would likely be less bad for the economy than
Obama's," said Bill Watkins, executive director of the Center for
Economic Research and Forecasting at Cal Lutheran University.
Several of the economists who thought Romney would be
better for the economy pointed out what they thought were flaws in
Obama's record. These economists felt there is too much regulatory
uncertainty hanging over businesses and that gridlock between the
White House and Republicans in Congress also is a drag on hiring and
growth.
"Romney might be more likely to get Congress to do something, whereas
Obama has shown he can't," said David Wyss, a fellow at Brown
University.
Allen Sinai of Decision Economics gave the Republican
challenger the most enthusiastic support of those surveyed, saying
Romney's calls for "cutting growth of government outlays, lowering tax
rates and closing loopholes, less regulatory uncertainty ...smaller
government and entitlement reform all must be tackled."
But those who picked Obama are hoping things will be different if the
president wins a second term. Obama could be in a better position to
enact reforms on entitlement spending and reach a deal on deficit
reduction than Romney, according to one economist.
"It's the Nixon-to-China syndrome -- only a Democrat can get away
with it," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at Manulife Asset
Management.
New Zealand’s GDP growth slowing in second half, treasury says
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Wellington-New Zealand’s economic growth is slowing in the second half
of 2012 amid weakness in manufacturing, exports and consumer spending,
according to the Treasury Department.
There is a risk that growth in the three months through
September may be less than the 0.6 percent expected, the
Wellington-based department said in a report on its website. Gross
domestic product expanded 0.6 percent in the second quarter following
a 1 percent pace in the first three months.
Yachts are moored in the Viaduct Harbor as the central business
district stands in the background in Auckland, New Zealand.
“The outlook is not without its headwinds, with parts of
the economy looking to have lost momentum over recent months,” the
Treasury said in its monthly report, which doesn’t contain new
forecasts.
Manufacturing and the services industries are slowing, adding to signs
of a sluggish end to 2012, the Treasury said. Slow growth adds to the
case for the central bank to keep the official cash rate at a
record-low 2.5 percent until next year.
Nine of 16 economists surveyed last week by Bloomberg News
expect no change in borrowing costs until the second half of 2013.
Four see an increase in the first quarter and three predict a rise in
the second quarter from the current rate.
Employment confidence rose in the third quarter and is still the
second-lowest since the the 2008-09 recession, according to a survey
today from Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) Reports last month showed
manufacturing contracted at a faster pace while the services industry
was the weakest since October 2009.
EADS, BAE chiefs tout merger, blast "misconceptions"
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Paris/Frankfurt-The bosses of EADS (EAD.PA) and BAE Systems (BAES.L)
sought to reassure investors over the benefits of their planned $45
billion merger amid what they described as "myths and misconceptions"
over the creation of a pan-European defense giant.
BAE Systems chief executive Ian King and Tom Enders, his
counterpart at Airbus parent EADS, said in a joint newspaper article
that the plan to join forces was born out of "opportunity, not
necessity," and would create growth.
"With the necessary political will and support, management
determination and proper governance, BAE Systems and EADS can produce
a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts," they wrote in the
article to be published in three European newspapers on Monday.
EADS shares have fallen 17 percent since September 12,
when word of the negotiations was leaked. After shedding initial
gains, BAE shares are back to where they were beforehand.
Some analysts have said the two European companies are being forced to
combine because of steep cuts to national defense spending and have
criticized what they see as a lack of synergies, the cost and revenue
benefits usually targeted in a merger.
The two chief executives said the wider group, which would
be the world's largest aerospace and defense company, would better be
able to ride the cycles of civil aviation demand and defense spending.
"The rationale that drives this transaction is growth, not
contraction," they wrote.
UK-based BAE Systems is Europe's largest defense
contractor and Airbus, which dominates the finances of EADS, is the
world's largest commercial planemaker ahead of U.S. rival Boeing Co
(BA.N).
BAE has started re-investing in the buoyant commercial sector after
pulling out of Airbus in 2006, while EADS has long sought to expand
its defense activities, which remain a long way behind the successful
passenger aircraft division.
The article was due to be published as France and Germany,
the main forces within EADS, seek to defend their respective roles
inside the new company.
Germany, which presented its demands on Friday, has been pushing for
equality with France, which has a 15 percent stake and special rights
through a shareholder pact.
However, those rights are set to disappear if the merger
goes ahead and would be replaced by a special share whose exact
properties have yet to be publicly defined.
Pressure on the governments involved is rising amid signs that the
pact could unravel quickly in the absence of a deal, leaving France
with a stake but no right to be heard on strategy and no voice for
Germany.
King and Enders vowed that the new company would have
"governance structures which would enable it to operate in a normal
commercial manner and which confers the same rights on all
shareholders, large and small."
German magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday cited high-level civil servants
as saying that France and Germany had agreed to each hold a 9 percent
diluted stake in the merged entity, equivalent to a 15 percent
undiluted stake in EADS.
The Franco-German agreement would form the basis for their
negotiations with the British government in talks this week, the
magazine added.
A spokesman for German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler declined to
confirm or deny the report.
"The talks are continuing and the relevant questions are
still being examined," the spokesman said.
FRENCH CAUTIOUS
French officials were not immediately available to comment
on the Spiegel report, but sources familiar with the matter denied
that the two sides were in agreement on the shareholding or how their
relative interests should be guaranteed.
France has so far been cautious about agreeing to German overtures
aimed at forging a common position as both countries defend their
interests in the successor to EADS, which has often been a source of
tensions since it was set up in 2000.
Analysts say there is little overlap between the two
companies, which may be good news for getting past antitrust
regulators, but not so encouraging for deriving financial gains.
"The complete lack of apparent synergies is the most worrying part of
the deal," said Agency Partners managing partner Nick Cunningham.
There would be few benefits in purchasing costs since each
company is already big and only limited cost synergies since the main
project on which they work together, the Eurofighter combat jet, is
near the end of its development cycle, he said.
A German government source told Reuters on Friday that Berlin will
present France with a list of proposals, agreed by Chancellor Angela
Merkel's office and the Economy Ministry, that aim to preserve a
balance of power between the two countries in the new company.
France directly owns 15 percent of EADS, the maker of
Airbus jets, and wants to retain its right to influence group
strategy, currently conducted through a complex pact with 7.5-percent
shareholder Lagardere (LAGA.PA).
Germany is not a direct shareholder but sees the transaction as a
chance to tighten its grip on a stake currently held by Daimler AG
(DAIGn.DE) and a group of banks.
The German source gave no further details, but his comments
confirmed a newspaper report on Friday which also said Germany was
ready to buy up the shares of Daimler and the banks via the state
development bank KfW if France kept its own stake intact.
China manufacturing activity shrinks again in September
BBC News
Monday October 1
Beijing-Manufacturing in China has contracted for a second month,
another sign of economic slowdown in the world's second largest
economy.
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 49.8 in
September, government data showed. That comes after a reading of 49.2
in August.
A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity, while a
reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Weak external and domestic demand has weighed on Chinese
manufacturers.
Seasonal uptick
Although the reading was below 50, it was an increase from
the August figure.
Many analysts said the PMI reading tends to improve in September for
seasonal reasons, however the improvement was less than expected this
year.
"September PMI readings are normally fairly strong, and we
don't see that this month is that much better than last month," said
Prakash Sakpal of ING.
China's top leaders have warned that growth may slow further before rebounding.
Demand woes
The data from the National bureau of Statistics showed
that demand for refined metals, steel and other materials used for
building remains subdued.
China's real estate sector has seen a slowdown in recent months mainly
due to government curbs to bring down sky-rocketing prices.
The government has recently announced spending on
infrastructure projects, seen by many as a stimulus measure to boost
growth.
China's economy grew at its slowest pace in three year in the second quarter.
Chrysler Canada workers vote 90% in favor of four-year agreement
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Toronto-Chrysler Group LLC employees represented by the Canadian Auto
Workers ratified a four-year contract that follows union agreements
with Ford Motor Co. (F) and General Motors Co. (GM) in reducing costs
for new workers while maintaining current production levels in Canada.
The vote was 90 percent in favor, the Toronto-based union
said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.
The agreement covers about 8,000 production workers in Ontario,
including vehicle- assembly plants in Brampton, near Toronto, and
Windsor, outside of Detroit.
The Auburn Hills Michigan-based company builds its Dodge
Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans in Windsor, the
fourth- and fifth- best selling models in the company’s lineup last
year.
“One of our objectives coming into these talks was to position our
industry for future growth and success, and we did as much as we
possibly could on that front,” union President Ken Lewenza said in a
statement.
The ratification concludes this year’s labor talks between
the U.S. automakers and the CAW. Negotiations began last month with
the companies saying labor costs in Canada are too high and the union
facing job cuts.
Chrysler reached an accord with the CAW on Sept. 26, the last of the
U.S. companies to obtain a Canadian labor settlement.
The automaker, majority owned by Fiat SpA (F), followed
the pattern set by Ford and GM.
The contracts at the three companies exchange most cost-of-living
raises for bonuses, extend the amount of time for a new employee to
reach full pay, and shift new workers to a cheaper retirement plan.
International
War of words awaits Obama and Romney
AFP
Sunday September 30
Washington-Three days before the first United States presidential
debate, allies of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney discussed on Sunday how
the encounter between the White House contenders will influence the US
election.
In typical straight-talking fashion, New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie predicted that fellow Republican Romney's performance
at Wednesday's debate would alter the course of the campaign, weeks
before the November 6 vote.
“This whole race is going to turn upside down come Thursday morning,”
Christie told CBS’s Face The Nation.
His comments strayed from the script of both campaigns,
which have tried to play down their own candidate's chances at the
debate in Denver and talk up their opponent, thus making it easier to
claim victory or explain a defeat on Wednesday.
“I think what we need is a big and bold performance on Wednesday
night, and that's what he's going to give us,” Christie said of Romney
on ABC's This Week.
Romney comes into the first of three presidential debates
with poor poll figures in important battleground states and as he
seeks to recover from a leaked secret video where the former private
equity executive described nearly half of Americans as dependents on
government who view themselves as victims.
“We've had some missteps, but at the end of the day the choice is
really clear,” Romney's vice-presidential running mate Paul Ryan told
Fox News Sunday.
Ryan lowered the stakes for Romney's debate performance.
“I don't think any one event is going to make or break this campaign,”
Ryan said.
Obama departed for Nevada, where he will bunker down with
aides in a “debate camp”.
But Obama was not focused just on scoring points against his rival,
senior adviser David Plouffe told NBC's Meet The Press.
“I think the president's view is, he's not worried about
zingers and lines, he's got time with the American people to explain
to them his case for re-election,” he said.
Obama was joined on Air Force One by Plouffe, chief of staff Jack Lew,
economic adviser Gene Sperling, and speechwriter Jon Favreau.
The White House and Obama's campaign are guarding against
complacency, with polls showing the Democrat ahead nationally by
around five points, and much more in some swing states.
“We're not going to win battleground states by 10 or 12 points. This
race is going to tighten. We've built a presidential campaign with a
belief that it's going to come down to a few votes in a few states,”
Plouffe said.
Romney remained in Boston for private meetings, including
debate preparation, at his campaign headquarters.
Not all of Romney's hours have been devoted to studying and sparring
with his debate partner, US Senator Rob Portman.
On Saturday evening, Romney attended a party at the
Wellesley, Massachusetts, home of his finance chair, Spencer Zwick.
With a stretched Hummer limousine blaring party music and several
school buses parked outside the home, chants of “Mitt!” could be heard
from within. Romney departs for Denver on Monday.
His wife, Ann, will campaign in Nevada and Ryan will
embark on a bus tour of eastern Iowa on Monday.
Both are swing states, critical victories on the path to presidency,
where Romney has trailed in recent polls.
Son of China's Bo Xilai defends his father
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Boston-The Harvard-educated son of disgraced Chinese political leader
Bo Xilai defended his father against charges of taking bribes and
having improper sexual relationships, saying he believed in his
father's good character.
"Personally, it is hard for me to believe the allegations
that were announced against my father, because they contradict
everything I have come to know about him throughout my life," Bo
Guagua said in a statement posted on the microblog site Tumblr.
"Although the policies my father enacted are open to debate, the
father I know is upright in his beliefs and devoted to duty," he
added.
Bo confirmed the statement, posted on Saturday, with Reuters.
Since graduating from Harvard University in May with a
master's degree in public policy, Guagua, 24, has kept a low profile,
in contrast to reports earlier this year of a playboy lifestyle in the
United States that created a firestorm on the Internet back in China.
The younger Bo's statement came a day after China's ruling Communist
Party accused his father of abusing his power, taking huge bribes and
other crimes.
Bo will be handed over for criminal investigation, state
media reported on the latest phase in a scandal of murder and
cover-ups that has shaken China's leadership. Bo had been seen as a
strong contender to become a member of the powerful Standing Committee
of the Chinese Communist Party Political Bureau later this year.
Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun, have
both been jailed over the scandal stemming from the murder of British
businessman Neil Heywood in the southwestern city of Chongqing, where
Bo was Communist Party chief.
At her trial on August 9, Gu admitted to poisoning Heywood
last November.
Gu and Heywood got into a dispute over a soured real estate deal,
according to the official Xinhua news agency. Gu said she believed
Heywood threatened Guagua's personal safety.
"I suffered a mental breakdown after learning that my son
was in jeopardy," Gu said, according to official accounts.
Last week's government statement carried by Xinhua said that in the
murder scandal, Bo "abused his powers of office, committed serious
errors and bears a major responsibility".
Bo has been expelled from the party as well as the elite
decision-making Politburo and Central Committee.
ONLY CHILD
Guagua is the only child of Bo and Gu. Though his friends
and acquaintances say he would like to challenge the negative
perception of his parents more forcefully, Guagua has said very little
publicly because he fears it could only make matters worse.
"He has always taught me to be my own person and to have concern for
causes greater than ourselves," Guagua said in his statement. "I have
tried to follow his advice.
At this point, I expect the legal process to follow its normal course,
and I will await the result."
This past summer Guagua traveled along the Maine coast and
visited Westchester County in New York, according to friends and
acquaintances.
He has been somewhat isolated, though, as he takes stock of his
uncertain future. Friends said Guagua has had little or no
communication with his mother since March, shortly before she was
accused of murder. Communication with his father has been intermittent
at best, they said.
Several friends and acquaintances interviewed said they did not want
their names used because they fear fallout from being associated with
the biggest scandal in Chinese politics in more than two decades.
"The whole thing is just radioactive," one of Guagua's
friends told Reuters.
"He's under tremendous pressure."
In private, Guagua, who declined to comment for this story, has told
friends his father did not flirt with the extremism exhibited by Mao
Zedong during China's 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.
According to Guagua's accounts to friends, Bo Xilai
encouraged the singing of so-called red songs, but only as a means to
promote unity and morality in Chongqing, a sprawling municipal
district of about 30 million people that is wracked with street crime
and other forms of corruption.
Bo Xilai promoted the reading of Maoist poems, but he also referenced
the works of Thomas Jefferson, friends said, relating conversations
with Guagua.
In August, Guagua bristled at the suggestion that his
father may have given him documents as a sort of insurance policy
against his enemies in the Communist Party.
"My father has no need for any such things because he has always been
aboveboard, regardless of how people who don't know him can
speculate," he said in an email exchange with Reuters.
Mass evacuations as typhoon hits Japan
Al Jazeera
Sunday September 30
Tokyo-Powerful Typhoon Jelawat has hit the Japanese mainland, sparking
the evacuation of thousands a day after it tore across the southern
Okinawa island, where local media said it left one dead and some 140
injured.
Packing winds of up to 180kmph, the typhoon reached
central Aichi prefecture at around 0700 local time (1000 GMT) and was
moving up the main island of Honshu, the Japan Meteorological Agency
said on Sunday.
The municipal government of the central city of Nagoya issued an
evacuation advisory for 57,000 people living in 21,000 homes, due to
the fear of flooding caused by rising river levels in the city,
according to Jiji Press.
A further 11,000 were told to evacuate in the city of
Ishinomaki in the country's northeast, Jiji Press reported.
A 29-year-old man was swept away by high waves when Jelawat hit
Okinawa and was later confirmed dead, while at least 140 people were
injured in eight prefectures, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The typhoon is forecast to churn northeastwards towards
Tokyo over the next 24 hours and bring torrential rainfall and
towering waves up to 10 metres high.
The meteorological agency predicted rainfall of up to 400mm some areas
in the 24 hours to Monday evening, Jiji Press said.
More than 500 flights, mainly in western Japan, were cancelled on
Sunday and some shinkansen bullet train services across the country
had been suspended, Kyodo said.
Pakistani juvenile court to hear case of teen accused of blasphemy
CNN News
Monday October 1
Islamabad-A Pakistani juvenile court is expected to hear Monday the
case of a Christian teenage girl accused of violating blasphemy laws
by allegedly burning pages containing texts from the Quran.
An Islamabad court ordered the case transferred to
juvenile court last week after a police investigation concluded that
an imam framed the girl, Rimsha.
The imam, Khalid Jadoon Chishti, is scheduled to appear at a separate
court hearing Monday after he was arrested last month on accusations
of evidence tampering. Police have said he could face blasphemy
charges, a dramatic twist in the saga.
The 14-year-old Rimsha had been held in an adult jail
before she was released on bail in September. The transfer of her case
to juvenile court is a good sign, a rights group says.
"This is a precursor to the case ending, and that is quite
unprecedented in the 25-year history of Pakistan's blasphemy laws,"
said Ali Dayan Hasan, the Pakistan director of Human Rights Watch.
Police have submitted their findings that Rimsha was
framed to the court. Pakistani courts usually go with what police
recommend.
According to Pakistani authorities, evidence shows that Chishti tore
pages of the holy book and framed the teenager. The imam denies the
allegations.
The case sparked an international outcry, with critics
saying Pakistan's blasphemy laws are used to settle scores and
persecute religious minorities.
Blasphemy laws have been a part of life in Pakistan for 25 years; they
were first instituted to keep peace between religions.
Actions perceived as insults to Islam provoke fierce
reactions in the predominantly Muslim nation, as demonstrated by the
recent angry protests in response to an anti-Islam film produced in
the United States and made available online.
Investigators said Rimsha's neighbor accused her of burning Quran
pages to use as cooking fuel. The neighbor began to shout in protest,
drawing a crowd that grew angry.
Some neighbors said the teenager was beaten. Others said
she ran back home and locked herself inside. When police arrived, they
arrested her.
Rimsha's lawyers said the neighbor wanted to settle a personal score
with the girl because the two didn't get along. They said it's likely
that he liked the teen and she didn't feel the same.
There have been 1,400 blasphemy cases since 1986,
according to Hasan. There are more than 15 cases of people on death
row for blasphemy in Pakistan, and 52 have been killed while facing
trial for the charge, he said.
Rimsha was arrested on August 16. She and her family spoke to CNN last
month from an undisclosed location after she was released on bail.
The teen denied that she defiled the Quran. She said she
was happy to be with her family, but feared for her life.
"I'm scared," she said by phone. "I'm afraid of anyone who might kill us."
Rimsha spoke in short sentences, answering "yes" or "no"
in a nervous voice.
In Pakistan, people accused of blasphemy have been attacked and
sometimes killed by vigilantes.
Aid groups in the United States, Italy and Canada have
offered the teen and her family a home outside Pakistan, a family
representative said.
But no matter how her case pans out, it's unclear what kind of life
she might be able to have. She has said she wanted to stay in her home
country.
Teen idol Bieber vomits on stage
AP
Sunday September 30
Glendale, Arizona-It wasn't just Justin Bieber's fans who had “Bieber
Fever” as the teen idol kicked off his national tour in suburban
Phoenix.
Video posted on KTVK-TV's website shows the pop music star
vomiting twice on stage on Saturday night during his sold-out concert
at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. He left the stage after each
episode, but returned and even did an encore.
KTVK reports Bieber's fans sang some of his songs while he was
offstage and he later apologised for being sick.
Bieber later tweeted “Great show. Getting better for
tomorrow's show !!!! Love u!”
He later added: “And... Milk was a bad choice!”
Bieber's 45-city Believe tour continues on Sunday at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
One in 10 workers has taken time off for depression
BBC News
sunday September 30
London-One in 10 workers has taken time off because of depression, a
poll of 7,000 people in seven European countries has found.
The Mori survey was carried out for the European
Depression Association (EDA) in Britain, Germany, Italy, Denmark,
Turkey, Spain and France.
Those in Britain, Denmark and Germany were most likely to be off work
because of depression.
A UK expert said support for people with depression was improving.
Overall, 20% of the 7,000 polled had received a diagnosis of
depression at some point in their lives.
The highest rate was in Britain, where 26% had been
diagnosed and the lowest in Italy, where the figure was 12%.
Among workers experiencing depression, those in Germany (61%), Denmark
(60%), and Britain (58%) were most likely to take time off work, while
those in Turkey were the least likely (25%).
Researchers have previously estimated the cost of
depression at €92bn (£73bn) in 2010 across the EU, with lost
productivity due to time off or under-performance accounting for most
of the costs.
An average of 36 days were taken for the last episode of depression -
but figures ranged from 41 in Britain to 23 in Italy.
Across the countries surveyed, one in four of with
depression said they did not tell their employer.
One in three of them said they were worried it could put their job at risk.
A third of the 792 managers surveyed said they had no
formal support in place to help them deal with employees experiencing
depression.
But the situation was better in Britain, with most of the 117 managers
questioned reporting good back-up from their HR department.
'Attention and action'
Dr Vincenzo Costigliola, president of the EDA, said "The
results of the survey show that much needs to be done in raising
awareness and supporting employees and employers in recognising and
managing depression in the workplace.
"We ask policymakers to consider the impact of depression on the
workforce and charge them with addressing depression and workers and
workplace safety."
MEP Stephen Hughes, who holds the Employment and Social
Affairs portfolio in the European Parliament, backs better support and
protection for workers.
He said: "Depression in the workplace is an employment and societal
challenge that is causing serious damage and which requires attention
and action from the European Union."
Emer O'Neill, chief executive of the Depression Alliance,
said the situation in the UK was improving.
"We have moved forward significantly. Depression and anxiety is being
talked about more and is more widely recognised. GPs are more
receptive.
"In addition, employers are increasingly coming to groups like us
to help them provide support and put procedures in place to allow
people to go through this illness like they would any other.
Ex-wrestler props up India's PM, but he may want the job
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Lucknow-As a former wrestler, Mulayam Singh Yadav has got India's
government where he likes it - in a vice-like grip.
The ructions over fresh economic reforms that reduced the
ruling coalition to a parliamentary minority last month left Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh dependent on this wheeler-dealer from the
country's dusty northern plains.
In an interview with Reuters, Yadav insisted there were no strings
attached to his support for Singh's Congress party, just a desire to
keep the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out
of power.
"We are supporting them," he said in the Hindi language,
looking hearty for his 72 years despite rumors earlier this year that
his health was failing. "There are no conditions of any kind, it's
only to ensure communal forces do not get strengthened."
However, Yadav is at least as well known for his maneuvering as he was
in his youth for pinning opponents down in a wrestling bout: Congress
party leaders know he cannot be trusted to stick with them through
thick and thin - and few are convinced when he denies any ambition to
one day become prime minister.
For now, the 22 lawmakers of Yadav's Samajwadi (Socialist)
Party will side with the government, ensuring it can muster the 272
votes needed in parliament to prevent its collapse. Their support
became crucial after another regional party leader left the coalition,
angry over hikes in the price of subsidized fuel and a decision to
open India's doors to foreign supermarket giants.
Yadav's take on the reforms is that he opposes them, but will
nevertheless continue to support the government. "We will oppose
anything that goes against the interests of the people," he said. "But
we will not allow the government to fall."
A FAMILY BUSINESS
Yadav was born to a rural family in Uttar Pradesh, India's
most populous state with 200 million people and - since it sends more
lawmakers to Delhi than any other - its politically most important.
As a young man, he trained as a wrestler before being attracted to
socialism and local politics, eventually becoming chief minister of
the state three times and federal defense minister in a coalition
government during the 1990s.
Six months ago, when his Samajwadi Party returned to power
in Uttar Pradesh after a hiatus, Yadav stood aside for his son
Akhilesh to head the state government. That, and what was perhaps a
bout of ill-health, set off reports he was seriously ill and no longer
well enough to hold office.
