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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the Apec summit, 8 Sept 2012 Hillary Clinton: "We hope that the Congress will act"
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the US administration wants to normalise trade relations with Russia this month.
She said the government was working closely with the US Congress to get the necessary legislation passed.
Mrs Clinton was speaking ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit in Vladivostok.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged a fight against protectionism to turn the global economy around.
And Chinese President Hu Jintao promised his country would try to help the world's economy by increasing the demand in China for imported goods.
'Bridges not walls' Although Russia is now a member of the World Trade Organisation, there is still a piece of legislation that prevents US companies trading normally with Russia - the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment which, although suspended, remains in place.

Analysis

With Hillary Clinton promising action this month, are we finally seeing the death throes of the Jackson-Vanik amendment?
Introduced in 1974 to put economic pressure on the Soviet Union, so as to encourage the communist leadership to allow Jewish people to emigrate, it somehow remains on the American statute book.
Since Russia's citizens are now free to leave any time, and as the country has just joined the World Trade Organisation, it seems to many in Moscow to be perverse that the Jackson-Vanik amendment remains.
But some US congressmen do not want to repeal Jackson-Vanik without introducing a new piece of legislation to keep up the pressure on Russia to improve human rights.
Many of them favour the Magnitsky Act, named after a young Russian lawyer who died in prison in suspicious circumstances. The Magnitsky Act would create a list of Russian officials who are banned from the United States on human rights grounds.
President Obama's administration - which has been trying to improve relations with Russia - is against the Magnitsky Act.
In her speech to the Apec summit in the Russian port city, Mrs Clinton - who is standing in for President Barack Obama - said she welcomed Russia's commitment to playing a greater role in the Asia-Pacific region.
She added: "To make sure our companies get to compete here in Russia, we are working closely with the United States Congress to terminate the application to Jackson-Vanik to Russia and grant Russia permanent normalised trade relations.
"We hope that the Congress will act on this important piece of legislation this month."
However there are concerns in the US Congress about Moscow's support for Iran and Syria, as well as its broader human rights record, so the timing of a vote on the issue remains unclear.
Mr Putin, who is hosting the summit, expressed concern about the world economy, and particularly Europe's debt crisis.
"The priority goal is to fight protectionism in all its forms. It is important to build bridges not walls," he said.
President Hu said: "The world economy today is recovering slowly, and there are still some destabilising factors and uncertainties.
"The underlying impact of the international financial crisis is far from over.
"We will work to maintain the balance between keeping steady and robust growth, adjusting the economic structure and managing inflation expectations. We will boost domestic demand and maintain steady and robust growth as well as basic price stability."
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has left the talks early to return home after her father died.

Market Data

Last Updated at 09:31 GMT
Nikkei 225 8871.65 Up 191.08 2.20%
ASX All Ords 4348.80 Up 17.20 0.40%
Hang Seng 19802.16 Up 592.86 3.09%
SSE Composite 2127.76 Up 75.84 3.70%
SSE SE 50 1619.21 Up 68.24 4.40%
BSE Sensex 17683.73 Up 337.46 1.95%
Asian stock markets have risen, joining a global rally, after the European Central Bank (ECB) unveiled a plan targeted at easing the region's debt crisis.
The ECB said it would buy bonds of the bloc's debt-ridden nations in a bid to bring down their borrowing costs.
The implied borrowing costs for Spain and Italy fell after the announcement.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 2.2%, Korea's Kospi gained 2.6% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 3.1%.
"We think this is a credible plan to addressing the issue, and while there are still political hurdles, we expect those will be addressed," said Alec Young, global equity strategist at S&P Equity Research.
'Ready to act'