"I am fine," Yadav said at his sprawling colonial bungalow in Lucknow,
capital of Uttar Pradesh. Impeccably dressed in the starched white
dhoti-kurta of the region and his salt-and-pepper hair still damp from
a mid-morning bath, he showed few signs of age as he strode out from
under the porch of his home, chatting with aides and party colleagues.
"Those were just rumors. I went on the campaign trail and
I am fine now."
In India, where caste and family play hugely important roles in
politics, the Yadavs have several advantages. They are from a
land-owning lower caste whose members were mostly subsistence farmers
and cattle herders, but have become wealthier, more politically aware
and socially assertive in recent decades.
Yadav, his daughter-in-law Dimple, a cousin and a nephew
are in the federal parliament. A brother is in the Uttar Pradesh state
government headed by Akhilesh.
On the negative side, the party is anathema for other lower caste
groups. Critics also say it is tarred by association with people who
have criminal pasts, and previous Samajwadi Party rule in Uttar
Pradesh brought rampant corruption and increased violence.
The other family firmly entrenched in Indian politics is
the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has ruled the country for a majority of
the years since independence in 1947, and also looks on Uttar Pradesh
as its base.
Akhilesh is often compared to the scion of that dynasty, Rahul Gandhi,
whose Congress party was burned by the Samajwadi win in the Uttar
Pradesh elections earlier this year. He dismisses talk of rivalry or
probable cooperation.
"He is a new leader, a nice man, a youth leader," Akhilesh
said in a separate interview. "We are of the same age. His party
should give him an opportunity."
INDIA'S NEXT PRIME MINISTER?
Although the Congress party-led coalition could coax other
parties to keep it alive, for now it is dependent on Mulayam Singh
Yadav, who is widely expected to demand a pound of flesh despite his
professed unconditional support.
News reports have said he will press for an illegal wealth case
against him to be dropped, and for impoverished Uttar Pradesh to get
more federal aid.
Longer term, Yadav could be preparing to form a "Third
Front" government, an amalgam of smaller parties that keeps out both
Congress and BJP after national elections due by mid-2014.
Analysts and voter surveys suggest no clear winner will emerge in
those polls, meaning the Third Front may well have the parliamentary
numbers to stake a claim to power.
Since Yadav's party won Uttar Pradesh with a large
majority, odds are he will have enough lawmakers in parliament after
the 2014 elections to put him in pole position to form a coalition,
and to head it.
Asked if Yadav could become prime minister, Sudha Pai, a political
scientist who is rector at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University,
said: "He knows how to make a deal, how to get on with other political
parties. He is very good at negotiating, he is the traditional Indian
politician."
Yadav dismisses such ambitions: "I have never been a
candidate for prime ministership, and I am not now," he said.
But the murmurs in his party, where he is called Netaji, or leader, are growing.
"No political party has a leader who is from a village or
is a farmer," said Samajwadi Party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary. "This
is a nation of villagers and farmers and Netaji represents 70 percent
of the country."
THE YOUNGER YADAV
The Samajwadi Party, which is more or less restricted to
Uttar Pradesh, cannot expect to get anything near a parliamentary
majority on its own, but its workers say it can clinch up to 60 of the
state's 80 parliamentary seats.
It could be joined by other regional parties and left-wing groups and
even a section of the Congress party could be won over to cobble a
majority, analysts say.
Akhilesh, the son and new chief minister, says governing
Uttar Pradesh is as important to him as increasing numbers in
parliament.
"It's not enough to say that because we won the state elections so
well, we will get more MPs," he said. "I have to perform, and if
people believe that my government has performed well, then the result
will be good.
"My priority is Uttar Pradesh," said the 39-year-old, a
contrast, at least on the surface, to his politician father.
The younger Yadav speaks fluent English, is tech-savvy, and studied in
Australia. He was trained as an environment engineer and was once a
keen footballer and Manchester United supporter. Now he says, politics
consume him almost completely.
"If we go to the center, Netaji will go there (and) some
of our senior leadership, but I am happy in the state," he said,
adding the party was not looking to topple Prime Minister Singh.
His father is similarly cautious.
"In 2014, Samajwadi will fight on its own strength, there
will be no understanding with anyone," he said. "After the elections,
things (alliances) happen, nothing happens before. Depending on the
circumstances, we will take decisions then."
Schwarzenegger admits habit of keeping secrets, including multiple affairs
CNN News
Monday October 1
California-Arnold Schwarzenegger said he dealt with his multiple
affairs, like other big moments in his life, by denying them -- even,
and at times especially from his wife.
"That's the way I handled things, and it always has
worked," the action hero-turned-politician said in an interview Sunday
night on CBS' "60 Minutes." "But it's not the best thing for people
around me."
For instance, Schwarzenegger admitted that he had wanted to hide his
heart surgery in 1997 from his then-pregnant wife of 11 years, Maria
Shriver. He also confided that he didn't tell Shriver about his plan
in 2003 to run for governor of California until a few days before his
campaign announcement, news that left her tearful and shaken.
Moreover, the actor and former world-class bodybuilder
admitted to cheating on Shriver, who publicly defended him against
allegations of sexually inappropriate conduct with women during his
gubernatorial campaign. While he did not specify how many affairs he'd
had before Shriver filed for divorce in July 2011, Schwarzenegger
admits two women he was involved with include "Red Sonja" co-star
Brigitte Nielsen (while he and Shriver were dating, according to
Schwarzenegger) and his family's longtime housekeeper, Mildred
Patricia Baena.
Nine months after Schwarzenegger and Baena had their affair, she gave
birth to a son -- less than a week after he and Shriver's fourth
child, Christopher, was born.
Baena remained the family's housekeeper for years, with
her son sometimes around the house as well. But Schwarzenegger said in
the "60 Minutes" interview that he didn't have any suspicions he was
the father until the boy was 7 or 8 years old and he began to notice
"that he started looking like me."
"It was never discussed, but I put things together," said
Schwarzenegger, whose autobiography "Total Recall" hits bookshelves
Monday.
After that realization, he said he began sending Baena
extra money for her and her son, without talking about his being the
boy's father.
Schwarzenegger also denied to Shriver that he'd had an affair and that
Baena's child was his son -- until Shriver confronted him during a
marriage counseling session a few months before their break-up.
"She said, 'Am I off on this or am I not?' And I said,
'You are absolutely correct.'"
By then, Schwarzenegger said he had known he'd fathered the child for
"five or six years." He called the ordeal "the stupidest thing I've
done in the whole relationship," and one that ultimately spurred his
divorce.
"I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable
pain on the kids," he said of his other four children.
The native Austrian became an international celebrity in the 1970s as
a legendary bodybuilder, capturing four Mr. Universe titles before
turning his attention to movies and becoming one of Hollywood's most
bankable stars.
Long active in public causes, Schwarzenegger turned
increasingly to politics. He announced his first run for public office
in 2003 on "The Tonight Show"-- despite what he felt was a
"dismissive" attitude from ace Republican operative Karl Rove -- and
beat recalled Gov. Gray Davis to become California's governor.
During the CBS interview, Schwarzenegger discussed some of his
experiences in Sacramento, when he was mired in thorny budget issues
and was known as a moderate even as he then, and now, proudly defines
himself as a Republican. He said, for example, that he performed two
same-sex weddings while in office, even though he publicly supported
defining marriage as being between a man and a woman and vetoed
legislation in September 2005 that would have legalized gay marriage
in the state.
Winning re-election in 2006, Schwarzenegger remained
governor until his term ended in January 2011. Since then, he has
returned to the silver screen -- not due to a desire to amass more
money, he insists -- including this summer's "The Expendables 2" and a
slew of new projects set for release in the next few years.
Schwarzenegger has remained, too, in the public eye. That includes
lending his name, and money, to a new political institute at the
University of Southern California, as well as writing and now touting
his new autobiography.
In addition to his professional and political successes,
the latter process led him to reflect on many "screw-ups" he has made
over the years, some of which he attributed to being "an expert in
living in denial."
Still, Schwarzenegger added that he's tried to stay positive and never
been one to get bogged down by his mistakes.
"I don't dwell on it," he said. "I don't suffer anything
that I have lost."
A spokesman for Shriver told CNN Sunday night that there would be no
comment from Shriver in response to the "60 Minutes" interview.
"I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria," Schwarzenegger says.
Pussy Riot case: Russian court to hear appeal
BBC News
Monday October 1
Moscow-A Russian court is due to hear an appeal by three activists
from punk band Pussy Riot. In August, three members of the group were
jailed for two years for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a Moscow
cathedral.
The Russian Orthodox Church said on Sunday that clemency
should be possible for the trio as long as they repented what they
called their "punk prayer".
But their lawyers have said that they doubt the appeal will be successful.
The three band members - Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda
Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30 - were found guilty
of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" in August.
Their imprisonment sparked condemnation in many parts of the world.
'Pointless call'
Their obscenity-laced performance, which implored the
Virgin Mary to "throw out" President Vladimir Putin and sought, they
said, to highlight the Russian Orthodox Church leader's support for
the president, enraged the Church.
But, in a statement, the Church said that though the women's action
"cannot be left unpunished", if they showed penitence and
reconsideration of their action their words "shouldn't be left
unnoticed".
"The church sincerely wishes for the repentance of those
who desecrated a holy place, certainly it would benefit their souls,"
senior Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said.
The church's comments follow a suggestion from Russian Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev last month that a suspended sentence would have been
sufficient punishment for the women.
Their lawyers have said that their clients will not repent
if it means admitting guilt.
"If they [the church] mean repentance in the sense of a crime ... it
definitely won't happen. Our clients won't admit guilt. A call for
that is pointless," lawyer Mark Feigin told independent TV channel
Dozhd on Sunday.
The father of one of the jailed women said that whether
they repent or not, the trio have little hope of their sentences being
quashed.
"The sentence is predetermined; their repentance will not affect it in
any way," Stanislav Samutsevich told Reuters.
Polls open in Georgia election
Al Jazeera
Monday October 1
Georgia-Voters in Georgia are choosing a new parliament in an election
that will decide the future of President Mikhail Saakashvili's
government.
His party, which has dominated parliament, is facing a
serious challenge from an opposition coalition led by billionaire
businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.
With the country on edge and fears of fraud running high, Monday's
election is seen as a test of Saakashvili's commitment to democracy as
Georgia strives for eventual membership in the European Union and
NATO.
The election sets in motion a change in the political
system to give greater powers to the parliament and prime minister.
After Saakashvili's second term ends next year, the party that holds
the majority in parliament will have the right to name the prime
minister, who will become more powerful than the president.
'Free of intimidation'
Most observers see Monday's electoral race as too close to
call, although they give the governing party the edge.
"The tactic which police will employ will be very cautious ... Only as
a last resort we will use force"
Revelations this month of the torture and rape of prison
inmates prompted protests and hit the United National Movement.
The interior ministry promised on Sunday to prevent violence at
polling stations.
"I believe that we can ensure an environment on election
day free of intimidation and pressure, allowing every voter in Georgia
to cast their vote in a peaceful environment," Eka Zguladze, the
interior minister, told AFP news agency.
She said police would show restraint when dealing with any polling day
incidents in order not to inflame tensions.
"The tactic which police will employ will be very cautious
... Only as a last resort we will use force," she said.
Zguladze said that since the torture scandal erupted, there had been
50 arrests across the country amid a series of scuffles involving
political activists, ordinary Georgians, public officials and police
officers.
Fears of unrest
The showdown between the United National Movement and
Ivanishvili's opposition bloc has caused fears of unrest in the
Western-backed state with a recent history of political turmoil and
civil conflict.
Huge crowds packed Tbilisi's central Freedom Square and the capital's
main street on Saturday to cheer Ivanishvili.
Opposition supporters marched on the square in large
columns from several locations across the city, wearing his
coalition's T-shirts, carrying the bloc's banners and flags and
chanting "Georgia! Georgia!"
Thousands of Ivanishvili's supporters also staged a simultaneous rally
in Georgia's second-largest city, Kutaisi.
On the same day, thousands of United National Movement
supporters gathered in the Black Sea resort city of Batumi, many
waving Georgian flags, carrying campaign placards and chanting
Saakashvili's nickname: "Misha! Misha!"
Tbilisi long ago turned against Saakashvili, with many people
disturbed by what they describe as his authoritarian rule.
Georgian parliamentary elections are taking place under
the shadow of a prison torture-and-rape scandal [AFP]
Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier-Walker, reporting from Tbilisi, said
Saturday's huge rally showed some momentum for the opposition,
indicating "a lot more spontaneity" compared to the ruling party's
rally.
"There is a strong feeling that the opposition is actually
going to be doing a lot better as a consequence" of the recent fallout
over a prison abuse scandal, he said.
Despite the palpable political tension, election officials prepared
ballot boxes and checking electoral lists at a polling station Tbilisi
on Saturday.
"Everything is ready," Mari Dgebuadze, chair of the
polling station, said.
"All the documentation and voting lists are placed and I want to
assure everyone that the voting process will take place in accordance
to the law."
More than 400 observers will be monitoring the elections.
A delegation from OSCE's (Organisation for Security and Co-operation
in Europe) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
will be the largest, with 290 observers.
"I am sure we will have a fairly good assessment and a
fairly good comprehensive view of the electoral process here," Thomas
Rymer, spokesman for the ODIHR, said.
Saakashvili is under pressure to prove his commitment to democracy by
holding a free and fair vote.
The election has added significance because it ushers in a
new political system that will give greater powers to the parliament
and prime minister.
After Saakashvili's second and last term ends next year, the party
that has a majority in parliament will have the right to name the
prime minister, who will acquire many of the powers now held by the
president.
Under Saakashvili, the former Soviet republic has become a
US ally and worked towards closer integration with NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and the European Union.
Video's political fallout
Saakashvili's campaign was hit hard by the release two
weeks ago of shocking videos showing prisoners in a Tbilisi jail being
beaten.
The government moved quickly to stem the anger, replacing cabinet
ministers blamed for the abuse and arresting prison staff, but many
saw the videos as illustrating the excesses of his government.
When Saakashvili took over Georgia in early 2004, it was
close to being a failed state.
He succeeded in wiping out the crime bosses who ruled the streets,
eradicating petty corruption, restoring basic public services and
enacting reforms that led to high economic growth.
Poverty and unemployment rates, however, remain painfully high.
Ivanishvili's support lies in the educated, professional and cultural
classes of Tbilisi, where about a third of Georgia's 4.5 million
people live.
Some of them, including prominent theatre actors and
directors, have benefited directly from his largesse.
Ivanishvili says he has spent a total of $1.7bn to help Georgia, most
notably paying government officials' salaries when Saakashvili first
came to power and buying patrol cars for a new police force.
Saakashvili has tried to discredit his former patron by suggesting
he has ties with Georgian crime bosses now living abroad.
Bangladesh Muslims torch Buddhist shrines, police say
CNN News
Monday October 1
Dhaka-Crowds of angry Muslims attacked Buddhist shrines and homes,
torching some of them Sunday in Bangladesh to protest after a photo of
a partially burned Quran was posted on Facebook, police said.
The protesters chanted anti-Buddhist slogans, blaming the
burning of the Muslim holy book on a Buddhist boy, district police
superintendent Saleem Jahangir said.
The boy is tagged in the photo but did not post it himself, Jahangir
said. The boy's account has been deleted and police are not naming
him.
The violence began in Ramu in Cox's Bazar, a town south of
the capital Dhaka on the coast, early Sunday and it spread in the
adjacent areas through Sunday evening, Jainul Bari, administrative
chief of the tourist district, told CNN.
"We've called in army along with paramilitary troopers and police who
were constantly guarding the areas to ward off any further violence,"
Bari said.
At least seven temples were burned in Ramu and five others
were damaged in other areas, police said. At least 50 houses were
damaged or destroyed, they said.
Police were not able to provide information on the number of people
injured in the violence.
"Now the situation is under control," Jahangir said.
Bangladesh Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, who visited the scene
of the violence Sunday, said blamed the opposition Bangladesh
Nationalist Party for the attacks. The minister said the violence was
planned, citing evidence of gunpowder and petrol found in the burnt
monasteries and houses.
The government formed a committee to investigate the
violence, with a report due in 10 days.
The south Asian nation is about 90% Muslim, the Pew Forum on Religion
& Public Life estimated in its 2011 survey of the global Muslim
population.
It is less than 1% Buddhist.
Actual or reported Quran burning has led to violence in Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
Relatively peaceful Bangladesh was one of many countries that saw
demonstrations recently against the online video "The Innocence of
Muslims," which portrays the prophet Mohammed as a womanizer and child
abuser.
Climate change 'may shrink fish'
BBC News
Sunday September 30
London-Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24%
because of global warming, say scientists. Researchers modelled the
impact of rising temperatures on more than 600 species between 2001
and 2050.
Warmer waters could decrease ocean oxygen levels and
significantly reduce fish body weight.
The scientists argue that failure to control greenhouse gas emissions
will have a greater impact on marine ecosystems than previously
thought.
Previous research has suggested that changing ocean
temperatures would impact both the distribution and the reproductive
abilities of many species of fish. This new work suggests that fish
size would also be heavily impacted.
The researchers built a model to see how fish would react to lower
levels of oxygen in the water. They used data from one of the higher
emissions scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC).
Warming the fish
Although this data projects relatively small changes in
temperatures at the bottom of the oceans, the resulting impacts on
fish body size are "unexpectedly large" according to the paper.
As ocean temperatures increase, so do the body temperatures of fish.
But, according to lead author, Dr William Cheung, from the University
of British Columbia, the level of oxygen in the water is key.
"Rising temperatures directly increase the metabolic rate
of the fish's body function," he told BBC News.
"This leads to an increase in oxygen demand for normal body
activities. So the fish will run out of oxygen for growth at a smaller
body size."
The research team also used its model to predict fish
movements as a result of warming waters. The group believes that most
fish populations will move towards the Earth's poles at a rate of up
to 36km per decade.
"So in, say, the North Sea," says Dr Cheung, "one would expect to see
more smaller-body fish from tropical waters in the future."
Conservative model
Taking both the movements and the physiological impacts of
rising temperatures together, the research team concludes that fish
body size will shrink between 14% and 24%, with the largest decreases
in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
When compared with actual observations of fish sizes, the model seems
to underestimate what's actually happening in the seas.
The researchers looked at two case studies involving North
Atlantic cod and haddock. They found that recorded data on these fish
showed greater decreases in body size than the models had predicted.
Other scientists say the impact could be widely felt.
Dr Alan Baudron, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, has
studied changes in the growth of haddock in the North Sea. He says
this latest research is a "strong result".
He believes it could have negative implications for the yields of
fisheries. And it could also seriously impact the ability of fish to
reproduce, he adds.
"Smaller individuals produce fewer and smaller eggs which
could affect the reproductive potential of fish stocks and could
potentially reduce their resilience to other factors such as fishing
pressure and pollution," he told BBC News.
The authors point out a number of limiting factors in their study,
including uncertainties in the predictions for the climate and the
oceans. According to Dr Cheung, further research is required.
"Our study shows that climate change can lead to a
substantial decrease in the maximum body weight of fish. We need to
look more closely at the biological response in the future."
The research has been published in the Journal Nature Climate Change.
San Jose, Costa Rica to install its first street signs
Reuters
Friday September 28
San Jose-San Jose, Costa Rica, unveiled plans on Thursday to install
its first street signs, so residents will not have to cite local
landmarks like fast-food chains or gas stations when giving
directions.
Municipal workers will install about 22,000 signs and
plaques on street corners in the city, home to 1.4 million people,
where the current informal system is tolerated by residents, but
creates headaches for visitors and the post office.
"My current home address is 200 meters north of the Pizza Hut then 400
meters west, but in a few months, I will be able to give a proper
street name and a number," San Jose Mayor Johnny Araya said during a
ceremony where the first street sign was placed.
Other popular landmarks residents use to describe how to
get somewhere include the McDonald's restaurant chain, former
President and Nobel Prize-winner Oscar Arias' house, a famous fig tree
that has long since died and the site of an old cattle shed turned gas
station.
Many streets will be named after illustrious political and
intellectual figures from Costa Rican history.
Araya hopes the plan will reduce economic losses caused by
undelivered, returned or re-sent mail, estimated at $720 million a
year by the Inter-American Development Bank in 2008.
Almost one-quarter of the country's mail never reaches its
destination, a spokesman for the Costa Rican post office said.
Postal codes were introduced in 2007 to help matters, but
no one uses them because they do not know how to find them.
Costa Rica embarked on a street-naming crusade about 30 years ago, but
the signposts were never installed. This time, funding from two
different banks made the $1 million project possible.
Once the signage is up, Araya intends to undertake a
campaign to encourage use of the new system, which is expected to
encounter some resistance.
"I don't think it's going to work", 29-year-old taxi driver Manuel
Perez said. "If a tourist tells me to take him to a hotel in whatever
street, I'm going to say 'you're speaking to me in Chinese,' because I
don't know where that is. I need a landmark."
Ronaldo treble as Real rout Deportivo
Super Sport
Sunday September 30
Madrid-Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick as Real Madrid kept on the
trail of leaders Barcelona with a 5-1 rout of Deportivo La Coruna on
Sunday.
The visitors took a shock lead after 15 minutes through
Riki but Madrid quickly bounced back with Ronaldo hitting his first
from the penalty spot after Angel Di Maria was felled.
It was Di Maria himself who put his team ahead and then Ronaldo got
his second shortly before the break.
With Madrid controlling the game Pepe headed home and
Ronaldo scored another penalty in the second half to complete the rout
and remain eight points behind Barcelona who beat Sevilla 3-2 on
Saturday.
While Barca have won all six of their opening games, Madrid made a
stuttering start but will now go into next weekend's El Clasico with
back-to-back wins and Ronaldo hitting form.
"We know that it is going to be difficult against
Barcelona and we are away from home but we have to be concentrated and
confident that we can win there. We will go out to win," said Ronaldo.
"We didn't start with the right mentality against Deportivo but after
we went 1-0 down we made a good comeback. We are doing okay but we
know that we cannot afford to drop any more points."
Deportivo coach Jose Luis Oltra admitted that it was a
poor performance.
"We didn't even deserve to go 1-0 in front as we had done nothing up
to then," he said.
"We have to pick ourselves up now and correct the errors
but I don't think it will affect us badly the size of the scoreline.
"This kind of result can happen but I would have preferred it if we
had been more courageous and taken the game to them."
Real coach Jose Mourinho chose to rest Xabi Alonso and
Alvaro Arbeloa and, in a new-look midfield, Sami Khedira was joined by
Luka Modric in the centre, who up until Sunday had played further
forward.
At the back, Sergio Ramos switched to right back with Raphael Varane
coming into the centre.
Madrid had plenty of early pressure with Ronaldo having a
snap shot after 10 minutes which keeper Daniel Aranzubia got down well
to block and then the Portuguese fired wide from the edge of the area.
The visitors had seen little of the ball but went ahead through
practically their first attack thanks to a Madrid defence which had
gaping holes.
The ball was played into Riki who found plenty of space
between Varane and Pepe and then slotted into the corner.
Di Maria was lively in attack and seemed the most likely to offer a response.
He chipped over the crossbar from a tight angle and then
won a penalty after being pulled down by Manuel Pablo which was
dispatched by Ronaldo.
It was Di Maria who then put Madrid ahead with a clinical finish
inside the area after a fine through ball from Modric.
While his big rival at Barcelona Lionel Messi has
continued his blistering form this season, it has not been the same
for Ronaldo who has not reached his usual standards, claiming that he
was unhappy.
He lacked his killer touch after bursting past Manuel Pablo after 32
minutes as he fired wide but he showed desire to pounce and extend
Madrid's lead before the break.
Sergio Ramos' shot was well saved by Aranzubia and Ronaldo
was the first to react as he dived in to head the ball over the line.
Kaka was given a rare appearance after the break and Alonso was also
introduced as Madrid were able to stroll in the second half with
Deportivo offering little.
Pepe headed in an Alonso free-kick after 65 minutes and
then Ronaldo got his third of the night again from the penalty spot
after a handball by Evaldo Santos.
Atletico Madrid won their fifth league game in succession as a Raul
Garcia header gave them a 1-0 victory over Espanyol.
The in-form midfielder struck after 30 minutes and it
means that Atletico haven't dropped a point since their opening day
draw with Levante but the situation is getting desperate for Espanyol
who have just one point.
Earlier Valladolid demolished Rayo Valladolid 6-1, Osasuna made easy
work of Levante with a 4-0 victory while Granada came out on top 2-1
against Celta Vigo.
News from the Axis
Venezuela opposition mourns slaying of Capriles activists
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Caracas-Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles demanded
justice on Sunday for the shooting of three of his activists, while
President Hugo Chavez promised to expand his socialist agenda if he
wins next weekend's election.
With a week to go, Venezuela's presidential race looks
close and tensions are rising. On Saturday, gunmen killed three
pro-Capriles activists in Barinas state - the worst violence of the
campaign.
"Yesterday, sadly, violence took three lives, something that should
never have happened," Capriles told hundreds of thousands of exuberant
supporters at a rally in Caracas that appeared to be the largest of
his campaign.
"I want to tell their families, and those angels in
heaven, that we are going to defeat violence on the 7th of October."
Capriles' Primero Justicia (Justice First) party said the assailants
had fired from a van that witnesses identified as belonging to a state
agency, after Chavez supporters had blocked an opposition motorcade.
The government did not admit fault in the shooting, but
promised an investigation into what it said was an isolated incident
in the South American nation of 29 million people.
Chavez said he regretted the deaths and called for calm, while at the
same time saying any confrontation would come from the "bourgeois"
opposition.
"It's not with violence that we face off. It's with votes,
ideas, peace, so let's not fall into provocations," Chavez said during
a rally in western Zulia province.
Venezuela is awash with arms, and voters cite violent crime as their
No. 1 concern. There have been gunshots and clashes at previous
opposition rallies, but no deaths.
TIGHT RACE
Capriles has hammered Chavez daily for his record on
day-to-day problems like crime, blackouts and shoddy infrastructure
and drew a frank response from the president.
"Efficiency, that is one of my promises for the next period. We have
to correct things," the 58-year-old Chavez said on Sunday in his most
direct comment on a theme the opposition hopes could sway former
"Chavistas" into their camp.
Chavez has acknowledged Venezuelans' frustration with
grassroots problems in his recent campaign speeches, but said things
would be far worse under Capriles, who he paints as a heartless
capitalist elitist.
Capriles, 40, is a state governor with a centrist view of a
Brazilian-style, pro-business government with strong welfare policies.
Both men have spent time in prison - Chavez for a failed military coup
in 1992 and Capriles for a fracas outside the Cuban Embassy during a
short putsch against Chavez in 2002.
With one week to go, polls are mixed, leading both sides
to claim they are heading for victory.
Venezuelans are fearful of violence if the result is close and disputed.
Of the six best-known pollsters in Venezuela, a majority put Chavez
ahead, but they also show Capriles creeping up in recent weeks. Two
polls put Capriles just ahead of Chavez.
Despite two bouts of cancer since mid-2011, Chavez has
declared himself completely cured and is trying to recapture his old
energy to win another six-year term.
He was campaigning in two states on Sunday.
MORE SOCIALISM
Western investors hope the more business-friendly Capriles
will win and end a nationalization drive and other radical policies
that have polarized Venezuela and made Chavez one of the world's most
controversial leaders.
"I will not aspire to be a Messiah," Capriles told the rally, saying
Chavez was more interested in a grandiose self-image than in solving
Venezuela's problems.
Chavez has directed a large part of the OPEC member's oil
revenues to social welfare projects popular with the nation's poor. He
also maintains a unique connection with the masses, thanks to his
folksy rhetoric and own humble roots.
On Sunday he promised to "deepen" socialism if he wins.
That would likely mean continued spending on his popular
welfare "missions," more investment from politically aligned allies
like China and Iran, new confrontations with Venezuela's private
sector and continued support for fellow leftists governments in Latin
America like Cuba and Nicaragua.
"The first thing we are going to do with our victory is something like
put a lockdown on what we have achieved, to prevent any going
backwards. That would be terrible," Chavez said in an interview on
state TV.
After election wins in the past, Chavez has launched
nationalization or constitutional reform drives.
Opposition leaders are angry at Chavez' use of state resources in his
campaign, but say the electronic-based voting system should be hard to
rig on election day, since they will have their own observers at most
voting booths.
Some Capriles supporters, who regard Chavez as a dictator,
believe he would refuse to accept defeat.
"Chavez will definitely put up a fight because he does not want to
lose power," said Vessla Rodriguez, 62, waving a huge flag with
Capriles' slogan "There is a way" at the march.
"Just look at Fidel Castro," she added, in reference to Chavez's
friend and mentor who led Cuba for decades.
Iraq suffers deadliest day in nearly a month
CNN News
Monday October 1
Baghdad-At least 30 people were killed Sunday in a wave of bombings in
Iraq, making it the country's deadliest day in nearly a month.
The country's majority Shiite Muslim community appeared to
be the main target of the attacks, with a Shiite shrine among the
targets.
The blasts seem to be part of a new increase in the level of violence
in the country after a period of relative stability.
There were seven explosions in and around Baghdad, which
killed 20 people, police officials in the capital said. At least 37
other people were wounded in the blasts in the city center, the
Baghdad neighborhoods of al-Mashahda and al-Amel, and the nearby city
of Taji.
A car bomb later exploded near a Shiite shrine in al-Madaan, killing
four people. Nineteen other people were wounded, including four
Iranians, police officials told CNN. Iraq is the site of many Shiite
holy sites visited by pilgrims from Iran.
The shrine is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
And in the predominantly Shiite city of Kut, six people, including
three Iraqi police officers, were killed and 10 people were wounded in
a car bomb explosion at a police checkpoint.
The incident occurred Sunday around 7 a.m. about 110
kilometers (68 miles) south of Baghdad in Wasit province.
Health and police officials in Kut told CNN earlier that eight people
were killed and 18 others wounded in that bombing, but the Interior
Ministry then said some of those casualties were from a car accident.
The violence comes just days after dozens of prisoners
broke out of a jail in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit. Among those
who got out Thursday were several al Qaeda members on death row,
according to authorities.
The jailbreak occurred when armed men detonated two car bombs at the
gates of Tasfirat jail. The explosions triggered clashes with security
forces.
Ten security forces and five prisoners died. Twenty
security forces and 20 prisoners were wounded.
Three weeks ago, at least 63 people were killed and roughly 200 others
were wounded in a fresh wave of violence largely targeting Iraqi
security forces and predominantly Shiite areas, government officials
said.
The September 9 blasts and shootings across Iraq came on
the heels of a particularly brutal few weeks in the Middle Eastern
nation. More than 70 Iraqi security force members were killed in
August, according to the Interior Ministry.
Iraq has battled political infighting among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds,
raising worries that the political conflict will return to the level
of violence that nearly tore the country apart in 2006.
While violence has decreased since the height of the
U.S.-led war in 2005 and 2006, there has been a sharp escalation in
attacks in recent months. In July, the number of dead hit a two-year
peak with 325 deaths reported, according to the Interior Ministry.
That was the deadliest single month since August 2010, it said.
Baghdad's Shiite-dominated government has blamed the recent attacks on
Sunni insurgents with ties to al Qaeda.
U.S. troops completed their withdrawal from Iraq in December.
Large part of ancient souk in Syria's Aleppo in ashes: activists
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Beirut-Large parts of Aleppo's covered market, the largest of its kind
in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site that traces its history
back to the 14th century, have been reduced to ashes as government
forces and rebels fight for control of the city.
The historic market was largely undamaged by earlier
fighting in Syria's largest city, but in the early hours of Saturday
some of its shops caught fire during clashes in circumstances that
remain unclear.
The flames spread rapidly, partly because many of the small retail
units tucked beneath the market's ancient arches were full of fabric,
and have now ravaged at least 1,500 shops and are still burning,
activists said.
"It is not only the souk that is burning, my heart is
burning as well," said an anti-government activist called Hashem who
learnt the craft of jewelry-making in the souk before the revolt
against President Bashar al-Assad erupted last year.
The souk's devastation is a reminder of how the 18-month-old conflict
- in which both sides are struggling to gain the upper hand and
activists estimate 30,000 people have been killed - is destroying
Syria's rich cultural and historical legacy as well as the lives of
its 22.5 million people.
Aleppo's old city is one of several places that UNESCO,
the United Nations cultural agency, has designated world heritage
sites and which are now at risk.
UNESCO believes that five of Syria's six world heritage sites have
already been damaged. Other heritage sites include the ancient desert
city of Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader fortress and parts
of old Damascus.
It was not immediately clear how the fire in the market
started but activists accused government forces of using incendiary
bullets to attack rebels who had taken up positions there after
launching a new offensive in the city on Thursday.
"The fighters tried to put out the fire but failed to do so because
snipers were shooting at them," another activist said.
"The fire is still raging and at least 1,500 shops have
now been burnt down."
The market - Souk al-Madina - comprises a network of vaulted stone
alleyways and carved wooden facades and was once a major tourist
attraction and a busy cosmopolitan trading hub on the ancient Silk
Road from China.
Its many narrow alleys have a combined length of 13 km (8
miles) making it the largest covered market in the world and it sells
everything from soap to jewelry to clothing.
ANGER TOWARDS THE REBELS
Activists said they were working to try to document the
scale of the damage, which it is estimated it will cost millions of
dollars to repair.
Some anti-government activists have privately expressed anger towards
their own fighters for taking up positions in the old city. "We all
know that this is a criminal regime and it will do anything," said one
activist who declined to be named. "That is why the fighters had no
business being in the souk. Why did they go there?"
But other activists defended the rebels' behavior.
"The fire spread as far as the Umayyad Mosque, the fighters who
managed to stop it from spreading even further," an activist from the
city called Yasser said.
"For all those asking why the fighters are in the Old
City, we say we have only entered to liberate it"
Rebels said they were involved in heavy clashes in Aleppo on Sunday,
saying they had attacked the Neirab military air base. They also
reported fighting in Arkoub, east of the city.
The failure of either side to break the military deadlock
is reflected diplomatically, with foreign powers divided over how to
act. Western states and Gulf Arab countries back the opposition but
most seem reluctant to interfere, while Russia, China and Iran back
Assad.
Speaking to a conference of the ruling AK party in Turkey, Egyptian
President Mohamed Mursi - who has said he opposes military
intervention in Syria - said he favored a diplomatic solution
facilitated by the Arab League, the United Nations and individual
countries across the world.
He said the Syrian people were being "butchered and killed
day and night" and that he fully backed their struggle to overthrow
Assad.
"We will not be calm, we will not settle down until this bloodshed
stops and until the will of the Syrian people to choose their own
leader is realized and until this current oppressive leadership
disappears," he said.
"This oppressive regime is spilling the people's blood and
the Syrian people must gain full liberty."
Activists reported fresh clashes in Damascus suburbs on Sunday and at
least eight bodies were reported to have been found in the northern
suburb of Barzeh. Clashes were also reported to have erupted in some
parts of Homs city.
Syrian state television said a suicide bomber had killed at least
four people in the northern city of Qamishli. The Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights said at least eight members of the security forces
had been killed in the explosion which it said targeted a police
station.
Iran's Q1 steel products exports up 176% compared to last year
PressTV
Monday October 1
Tehran-Iran's exports of steel products have witnessed a 176-percent
growth in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year
(March 20 - July 21) compared to the corresponding period of the
previous year.
An official of the Iranian Steel Producers Association
made the remarks during a press conference on Sunday, IRNA reported.
He stated that there has been a 25-percent reduction in the import of
crude steel and other steel products.
The official added that two new steel plants will be
established in Iran by the end of the current Iranian calendar year:
one in Fars province and another in the north of the country.
The main steel mills of the country are located in Isfahan and
Khuzestan provinces.
The major raw steel factories in Iran are the Mobarakeh
Steel Mill, with approximately 47 percent of the market share, the
Khuzestan Steel Company with about 23 percent, the Isfahan Foundry
with about 20 percent, and the Iran National Steel Industries Group
with approximately 10 percent of the market share.
Iran is among the 15 major mineral-rich countries of the world and
exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries,
including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and
Afghanistan.
Political & General
Tsvangirai apologises for love scandals
Radio VoP
Sunday September 30
Bulawayo-Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai has apologised to
Zimbabweans for the love scandals that have rocked his love life since
the death of his first wife Susan in 2009.
Tsvangirai said he had no intention of hurting his
ex-lovers or causing the love scandals that have seen two of his
ex-lovers dragging him to court over his marriage to Elizabeth
Macheka.
“I know that the journey that I have travelled to make this choice has
been rough.
“It has been filled with all sorts of troubles but I am
glad that eventually I have made a choice. I want to say that
although the road was not easy, I had no intention of hurting anyone.
“It was a genuine search and therefore I would like to apologise to
those that were inconvenienced,” Tsvangirai said in his address to
over 15 000 MDC T supporters during the party’s 13th anniversary
celebrations held at White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday.
“I had no intention of hurting anyone,” he added.
The Premier has been linked to several women since the death of his wife Susan.
Tsvangirai wed Macheka recently customarily after ex-lover
Locardia Karimatsenga won a court order cancelling his white wedding.
Another ex-lover, South African Nosipho Regina Shilubane also launched
a court bid to stop the marriage.
Karimatsenga is now demanding US$15 000 maintenance from
Tsvangirai while Shilubane says she is angry she was dumped through a
text message.
Mugabe’s poll timetable ‘impossible’
AP
Sunday September 30
Harare-A Zimbabwean independent monitoring group says it will be
impossible to hold free and fair elections in March when President
Robert Mugabe wants the polls.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network said on Sunday the
call by Mugabe for full elections in the last week of March doesn't
allow enough time to establish conditions for a free vote.
The group said it is “adamant that logistically it is impossible” to
meet Mugabe's timetable and complete constitutional and electoral
reforms demanded by regional leaders.
It cited disputes in finalising a new constitution,
continuing political intimidation and gross inaccuracies in voters'
lists that still name “ghost” voters who have long been dead.
Rushed voting couldn't be held on “a fair playing field” and the
outcome would be unacceptable by democratic standards, the group said.
Mugabe has also called for a referendum on the 150-page
draft constitution in November, but a parliamentary panel in charge of
compiling the draft says it must be put to a stakeholders' conference
first. That conference of political parties and civic and interest
groups has already been postponed to late October.
The election monitoring group said in a statement on Sunday the
electoral commission responsible for running any poll has not yet
received adequate funding, the draft constitution has not been widely
publicised and laws governing the referendum itself are out of date
and need revision.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition
leader in a fragile power-sharing coalition with Mugabe that was
formed by regional mediators after the last violent and disputed polls
in 2008, has called on his supporters to back the reformed
constitution with a 'Yes' vote in the referendum.
The regional leaders, led by the chief mediator on Zimbabwe, South
African President Jacob Zuma, have proposed June as a more realistic
time for fresh elections to end the coalition.
The poll monitoring group said an audit it carried out of
voters' registration lists last year showed 27 percent of entries were
dead voters and 47 percent of five million voters no longer lived at
the residential addresses given, opening the way for abuse and
rigging.
It said sweeping security laws and media curbs favouring Mugabe have
not been repealed, “hate speech” against opponents of Mugabe, 88,
carried by his loyalist state media has persisted and Tsvangirai's
party has been denied fair access to the state broadcaster, the sole
source of information for most rural Zimbabweans.
Tsvangirai, 60, has been mauled in Mugabe's media over
reports he had several love affairs after his wife of 30 years died in
a car crash in 2009.
The state Sunday Mail newspaper reported that Tsvangirai made what it
called “a stunning climbdown” at the 13th anniversary of the
foundation of his party on Saturday when he apologised to “a coterie
of women he inconvenienced by his escapades”.
“I would like to apologise to anyone who was hurt because it was
not my intention, it was a genuine search for a new wife,” the paper
quoted Tsvangirai saying at anniversary celebrations in the second
city of Bulawayo.
Locardia ready to meet PM’s family
New Zimbabwe
Sunday September 30
Harare-PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s estranged wife, Locardia
Karimatsenga, has said she is ready to meet his family to resolve
their differences as the MDC-T leader offered an apology for his messy
love life over the weekend.
Tsvangirai, who is scrambling to end his relationship with
Karimatsenga, expressed regret over his affairs as he introduced new
wife, Elizabeth Macheka, to supporters at the MDC-T's 13th anniversary
rally in Bulawayo Saturday.
Said the MDC-T leader: "I know the road I travelled to make this
choice (Macheka) has been rough and has been filled with all sorts of
trouble, but I am glad I eventually made my choice. I had no intention
to hurt anyone. It (the search for a wife) was a genuine search. I
want to apologise to anyone who has been hurt."
Tsvangirai’s planned wedding with Macheka was blocked by
the courts after Karimatsenga proved she was married to the MDC-T
leader under customary law and, now, his family has intervened in a
bid to end their embarrassing public fall-out.
Karimatsenga said Sunday she was ready to meet the premier’s family
and insisted she remained in contact with his mother.
“I respect Mbuya Tsvangirai as she is my mother-in-law and
I have agreed to meet her,” she told the Daily News on Sunday.
“During the time I stayed with her in Buhera we had a good
relationship and I don’t have problems with her at all, including all
the other Tsvangirai relatives in Buhera. I do have respect for my
in-laws in Buhera.
“I stayed with (Tsvangirai’s mother) for two months in
Buhera and we had a good time together and she was also supporting me
and persuaded me to stay with the PM and said she wanted me to be her
daughter-in-law.
“Even the brothers and sisters of the PM had accepted me to be their
daughter-in-law and actually gave the blessing of staying together
with him in Chisipite.”
Tsvangirai’s family want the dispute resolved away from
the public glare of the courts where Karimatsenga is also suing the
MDC-T leader for spousal maintenance.
But she insisted she had been left with no choice after finding their
marital home boarded-up and her husband nowhere to be seen when she
returned from South Africa where she was treated after suffering a
miscarriage.
“I did not want to approach the courts but I was left with
no option except to follow that route,” she said.
“When I returned from South Africa, where I had gone for treatment, I
phoned and informed (Tsvangirai’s mother) that I was going to court,
to challenge the wedding by PM and Elizabeth Macheka because I had
found my home which I was living with the PM in Chisipite shut, and I
was reading in the press that the PM was going to wed Elizabeth.
“She (Tsvangirai’s mother) gave me the go-ahead to proceed
with the matter because the PM did not officially tell me that he no
longer wanted me and if he was to wed, my rights as her wife were
going to be limited as I could not be able to associate with him and
enjoy my conjugal rights.’"
The Harare businesswoman said news of her husband’s intended nuptials
with Macheka contributed to the worsening of her health but insisted
she had since come to terms with the development and had no problems
being in a polygamous relationship.
“I read those stories (about the planned marriage) in the
press, it affected my health badly and I suffered from high blood
pressure as I was pregnant resulting in having a miscarriage,” she
said.
“Mbuya Tsvangirai told me to accept to be in a polygamous marriage
with the PM and I had accepted it. The problem is there are too many
people involving themselves in our matters and it has become a public
consumption (but) I believe myself and the PM can resolve our matter.”
Police detain MDC-T officials in Bulawayo
SW Radio Africa
Friday September 28
Bulawayo-The MDC-T Deputy Organiser for Bulawayo, Tsepiso Mpofu and
eight other party activists were arrested and briefly detained by riot
police in Bulawayo on Thursday, which the party said highlights
partisan police actions and selective application of the law.
The others were released soon after the arrest.
But Mpofu was charged with “aggressive behavior towards police” and
made to pay an admission of guilt fine before being released four
hours later.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme said the police also
confiscated posters that the MDC-T activists were distributing ahead
of the party’s 13th anniversary celebrations, which are to be held at
White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday.
“They were driving around distributing flyers for the
Saturday celebrations when they were approached by plain clothes
officers who said the driver had no license. So the driver produced a
license.
Then they accused them of breaching POSA by having too many people in
the car,” Saungweme said.
Saungweme reported that the police officers began quarrelling with the
MDC-T activists and officials, which led to their arrest and charges
of “improper conduct against the police”.
“A Constable Dube was behind the arrests together with
known members of the CIO & anti-riot police officers who had come to
reinforce their colleagues. They arrested Tsepiso and eight others
with no specific charges,” Saungweme said.
The MDC-T anniversary rally is set to be held amidst water shortages
that have plagued Bulawayo recently.
Saungweme said: “The high density areas have been hit the
hardest. But the mayor told the MDC leadership four bowsers would be
provided to avoid a health disaster at White City Stadium.”
Senior MDC-T officials, including party president Morgan Tsvangirai
and secretary general Tendai Biti will address the supporters at the
rally, highlighting the abuses the party has been forced to endure
since its formation in 1999.
Inquest into big cat handler's death begins
New Zimbabwe
Sunday September 30
Wellington-AN inquest began Monday in New Zealand into the death of a
Zimbabwe-born wildlife handler who was killed by a tiger three years
ago.
Animal handler, Dalu Ncube, was mauled to death by the cat
while cleaning its enclosure at the Zion Wildlife Gardens in Whangarei
in May 2009.
In December the park escaped a fine but was ordered to pay NZ$60,000
in reparation to his partner for failing to provide a safe working
environment.
The company admitted two charges of failing to take all
practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees, but the judge
said she could not enforce a fine as the company did not have the
money to pay it.
Coroner Brandt Shortland said Ncube’s real identity will also form
part of the five-day inquest. Officials claim Ncube was known by at
least three other names and Immigration New Zealand believes it's
highly likely he entered the country using a false passport.
Meanwhile, his brother Fortune Shumba said he hopes the
inquest recommends better prevention and protection measures for
zookeepers.
Shumba said he wanted something positive to come from the death of his
26-year-old sibling who left behind fiancée Sharon Arnott, their
one-year-old daughter Starskea, and a seven-year-old son in Zimbabwe
from a previous relationship.
"I just hope it will prevent future accidents happening,"
Shumba said. "We don't want anyone else to go through what we went
through and what Dalu himself went through.
"We hope it will bring closure for everyone."
Shumba also wanted better planning and insurance for
zookeepers after he had to raise money to fly his brother’s body home
to Zimbabwe for burial.
"There needs to be an insurance system so if something like that
happens they know what to do and how to help out rather than the
family running around being the ones trying to source funds for
burial."
He said it was only through the generosity of Whangarei
residents and a businessman, and the help of staff at the park, that
they were able to get his brother home.
Ncube grew up in Hwange, home to one of Zimbabwe’s largest game
reserves and his brother recalled: "We used to bottle-feed these
lions. The cats were his babies."
He said Ncube's partner was a "strong lady" who had coped as well
as she could with the tragedy.
Regional
Favourites crash out of Moz succession race
AFP
Saturday September 29
Maputo-Mozambique's ruling Frelimo party has given no clear sign of
who will be its candidate at the next national presidential vote due
in two years after wrapping up its conference.
Although the choice of a presidential candidate was not on
the agenda of the Frelimo congress that ended Friday, the succession
race was an unavoidable subtext.
President Armando Guebuza is legally not eligible for another term as
he is serving his second and final tenure.
But two leading politicians that had been tipped as the
party's most likely future presidential candidates, failed to secure
places on the ruling party's supreme decision making body - a key step
and unwritten requirement to the country's top job.
Luisa Diogo, a former premier and World Bank official, was seen as one
of the party's options for a presidential nominee, but she crashed out
of the ranks of the Frelimo's 15-strong politburo.
Her successor, Prime Minister Aires Ali, also considered
Guebuza's favoured candidate, did not make the list either.
Guebuza has repeatedly stated he will not attempt to seek to go beyond
the two mandates allowed by the constitution of the south-eastern
African country, which is poised on the brink of a coal and gas-driven
boom.
It would be difficult, though not impossible, for any
presidential aspirant to gain enough support from Frelimo
heavyweights, from outside the politburo, observers say.
“Most of the main candidates were knocked out. We are really starting
again so there will be a lot of jockeying for power over the next six
months,” said London-based writer on Mozambique Joseph Hanlon.
Names that now top the politburo ranks include Frelimo's
secretary general Filipe Paunde, Agriculture Minister Jose Pacheco and
parliamentary speaker Veronica Macamo - any of whom could be
catapulted into the spotlight in the run up to 2014 elections.
Whether Guebuza plans to follow the example of Russian leader Vladimir
Putin and cling to power from behind the scenes after his presidential
mandate ends, was a question raised when the Frelimo congress handed
him another five-year term as party leader early in the week.
“It will be very interesting to see if he can pull it
off,” said Hanlon who argues the ruling party is divided in many
directions.
“He could not carry enough of the party to get Aires Ali elected.
This shows he does not have total power,” said Hanlon.
With Ali out of the race, could Paunde be Guebuza's
Medvedev? A loyal presidential ally - he stood unopposed for a second
term as the second in command to the party's leader.
Paunde is now “in a very privileged position to succeed Armando
Guebuza as president of the Republic,” said the independent daily,
Mediafax on Friday.