Start Quote

The markets were looking for a strong decisive action and a commitment from the central bank that they are ready to act if any issues blow up in the region's bigger economies”
Justin Harper IG Markets
The borrowing costs for some of the eurozone's larger economies, such as Spain and Italy, had risen to levels considered unsustainable earlier this year.
That led to concerns that these nations would no longer be able to borrow money from international investors and, therefore, would not be able to repay their debts, further escalating the region's debt crisis.
Many investors feared such developments would not only hurt the eurozone's growth, but could also derail the global economic recovery.
That would have had a knock-on effect on Asia's export-dependent economies, which rely heavily on global demand.
However, the ECB's announcement, and the drop in borrowing costs of Spain and Italy thereafter, has helped allay those fears.
Markets in the US rose, with the Dow Jones index hitting it highest level in almost five years.
In Europe, Germany's Dax index closed 2.9% higher, while France's Cac 40 jumped 3% and the UK's FTSE 100 rose 2.1%.
"The markets were looking for a strong decisive action and a commitment from the central bank that they are ready to act if any issues blow up in the region's bigger economies," Justin Harper of IG Markets told the BBC.
"Last night they got that."
'Risk appetite'
The ECB announcement also provided a boost to the euro currency, which rose against the US dollar and the Japanese yen.
The euro was trading at $1.263 in Asian trading. It also rallied against the Japanese currency to 99.63 yen.
An investor looking at stock market boards Investors have been wary of the impact of the eurozone debt crisis on Asian businesses
Analysts said that the ECB's plan had boosted investor morale and that they were more confident of investing in riskier assets.
"The ECB's actions afford time, allowing risk appetite to stage a comeback, for now," said Vincent Chaigneau, a strategist at Societe Generale.
However, they warned that while the ECB's plan had helped allay market fears, the crisis was far from over.
"Mr Draghi has won a battle, but cannot win the euro area crisis war by himself," Mr Chaigneau said.
"The hardest task of all - getting governments to drop posturing in return for leadership and deep reforms - still awaits us."

Members of the Afghan Local Police (ALP) patrol at the Char Darah district of Kunduz province Training Afghan security forces is an essential part of Nato forces' strategy
The US says it is suspending training for new recruits to the Afghan local police (ALP) while checks are carried out on possible ties to the Taliban.
The move follows a series of incidents in which foreign troops have been killed by Afghan soldiers or policemen.
The suspension of training - which only applies to new ALP recruits - will allow US special operations forces to "re-vet" current ALP forces.
US special forces currently have around 1,000 Afghan local police trainees.
"While we have full trust and confidence in our Afghan partners, we believe this is a necessary step to validate our vetting process and ensure the quality indicative of Afghan local police," Col Thomas Collins, spokesperson for US forces in Afghanistan, said in a statement.
The suspension of training would be "temporary", according to Col Collins, adding: "Despite the recent rise in insider attacks, they are relatively rare among SOF [Special Operations Forces]-partnered forces."
An existing eight-step vetting programme will be made more rigorous, officials say.
The number of counter-intelligence teams will be increased and there will be greater vetting when Afghan soldiers return from leave.

Analysis

The international mission here has been trying to get a grip on rising insider or "green-on-blue" attacks. Recently commanders from all the various forces here met to discuss how they stop the attacks happening.
It was agreed then to re-examine the vetting of candidates. American special forces commanders, who are responsible training the ALP, consulted with Gen John Allen and the Afghan Ministry of Interior.
Training for around 1,000 new recruits is suspended - and the remaining 15,000 plus ALP members will continue working as normal but will be 're-vetted'. The ALP have been to blame for a number of green-on-blue attacks, but more come from the regular army and police force.
It remains to be seen whether the rest of Afghan forces, namely the national police and the national Army, will also have to undergo revetting. That would be a huge task given that they number almost 350,000.
The sale of Afghan army and police uniforms will be made illegal.
Military guidelines on vetting have sometimes not been followed in the past for fear of slowing the growth of the Afghan security forces, officials told the Washington Post.
Operations by forces already trained would continue, as would the recruitment of new trainees, US Special Operations Forces spokesman Lt Col John Harrell told the Associated Press.
There are currently 16,380 members of the ALP.
The Afghan army and national police, trained by Nato, are unaffected by the suspension. The training of Afghan special forces will also continue.
On average, 7,000 Afghan soldiers and 3,700 Afghan police graduate from training every month.
The ALP is a relatively new force, introduced to improve security in some of the most remote parts of the country, the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul reports.
'Green-on-blue' attacks On Wednesday, three Australian soldiers were killed by a man in Afghan army uniform in Uruzgan province.