The controversial election of Guebuza's daughter,
Valentina, into the party's upper echelons has raised questions about
whether the president is finding a way for a dynastic succession.
The 32-year-old, who heads the family business, Focus 21, was recently
dubbed the “Millionaire Princess” by Forbes magazine. She took one of
the 180 seats on the central committee, the party's second most
powerful organ, usually reserved for former fighters of the country's
independence and civil wars.
Guebuza, a 1980s ex-Marxist styled general, took power in
2005 when he was already a successful businessman. He has since
expanded his empire with tentacles in media, mining, construction and
fishing sectors.
Although Mozambique remains one of the world's poorest countries,
Guebuza has presided over a seven percent annual growth rate in recent
years.
Mozambique is now poised to earn billions of dollars in foreign
investment over the next decade on the back of discoveries of
significant coal and gas deposits.
South Africa shooting: Marikana mine inquiry to begin
BBC News
Monday September 30
Marikana-A judicial commission of inquiry into the fatal August
shootings of 34 striking miners at the Marikana mine is due to begin.
The inquiry was set up by South African President Jacob Zuma.
The investigation will determine the roles played by the
police, the management of the platinum mine, Lonmin, the unions and
government.
It will also look into the conduct of any individuals or groupings in
promoting conflict and confrontation.
The commission, which consists of a three-member panel,
led by retired Supreme Court of Appeal judge Ian Farlam, is expected
to complete its analysis within four months.
Video evidence
It must submit its final report within a month of finishing its
investigation. A total of 46 people died in the violent protests which
took place during weeks of unrest at the platinum mine.
The 16 August killings were the most deadly police action
since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The proceedings will be held at the Rustenburg Civic Centre, near the
scene of the shooting and 62 miles (100km) north-west of Johannesburg.
There are plans to set up giant screens in Marikana, close
to the scene of the shootings, to allow relatives and friends to
follow proceedings closely.
The BBC's Milton Nkosi, in Johannesburg, says that video footage of
the police shooting at the striking miners, which shocked the world,
may be used as evidence during the hearings.
Late last month, striking miners at the Marikana mine
agreed to return to work after accepting a pay rise of up to 22%.
But tens of thousands of others miners have refused to work in a wave
of strikes throughout South Africa since the violence at the mine.
Zanzibar plagued by growing heroin addiction
Al Jazeera
Monday October 1
Zanzibar-There are an estimated 9,000 heroin addicts on the small East
African island of Zanzibar - one of the highest rates of usage in the
world.
Zanzibar’s container port is along several key shipping
routes that ferry the drug from Asia to big markets in the US and
Europe.
And residents say it is relatively easy to smuggle heroin on and off the island.
Although the drug is illegal in Zanzibar, it is almost
impossible for the authorities to know what goods are coming or going.
Al Jazeera's Malcolm Webb reports from Stonetown.
HIV 'made' new deadly Salmonella - study
BBC News
Monday October 1
London-An epidemic of a deadly strain of Salmonella has swept across
the whole of Africa by "taking advantage" of the spread of HIV,
according to an international team of researchers.
Their study, published in Nature Genetics, is the first to
identify the separate cases as a single epidemic.
One in four people in Africa infected with the strain died.
It is thought to be the first time a single strain of an
infection has spread so widely in the wake of HIV.
Cases of this form of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella have been
recognised in Africa for more than a decade. It causes fever,
headaches, respiratory problems and sometimes death.
The research team analysed the genetic code of 179 batches
of Salmonella from different parts of Africa and the rest of the
globe. Using techniques similar to a large-scale DNA paternity test,
they were able to construct the strain's "family tree" and then how it
spread.
It happened in two waves. The first started in south-eastern Africa
about 52 years ago and the second wave started 35 years ago from the
Congo Basin.
Prof Gordon Dougan, from the Sanger Institute in Cambridge
in the UK, told the BBC: "It quite clearly parallels the emergence of
HIV in Africa."
HIV attacks the immune system and leaves people more vulnerable to
other infections. It is thought the strain of Salmonella Typhimurium
took advantage of this weakness and spread. The research team said the
bacterium was given the chance to "enter, adapt, circulate and
thrive".
There is poor monitoring data for the disease across the
whole of the continent, but Prof Dougan said it was affecting
"thousands and thousands" of people and that 98% of adult cases were
in people with HIV.
He said this spread of Salmonella Typhimurium had been different to
that of other infections commonly associated with HIV, as it had been
a single epidemic "people were completely unaware" of and there "were
not really any other examples" of that happening.
Dr Melita Gordon, a gastro-enterologist at the University
of Liverpool, said: "It's the first time this has been described right
across a continent in such an obvious way."
She added: "The highest mortality associated with the disease is 80%.
What's happened over the years is mortality has fallen down and down
and down to between 20% and 25% as doctors inside Africa recognise
it."
The genetic analysis also showed the strain was resistant
to the first choice antibiotic, chloramphenicol, which means more
expensive drugs would be needed to treat the infection.
It is thought that improving HIV treatment across Africa could reduce
the prevalence of the Salmonella infection, as it would reduce the
number of people with vulnerable immune systems. However, the
researchers urged "vigilance" in case the Salmonella strain mutated
again to become able to infect people with healthy immune systems.
Commenting on the study, Prof Brendan Wren, from the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the BBC: "It's
actually quite a huge problem and it seems to be getting worse because
there are many susceptible people, it's got a grip in Africa.
"HIV, I think it's fair to say, provided a springboard for it to take off."
However, he thought the disease was "near its peak" as HIV was
more controlled in other continents giving it little room to spread.
Mozambique rulers celebrate Marxist roots, in style
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Pemba-It was billed as a celebration of its socialist revolution, but
when Mozambique's ruling Frelimo party marked its 50th birthday this
week, Marx came a distant second to Money.
Reflecting their anti-colonial, revolutionary roots,
Frelimo leaders pointedly chose a venue in the untamed corner of
southern Africa where half a century ago guerrillas launched the
uprising that would lead to independence from Portugal in 1975.
But beyond the symbolism of the location, in the northern province of
Cabo Delgado, the obligatory use of "Comrade" and the AK-47 rifle that
still adorns the national flag, everything at the party congress
pointed to the huge wealth accruing to the political elite in the
fast-growing energy producer.
The venue itself was a lavish complex of VIP reception
rooms and cavernous dining areas, set amid a village of apartment
units, two on-site banks and a hospital clinic for 2,000 guests.
Just to the north lies the Rovuma Basin, where U.S. energy firm
Anadarko and Italy's Eni are exploring some of the world's biggest
untapped natural gas reserves - an estimated 130 trillion cubic feet,
or enough to supply Western Europe for over a decade.
To some of Mozambique's 23 million people, the talk of
"revolutionary war" by Frelimo leader and President Armando Guebuza -
known as "Mr. Guebusiness" on account of his huge commercial interests
- rings hollow.
"It is absurd to spend $8 million on a week-long conference when
people are starving a block away," said Rudiger Franck, a hotel owner
and Frelimo party member in Pemba, the run-down seaside town that
hosted the seven-day jamboree.
"It gives the impression that the party has lost touch
with the reality of life for most of its members."
MINING BOOM
Under its first president, U.S.-educated sociologist
Eduardo Mondlane, Frelimo struck out on a Marxist course until 1990
when, tired from civil war and under growing pressure from the West,
it renounced socialism.
In the last decade, mostly under Guebuza, Mozambique has become a
hotbed of foreign mining investment that has lifted economic growth to
7 percent a year and in 2011 made its currency the strongest performer
against the dollar.
Brazil's Vale , for instance, has poured $2 billion into a
coal mine in the northwestern region of Moatize and plans to invest
$6.4 billion in the years to come.
Frelimo says all Mozambicans stand to benefit, yet in a country where
the average person scrapes by on $400 a year, the opulence of its
congress sends a conflicting message.
"This money never reaches the people. It remains in
Frelimo's pocket," said Mustagibo Bachir, a Cabo Delgado member of
parliament for Renamo, Frelimo's foe during a 16-year
post-independence civil war.
Bachir sees a worrying precedent in the handling of the ruby and
timber sectors in the north, which remains one of the country's
poorest regions.
"Our people still don't have access to water, food or
jobs," he said.
Besides Renamo, Frelimo is also facing opposition from the upstart
Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM), run by the 48-year-old mayor of
Beira, Mozambique's second city with a population of half a million
people.
Analysts say elections due in 2014 are too soon for MDM to make
serious headway, but point to its popularity with young, educated and
unemployed Mozambicans as a sign that it could become a force to be
reckoned with later in the decade.
Attack on Sunday school leaves child dead, others wounded, Red Cross says
CNN News
Monday October 1
Nairobi-One child died and several others were hurt in a grenade
attack on a children's Sunday-school class in Kenya, the Kenya Red
Cross said.
A Kenyan hospital reported seven children wounded.
The Kenya Red Cross and local media described the incident at St.
Polycarp church in Nairobi as a grenade attack. Government officials
did not answer repeated telephone calls from CNN seeking comment.
Four injured children were admitted to Kenyatta National
Hospital -- two for treatment of critical wounds, said Dr. Mutie
Thomas, the hospital's senior assistant director.
Doctors treated and released another three people, Thomas said. The
injuries involve soft tissue damage, head wounds and broken bones,
Thomas said.
The children were between the ages of 7 and 10.
The Kenya Red Cross tweeted that one child died, and that "six
critical children" were taken to a hospital.
Such attacks have escalated since Kenyan forces invaded
neighboring Somalia last year to battle the Islamist militant group
al-Shabaab, blaming it for kidnappings of foreigners in the nation.
The main force of Kenyan and Somali troops have taken control of
police headquarters, a radio station and a seaport of the port city of
Kismayo, Somalia, the Kenya Defence Forces announced on Twitter
Sunday.
As the joint forces gain ground, "this has given an added
impetus to the Somali peace process," the Kenyan military said.
An advance unit landed on the beaches north of the city on Friday and
has secured northern parts of the town, the university and one
important highway, according to the military's Twitter account.
A Kenyan military spokesman said Saturday that the
operation was going well.
"Al-Shabaab has not been able to offer any resistance whatsoever to
the ground forces since the ground forces landed there yesterday, and
the whole of yesterday and the good part of today they have (suffered)
heavy casualties," he said.
In a series of posts Saturday on a Twitter account often
used by Al-Shabaab, the group said the Kenyan military is "waging a
losing battle" in Kismayo. It said mujahedeen forces ambushed Kenyan
troops 30 km (18 miles) west of Kismayo, destroying three vehicles and
killing dozens of troops in a two-hour battle.
The military spokesman said those reports are "pure propaganda."
On Sunday Al-Shabaab said on the Twitter account: "The
shelling of the city lays bare the intentions of KDF invaders &
reveals that their war isn't just against (Al-Shabaab) but the Muslims
of Somalia."
Al-Shabaab uses Kismayo to make money from the illegal charcoal trade
and smuggling. Thousands of residents of the city fled before the
fighting, according to the U.N.
Zfn Realtime financial intelligence
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email: z...@yoafrica.com
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From: "Zfn (Zimbabwe)" <z...@yoafrica.com>
Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2012 08:52:09 +0200
Subject: Overseas Press Summary + Alex Cartoon
To: "Zfn (Zimbabwe)" <z...@yoafrica.com>
Zfn
Realtime financial intelligence
__________________________________________________________________________________
Headlines
Financial & Global Economy
*Wall Street end strong quarter on a weak note - CNNMoney
*FTSE 100 falls to three-week low – Business Recorder
*Gold drifts lower as Spain worries weigh on euro – Reuters
*Oil declines from one-week high as China manufacturing weakens - Bloomberg
*News Corp hires U.S. compliance officials: FT - Reuters
*Apple CEO: "We are extremely sorry" for Maps frustration - CNNMoney
*Xstrata expected to recommend merger with Glencore – BBC News
*Foxconn’s Sharp deal may end as banks give Taiwanese an exit - Bloomberg
*U.S. group urges $2 trillion alternative to fiscal cliff "time bomb" - Reuters
*Economists reluctantly pick Romney - CNNMoney
*New Zealand’s GDP growth slowing in second half, treasury says - Bloomberg
*EADS, BAE chiefs tout merger, blast "misconceptions" - Reuters
*China manufacturing activity shrinks again in September – BBC News
*Chrysler Canada workers vote 90% in favor of four-year agreement - Bloomberg
International
*War of words awaits Obama and Romney - AFP
*Son of China's Bo Xilai defends his father - Reuters
*Mass evacuations as typhoon hits Japan – Al Jazeera
*Pakistani juvenile court to hear case of teen accused of blasphemy – CNN News
*Teen idol Bieber vomits on stage - AP
*One in 10 workers has taken time off for depression – BBC News
*Ex-wrestler props up India's PM, but he may want the job - Reuters
*Schwarzenegger admits habit of keeping secrets, including multiple
affairs – CNN News
*Pussy Riot case: Russian court to hear appeal – BBC News
*Polls open in Georgia election – Al Jazeera
*Bangladesh Muslims torch Buddhist shrines, police say – CNN News
*Climate change 'may shrink fish' – BBC News
*San Jose, Costa Rica to install its first street signs - Reuters
*Ronaldo treble as Real rout Deportivo – Super Sport
News from the Axis
*Venezuela opposition mourns slaying of Capriles activists - Reuters
*Iraq suffers deadliest day in nearly a month – CNN News
*Large part of ancient souk in Syria's Aleppo in ashes: activists - Reuters
*Iran's Q1 steel products exports up 176% compared to last year - PressTV
Political and General
*Tsvangirai apologises for love scandals – Radio VoP
*Mugabe’s poll timetable ‘impossible’ - AP
*Locardia ready to meet PM’s family – New Zimbabwe
*Police detain MDC-T officials in Bulawayo – SW Radio Africa
*Inquest into big cat handler's death begins – New Zimbabwe
Regional
*Favourites crash out of Moz succession race - AFP
*South Africa shooting: Marikana mine inquiry to begin – BBC News
*Zanzibar plagued by growing heroin addiction – Al Jazeera
*HIV 'made' new deadly Salmonella – study – BBC News
*Mozambique rulers celebrate Marxist roots, in style - Reuters
*Attack on Sunday school leaves child dead, others wounded, Red Cross
says – CNN News
Financial & Global Economy
Wall Street end strong quarter on a weak note
CNNMoney
Friday September 28
New York-The U.S. stock market ended a blockbuster quarter with a whimper.
Investors were spooked Friday after a dismal report showed
manufacturing declining in the United States. Even though results of
stress tests on Spanish banks offered some relief, concerns about
slowing global growth kept investors on edge.
Still, U.S. stocks closed out the third quarter of 2012 posting strong
gains: the Dow closed Friday up 4.3%, the S&P 500 gained 5.8%, and the
Nasdaq rose 6.2%. Year-to-date, the gains are even more impressive:
the Dow is up 10%, the S&P 500 is up 15% and the Nasdaq has surged
20%.
Can the rally continue into the fourth quarter? Dan
Greenhaus, chief strategist at BTIG, said yes. But he cautioned that a
lot depends on developments in Europe.
On Friday, stocks opened lower and the sell-off gained steam after the
Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for September, a key gauge of
manufacturing activity, came in far below expectations and showed a
contracting economy for the first time since 2009.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the
Nasdaq ended the trading day down 0.4% to 0.7%.
The Chicago PMI report was yet another sign of ongoing weakness in the
U.S. economy. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index
for September also fell short of expectations.
Stocks bounced off their lows after the results of stress
tests for Spanish banks were in line with expectations. But it seems
investors are waiting for the next shoe to drop in Europe. Greece,
which is seeking a two-year extension to comply with its bailout
terms, is expected to release its 2013 budget Monday.
Spain's 2013 budget boosted U.S. stocks in late trading Thursday, as
many interpreted it as a sign the country was willing to take
necessary steps to avert a deepening crisis. But that relief may prove
ephemeral as concerns about Spain remain.
In Britain, a government recommendation was published
Friday suggesting "a complete overhaul" of the interest rate benchmark
Libor, following the recent scandal that exposed how banks rigged the
rate for their own benefit.
European stocks closed lower. Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.7%, while the
DAX in Germany fell 1.1% and France's CAC 40 dropped 2.5%.
In Asia, Chinese investors continued to rally on the
central bank's record injection of liquidity into money markets. The
Shanghai Composite ended 1.5% higher, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong
rose 0.4%.
But the outlook remained grim in Japan, where a government report
showed Japanese industrial production and prices fell in August, a
worrying development given the country's current territorial dispute
over islands that have hurt Japanese businesses in China. As a result,
Japan's Nikkei ended down 0.9%.
The first domestic report of the day showed personal
income grew at 0.1% in August -- the same as July. Personal spending
rose 0.5%, slightly higher than in July. Both are signs the recovery
continues to struggle.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that core prices
of household goods and services rose 0.1% in August, as expected.
Companies: Apple's CEO Tim Cook issued a public apology
for errors in its new maps application. Shares of Apple (AAPL, Fortune
500) closed down 2%
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) announced a $2.43 billion
settlement in a class action lawsuit for shareholders who questioned
the bank's decision to acquire Merrill Lynch. BofA's stock fell 1.5%.
Shares of the drugstore chain Walgreens (WAG, Fortune 500)
dropped, despite beating analysts' forecasts. Sales and profits were
down from a year ago.
Facebook (FB) shares rose 7% on news that the company has developed
another revenue source: a gift-giving service with partners like
Starbucks, Magnolia Bakery and 1-800-Flowers.
Shares of Research in Motion (RIMM) closed 5% higher,
after the BlackBerry maker reported a narrower-than-expected loss and
beat expectations on revenue.
Shares of Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) fell 1%, after the company warned of
slowing growth in China. Still the athletic shoe maker beat forecasts
on both revenue and profits.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar slid against the
euro but gained versus the British pound and Japanese yen.
Oil for November delivery rose 34 cents to $92.91 a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery dropped $6.60 to
$1,773.90 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury hovered around
1.64% near its Thursday levels.
FTSE 100 falls to three-week low
Business Recorder
Friday September 28
London-Britain's benchmark share index fell to its lowest closing
level in more than three weeks on Friday as persistent worries over
Europe's debt crisis and the global economy hit markets, while
investors said any moves higher would be limited. The bluechip FTSE
100 closed down 0.7 percent, or 37.35 points lower, at 5,742.07 points
- marking its worst close since ending on 5,657.86 points on September
5.
The index rose 3.1 percent over the third quarter, but
finished the week down 1.9 percent.
It also failed to hold above the key 5,800 level, which technical
traders said was an important level to breach to ensure future moves
higher. Equity markets are still up since moves by major world central
banks from July onwards to inject liquidity into markets via
asset-purchasing programmes often known as 'quantitative easing' (QE).
However, EGR Broking managing director Steven Mayne said
some investors were growing sceptical over the ability of such central
bank interventions to spur economic growth. "The more QE they do, the
less effective it becomes.
The rally seems to have been manipulated by the central banks. It
makes more sense for the market to come back down before we can start
to see some value again," said Mayne.
Mayne added he would keep a 'short' trade out against the
FTSE 100 index - betting on further falls in the market - until the
FTSE 100 went back down to levels of around 5,700 points. "We have
people sitting on the sidelines, seeing if the FTSE can go down
another one percent to get a better buying opportunity," he said.
Motor insurer Admiral fell around 3 percent while rival insurer RSA
slipped 1.3 percent as an Office of Fair Trading probe into the UK
private motor insurance market hit the sector.
Support services group Compass also fell around 3 percent after broker
Natixis cut its rating on the stock to "neutral" from "buy".
Gains on major mining stocks such as Randgold Resources,
Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton prevented the FTSE 100 from losing further
ground.
Expectations that China, the world's biggest metals consumer, may
unveil new stimulus measures have boosted mining stocks.
JN Financial senior trader Rick Jones said the fact that
"high beta" stocks such as banks and miners - which either outperform
a rising market or underperform a falling market - had not been hit
too hard made him feel the FTSE 100 could still rally back. "I am
buying dips in mining stocks.
We've seen fairly shallow declines across the higher beta areas of the
market, and to us, this means there is actual conviction in the
market," he said.
Others were more cautious, and expected the FTSE to stay
within a tight trading range between 5,600-5,800 points while worries
over the weak global economy and euro zone debt crisis, which is
pushing Spain towards a bailout, remained. Brown Shipley fund manager
John Smith said the uncertain environment meant he was favouring
"defensive" stocks, such as food or tobacco companies which are less
dependent on the economic growth cycle, to financial or mining stocks.
"We're still biased towards defensives. We've had QE (quantitative
easing) now for three years.
It's holding markets up but QE is not creating growth," he said.
Gold drifts lower as Spain worries weigh on euro
Reuters
Monday October 1
singapore-Gold drifted lower on Monday after posting its biggest
quarterly rise in more than two years, tracking a weaker euro as
Spain's struggle to control its finances worried investors.
Caution has returned to the market after central banks'
stimulus measures greatly cheered gold bugs and sent bullion up for
four straight months. Investors are now seeking fresh catalysts amid
the still-grim picture in the euro zone.
Spain's debt levels are set to rise next year, piling pressure on the
government to apply for aid as it pours funds into cash-strapped
regions, an ailing banking system and rising refinancing costs, its
budget showed on Saturday.
The euro fell to its lowest in nearly three weeks on
uncertainty over Spain's bailout plan, while the dollar index .DXY
rose to its highest since mid-September, making dollar-priced gold
less attractive to buyers holding other currencies. <USD/>
"In the short term, the weaker euro/dollar does have an impact on gold
prices," said Dominic Schnider, an analyst at UBS Wealth Management in
Singapore.
"While structural change in Europe will take years, the
short-term solution to the debt crisis is money-printing, which will
support gold."
Dollar-priced gold closed last week barely changed, despite a
0.8-percent rise in the dollar index, showing bullion's resilience, he
said.
Euro-priced gold hit a record high of 1,381.15 euros an
ounce last Friday.
Spot gold inched down 0.4 percent to $1,764.19 an ounce by 0342 GMT,
after finishing the last quarter up nearly 11 percent, its biggest
quarterly rise since the second quarter of 2010.
U.S. gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,767.20.
A few key markets in the region, including China and Hong Kong, are
closed for public holidays. China will remain closed for the rest of
the week.
Equities, oil and base metals also weakened as growth
worries took the centre stage, while investors await a string of
purchasing managers index data from the euro zone nations and United
states to better gauge the global economy, after China's official PMI
number offered more signs of a slowing economy.
Hedge funds and money managers raised their gold future positions to
their most bullish in almost seven months in the week ended September
25, as investors expecting continued monetary stimulus from major
central banks sought a hedge against inflation.
Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds posted a small gain
to 73.98 million ounces by September 29, towards a historical high of
74.288 million ounces hit last week.
Oil declines from one-week high as China manufacturing weakens
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Melbourne-Oil dropped from the highest close in a week in New York as
manufacturing contracted unexpectedly in China, raising speculation
that fuel demand may decline in the world’s second-biggest crude
consumer.
Futures slid as much as 1 percent after peaking on Sept.
28 in the biggest quarterly gain since December. China’s Purchasing
Managers’ Index was 49.8 in September, the government said today. That
compares with the median forecast of 50.1 in a Bloomberg survey. An
index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics showed an 11th
contraction.
U.S. manufacturing data released later today is expected to show a
fourth month of contraction.
“China PMI was not so good,” said Ken Hasegawa, a sales
manager at Newedge Group in Tokyo.
“Eleven straight months of negative numbers has had some bearish
impact on oil prices.”
Crude for November delivery fell as much as 93 cents to
$91.26 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile
Exchange and was at $91.40 at 12:09 p.m. Singapore time. It climbed
0.4 percent on Sept. 28 to $92.19, the highest close since Sept. 21.
Prices rose 8.5 percent in the third quarter.
Brent oil for November settlement dropped 83 cents to $111.56 a barrel
on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European
benchmark grade’s premium to New York crude was at $20.18, after
closing at a six-week high of $20.20 on Sept. 28.
China Manufacturing
Oil’s decline in New York may stall along its 100-day
moving average, at $90.10 a barrel today, according to data compiled
by Bloomberg. Futures last week rebounded after falling to this
indicator. Buy orders tend to be clustered near technical-support
levels.
China’s manufacturing shrank for a second month for the first time
since 2009, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of
Logistics and Purchasing said today. The report added to signs that
growth is at risk of reaching a 22- year low as the ruling Communist
Party prepares to begin installing a new generation of leaders next
month.
OPEC production fell the most in 18 months in September,
led by reductions in Angola and Nigeria, a Bloomberg survey showed.
Output in the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
slipped 454,000 barrels, or 1.4 percent, to an average 31.979 million
barrels a day last month from a revised 32.433 million in August,
according to the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts.
Money managers reduced wagers on rising prices for the
first time in six weeks, cutting net-long positions by 17 percent in
the seven days ended Sept. 25, according to the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report on Sept. 28.
It was the biggest reduction since May 8.
New York crude advanced a second day on Sept. 28 after the White
House said President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu are in “full agreement” on preventing Iran from getting a
nuclear weapon.
News Corp hires U.S. compliance officials: FT
Reuters
Sunday September 30
London-Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWSA.O) has hired a senior official
from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a former federal
prosecutor to lead new compliance units, the Financial Times reported
on Monday.
Gerson Zweifach, News Corp's general counsel and new chief
compliance officer, is set to announce five appointments on Monday,
the FT said.
They include John McCoy, the associate regional director of the SEC's
enforcement arm in Los Angeles, and Brian Michael, a former federal
prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York.
News Corp had moved to a more centralized compliance
structure with five officers reporting to Zweifach and responsible for
the company's activities in different geographical regions.
"They will study internal controls, figure out how to make them
stronger, test them and report directly to me on anything that needs
further examination," the newspaper quoted Zweifach as saying.
Apple CEO: "We are extremely sorry" for Maps frustration
CNNMoney
Friday September 28
New York-In a rare public apology, Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday wrote
an open letter to customers that acknowledged widespread complaints
about the company's new Maps application.
"At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that
deliver the best experience possible to our customers," Cook wrote.
"With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this
commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused
our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better."
(Click here to view the full letter).
After using Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) mapping data for five years,
Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) went in a new direction with the iOS 6
update to its mobile operating system, which rolled out to millions of
iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices on Sept. 19. The new Apple Maps
is also built into all iPhone 5s, which went on sale a week ago.
Apple Maps is powered by significantly less data than its
predecessor. Google's enormous database of geographical points has
been replaced by Yelp's far less substantial list, as well as Apple's
own compiled "places of interest" database. In other words, good luck
searching for your favorite off-the-beaten-path restaurant if it's not
on Yelp. Spelling variations also seem to trip up the new Maps app.
Beyond search, iPhone users have already found some giant goofs in
Apple's data.
The info on some well-known landmarks is comically off target or
woefully incomplete.
The tech giant partnered with TomTom, Waze, Yelp (YELP)
and others to create its own map, complete with turn-by-turn
navigation, voice integration and a cool new 3D "Flyover" feature. In
his letter of apology, Cook noted that Apple "had to create a new
version of Maps from the ground up" in order to offer these new
features. It has been widely reported that Google, which includes most
of those features in its Android smartphone software, refused to hand
those features over to Apple.
Apple has preached patience in its earlier comments about Maps. Cook
reiterated that, noting that "the more our customers use our Maps the
better it will get."
He said more than 100 million Apple devices are using the
new Maps, and customers have used the app to search for nearly 500
million locations so far. Apple engineers will continue "working
non-stop" until Maps reaches the "high standard" Apple customers have
grown to expect from the company, he said.
In the meantime, the CEO made a surprising move: He recommended
alternatives to Apple's app, including Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500)
Bing, AOL's (AOL) MapQuest, Nokia (NOK), Waze -- and yes, even Google.
Xstrata expected to recommend merger with Glencore
BBC News
Sunday September 30
London-The board of mining group Xstrata is expected to recommend on
Monday that its shareholders back the terms of a planned merger with
commodities trader Glencore, the BBC understands.
The announcement is expected at 0700 BST on Monday, to
meet a deadline set by the UK Takeover Panel.
Under the expected final terms of the deal, each Xstrata share will be
valued at 3.05 times each Glencore share.
Neither Swiss firm Glencore, nor Anglo-Swiss group Xstrata
have commented. Both companies have their shares listed on the London
Stock Exchange.
Improved terms
The planned merger was first proposed by Glencore back in
May, and has dragged on since then.
Earlier this month, Glencore improved the terms of the deal to make
each Xstrata share worth 3.25 Glencore shares, compared with its
initial offer of 2.8.
This followed a demand by Xstrata's second-largest
shareholder, Qatar Holding, the sovereign wealth fund of the Gulf
state.
If the merger goes ahead it will create world's biggest exporter of
coal for power plants, and the largest producer of zinc.
Xstrata owns vast reserves of coal, copper and nickel
across Africa, South America and central Asia. About half of its
revenues came from its copper business in 2011, while coal contributed
the most to its profit growth.
Glencore only floated on the stock exchange in May last year in a
record share offering in London.
The traditionally secretive Swiss firm buys and sells metals,
crops and fuels in the financial market and invests in mining
companies, but - unlike Xstrata - Glencore does not itself usually
extract minerals out of the ground.
Foxconn’s Sharp deal may end as banks give Taiwanese an exit
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Taipei-Foxconn Technology Group’s plan to buy a stake in Sharp (6753)
Corp. may end after the Japanese TV maker signed loans from banks,
giving the Taiwanese manufacturer a reason to exit its commitment to
help the unprofitable company.
Sharp’s talks with Foxconn may continue until the
expiration of a self-imposed, one-year deadline in March, an executive
for the Osaka-based company said Sept. 28. The two probably would
continue cooperating even without an investment, both companies have
said.
A pedestrian walks past a liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor
displaying the Sharp Corp. logo in Tokyo.
Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou has backed away from buying a
stake in Sharp after falling demand for TVs and display panels
prompted the company to widen its annual loss forecast eightfold.
Foxconn Group said it would renegotiate an earlier deal to buy 9.9
percent of the company for 67 billion yen ($863 million) as shares
have fallen 61 percent since that announcement. Sharp said Sept. 28 it
received 360 billion yen in financing from two banks.
“Sharp and Foxconn kept up the charade until the point there was an
out for both of them, which the loan provides, and neither of them
seem too excited about the deal now,” said Albert Moel, a Hong
Kong-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “I think Terry Gou had
every intention to do the deal, but even he couldn’t have envisioned
that the price would drop so much.”
Seeking Help
Sharp shares were up 0.5 percent to 194 yen as of 11:30
a.m. in Tokyo trading and are down 71 percent this year. The stock is
the worst performer on Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average.
Japan’s biggest maker of liquid-crystal displays signed the funding
package with its lenders last week. Sharp earlier presented its main
banks with a revival plan that included cutting more than 10,000 jobs,
or 18 percent of its workforce, and selling overseas plants as well as
U.S. solar developer Recurrent Energy LLC, people with knowledge of
the proposal said Sept. 26.
The 100-year-old inventor of mechanical pencils had turned
to Foxconn, whose flagship Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. is listed in
Taipei and makes Apple Inc. iPads, in an attempt to restructure its
unprofitable LCD business. Sharp also sold a stake in its largest LCD
factory to Gou, who funded the deal from his own money, and renamed it
Sakai Display Products Corp.
Apple Relationship
Sharp plans to continue collaboration with Foxconn even
without investment from the Taiwanese manufacturer, the Sharp
executive said. The two companies are considering joining forces on
smartphones and displays, he said.
“It matters for Sharp whether it can build a closer relationship with
Apple,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees the equivalent of about
$600 million in assets at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in
Tokyo.
Hon Hai spokesman Simon Hsing said the companies are keen
to cooperate in many areas. He declined to comment on the status of
investment talks or whether it may buy Sharp factories around the
world. Miyuki Nakayama, a spokeswoman for Sharp, didn’t respond to a
message left on her mobile phone.
In June, after Sharp’s shares had fallen 29 percent below the deal
price, Gou reiterated his commitment to the transaction, saying it was
based on a long-term strategic partnership and not short-term share
value.
Later the same month, the Taiwanese company, through its
Hon Hai and Foxconn Technology Co. (2354) units, said it would post a
loss of NT$6.4 billion ($218 million) for the second quarter on the
pending transaction because of the decline. The loss would be reversed
the following quarter, it said later.
While Foxconn had also seen Sharp’s share price decline as an
opportunity to increase its holding beyond the original 9.9 percent
plan, Sharp management and board members resisted because the Japanese
feared it may be absorbed by the Taiwanese, Hon Hai Chief Financial
Officer Huang Chiu-lian told Bloomberg News in June.
Sharp in August predicted a net loss of 250 billion yen for the 12
months ending March 31, widening its earlier forecast for a loss of 30
billion yen.
U.S. group urges $2 trillion alternative to fiscal cliff "time bomb"
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Washington-The independent watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense
will unveil a $2 trillion deficit-reduction proposal in hopes of
averting an economic debacle at year's end known as the fiscal cliff.
On Monday, the group plans to detail about 130 specific
deficit-reduction steps the U.S. Congress could take to replace
across-the-board spending cuts of $1.2 trillion that are scheduled to
take effect on January 2. These would occur just as tax increases for
all income groups are due to kick in.
The combination of looming spending cuts and tax increases is commonly
referred to in Washington as a "fiscal cliff" because economists say
it would knock the struggling U.S. economy back into recession early
next year.
Taxpayers for Common Sense noted that Congress and
President Barack Obama were responsible for the August 2011 budget and
debt limit deal that included the potentially harmful automatic
spending cuts scheduled to begin in January with a $109 billion
installment.
"And that's who is going to have to be responsible for defusing the
ticking budget time bomb that would cut $1.2 trillion
indiscriminately," the group said.
Targets of the group's plan include agriculture subsidies,
the oil and gas industry and defense projects.
With members of Congress currently campaigning for re-election more
than addressing the country's fiscal problems, private groups are
stepping up with their own deficit-reduction plans. They fear that if
such work is left for a short session following the November 6
presidential and congressional elections, Congress might end up
letting the country go over the fiscal cliff.
Many Washington politicians say that remedies for the
sluggish U.S. economy - and government budget deficits that have
topped $1 trillion for four consecutive years - should be debated in
this election season with the November 6 vote informing Congress on
what to do.
Unwilling to wait, Taxpayers for Common Sense is touting a remedy that
it argues would cleanse the U.S. budget and tax code of policies it
says result in an "inefficient, ineffective or wasteful use of
taxpayer dollars."
CROP SUBSIDIES TARGETED
The targeted budget reductions would eliminate all
government crop subsidies, saving $56.5 billion over 10 years, end a
manufacturing tax break cherished by the oil and gas industry, for a
$17.2 billion savings, and stop production of some big military
projects, such as the V-22 Osprey, a tilt-rotor aircraft built by
Boeing Co (BA.N) and Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc (TXT.N).
In its February budget proposal to Congress, the Obama administration
said it wanted to cut spending on the V-22 Osprey by reducing the
number of aircraft to be built.
Other non-governmental groups, such as the Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget, have been looking at ways to cut U.S.
deficit spending by about $4 trillion over 10 years.
The various ideas circulating in think tanks could be weighed by
Congress whenever it finally gets down to addressing the fiscal cliff.
The Taxpayers for Common Sense proposal, obtained by
Reuters, does not address some of the thorniest problems facing
Washington budget writers: the accelerating growth of huge
government-backed retirement and healthcare programs related to an
aging U.S. population.
For example, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates
that outlays for the Social Security retirement and disability
programs will grow from $725 billion last year to $1.35 trillion in
2022.
Similarly, the Medicare health insurance program for the
elderly is projected to expand from $560 billion last year to nearly
$1.1 trillion in 2022, CBO estimates.
Voters have not signaled a willingness to support significant cuts to
these programs and any reforms could take Congress many months, or
years, to address.
Besides cutting military and farm programs and ending some
corporate tax breaks, Taxpayers for Common Sense also would terminate
some alternative energy programs and several government research
projects.
In a move to save $645 billion over a decade, the group calls for
placing new limits on the tax deduction on home mortgage interest.
For members of Congress who have been unable to agree on
any new deficit-reduction package, there are many potentially
troubling proposals.
One would hit especially close to home. It would end "an elaborate and
lucrative" pension plan for lawmakers that Taxpayers for Common Sense
said "is more generous" than retirement plans available to most
Americans.
Economists reluctantly pick Romney
CNNMoney
Sunday September 30
New York-Economists think Republican presidential candidate Mitt
Romney would be better for the economy than President Obama. But
they're not very enthusiastic about either of them.
Nine of 17 top economists surveyed by CNNMoney picked
Romney when asked who's election would help the economy grow more.
Only three picked Obama.
The U.S. lost 4.3 million jobs in President Obama's first 13 months in
office. Track his progress since then.
But the remaining five made no pick, with several
suggesting neither would provide much of a lift to the sagging
economy.
"Obama doesn't really understand business and Romney doesn't really
understand how to govern. So pick your poison," said Gary Rosenberger
of EconoPlay, one of those surveyed who refused to give a pick.
And many of those picking Romney were more critical of, as
opposed to excited about, the Republican challenger's plans.
"Romney's policies would likely be less bad for the economy than
Obama's," said Bill Watkins, executive director of the Center for
Economic Research and Forecasting at Cal Lutheran University.
Several of the economists who thought Romney would be
better for the economy pointed out what they thought were flaws in
Obama's record. These economists felt there is too much regulatory
uncertainty hanging over businesses and that gridlock between the
White House and Republicans in Congress also is a drag on hiring and
growth.
"Romney might be more likely to get Congress to do something, whereas
Obama has shown he can't," said David Wyss, a fellow at Brown
University.
Allen Sinai of Decision Economics gave the Republican
challenger the most enthusiastic support of those surveyed, saying
Romney's calls for "cutting growth of government outlays, lowering tax
rates and closing loopholes, less regulatory uncertainty ...smaller
government and entitlement reform all must be tackled."
But those who picked Obama are hoping things will be different if the
president wins a second term. Obama could be in a better position to
enact reforms on entitlement spending and reach a deal on deficit
reduction than Romney, according to one economist.
"It's the Nixon-to-China syndrome -- only a Democrat can get away
with it," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at Manulife Asset
Management.
New Zealand’s GDP growth slowing in second half, treasury says
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Wellington-New Zealand’s economic growth is slowing in the second half
of 2012 amid weakness in manufacturing, exports and consumer spending,
according to the Treasury Department.
There is a risk that growth in the three months through
September may be less than the 0.6 percent expected, the
Wellington-based department said in a report on its website. Gross
domestic product expanded 0.6 percent in the second quarter following
a 1 percent pace in the first three months.
Yachts are moored in the Viaduct Harbor as the central business
district stands in the background in Auckland, New Zealand.
“The outlook is not without its headwinds, with parts of
the economy looking to have lost momentum over recent months,” the
Treasury said in its monthly report, which doesn’t contain new
forecasts.
Manufacturing and the services industries are slowing, adding to signs
of a sluggish end to 2012, the Treasury said. Slow growth adds to the
case for the central bank to keep the official cash rate at a
record-low 2.5 percent until next year.
Nine of 16 economists surveyed last week by Bloomberg News
expect no change in borrowing costs until the second half of 2013.
Four see an increase in the first quarter and three predict a rise in
the second quarter from the current rate.
Employment confidence rose in the third quarter and is still the
second-lowest since the the 2008-09 recession, according to a survey
today from Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) Reports last month showed
manufacturing contracted at a faster pace while the services industry
was the weakest since October 2009.
EADS, BAE chiefs tout merger, blast "misconceptions"
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Paris/Frankfurt-The bosses of EADS (EAD.PA) and BAE Systems (BAES.L)
sought to reassure investors over the benefits of their planned $45
billion merger amid what they described as "myths and misconceptions"
over the creation of a pan-European defense giant.
BAE Systems chief executive Ian King and Tom Enders, his
counterpart at Airbus parent EADS, said in a joint newspaper article
that the plan to join forces was born out of "opportunity, not
necessity," and would create growth.
"With the necessary political will and support, management
determination and proper governance, BAE Systems and EADS can produce
a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts," they wrote in the
article to be published in three European newspapers on Monday.
EADS shares have fallen 17 percent since September 12,
when word of the negotiations was leaked. After shedding initial
gains, BAE shares are back to where they were beforehand.
Some analysts have said the two European companies are being forced to
combine because of steep cuts to national defense spending and have
criticized what they see as a lack of synergies, the cost and revenue
benefits usually targeted in a merger.
The two chief executives said the wider group, which would
be the world's largest aerospace and defense company, would better be
able to ride the cycles of civil aviation demand and defense spending.
"The rationale that drives this transaction is growth, not
contraction," they wrote.
UK-based BAE Systems is Europe's largest defense
contractor and Airbus, which dominates the finances of EADS, is the
world's largest commercial planemaker ahead of U.S. rival Boeing Co
(BA.N).
BAE has started re-investing in the buoyant commercial sector after
pulling out of Airbus in 2006, while EADS has long sought to expand
its defense activities, which remain a long way behind the successful
passenger aircraft division.
The article was due to be published as France and Germany,
the main forces within EADS, seek to defend their respective roles
inside the new company.
Germany, which presented its demands on Friday, has been pushing for
equality with France, which has a 15 percent stake and special rights
through a shareholder pact.
However, those rights are set to disappear if the merger
goes ahead and would be replaced by a special share whose exact
properties have yet to be publicly defined.
Pressure on the governments involved is rising amid signs that the
pact could unravel quickly in the absence of a deal, leaving France
with a stake but no right to be heard on strategy and no voice for
Germany.
King and Enders vowed that the new company would have
"governance structures which would enable it to operate in a normal
commercial manner and which confers the same rights on all
shareholders, large and small."
German magazine Der Spiegel on Sunday cited high-level civil servants
as saying that France and Germany had agreed to each hold a 9 percent
diluted stake in the merged entity, equivalent to a 15 percent
undiluted stake in EADS.
The Franco-German agreement would form the basis for their
negotiations with the British government in talks this week, the
magazine added.
A spokesman for German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler declined to
confirm or deny the report.
"The talks are continuing and the relevant questions are
still being examined," the spokesman said.
FRENCH CAUTIOUS
French officials were not immediately available to comment
on the Spiegel report, but sources familiar with the matter denied
that the two sides were in agreement on the shareholding or how their
relative interests should be guaranteed.
France has so far been cautious about agreeing to German overtures
aimed at forging a common position as both countries defend their
interests in the successor to EADS, which has often been a source of
tensions since it was set up in 2000.
Analysts say there is little overlap between the two
companies, which may be good news for getting past antitrust
regulators, but not so encouraging for deriving financial gains.
"The complete lack of apparent synergies is the most worrying part of
the deal," said Agency Partners managing partner Nick Cunningham.
There would be few benefits in purchasing costs since each
company is already big and only limited cost synergies since the main
project on which they work together, the Eurofighter combat jet, is
near the end of its development cycle, he said.
A German government source told Reuters on Friday that Berlin will
present France with a list of proposals, agreed by Chancellor Angela
Merkel's office and the Economy Ministry, that aim to preserve a
balance of power between the two countries in the new company.
France directly owns 15 percent of EADS, the maker of
Airbus jets, and wants to retain its right to influence group
strategy, currently conducted through a complex pact with 7.5-percent
shareholder Lagardere (LAGA.PA).
Germany is not a direct shareholder but sees the transaction as a
chance to tighten its grip on a stake currently held by Daimler AG
(DAIGn.DE) and a group of banks.
The German source gave no further details, but his comments
confirmed a newspaper report on Friday which also said Germany was
ready to buy up the shares of Daimler and the banks via the state
development bank KfW if France kept its own stake intact.
China manufacturing activity shrinks again in September
BBC News
Monday October 1
Beijing-Manufacturing in China has contracted for a second month,
another sign of economic slowdown in the world's second largest
economy.
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 49.8 in
September, government data showed. That comes after a reading of 49.2
in August.
A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity, while a
reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Weak external and domestic demand has weighed on Chinese
manufacturers.
Seasonal uptick
Although the reading was below 50, it was an increase from
the August figure.
Many analysts said the PMI reading tends to improve in September for
seasonal reasons, however the improvement was less than expected this
year.
"September PMI readings are normally fairly strong, and we
don't see that this month is that much better than last month," said
Prakash Sakpal of ING.
China's top leaders have warned that growth may slow further before rebounding.
Demand woes
The data from the National bureau of Statistics showed
that demand for refined metals, steel and other materials used for
building remains subdued.
China's real estate sector has seen a slowdown in recent months mainly
due to government curbs to bring down sky-rocketing prices.
The government has recently announced spending on
infrastructure projects, seen by many as a stimulus measure to boost
growth.
China's economy grew at its slowest pace in three year in the second quarter.
Chrysler Canada workers vote 90% in favor of four-year agreement
Bloomberg
Monday October 1
Toronto-Chrysler Group LLC employees represented by the Canadian Auto
Workers ratified a four-year contract that follows union agreements
with Ford Motor Co. (F) and General Motors Co. (GM) in reducing costs
for new workers while maintaining current production levels in Canada.
The vote was 90 percent in favor, the Toronto-based union
said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.
The agreement covers about 8,000 production workers in Ontario,
including vehicle- assembly plants in Brampton, near Toronto, and
Windsor, outside of Detroit.
The Auburn Hills Michigan-based company builds its Dodge
Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans in Windsor, the
fourth- and fifth- best selling models in the company’s lineup last
year.
“One of our objectives coming into these talks was to position our
industry for future growth and success, and we did as much as we
possibly could on that front,” union President Ken Lewenza said in a
statement.
The ratification concludes this year’s labor talks between
the U.S. automakers and the CAW. Negotiations began last month with
the companies saying labor costs in Canada are too high and the union
facing job cuts.
Chrysler reached an accord with the CAW on Sept. 26, the last of the
U.S. companies to obtain a Canadian labor settlement.
The automaker, majority owned by Fiat SpA (F), followed
the pattern set by Ford and GM.
The contracts at the three companies exchange most cost-of-living
raises for bonuses, extend the amount of time for a new employee to
reach full pay, and shift new workers to a cheaper retirement plan.
International
War of words awaits Obama and Romney
AFP
Sunday September 30
Washington-Three days before the first United States presidential
debate, allies of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney discussed on Sunday how
the encounter between the White House contenders will influence the US
election.
In typical straight-talking fashion, New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie predicted that fellow Republican Romney's performance
at Wednesday's debate would alter the course of the campaign, weeks
before the November 6 vote.
“This whole race is going to turn upside down come Thursday morning,”
Christie told CBS’s Face The Nation.
His comments strayed from the script of both campaigns,
which have tried to play down their own candidate's chances at the
debate in Denver and talk up their opponent, thus making it easier to
claim victory or explain a defeat on Wednesday.
“I think what we need is a big and bold performance on Wednesday
night, and that's what he's going to give us,” Christie said of Romney
on ABC's This Week.
Romney comes into the first of three presidential debates
with poor poll figures in important battleground states and as he
seeks to recover from a leaked secret video where the former private
equity executive described nearly half of Americans as dependents on
government who view themselves as victims.
“We've had some missteps, but at the end of the day the choice is
really clear,” Romney's vice-presidential running mate Paul Ryan told
Fox News Sunday.
Ryan lowered the stakes for Romney's debate performance.
“I don't think any one event is going to make or break this campaign,”
Ryan said.
Obama departed for Nevada, where he will bunker down with
aides in a “debate camp”.
But Obama was not focused just on scoring points against his rival,
senior adviser David Plouffe told NBC's Meet The Press.
“I think the president's view is, he's not worried about
zingers and lines, he's got time with the American people to explain
to them his case for re-election,” he said.
Obama was joined on Air Force One by Plouffe, chief of staff Jack Lew,
economic adviser Gene Sperling, and speechwriter Jon Favreau.
The White House and Obama's campaign are guarding against
complacency, with polls showing the Democrat ahead nationally by
around five points, and much more in some swing states.
“We're not going to win battleground states by 10 or 12 points. This
race is going to tighten. We've built a presidential campaign with a
belief that it's going to come down to a few votes in a few states,”
Plouffe said.
Romney remained in Boston for private meetings, including
debate preparation, at his campaign headquarters.
Not all of Romney's hours have been devoted to studying and sparring
with his debate partner, US Senator Rob Portman.
On Saturday evening, Romney attended a party at the
Wellesley, Massachusetts, home of his finance chair, Spencer Zwick.
With a stretched Hummer limousine blaring party music and several
school buses parked outside the home, chants of “Mitt!” could be heard
from within. Romney departs for Denver on Monday.
His wife, Ann, will campaign in Nevada and Ryan will
embark on a bus tour of eastern Iowa on Monday.
Both are swing states, critical victories on the path to presidency,
where Romney has trailed in recent polls.
Son of China's Bo Xilai defends his father
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Boston-The Harvard-educated son of disgraced Chinese political leader
Bo Xilai defended his father against charges of taking bribes and
having improper sexual relationships, saying he believed in his
father's good character.
"Personally, it is hard for me to believe the allegations
that were announced against my father, because they contradict
everything I have come to know about him throughout my life," Bo
Guagua said in a statement posted on the microblog site Tumblr.
"Although the policies my father enacted are open to debate, the
father I know is upright in his beliefs and devoted to duty," he
added.
Bo confirmed the statement, posted on Saturday, with Reuters.
Since graduating from Harvard University in May with a
master's degree in public policy, Guagua, 24, has kept a low profile,
in contrast to reports earlier this year of a playboy lifestyle in the
United States that created a firestorm on the Internet back in China.
The younger Bo's statement came a day after China's ruling Communist
Party accused his father of abusing his power, taking huge bribes and
other crimes.
Bo will be handed over for criminal investigation, state
media reported on the latest phase in a scandal of murder and
cover-ups that has shaken China's leadership. Bo had been seen as a
strong contender to become a member of the powerful Standing Committee
of the Chinese Communist Party Political Bureau later this year.
Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun, have
both been jailed over the scandal stemming from the murder of British
businessman Neil Heywood in the southwestern city of Chongqing, where
Bo was Communist Party chief.
At her trial on August 9, Gu admitted to poisoning Heywood
last November.
Gu and Heywood got into a dispute over a soured real estate deal,
according to the official Xinhua news agency. Gu said she believed
Heywood threatened Guagua's personal safety.
"I suffered a mental breakdown after learning that my son
was in jeopardy," Gu said, according to official accounts.
Last week's government statement carried by Xinhua said that in the
murder scandal, Bo "abused his powers of office, committed serious
errors and bears a major responsibility".
Bo has been expelled from the party as well as the elite
decision-making Politburo and Central Committee.
ONLY CHILD
Guagua is the only child of Bo and Gu. Though his friends
and acquaintances say he would like to challenge the negative
perception of his parents more forcefully, Guagua has said very little
publicly because he fears it could only make matters worse.
"He has always taught me to be my own person and to have concern for
causes greater than ourselves," Guagua said in his statement. "I have
tried to follow his advice.
At this point, I expect the legal process to follow its normal course,
and I will await the result."
This past summer Guagua traveled along the Maine coast and
visited Westchester County in New York, according to friends and
acquaintances.
He has been somewhat isolated, though, as he takes stock of his
uncertain future. Friends said Guagua has had little or no
communication with his mother since March, shortly before she was
accused of murder. Communication with his father has been intermittent
at best, they said.
Several friends and acquaintances interviewed said they did not want
their names used because they fear fallout from being associated with
the biggest scandal in Chinese politics in more than two decades.
"The whole thing is just radioactive," one of Guagua's
friends told Reuters.
"He's under tremendous pressure."
In private, Guagua, who declined to comment for this story, has told
friends his father did not flirt with the extremism exhibited by Mao
Zedong during China's 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.
According to Guagua's accounts to friends, Bo Xilai
encouraged the singing of so-called red songs, but only as a means to
promote unity and morality in Chongqing, a sprawling municipal
district of about 30 million people that is wracked with street crime
and other forms of corruption.
Bo Xilai promoted the reading of Maoist poems, but he also referenced
the works of Thomas Jefferson, friends said, relating conversations
with Guagua.
In August, Guagua bristled at the suggestion that his
father may have given him documents as a sort of insurance policy
against his enemies in the Communist Party.
"My father has no need for any such things because he has always been
aboveboard, regardless of how people who don't know him can
speculate," he said in an email exchange with Reuters.
Mass evacuations as typhoon hits Japan
Al Jazeera
Sunday September 30
Tokyo-Powerful Typhoon Jelawat has hit the Japanese mainland, sparking
the evacuation of thousands a day after it tore across the southern
Okinawa island, where local media said it left one dead and some 140
injured.
Packing winds of up to 180kmph, the typhoon reached
central Aichi prefecture at around 0700 local time (1000 GMT) and was
moving up the main island of Honshu, the Japan Meteorological Agency
said on Sunday.
The municipal government of the central city of Nagoya issued an
evacuation advisory for 57,000 people living in 21,000 homes, due to
the fear of flooding caused by rising river levels in the city,
according to Jiji Press.
A further 11,000 were told to evacuate in the city of
Ishinomaki in the country's northeast, Jiji Press reported.
A 29-year-old man was swept away by high waves when Jelawat hit
Okinawa and was later confirmed dead, while at least 140 people were
injured in eight prefectures, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The typhoon is forecast to churn northeastwards towards
Tokyo over the next 24 hours and bring torrential rainfall and
towering waves up to 10 metres high.
The meteorological agency predicted rainfall of up to 400mm some areas
in the 24 hours to Monday evening, Jiji Press said.
More than 500 flights, mainly in western Japan, were cancelled on
Sunday and some shinkansen bullet train services across the country
had been suspended, Kyodo said.
Pakistani juvenile court to hear case of teen accused of blasphemy
CNN News
Monday October 1
Islamabad-A Pakistani juvenile court is expected to hear Monday the
case of a Christian teenage girl accused of violating blasphemy laws
by allegedly burning pages containing texts from the Quran.
An Islamabad court ordered the case transferred to
juvenile court last week after a police investigation concluded that
an imam framed the girl, Rimsha.
The imam, Khalid Jadoon Chishti, is scheduled to appear at a separate
court hearing Monday after he was arrested last month on accusations
of evidence tampering. Police have said he could face blasphemy
charges, a dramatic twist in the saga.
The 14-year-old Rimsha had been held in an adult jail
before she was released on bail in September. The transfer of her case
to juvenile court is a good sign, a rights group says.
"This is a precursor to the case ending, and that is quite
unprecedented in the 25-year history of Pakistan's blasphemy laws,"
said Ali Dayan Hasan, the Pakistan director of Human Rights Watch.
Police have submitted their findings that Rimsha was
framed to the court. Pakistani courts usually go with what police
recommend.
According to Pakistani authorities, evidence shows that Chishti tore
pages of the holy book and framed the teenager. The imam denies the
allegations.
The case sparked an international outcry, with critics
saying Pakistan's blasphemy laws are used to settle scores and
persecute religious minorities.
Blasphemy laws have been a part of life in Pakistan for 25 years; they
were first instituted to keep peace between religions.
Actions perceived as insults to Islam provoke fierce
reactions in the predominantly Muslim nation, as demonstrated by the
recent angry protests in response to an anti-Islam film produced in
the United States and made available online.
Investigators said Rimsha's neighbor accused her of burning Quran
pages to use as cooking fuel. The neighbor began to shout in protest,
drawing a crowd that grew angry.
Some neighbors said the teenager was beaten. Others said
she ran back home and locked herself inside. When police arrived, they
arrested her.
Rimsha's lawyers said the neighbor wanted to settle a personal score
with the girl because the two didn't get along. They said it's likely
that he liked the teen and she didn't feel the same.
There have been 1,400 blasphemy cases since 1986,
according to Hasan. There are more than 15 cases of people on death
row for blasphemy in Pakistan, and 52 have been killed while facing
trial for the charge, he said.
Rimsha was arrested on August 16. She and her family spoke to CNN last
month from an undisclosed location after she was released on bail.
The teen denied that she defiled the Quran. She said she
was happy to be with her family, but feared for her life.
"I'm scared," she said by phone. "I'm afraid of anyone who might kill us."
Rimsha spoke in short sentences, answering "yes" or "no"
in a nervous voice.
In Pakistan, people accused of blasphemy have been attacked and
sometimes killed by vigilantes.
Aid groups in the United States, Italy and Canada have
offered the teen and her family a home outside Pakistan, a family
representative said.
But no matter how her case pans out, it's unclear what kind of life
she might be able to have. She has said she wanted to stay in her home
country.
Teen idol Bieber vomits on stage
AP
Sunday September 30
Glendale, Arizona-It wasn't just Justin Bieber's fans who had “Bieber
Fever” as the teen idol kicked off his national tour in suburban
Phoenix.
Video posted on KTVK-TV's website shows the pop music star
vomiting twice on stage on Saturday night during his sold-out concert
at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. He left the stage after each
episode, but returned and even did an encore.
KTVK reports Bieber's fans sang some of his songs while he was
offstage and he later apologised for being sick.
Bieber later tweeted “Great show. Getting better for
tomorrow's show !!!! Love u!”
He later added: “And... Milk was a bad choice!”
Bieber's 45-city Believe tour continues on Sunday at the MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
One in 10 workers has taken time off for depression
BBC News
sunday September 30
London-One in 10 workers has taken time off because of depression, a
poll of 7,000 people in seven European countries has found.
The Mori survey was carried out for the European
Depression Association (EDA) in Britain, Germany, Italy, Denmark,
Turkey, Spain and France.
Those in Britain, Denmark and Germany were most likely to be off work
because of depression.
A UK expert said support for people with depression was improving.
Overall, 20% of the 7,000 polled had received a diagnosis of
depression at some point in their lives.
The highest rate was in Britain, where 26% had been
diagnosed and the lowest in Italy, where the figure was 12%.
Among workers experiencing depression, those in Germany (61%), Denmark
(60%), and Britain (58%) were most likely to take time off work, while
those in Turkey were the least likely (25%).
Researchers have previously estimated the cost of
depression at €92bn (£73bn) in 2010 across the EU, with lost
productivity due to time off or under-performance accounting for most
of the costs.
An average of 36 days were taken for the last episode of depression -
but figures ranged from 41 in Britain to 23 in Italy.
Across the countries surveyed, one in four of with
depression said they did not tell their employer.
One in three of them said they were worried it could put their job at risk.
A third of the 792 managers surveyed said they had no
formal support in place to help them deal with employees experiencing
depression.
But the situation was better in Britain, with most of the 117 managers
questioned reporting good back-up from their HR department.
'Attention and action'
Dr Vincenzo Costigliola, president of the EDA, said "The
results of the survey show that much needs to be done in raising
awareness and supporting employees and employers in recognising and
managing depression in the workplace.
"We ask policymakers to consider the impact of depression on the
workforce and charge them with addressing depression and workers and
workplace safety."
MEP Stephen Hughes, who holds the Employment and Social
Affairs portfolio in the European Parliament, backs better support and
protection for workers.
He said: "Depression in the workplace is an employment and societal
challenge that is causing serious damage and which requires attention
and action from the European Union."
Emer O'Neill, chief executive of the Depression Alliance,
said the situation in the UK was improving.
"We have moved forward significantly. Depression and anxiety is being
talked about more and is more widely recognised. GPs are more
receptive.
"In addition, employers are increasingly coming to groups like us
to help them provide support and put procedures in place to allow
people to go through this illness like they would any other.
Ex-wrestler props up India's PM, but he may want the job
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Lucknow-As a former wrestler, Mulayam Singh Yadav has got India's
government where he likes it - in a vice-like grip.
The ructions over fresh economic reforms that reduced the
ruling coalition to a parliamentary minority last month left Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh dependent on this wheeler-dealer from the
country's dusty northern plains.
In an interview with Reuters, Yadav insisted there were no strings
attached to his support for Singh's Congress party, just a desire to
keep the opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out
of power.
"We are supporting them," he said in the Hindi language,
looking hearty for his 72 years despite rumors earlier this year that
his health was failing. "There are no conditions of any kind, it's
only to ensure communal forces do not get strengthened."
However, Yadav is at least as well known for his maneuvering as he was
in his youth for pinning opponents down in a wrestling bout: Congress
party leaders know he cannot be trusted to stick with them through
thick and thin - and few are convinced when he denies any ambition to
one day become prime minister.
For now, the 22 lawmakers of Yadav's Samajwadi (Socialist)
Party will side with the government, ensuring it can muster the 272
votes needed in parliament to prevent its collapse. Their support
became crucial after another regional party leader left the coalition,
angry over hikes in the price of subsidized fuel and a decision to
open India's doors to foreign supermarket giants.
Yadav's take on the reforms is that he opposes them, but will
nevertheless continue to support the government. "We will oppose
anything that goes against the interests of the people," he said. "But
we will not allow the government to fall."
A FAMILY BUSINESS
Yadav was born to a rural family in Uttar Pradesh, India's
most populous state with 200 million people and - since it sends more
lawmakers to Delhi than any other - its politically most important.
As a young man, he trained as a wrestler before being attracted to
socialism and local politics, eventually becoming chief minister of
the state three times and federal defense minister in a coalition
government during the 1990s.
Six months ago, when his Samajwadi Party returned to power
in Uttar Pradesh after a hiatus, Yadav stood aside for his son
Akhilesh to head the state government. That, and what was perhaps a
bout of ill-health, set off reports he was seriously ill and no longer
well enough to hold office.
"I am fine," Yadav said at his sprawling colonial bungalow in Lucknow,
capital of Uttar Pradesh. Impeccably dressed in the starched white
dhoti-kurta of the region and his salt-and-pepper hair still damp from
a mid-morning bath, he showed few signs of age as he strode out from
under the porch of his home, chatting with aides and party colleagues.
"Those were just rumors. I went on the campaign trail and
I am fine now."
In India, where caste and family play hugely important roles in
politics, the Yadavs have several advantages. They are from a
land-owning lower caste whose members were mostly subsistence farmers
and cattle herders, but have become wealthier, more politically aware
and socially assertive in recent decades.
Yadav, his daughter-in-law Dimple, a cousin and a nephew
are in the federal parliament. A brother is in the Uttar Pradesh state
government headed by Akhilesh.
On the negative side, the party is anathema for other lower caste
groups. Critics also say it is tarred by association with people who
have criminal pasts, and previous Samajwadi Party rule in Uttar
Pradesh brought rampant corruption and increased violence.
The other family firmly entrenched in Indian politics is
the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty that has ruled the country for a majority of
the years since independence in 1947, and also looks on Uttar Pradesh
as its base.
Akhilesh is often compared to the scion of that dynasty, Rahul Gandhi,
whose Congress party was burned by the Samajwadi win in the Uttar
Pradesh elections earlier this year. He dismisses talk of rivalry or
probable cooperation.
"He is a new leader, a nice man, a youth leader," Akhilesh
said in a separate interview. "We are of the same age. His party
should give him an opportunity."
INDIA'S NEXT PRIME MINISTER?
Although the Congress party-led coalition could coax other
parties to keep it alive, for now it is dependent on Mulayam Singh
Yadav, who is widely expected to demand a pound of flesh despite his
professed unconditional support.
News reports have said he will press for an illegal wealth case
against him to be dropped, and for impoverished Uttar Pradesh to get
more federal aid.
Longer term, Yadav could be preparing to form a "Third
Front" government, an amalgam of smaller parties that keeps out both
Congress and BJP after national elections due by mid-2014.
Analysts and voter surveys suggest no clear winner will emerge in
those polls, meaning the Third Front may well have the parliamentary
numbers to stake a claim to power.
Since Yadav's party won Uttar Pradesh with a large
majority, odds are he will have enough lawmakers in parliament after
the 2014 elections to put him in pole position to form a coalition,
and to head it.
Asked if Yadav could become prime minister, Sudha Pai, a political
scientist who is rector at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University,
said: "He knows how to make a deal, how to get on with other political
parties. He is very good at negotiating, he is the traditional Indian
politician."
Yadav dismisses such ambitions: "I have never been a
candidate for prime ministership, and I am not now," he said.
But the murmurs in his party, where he is called Netaji, or leader, are growing.
"No political party has a leader who is from a village or
is a farmer," said Samajwadi Party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary. "This
is a nation of villagers and farmers and Netaji represents 70 percent
of the country."
THE YOUNGER YADAV
The Samajwadi Party, which is more or less restricted to
Uttar Pradesh, cannot expect to get anything near a parliamentary
majority on its own, but its workers say it can clinch up to 60 of the
state's 80 parliamentary seats.
It could be joined by other regional parties and left-wing groups and
even a section of the Congress party could be won over to cobble a
majority, analysts say.
Akhilesh, the son and new chief minister, says governing
Uttar Pradesh is as important to him as increasing numbers in
parliament.
"It's not enough to say that because we won the state elections so
well, we will get more MPs," he said. "I have to perform, and if
people believe that my government has performed well, then the result
will be good.
"My priority is Uttar Pradesh," said the 39-year-old, a
contrast, at least on the surface, to his politician father.
The younger Yadav speaks fluent English, is tech-savvy, and studied in
Australia. He was trained as an environment engineer and was once a
keen footballer and Manchester United supporter. Now he says, politics
consume him almost completely.
"If we go to the center, Netaji will go there (and) some
of our senior leadership, but I am happy in the state," he said,
adding the party was not looking to topple Prime Minister Singh.
His father is similarly cautious.
"In 2014, Samajwadi will fight on its own strength, there
will be no understanding with anyone," he said. "After the elections,
things (alliances) happen, nothing happens before. Depending on the
circumstances, we will take decisions then."
Schwarzenegger admits habit of keeping secrets, including multiple affairs
CNN News
Monday October 1
California-Arnold Schwarzenegger said he dealt with his multiple
affairs, like other big moments in his life, by denying them -- even,
and at times especially from his wife.
"That's the way I handled things, and it always has
worked," the action hero-turned-politician said in an interview Sunday
night on CBS' "60 Minutes." "But it's not the best thing for people
around me."
For instance, Schwarzenegger admitted that he had wanted to hide his
heart surgery in 1997 from his then-pregnant wife of 11 years, Maria
Shriver. He also confided that he didn't tell Shriver about his plan
in 2003 to run for governor of California until a few days before his
campaign announcement, news that left her tearful and shaken.
Moreover, the actor and former world-class bodybuilder
admitted to cheating on Shriver, who publicly defended him against
allegations of sexually inappropriate conduct with women during his
gubernatorial campaign. While he did not specify how many affairs he'd
had before Shriver filed for divorce in July 2011, Schwarzenegger
admits two women he was involved with include "Red Sonja" co-star
Brigitte Nielsen (while he and Shriver were dating, according to
Schwarzenegger) and his family's longtime housekeeper, Mildred
Patricia Baena.
Nine months after Schwarzenegger and Baena had their affair, she gave
birth to a son -- less than a week after he and Shriver's fourth
child, Christopher, was born.
Baena remained the family's housekeeper for years, with
her son sometimes around the house as well. But Schwarzenegger said in
the "60 Minutes" interview that he didn't have any suspicions he was
the father until the boy was 7 or 8 years old and he began to notice
"that he started looking like me."
"It was never discussed, but I put things together," said
Schwarzenegger, whose autobiography "Total Recall" hits bookshelves
Monday.
After that realization, he said he began sending Baena
extra money for her and her son, without talking about his being the
boy's father.
Schwarzenegger also denied to Shriver that he'd had an affair and that
Baena's child was his son -- until Shriver confronted him during a
marriage counseling session a few months before their break-up.
"She said, 'Am I off on this or am I not?' And I said,
'You are absolutely correct.'"
By then, Schwarzenegger said he had known he'd fathered the child for
"five or six years." He called the ordeal "the stupidest thing I've
done in the whole relationship," and one that ultimately spurred his
divorce.
"I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable
pain on the kids," he said of his other four children.
The native Austrian became an international celebrity in the 1970s as
a legendary bodybuilder, capturing four Mr. Universe titles before
turning his attention to movies and becoming one of Hollywood's most
bankable stars.
Long active in public causes, Schwarzenegger turned
increasingly to politics. He announced his first run for public office
in 2003 on "The Tonight Show"-- despite what he felt was a
"dismissive" attitude from ace Republican operative Karl Rove -- and
beat recalled Gov. Gray Davis to become California's governor.
During the CBS interview, Schwarzenegger discussed some of his
experiences in Sacramento, when he was mired in thorny budget issues
and was known as a moderate even as he then, and now, proudly defines
himself as a Republican. He said, for example, that he performed two
same-sex weddings while in office, even though he publicly supported
defining marriage as being between a man and a woman and vetoed
legislation in September 2005 that would have legalized gay marriage
in the state.
Winning re-election in 2006, Schwarzenegger remained
governor until his term ended in January 2011. Since then, he has
returned to the silver screen -- not due to a desire to amass more
money, he insists -- including this summer's "The Expendables 2" and a
slew of new projects set for release in the next few years.
Schwarzenegger has remained, too, in the public eye. That includes
lending his name, and money, to a new political institute at the
University of Southern California, as well as writing and now touting
his new autobiography.
In addition to his professional and political successes,
the latter process led him to reflect on many "screw-ups" he has made
over the years, some of which he attributed to being "an expert in
living in denial."
Still, Schwarzenegger added that he's tried to stay positive and never
been one to get bogged down by his mistakes.
"I don't dwell on it," he said. "I don't suffer anything
that I have lost."
A spokesman for Shriver told CNN Sunday night that there would be no
comment from Shriver in response to the "60 Minutes" interview.
"I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria," Schwarzenegger says.
Pussy Riot case: Russian court to hear appeal
BBC News
Monday October 1
Moscow-A Russian court is due to hear an appeal by three activists
from punk band Pussy Riot. In August, three members of the group were
jailed for two years for staging an anti-Kremlin protest in a Moscow
cathedral.
The Russian Orthodox Church said on Sunday that clemency
should be possible for the trio as long as they repented what they
called their "punk prayer".
But their lawyers have said that they doubt the appeal will be successful.
The three band members - Maria Alyokhina, 24, Nadezhda
Tolokonnikova, 22, and Yekaterina Samutsevich, 30 - were found guilty
of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" in August.
Their imprisonment sparked condemnation in many parts of the world.
'Pointless call'
Their obscenity-laced performance, which implored the
Virgin Mary to "throw out" President Vladimir Putin and sought, they
said, to highlight the Russian Orthodox Church leader's support for
the president, enraged the Church.
But, in a statement, the Church said that though the women's action
"cannot be left unpunished", if they showed penitence and
reconsideration of their action their words "shouldn't be left
unnoticed".
"The church sincerely wishes for the repentance of those
who desecrated a holy place, certainly it would benefit their souls,"
senior Church spokesman Vladimir Legoida said.
The church's comments follow a suggestion from Russian Prime Minister
Dmitry Medvedev last month that a suspended sentence would have been
sufficient punishment for the women.
Their lawyers have said that their clients will not repent
if it means admitting guilt.
"If they [the church] mean repentance in the sense of a crime ... it
definitely won't happen. Our clients won't admit guilt. A call for
that is pointless," lawyer Mark Feigin told independent TV channel
Dozhd on Sunday.
The father of one of the jailed women said that whether
they repent or not, the trio have little hope of their sentences being
quashed.
"The sentence is predetermined; their repentance will not affect it in
any way," Stanislav Samutsevich told Reuters.
Polls open in Georgia election
Al Jazeera
Monday October 1
Georgia-Voters in Georgia are choosing a new parliament in an election
that will decide the future of President Mikhail Saakashvili's
government.
His party, which has dominated parliament, is facing a
serious challenge from an opposition coalition led by billionaire
businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.
With the country on edge and fears of fraud running high, Monday's
election is seen as a test of Saakashvili's commitment to democracy as
Georgia strives for eventual membership in the European Union and
NATO.
The election sets in motion a change in the political
system to give greater powers to the parliament and prime minister.
After Saakashvili's second term ends next year, the party that holds
the majority in parliament will have the right to name the prime
minister, who will become more powerful than the president.
'Free of intimidation'
Most observers see Monday's electoral race as too close to
call, although they give the governing party the edge.
"The tactic which police will employ will be very cautious ... Only as
a last resort we will use force"
Revelations this month of the torture and rape of prison
inmates prompted protests and hit the United National Movement.
The interior ministry promised on Sunday to prevent violence at
polling stations.
"I believe that we can ensure an environment on election
day free of intimidation and pressure, allowing every voter in Georgia
to cast their vote in a peaceful environment," Eka Zguladze, the
interior minister, told AFP news agency.
She said police would show restraint when dealing with any polling day
incidents in order not to inflame tensions.
"The tactic which police will employ will be very cautious
... Only as a last resort we will use force," she said.
Zguladze said that since the torture scandal erupted, there had been
50 arrests across the country amid a series of scuffles involving
political activists, ordinary Georgians, public officials and police
officers.
Fears of unrest
The showdown between the United National Movement and
Ivanishvili's opposition bloc has caused fears of unrest in the
Western-backed state with a recent history of political turmoil and
civil conflict.
Huge crowds packed Tbilisi's central Freedom Square and the capital's
main street on Saturday to cheer Ivanishvili.
Opposition supporters marched on the square in large
columns from several locations across the city, wearing his
coalition's T-shirts, carrying the bloc's banners and flags and
chanting "Georgia! Georgia!"
Thousands of Ivanishvili's supporters also staged a simultaneous rally
in Georgia's second-largest city, Kutaisi.
On the same day, thousands of United National Movement
supporters gathered in the Black Sea resort city of Batumi, many
waving Georgian flags, carrying campaign placards and chanting
Saakashvili's nickname: "Misha! Misha!"
Tbilisi long ago turned against Saakashvili, with many people
disturbed by what they describe as his authoritarian rule.
Georgian parliamentary elections are taking place under
the shadow of a prison torture-and-rape scandal [AFP]
Al Jazeera's Robin Forestier-Walker, reporting from Tbilisi, said
Saturday's huge rally showed some momentum for the opposition,
indicating "a lot more spontaneity" compared to the ruling party's
rally.
"There is a strong feeling that the opposition is actually
going to be doing a lot better as a consequence" of the recent fallout
over a prison abuse scandal, he said.
Despite the palpable political tension, election officials prepared
ballot boxes and checking electoral lists at a polling station Tbilisi
on Saturday.
"Everything is ready," Mari Dgebuadze, chair of the
polling station, said.
"All the documentation and voting lists are placed and I want to
assure everyone that the voting process will take place in accordance
to the law."
More than 400 observers will be monitoring the elections.
A delegation from OSCE's (Organisation for Security and Co-operation
in Europe) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
will be the largest, with 290 observers.
"I am sure we will have a fairly good assessment and a
fairly good comprehensive view of the electoral process here," Thomas
Rymer, spokesman for the ODIHR, said.
Saakashvili is under pressure to prove his commitment to democracy by
holding a free and fair vote.
The election has added significance because it ushers in a
new political system that will give greater powers to the parliament
and prime minister.
After Saakashvili's second and last term ends next year, the party
that has a majority in parliament will have the right to name the
prime minister, who will acquire many of the powers now held by the
president.
Under Saakashvili, the former Soviet republic has become a
US ally and worked towards closer integration with NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation) and the European Union.
Video's political fallout
Saakashvili's campaign was hit hard by the release two
weeks ago of shocking videos showing prisoners in a Tbilisi jail being
beaten.
The government moved quickly to stem the anger, replacing cabinet
ministers blamed for the abuse and arresting prison staff, but many
saw the videos as illustrating the excesses of his government.
When Saakashvili took over Georgia in early 2004, it was
close to being a failed state.
He succeeded in wiping out the crime bosses who ruled the streets,
eradicating petty corruption, restoring basic public services and
enacting reforms that led to high economic growth.
Poverty and unemployment rates, however, remain painfully high.
Ivanishvili's support lies in the educated, professional and cultural
classes of Tbilisi, where about a third of Georgia's 4.5 million
people live.
Some of them, including prominent theatre actors and
directors, have benefited directly from his largesse.
Ivanishvili says he has spent a total of $1.7bn to help Georgia, most
notably paying government officials' salaries when Saakashvili first
came to power and buying patrol cars for a new police force.
Saakashvili has tried to discredit his former patron by suggesting
he has ties with Georgian crime bosses now living abroad.
Bangladesh Muslims torch Buddhist shrines, police say
CNN News
Monday October 1
Dhaka-Crowds of angry Muslims attacked Buddhist shrines and homes,
torching some of them Sunday in Bangladesh to protest after a photo of
a partially burned Quran was posted on Facebook, police said.
The protesters chanted anti-Buddhist slogans, blaming the
burning of the Muslim holy book on a Buddhist boy, district police
superintendent Saleem Jahangir said.
The boy is tagged in the photo but did not post it himself, Jahangir
said. The boy's account has been deleted and police are not naming
him.
The violence began in Ramu in Cox's Bazar, a town south of
the capital Dhaka on the coast, early Sunday and it spread in the
adjacent areas through Sunday evening, Jainul Bari, administrative
chief of the tourist district, told CNN.
"We've called in army along with paramilitary troopers and police who
were constantly guarding the areas to ward off any further violence,"
Bari said.
At least seven temples were burned in Ramu and five others
were damaged in other areas, police said. At least 50 houses were
damaged or destroyed, they said.
Police were not able to provide information on the number of people
injured in the violence.
"Now the situation is under control," Jahangir said.
Bangladesh Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, who visited the scene
of the violence Sunday, said blamed the opposition Bangladesh
Nationalist Party for the attacks. The minister said the violence was
planned, citing evidence of gunpowder and petrol found in the burnt
monasteries and houses.
The government formed a committee to investigate the
violence, with a report due in 10 days.
The south Asian nation is about 90% Muslim, the Pew Forum on Religion
& Public Life estimated in its 2011 survey of the global Muslim
population.
It is less than 1% Buddhist.
Actual or reported Quran burning has led to violence in Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
Relatively peaceful Bangladesh was one of many countries that saw
demonstrations recently against the online video "The Innocence of
Muslims," which portrays the prophet Mohammed as a womanizer and child
abuser.
Climate change 'may shrink fish'
BBC News
Sunday September 30
London-Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24%
because of global warming, say scientists. Researchers modelled the
impact of rising temperatures on more than 600 species between 2001
and 2050.
Warmer waters could decrease ocean oxygen levels and
significantly reduce fish body weight.
The scientists argue that failure to control greenhouse gas emissions
will have a greater impact on marine ecosystems than previously
thought.
Previous research has suggested that changing ocean
temperatures would impact both the distribution and the reproductive
abilities of many species of fish. This new work suggests that fish
size would also be heavily impacted.
The researchers built a model to see how fish would react to lower
levels of oxygen in the water. They used data from one of the higher
emissions scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC).
Warming the fish
Although this data projects relatively small changes in
temperatures at the bottom of the oceans, the resulting impacts on
fish body size are "unexpectedly large" according to the paper.
As ocean temperatures increase, so do the body temperatures of fish.
But, according to lead author, Dr William Cheung, from the University
of British Columbia, the level of oxygen in the water is key.
"Rising temperatures directly increase the metabolic rate
of the fish's body function," he told BBC News.
"This leads to an increase in oxygen demand for normal body
activities. So the fish will run out of oxygen for growth at a smaller
body size."
The research team also used its model to predict fish
movements as a result of warming waters. The group believes that most
fish populations will move towards the Earth's poles at a rate of up
to 36km per decade.
"So in, say, the North Sea," says Dr Cheung, "one would expect to see
more smaller-body fish from tropical waters in the future."
Conservative model
Taking both the movements and the physiological impacts of
rising temperatures together, the research team concludes that fish
body size will shrink between 14% and 24%, with the largest decreases
in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.
When compared with actual observations of fish sizes, the model seems
to underestimate what's actually happening in the seas.
The researchers looked at two case studies involving North
Atlantic cod and haddock. They found that recorded data on these fish
showed greater decreases in body size than the models had predicted.
Other scientists say the impact could be widely felt.
Dr Alan Baudron, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, has
studied changes in the growth of haddock in the North Sea. He says
this latest research is a "strong result".
He believes it could have negative implications for the yields of
fisheries. And it could also seriously impact the ability of fish to
reproduce, he adds.
"Smaller individuals produce fewer and smaller eggs which
could affect the reproductive potential of fish stocks and could
potentially reduce their resilience to other factors such as fishing
pressure and pollution," he told BBC News.
The authors point out a number of limiting factors in their study,
including uncertainties in the predictions for the climate and the
oceans. According to Dr Cheung, further research is required.
"Our study shows that climate change can lead to a
substantial decrease in the maximum body weight of fish. We need to
look more closely at the biological response in the future."
The research has been published in the Journal Nature Climate Change.
San Jose, Costa Rica to install its first street signs
Reuters
Friday September 28
San Jose-San Jose, Costa Rica, unveiled plans on Thursday to install
its first street signs, so residents will not have to cite local
landmarks like fast-food chains or gas stations when giving
directions.
Municipal workers will install about 22,000 signs and
plaques on street corners in the city, home to 1.4 million people,
where the current informal system is tolerated by residents, but
creates headaches for visitors and the post office.
"My current home address is 200 meters north of the Pizza Hut then 400
meters west, but in a few months, I will be able to give a proper
street name and a number," San Jose Mayor Johnny Araya said during a
ceremony where the first street sign was placed.
Other popular landmarks residents use to describe how to
get somewhere include the McDonald's restaurant chain, former
President and Nobel Prize-winner Oscar Arias' house, a famous fig tree
that has long since died and the site of an old cattle shed turned gas
station.
Many streets will be named after illustrious political and
intellectual figures from Costa Rican history.
Araya hopes the plan will reduce economic losses caused by
undelivered, returned or re-sent mail, estimated at $720 million a
year by the Inter-American Development Bank in 2008.
Almost one-quarter of the country's mail never reaches its
destination, a spokesman for the Costa Rican post office said.
Postal codes were introduced in 2007 to help matters, but
no one uses them because they do not know how to find them.
Costa Rica embarked on a street-naming crusade about 30 years ago, but
the signposts were never installed. This time, funding from two
different banks made the $1 million project possible.
Once the signage is up, Araya intends to undertake a
campaign to encourage use of the new system, which is expected to
encounter some resistance.
"I don't think it's going to work", 29-year-old taxi driver Manuel
Perez said. "If a tourist tells me to take him to a hotel in whatever
street, I'm going to say 'you're speaking to me in Chinese,' because I
don't know where that is. I need a landmark."
Ronaldo treble as Real rout Deportivo
Super Sport
Sunday September 30
Madrid-Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick as Real Madrid kept on the
trail of leaders Barcelona with a 5-1 rout of Deportivo La Coruna on
Sunday.
The visitors took a shock lead after 15 minutes through
Riki but Madrid quickly bounced back with Ronaldo hitting his first
from the penalty spot after Angel Di Maria was felled.
It was Di Maria himself who put his team ahead and then Ronaldo got
his second shortly before the break.
With Madrid controlling the game Pepe headed home and
Ronaldo scored another penalty in the second half to complete the rout
and remain eight points behind Barcelona who beat Sevilla 3-2 on
Saturday.
While Barca have won all six of their opening games, Madrid made a
stuttering start but will now go into next weekend's El Clasico with
back-to-back wins and Ronaldo hitting form.
"We know that it is going to be difficult against
Barcelona and we are away from home but we have to be concentrated and
confident that we can win there. We will go out to win," said Ronaldo.
"We didn't start with the right mentality against Deportivo but after
we went 1-0 down we made a good comeback. We are doing okay but we
know that we cannot afford to drop any more points."
Deportivo coach Jose Luis Oltra admitted that it was a
poor performance.
"We didn't even deserve to go 1-0 in front as we had done nothing up
to then," he said.
"We have to pick ourselves up now and correct the errors
but I don't think it will affect us badly the size of the scoreline.
"This kind of result can happen but I would have preferred it if we
had been more courageous and taken the game to them."
Real coach Jose Mourinho chose to rest Xabi Alonso and
Alvaro Arbeloa and, in a new-look midfield, Sami Khedira was joined by
Luka Modric in the centre, who up until Sunday had played further
forward.
At the back, Sergio Ramos switched to right back with Raphael Varane
coming into the centre.
Madrid had plenty of early pressure with Ronaldo having a
snap shot after 10 minutes which keeper Daniel Aranzubia got down well
to block and then the Portuguese fired wide from the edge of the area.
The visitors had seen little of the ball but went ahead through
practically their first attack thanks to a Madrid defence which had
gaping holes.
The ball was played into Riki who found plenty of space
between Varane and Pepe and then slotted into the corner.
Di Maria was lively in attack and seemed the most likely to offer a response.
He chipped over the crossbar from a tight angle and then
won a penalty after being pulled down by Manuel Pablo which was
dispatched by Ronaldo.
It was Di Maria who then put Madrid ahead with a clinical finish
inside the area after a fine through ball from Modric.
While his big rival at Barcelona Lionel Messi has
continued his blistering form this season, it has not been the same
for Ronaldo who has not reached his usual standards, claiming that he
was unhappy.
He lacked his killer touch after bursting past Manuel Pablo after 32
minutes as he fired wide but he showed desire to pounce and extend
Madrid's lead before the break.
Sergio Ramos' shot was well saved by Aranzubia and Ronaldo
was the first to react as he dived in to head the ball over the line.
Kaka was given a rare appearance after the break and Alonso was also
introduced as Madrid were able to stroll in the second half with
Deportivo offering little.
Pepe headed in an Alonso free-kick after 65 minutes and
then Ronaldo got his third of the night again from the penalty spot
after a handball by Evaldo Santos.
Atletico Madrid won their fifth league game in succession as a Raul
Garcia header gave them a 1-0 victory over Espanyol.
The in-form midfielder struck after 30 minutes and it
means that Atletico haven't dropped a point since their opening day
draw with Levante but the situation is getting desperate for Espanyol
who have just one point.
Earlier Valladolid demolished Rayo Valladolid 6-1, Osasuna made easy
work of Levante with a 4-0 victory while Granada came out on top 2-1
against Celta Vigo.
News from the Axis
Venezuela opposition mourns slaying of Capriles activists
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Caracas-Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles demanded
justice on Sunday for the shooting of three of his activists, while
President Hugo Chavez promised to expand his socialist agenda if he
wins next weekend's election.
With a week to go, Venezuela's presidential race looks
close and tensions are rising. On Saturday, gunmen killed three
pro-Capriles activists in Barinas state - the worst violence of the
campaign.
"Yesterday, sadly, violence took three lives, something that should
never have happened," Capriles told hundreds of thousands of exuberant
supporters at a rally in Caracas that appeared to be the largest of
his campaign.
"I want to tell their families, and those angels in
heaven, that we are going to defeat violence on the 7th of October."
Capriles' Primero Justicia (Justice First) party said the assailants
had fired from a van that witnesses identified as belonging to a state
agency, after Chavez supporters had blocked an opposition motorcade.
The government did not admit fault in the shooting, but
promised an investigation into what it said was an isolated incident
in the South American nation of 29 million people.
Chavez said he regretted the deaths and called for calm, while at the
same time saying any confrontation would come from the "bourgeois"
opposition.
"It's not with violence that we face off. It's with votes,
ideas, peace, so let's not fall into provocations," Chavez said during
a rally in western Zulia province.
Venezuela is awash with arms, and voters cite violent crime as their
No. 1 concern. There have been gunshots and clashes at previous
opposition rallies, but no deaths.
TIGHT RACE
Capriles has hammered Chavez daily for his record on
day-to-day problems like crime, blackouts and shoddy infrastructure
and drew a frank response from the president.
"Efficiency, that is one of my promises for the next period. We have
to correct things," the 58-year-old Chavez said on Sunday in his most
direct comment on a theme the opposition hopes could sway former
"Chavistas" into their camp.
Chavez has acknowledged Venezuelans' frustration with
grassroots problems in his recent campaign speeches, but said things
would be far worse under Capriles, who he paints as a heartless
capitalist elitist.
Capriles, 40, is a state governor with a centrist view of a
Brazilian-style, pro-business government with strong welfare policies.
Both men have spent time in prison - Chavez for a failed military coup
in 1992 and Capriles for a fracas outside the Cuban Embassy during a
short putsch against Chavez in 2002.
With one week to go, polls are mixed, leading both sides
to claim they are heading for victory.
Venezuelans are fearful of violence if the result is close and disputed.
Of the six best-known pollsters in Venezuela, a majority put Chavez
ahead, but they also show Capriles creeping up in recent weeks. Two
polls put Capriles just ahead of Chavez.
Despite two bouts of cancer since mid-2011, Chavez has
declared himself completely cured and is trying to recapture his old
energy to win another six-year term.
He was campaigning in two states on Sunday.
MORE SOCIALISM
Western investors hope the more business-friendly Capriles
will win and end a nationalization drive and other radical policies
that have polarized Venezuela and made Chavez one of the world's most
controversial leaders.
"I will not aspire to be a Messiah," Capriles told the rally, saying
Chavez was more interested in a grandiose self-image than in solving
Venezuela's problems.
Chavez has directed a large part of the OPEC member's oil
revenues to social welfare projects popular with the nation's poor. He
also maintains a unique connection with the masses, thanks to his
folksy rhetoric and own humble roots.
On Sunday he promised to "deepen" socialism if he wins.
That would likely mean continued spending on his popular
welfare "missions," more investment from politically aligned allies
like China and Iran, new confrontations with Venezuela's private
sector and continued support for fellow leftists governments in Latin
America like Cuba and Nicaragua.
"The first thing we are going to do with our victory is something like
put a lockdown on what we have achieved, to prevent any going
backwards. That would be terrible," Chavez said in an interview on
state TV.
After election wins in the past, Chavez has launched
nationalization or constitutional reform drives.
Opposition leaders are angry at Chavez' use of state resources in his
campaign, but say the electronic-based voting system should be hard to
rig on election day, since they will have their own observers at most
voting booths.
Some Capriles supporters, who regard Chavez as a dictator,
believe he would refuse to accept defeat.
"Chavez will definitely put up a fight because he does not want to
lose power," said Vessla Rodriguez, 62, waving a huge flag with
Capriles' slogan "There is a way" at the march.
"Just look at Fidel Castro," she added, in reference to Chavez's
friend and mentor who led Cuba for decades.
Iraq suffers deadliest day in nearly a month
CNN News
Monday October 1
Baghdad-At least 30 people were killed Sunday in a wave of bombings in
Iraq, making it the country's deadliest day in nearly a month.
The country's majority Shiite Muslim community appeared to
be the main target of the attacks, with a Shiite shrine among the
targets.
The blasts seem to be part of a new increase in the level of violence
in the country after a period of relative stability.
There were seven explosions in and around Baghdad, which
killed 20 people, police officials in the capital said. At least 37
other people were wounded in the blasts in the city center, the
Baghdad neighborhoods of al-Mashahda and al-Amel, and the nearby city
of Taji.
A car bomb later exploded near a Shiite shrine in al-Madaan, killing
four people. Nineteen other people were wounded, including four
Iranians, police officials told CNN. Iraq is the site of many Shiite
holy sites visited by pilgrims from Iran.
The shrine is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Baghdad.
And in the predominantly Shiite city of Kut, six people, including
three Iraqi police officers, were killed and 10 people were wounded in
a car bomb explosion at a police checkpoint.
The incident occurred Sunday around 7 a.m. about 110
kilometers (68 miles) south of Baghdad in Wasit province.
Health and police officials in Kut told CNN earlier that eight people
were killed and 18 others wounded in that bombing, but the Interior
Ministry then said some of those casualties were from a car accident.
The violence comes just days after dozens of prisoners
broke out of a jail in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit. Among those
who got out Thursday were several al Qaeda members on death row,
according to authorities.
The jailbreak occurred when armed men detonated two car bombs at the
gates of Tasfirat jail. The explosions triggered clashes with security
forces.
Ten security forces and five prisoners died. Twenty
security forces and 20 prisoners were wounded.
Three weeks ago, at least 63 people were killed and roughly 200 others
were wounded in a fresh wave of violence largely targeting Iraqi
security forces and predominantly Shiite areas, government officials
said.
The September 9 blasts and shootings across Iraq came on
the heels of a particularly brutal few weeks in the Middle Eastern
nation. More than 70 Iraqi security force members were killed in
August, according to the Interior Ministry.
Iraq has battled political infighting among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds,
raising worries that the political conflict will return to the level
of violence that nearly tore the country apart in 2006.
While violence has decreased since the height of the
U.S.-led war in 2005 and 2006, there has been a sharp escalation in
attacks in recent months. In July, the number of dead hit a two-year
peak with 325 deaths reported, according to the Interior Ministry.
That was the deadliest single month since August 2010, it said.
Baghdad's Shiite-dominated government has blamed the recent attacks on
Sunni insurgents with ties to al Qaeda.
U.S. troops completed their withdrawal from Iraq in December.
Large part of ancient souk in Syria's Aleppo in ashes: activists
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Beirut-Large parts of Aleppo's covered market, the largest of its kind
in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site that traces its history
back to the 14th century, have been reduced to ashes as government
forces and rebels fight for control of the city.
The historic market was largely undamaged by earlier
fighting in Syria's largest city, but in the early hours of Saturday
some of its shops caught fire during clashes in circumstances that
remain unclear.
The flames spread rapidly, partly because many of the small retail
units tucked beneath the market's ancient arches were full of fabric,
and have now ravaged at least 1,500 shops and are still burning,
activists said.
"It is not only the souk that is burning, my heart is
burning as well," said an anti-government activist called Hashem who
learnt the craft of jewelry-making in the souk before the revolt
against President Bashar al-Assad erupted last year.
The souk's devastation is a reminder of how the 18-month-old conflict
- in which both sides are struggling to gain the upper hand and
activists estimate 30,000 people have been killed - is destroying
Syria's rich cultural and historical legacy as well as the lives of
its 22.5 million people.
Aleppo's old city is one of several places that UNESCO,
the United Nations cultural agency, has designated world heritage
sites and which are now at risk.
UNESCO believes that five of Syria's six world heritage sites have
already been damaged. Other heritage sites include the ancient desert
city of Palmyra, the Crac des Chevaliers crusader fortress and parts
of old Damascus.
It was not immediately clear how the fire in the market
started but activists accused government forces of using incendiary
bullets to attack rebels who had taken up positions there after
launching a new offensive in the city on Thursday.
"The fighters tried to put out the fire but failed to do so because
snipers were shooting at them," another activist said.
"The fire is still raging and at least 1,500 shops have
now been burnt down."
The market - Souk al-Madina - comprises a network of vaulted stone
alleyways and carved wooden facades and was once a major tourist
attraction and a busy cosmopolitan trading hub on the ancient Silk
Road from China.
Its many narrow alleys have a combined length of 13 km (8
miles) making it the largest covered market in the world and it sells
everything from soap to jewelry to clothing.
ANGER TOWARDS THE REBELS
Activists said they were working to try to document the
scale of the damage, which it is estimated it will cost millions of
dollars to repair.
Some anti-government activists have privately expressed anger towards
their own fighters for taking up positions in the old city. "We all
know that this is a criminal regime and it will do anything," said one
activist who declined to be named. "That is why the fighters had no
business being in the souk. Why did they go there?"
But other activists defended the rebels' behavior.
"The fire spread as far as the Umayyad Mosque, the fighters who
managed to stop it from spreading even further," an activist from the
city called Yasser said.
"For all those asking why the fighters are in the Old
City, we say we have only entered to liberate it"
Rebels said they were involved in heavy clashes in Aleppo on Sunday,
saying they had attacked the Neirab military air base. They also
reported fighting in Arkoub, east of the city.
The failure of either side to break the military deadlock
is reflected diplomatically, with foreign powers divided over how to
act. Western states and Gulf Arab countries back the opposition but
most seem reluctant to interfere, while Russia, China and Iran back
Assad.
Speaking to a conference of the ruling AK party in Turkey, Egyptian
President Mohamed Mursi - who has said he opposes military
intervention in Syria - said he favored a diplomatic solution
facilitated by the Arab League, the United Nations and individual
countries across the world.
He said the Syrian people were being "butchered and killed
day and night" and that he fully backed their struggle to overthrow
Assad.
"We will not be calm, we will not settle down until this bloodshed
stops and until the will of the Syrian people to choose their own
leader is realized and until this current oppressive leadership
disappears," he said.
"This oppressive regime is spilling the people's blood and
the Syrian people must gain full liberty."
Activists reported fresh clashes in Damascus suburbs on Sunday and at
least eight bodies were reported to have been found in the northern
suburb of Barzeh. Clashes were also reported to have erupted in some
parts of Homs city.
Syrian state television said a suicide bomber had killed at least
four people in the northern city of Qamishli. The Syrian Observatory
for Human Rights said at least eight members of the security forces
had been killed in the explosion which it said targeted a police
station.
Iran's Q1 steel products exports up 176% compared to last year
PressTV
Monday October 1
Tehran-Iran's exports of steel products have witnessed a 176-percent
growth in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year
(March 20 - July 21) compared to the corresponding period of the
previous year.
An official of the Iranian Steel Producers Association
made the remarks during a press conference on Sunday, IRNA reported.
He stated that there has been a 25-percent reduction in the import of
crude steel and other steel products.
The official added that two new steel plants will be
established in Iran by the end of the current Iranian calendar year:
one in Fars province and another in the north of the country.
The main steel mills of the country are located in Isfahan and
Khuzestan provinces.
The major raw steel factories in Iran are the Mobarakeh
Steel Mill, with approximately 47 percent of the market share, the
Khuzestan Steel Company with about 23 percent, the Isfahan Foundry
with about 20 percent, and the Iran National Steel Industries Group
with approximately 10 percent of the market share.
Iran is among the 15 major mineral-rich countries of the world and
exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries,
including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and
Afghanistan.
Political & General
Tsvangirai apologises for love scandals
Radio VoP
Sunday September 30
Bulawayo-Prime Minister, Morgan Tsvangirai has apologised to
Zimbabweans for the love scandals that have rocked his love life since
the death of his first wife Susan in 2009.
Tsvangirai said he had no intention of hurting his
ex-lovers or causing the love scandals that have seen two of his
ex-lovers dragging him to court over his marriage to Elizabeth
Macheka.
“I know that the journey that I have travelled to make this choice has
been rough.
“It has been filled with all sorts of troubles but I am
glad that eventually I have made a choice. I want to say that
although the road was not easy, I had no intention of hurting anyone.
“It was a genuine search and therefore I would like to apologise to
those that were inconvenienced,” Tsvangirai said in his address to
over 15 000 MDC T supporters during the party’s 13th anniversary
celebrations held at White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday.
“I had no intention of hurting anyone,” he added.
The Premier has been linked to several women since the death of his wife Susan.
Tsvangirai wed Macheka recently customarily after ex-lover
Locardia Karimatsenga won a court order cancelling his white wedding.
Another ex-lover, South African Nosipho Regina Shilubane also launched
a court bid to stop the marriage.
Karimatsenga is now demanding US$15 000 maintenance from
Tsvangirai while Shilubane says she is angry she was dumped through a
text message.
Mugabe’s poll timetable ‘impossible’
AP
Sunday September 30
Harare-A Zimbabwean independent monitoring group says it will be
impossible to hold free and fair elections in March when President
Robert Mugabe wants the polls.
The Zimbabwe Election Support Network said on Sunday the
call by Mugabe for full elections in the last week of March doesn't
allow enough time to establish conditions for a free vote.
The group said it is “adamant that logistically it is impossible” to
meet Mugabe's timetable and complete constitutional and electoral
reforms demanded by regional leaders.
It cited disputes in finalising a new constitution,
continuing political intimidation and gross inaccuracies in voters'
lists that still name “ghost” voters who have long been dead.
Rushed voting couldn't be held on “a fair playing field” and the
outcome would be unacceptable by democratic standards, the group said.
Mugabe has also called for a referendum on the 150-page
draft constitution in November, but a parliamentary panel in charge of
compiling the draft says it must be put to a stakeholders' conference
first. That conference of political parties and civic and interest
groups has already been postponed to late October.
The election monitoring group said in a statement on Sunday the
electoral commission responsible for running any poll has not yet
received adequate funding, the draft constitution has not been widely
publicised and laws governing the referendum itself are out of date
and need revision.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition
leader in a fragile power-sharing coalition with Mugabe that was
formed by regional mediators after the last violent and disputed polls
in 2008, has called on his supporters to back the reformed
constitution with a 'Yes' vote in the referendum.
The regional leaders, led by the chief mediator on Zimbabwe, South
African President Jacob Zuma, have proposed June as a more realistic
time for fresh elections to end the coalition.
The poll monitoring group said an audit it carried out of
voters' registration lists last year showed 27 percent of entries were
dead voters and 47 percent of five million voters no longer lived at
the residential addresses given, opening the way for abuse and
rigging.
It said sweeping security laws and media curbs favouring Mugabe have
not been repealed, “hate speech” against opponents of Mugabe, 88,
carried by his loyalist state media has persisted and Tsvangirai's
party has been denied fair access to the state broadcaster, the sole
source of information for most rural Zimbabweans.
Tsvangirai, 60, has been mauled in Mugabe's media over
reports he had several love affairs after his wife of 30 years died in
a car crash in 2009.
The state Sunday Mail newspaper reported that Tsvangirai made what it
called “a stunning climbdown” at the 13th anniversary of the
foundation of his party on Saturday when he apologised to “a coterie
of women he inconvenienced by his escapades”.
“I would like to apologise to anyone who was hurt because it was
not my intention, it was a genuine search for a new wife,” the paper
quoted Tsvangirai saying at anniversary celebrations in the second
city of Bulawayo.
Locardia ready to meet PM’s family
New Zimbabwe
Sunday September 30
Harare-PRIME Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s estranged wife, Locardia
Karimatsenga, has said she is ready to meet his family to resolve
their differences as the MDC-T leader offered an apology for his messy
love life over the weekend.
Tsvangirai, who is scrambling to end his relationship with
Karimatsenga, expressed regret over his affairs as he introduced new
wife, Elizabeth Macheka, to supporters at the MDC-T's 13th anniversary
rally in Bulawayo Saturday.
Said the MDC-T leader: "I know the road I travelled to make this
choice (Macheka) has been rough and has been filled with all sorts of
trouble, but I am glad I eventually made my choice. I had no intention
to hurt anyone. It (the search for a wife) was a genuine search. I
want to apologise to anyone who has been hurt."
Tsvangirai’s planned wedding with Macheka was blocked by
the courts after Karimatsenga proved she was married to the MDC-T
leader under customary law and, now, his family has intervened in a
bid to end their embarrassing public fall-out.
Karimatsenga said Sunday she was ready to meet the premier’s family
and insisted she remained in contact with his mother.
“I respect Mbuya Tsvangirai as she is my mother-in-law and
I have agreed to meet her,” she told the Daily News on Sunday.
“During the time I stayed with her in Buhera we had a good
relationship and I don’t have problems with her at all, including all
the other Tsvangirai relatives in Buhera. I do have respect for my
in-laws in Buhera.
“I stayed with (Tsvangirai’s mother) for two months in
Buhera and we had a good time together and she was also supporting me
and persuaded me to stay with the PM and said she wanted me to be her
daughter-in-law.
“Even the brothers and sisters of the PM had accepted me to be their
daughter-in-law and actually gave the blessing of staying together
with him in Chisipite.”
Tsvangirai’s family want the dispute resolved away from
the public glare of the courts where Karimatsenga is also suing the
MDC-T leader for spousal maintenance.
But she insisted she had been left with no choice after finding their
marital home boarded-up and her husband nowhere to be seen when she
returned from South Africa where she was treated after suffering a
miscarriage.
“I did not want to approach the courts but I was left with
no option except to follow that route,” she said.
“When I returned from South Africa, where I had gone for treatment, I
phoned and informed (Tsvangirai’s mother) that I was going to court,
to challenge the wedding by PM and Elizabeth Macheka because I had
found my home which I was living with the PM in Chisipite shut, and I
was reading in the press that the PM was going to wed Elizabeth.
“She (Tsvangirai’s mother) gave me the go-ahead to proceed
with the matter because the PM did not officially tell me that he no
longer wanted me and if he was to wed, my rights as her wife were
going to be limited as I could not be able to associate with him and
enjoy my conjugal rights.’"
The Harare businesswoman said news of her husband’s intended nuptials
with Macheka contributed to the worsening of her health but insisted
she had since come to terms with the development and had no problems
being in a polygamous relationship.
“I read those stories (about the planned marriage) in the
press, it affected my health badly and I suffered from high blood
pressure as I was pregnant resulting in having a miscarriage,” she
said.
“Mbuya Tsvangirai told me to accept to be in a polygamous marriage
with the PM and I had accepted it. The problem is there are too many
people involving themselves in our matters and it has become a public
consumption (but) I believe myself and the PM can resolve our matter.”
Police detain MDC-T officials in Bulawayo
SW Radio Africa
Friday September 28
Bulawayo-The MDC-T Deputy Organiser for Bulawayo, Tsepiso Mpofu and
eight other party activists were arrested and briefly detained by riot
police in Bulawayo on Thursday, which the party said highlights
partisan police actions and selective application of the law.
The others were released soon after the arrest.
But Mpofu was charged with “aggressive behavior towards police” and
made to pay an admission of guilt fine before being released four
hours later.
SW Radio Africa correspondent Lionel Saungweme said the police also
confiscated posters that the MDC-T activists were distributing ahead
of the party’s 13th anniversary celebrations, which are to be held at
White City Stadium in Bulawayo on Saturday.
“They were driving around distributing flyers for the
Saturday celebrations when they were approached by plain clothes
officers who said the driver had no license. So the driver produced a
license.
Then they accused them of breaching POSA by having too many people in
the car,” Saungweme said.
Saungweme reported that the police officers began quarrelling with the
MDC-T activists and officials, which led to their arrest and charges
of “improper conduct against the police”.
“A Constable Dube was behind the arrests together with
known members of the CIO & anti-riot police officers who had come to
reinforce their colleagues. They arrested Tsepiso and eight others
with no specific charges,” Saungweme said.
The MDC-T anniversary rally is set to be held amidst water shortages
that have plagued Bulawayo recently.
Saungweme said: “The high density areas have been hit the
hardest. But the mayor told the MDC leadership four bowsers would be
provided to avoid a health disaster at White City Stadium.”
Senior MDC-T officials, including party president Morgan Tsvangirai
and secretary general Tendai Biti will address the supporters at the
rally, highlighting the abuses the party has been forced to endure
since its formation in 1999.
Inquest into big cat handler's death begins
New Zimbabwe
Sunday September 30
Wellington-AN inquest began Monday in New Zealand into the death of a
Zimbabwe-born wildlife handler who was killed by a tiger three years
ago.
Animal handler, Dalu Ncube, was mauled to death by the cat
while cleaning its enclosure at the Zion Wildlife Gardens in Whangarei
in May 2009.
In December the park escaped a fine but was ordered to pay NZ$60,000
in reparation to his partner for failing to provide a safe working
environment.
The company admitted two charges of failing to take all
practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees, but the judge
said she could not enforce a fine as the company did not have the
money to pay it.
Coroner Brandt Shortland said Ncube’s real identity will also form
part of the five-day inquest. Officials claim Ncube was known by at
least three other names and Immigration New Zealand believes it's
highly likely he entered the country using a false passport.
Meanwhile, his brother Fortune Shumba said he hopes the
inquest recommends better prevention and protection measures for
zookeepers.
Shumba said he wanted something positive to come from the death of his
26-year-old sibling who left behind fiancée Sharon Arnott, their
one-year-old daughter Starskea, and a seven-year-old son in Zimbabwe
from a previous relationship.
"I just hope it will prevent future accidents happening,"
Shumba said. "We don't want anyone else to go through what we went
through and what Dalu himself went through.
"We hope it will bring closure for everyone."
Shumba also wanted better planning and insurance for
zookeepers after he had to raise money to fly his brother’s body home
to Zimbabwe for burial.
"There needs to be an insurance system so if something like that
happens they know what to do and how to help out rather than the
family running around being the ones trying to source funds for
burial."
He said it was only through the generosity of Whangarei
residents and a businessman, and the help of staff at the park, that
they were able to get his brother home.
Ncube grew up in Hwange, home to one of Zimbabwe’s largest game
reserves and his brother recalled: "We used to bottle-feed these
lions. The cats were his babies."
He said Ncube's partner was a "strong lady" who had coped as well
as she could with the tragedy.
Regional
Favourites crash out of Moz succession race
AFP
Saturday September 29
Maputo-Mozambique's ruling Frelimo party has given no clear sign of
who will be its candidate at the next national presidential vote due
in two years after wrapping up its conference.
Although the choice of a presidential candidate was not on
the agenda of the Frelimo congress that ended Friday, the succession
race was an unavoidable subtext.
President Armando Guebuza is legally not eligible for another term as
he is serving his second and final tenure.
But two leading politicians that had been tipped as the
party's most likely future presidential candidates, failed to secure
places on the ruling party's supreme decision making body - a key step
and unwritten requirement to the country's top job.
Luisa Diogo, a former premier and World Bank official, was seen as one
of the party's options for a presidential nominee, but she crashed out
of the ranks of the Frelimo's 15-strong politburo.
Her successor, Prime Minister Aires Ali, also considered
Guebuza's favoured candidate, did not make the list either.
Guebuza has repeatedly stated he will not attempt to seek to go beyond
the two mandates allowed by the constitution of the south-eastern
African country, which is poised on the brink of a coal and gas-driven
boom.
It would be difficult, though not impossible, for any
presidential aspirant to gain enough support from Frelimo
heavyweights, from outside the politburo, observers say.
“Most of the main candidates were knocked out. We are really starting
again so there will be a lot of jockeying for power over the next six
months,” said London-based writer on Mozambique Joseph Hanlon.
Names that now top the politburo ranks include Frelimo's
secretary general Filipe Paunde, Agriculture Minister Jose Pacheco and
parliamentary speaker Veronica Macamo - any of whom could be
catapulted into the spotlight in the run up to 2014 elections.
Whether Guebuza plans to follow the example of Russian leader Vladimir
Putin and cling to power from behind the scenes after his presidential
mandate ends, was a question raised when the Frelimo congress handed
him another five-year term as party leader early in the week.
“It will be very interesting to see if he can pull it
off,” said Hanlon who argues the ruling party is divided in many
directions.
“He could not carry enough of the party to get Aires Ali elected.
This shows he does not have total power,” said Hanlon.
With Ali out of the race, could Paunde be Guebuza's
Medvedev? A loyal presidential ally - he stood unopposed for a second
term as the second in command to the party's leader.
Paunde is now “in a very privileged position to succeed Armando
Guebuza as president of the Republic,” said the independent daily,
Mediafax on Friday.
The controversial election of Guebuza's daughter,
Valentina, into the party's upper echelons has raised questions about
whether the president is finding a way for a dynastic succession.
The 32-year-old, who heads the family business, Focus 21, was recently
dubbed the “Millionaire Princess” by Forbes magazine. She took one of
the 180 seats on the central committee, the party's second most
powerful organ, usually reserved for former fighters of the country's
independence and civil wars.
Guebuza, a 1980s ex-Marxist styled general, took power in
2005 when he was already a successful businessman. He has since
expanded his empire with tentacles in media, mining, construction and
fishing sectors.
Although Mozambique remains one of the world's poorest countries,
Guebuza has presided over a seven percent annual growth rate in recent
years.
Mozambique is now poised to earn billions of dollars in foreign
investment over the next decade on the back of discoveries of
significant coal and gas deposits.
South Africa shooting: Marikana mine inquiry to begin
BBC News
Monday September 30
Marikana-A judicial commission of inquiry into the fatal August
shootings of 34 striking miners at the Marikana mine is due to begin.
The inquiry was set up by South African President Jacob Zuma.
The investigation will determine the roles played by the
police, the management of the platinum mine, Lonmin, the unions and
government.
It will also look into the conduct of any individuals or groupings in
promoting conflict and confrontation.
The commission, which consists of a three-member panel,
led by retired Supreme Court of Appeal judge Ian Farlam, is expected
to complete its analysis within four months.
Video evidence
It must submit its final report within a month of finishing its
investigation. A total of 46 people died in the violent protests which
took place during weeks of unrest at the platinum mine.
The 16 August killings were the most deadly police action
since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The proceedings will be held at the Rustenburg Civic Centre, near the
scene of the shooting and 62 miles (100km) north-west of Johannesburg.
There are plans to set up giant screens in Marikana, close
to the scene of the shootings, to allow relatives and friends to
follow proceedings closely.
The BBC's Milton Nkosi, in Johannesburg, says that video footage of
the police shooting at the striking miners, which shocked the world,
may be used as evidence during the hearings.
Late last month, striking miners at the Marikana mine
agreed to return to work after accepting a pay rise of up to 22%.
But tens of thousands of others miners have refused to work in a wave
of strikes throughout South Africa since the violence at the mine.
Zanzibar plagued by growing heroin addiction
Al Jazeera
Monday October 1
Zanzibar-There are an estimated 9,000 heroin addicts on the small East
African island of Zanzibar - one of the highest rates of usage in the
world.
Zanzibar’s container port is along several key shipping
routes that ferry the drug from Asia to big markets in the US and
Europe.
And residents say it is relatively easy to smuggle heroin on and off the island.
Although the drug is illegal in Zanzibar, it is almost
impossible for the authorities to know what goods are coming or going.
Al Jazeera's Malcolm Webb reports from Stonetown.
HIV 'made' new deadly Salmonella - study
BBC News
Monday October 1
London-An epidemic of a deadly strain of Salmonella has swept across
the whole of Africa by "taking advantage" of the spread of HIV,
according to an international team of researchers.
Their study, published in Nature Genetics, is the first to
identify the separate cases as a single epidemic.
One in four people in Africa infected with the strain died.
It is thought to be the first time a single strain of an
infection has spread so widely in the wake of HIV.
Cases of this form of invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella have been
recognised in Africa for more than a decade. It causes fever,
headaches, respiratory problems and sometimes death.
The research team analysed the genetic code of 179 batches
of Salmonella from different parts of Africa and the rest of the
globe. Using techniques similar to a large-scale DNA paternity test,
they were able to construct the strain's "family tree" and then how it
spread.
It happened in two waves. The first started in south-eastern Africa
about 52 years ago and the second wave started 35 years ago from the
Congo Basin.
Prof Gordon Dougan, from the Sanger Institute in Cambridge
in the UK, told the BBC: "It quite clearly parallels the emergence of
HIV in Africa."
HIV attacks the immune system and leaves people more vulnerable to
other infections. It is thought the strain of Salmonella Typhimurium
took advantage of this weakness and spread. The research team said the
bacterium was given the chance to "enter, adapt, circulate and
thrive".
There is poor monitoring data for the disease across the
whole of the continent, but Prof Dougan said it was affecting
"thousands and thousands" of people and that 98% of adult cases were
in people with HIV.
He said this spread of Salmonella Typhimurium had been different to
that of other infections commonly associated with HIV, as it had been
a single epidemic "people were completely unaware" of and there "were
not really any other examples" of that happening.
Dr Melita Gordon, a gastro-enterologist at the University
of Liverpool, said: "It's the first time this has been described right
across a continent in such an obvious way."
She added: "The highest mortality associated with the disease is 80%.
What's happened over the years is mortality has fallen down and down
and down to between 20% and 25% as doctors inside Africa recognise
it."
The genetic analysis also showed the strain was resistant
to the first choice antibiotic, chloramphenicol, which means more
expensive drugs would be needed to treat the infection.
It is thought that improving HIV treatment across Africa could reduce
the prevalence of the Salmonella infection, as it would reduce the
number of people with vulnerable immune systems. However, the
researchers urged "vigilance" in case the Salmonella strain mutated
again to become able to infect people with healthy immune systems.
Commenting on the study, Prof Brendan Wren, from the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the BBC: "It's
actually quite a huge problem and it seems to be getting worse because
there are many susceptible people, it's got a grip in Africa.
"HIV, I think it's fair to say, provided a springboard for it to take off."
However, he thought the disease was "near its peak" as HIV was
more controlled in other continents giving it little room to spread.
Mozambique rulers celebrate Marxist roots, in style
Reuters
Sunday September 30
Pemba-It was billed as a celebration of its socialist revolution, but
when Mozambique's ruling Frelimo party marked its 50th birthday this
week, Marx came a distant second to Money.
Reflecting their anti-colonial, revolutionary roots,
Frelimo leaders pointedly chose a venue in the untamed corner of
southern Africa where half a century ago guerrillas launched the
uprising that would lead to independence from Portugal in 1975.
But beyond the symbolism of the location, in the northern province of
Cabo Delgado, the obligatory use of "Comrade" and the AK-47 rifle that
still adorns the national flag, everything at the party congress
pointed to the huge wealth accruing to the political elite in the
fast-growing energy producer.
The venue itself was a lavish complex of VIP reception
rooms and cavernous dining areas, set amid a village of apartment
units, two on-site banks and a hospital clinic for 2,000 guests.
Just to the north lies the Rovuma Basin, where U.S. energy firm
Anadarko and Italy's Eni are exploring some of the world's biggest
untapped natural gas reserves - an estimated 130 trillion cubic feet,
or enough to supply Western Europe for over a decade.
To some of Mozambique's 23 million people, the talk of
"revolutionary war" by Frelimo leader and President Armando Guebuza -
known as "Mr. Guebusiness" on account of his huge commercial interests
- rings hollow.
"It is absurd to spend $8 million on a week-long conference when
people are starving a block away," said Rudiger Franck, a hotel owner
and Frelimo party member in Pemba, the run-down seaside town that
hosted the seven-day jamboree.
"It gives the impression that the party has lost touch
with the reality of life for most of its members."
MINING BOOM
Under its first president, U.S.-educated sociologist
Eduardo Mondlane, Frelimo struck out on a Marxist course until 1990
when, tired from civil war and under growing pressure from the West,
it renounced socialism.
In the last decade, mostly under Guebuza, Mozambique has become a
hotbed of foreign mining investment that has lifted economic growth to
7 percent a year and in 2011 made its currency the strongest performer
against the dollar.
Brazil's Vale , for instance, has poured $2 billion into a
coal mine in the northwestern region of Moatize and plans to invest
$6.4 billion in the years to come.
Frelimo says all Mozambicans stand to benefit, yet in a country where
the average person scrapes by on $400 a year, the opulence of its
congress sends a conflicting message.
"This money never reaches the people. It remains in
Frelimo's pocket," said Mustagibo Bachir, a Cabo Delgado member of
parliament for Renamo, Frelimo's foe during a 16-year
post-independence civil war.
Bachir sees a worrying precedent in the handling of the ruby and
timber sectors in the north, which remains one of the country's
poorest regions.
"Our people still don't have access to water, food or
jobs," he said.
Besides Renamo, Frelimo is also facing opposition from the upstart
Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM), run by the 48-year-old mayor of
Beira, Mozambique's second city with a population of half a million
people.
Analysts say elections due in 2014 are too soon for MDM to make
serious headway, but point to its popularity with young, educated and
unemployed Mozambicans as a sign that it could become a force to be
reckoned with later in the decade.
Attack on Sunday school leaves child dead, others wounded, Red Cross says
CNN News
Monday October 1
Nairobi-One child died and several others were hurt in a grenade
attack on a children's Sunday-school class in Kenya, the Kenya Red
Cross said.
A Kenyan hospital reported seven children wounded.
The Kenya Red Cross and local media described the incident at St.
Polycarp church in Nairobi as a grenade attack. Government officials
did not answer repeated telephone calls from CNN seeking comment.
Four injured children were admitted to Kenyatta National
Hospital -- two for treatment of critical wounds, said Dr. Mutie
Thomas, the hospital's senior assistant director.
Doctors treated and released another three people, Thomas said. The
injuries involve soft tissue damage, head wounds and broken bones,
Thomas said.
The children were between the ages of 7 and 10.
The Kenya Red Cross tweeted that one child died, and that "six
critical children" were taken to a hospital.
Such attacks have escalated since Kenyan forces invaded
neighboring Somalia last year to battle the Islamist militant group
al-Shabaab, blaming it for kidnappings of foreigners in the nation.
The main force of Kenyan and Somali troops have taken control of
police headquarters, a radio station and a seaport of the port city of
Kismayo, Somalia, the Kenya Defence Forces announced on Twitter
Sunday.
As the joint forces gain ground, "this has given an added
impetus to the Somali peace process," the Kenyan military said.
An advance unit landed on the beaches north of the city on Friday and
has secured northern parts of the town, the university and one
important highway, according to the military's Twitter account.
A Kenyan military spokesman said Saturday that the
operation was going well.
"Al-Shabaab has not been able to offer any resistance whatsoever to
the ground forces since the ground forces landed there yesterday, and
the whole of yesterday and the good part of today they have (suffered)
heavy casualties," he said.
In a series of posts Saturday on a Twitter account often
used by Al-Shabaab, the group said the Kenyan military is "waging a
losing battle" in Kismayo. It said mujahedeen forces ambushed Kenyan
troops 30 km (18 miles) west of Kismayo, destroying three vehicles and
killing dozens of troops in a two-hour battle.
The military spokesman said those reports are "pure propaganda."
On Sunday Al-Shabaab said on the Twitter account: "The
shelling of the city lays bare the intentions of KDF invaders &
reveals that their war isn't just against (Al-Shabaab) but the Muslims
of Somalia."
Al-Shabaab uses Kismayo to make money from the illegal charcoal trade
and smuggling. Thousands of residents of the city fled before the
fighting, according to the U.N.
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alt mail arthur...@webmail.co.za
arthur ndowora
Oct 1, 2012, 3:55:52 AM10/1/12
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