Green on blue deaths

  • So far this year there have been some 45 in more than 30 "green-on-blue" deaths - mostly Americans
  • There were 35 such deaths during 2011
  • A dozen British service personnel have been killed in such attacks since 2009
  • About 130,000 coalition troops are fighting alongside 350,000 Afghan security personnel against the Taliban-led insurgency
Currently, approximately 130,000 Nato troops are fighting insurgents in Afghanistan alongside 350,000 Afghans.
Some 45 coalition troops have died in more than 30 "green-on-blue" attacks this year, at least 15 of them in August alone.
The term refers to the colour-coding systems used by the US military - Nato forces are "blue" and Afghans are "green".
The Taliban has been actively recruiting members of the Afghan security forces, publicly announcing that insider attacks were a central part of their strategy against Nato forces.
Most of the victims of the green-on-blue attacks have been Americans.

Police keep watch during the arrival of some of the  mine workers, at a Garankuwa court outside Pretoria (20 August 2012) Some 270 miners were arrested during the protest and later charged
South African prosecutors have provisionally dropped murder charges against 270 miners whose colleagues were shot dead by police.
The charges cannot be dismissed formally until the end of the inquiry, but prosecutors said all detained miners would be freed.
Local authorities used a controversial apartheid-era law to accuse the miners of provoking police to open fire.
Miners were demanding a huge pay rise and recognition of a new union.
The killings, at the Marikana mine, owned by Lonmin, shocked the nation.
State prosecutors charged 270 miners with murder under the "common purpose" doctrine.
The rule was used by the white-minority apartheid regime to crack down on its black opponents, and at the time was opposed by the now governing African National Congress.
'Machete threats'

Analysis

The ANC government has come under fire for its handling of the Lonmin tragedy. Concerns have been raised about investor confidence. President Jacob Zuma has refused to bow to pressure from lawyers representing the 270 mineworkers who demanded their clients' immediate release from custody.
Those seen to be opposed to Mr Zuma's re-election as ANC leader in December, including former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, have called for the president to step down. ANC National Executive Committee member Mathews Phosa criticised the murder charges as reckless. He said "charging the mineworkers in the face of a commission of inquiry is contrary to the sub judice rule and almost absurd".
Public anger and outrage increased over the controversial charges, which have been described as a thin and desperate attempt to exonerate police and politicians.
Lawyers had asked President Jacob Zuma to reverse the decision.
But he said in a statement earlier that he would not intervene in the case.
Acting national director of prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba held a news conference on Sunday to announce the charges would be scrapped.
"Final charges will only be made once all investigations have been completed," she said.
"The murder charges against the current 270 suspects will be formally withdrawn provisionally in court."
She said those whose addresses have been verified by police would be released on Monday, and the rest would remain in custody until their next court appearance on Thursday.
The BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg says public anger, already high over the shootings, was exacerbated by the charges.
On Friday, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said the charges had "induced a sense of shock, panic and confusion" in the public and demanded a report from state prosecutors to explain their rationale.

Marikana mine violence

A policeman (R) fires at protesting miners outside a South African mine, 16 August
  • 10 Aug: Some 3,000 workers launch a wildcat strike; three days of clashes kill 10
  • 16 Aug: Police open fire on miners, killing 34 and injuring 78; 270 workers are arrested
  • 30 Aug: State authorities charge all 270 arrested miners with murder under apartheid-era "common purpose" rule
  • 2 Sep: Charges are provisionally dropped after a national outcry
Police said they opened fire on the strikers at Marikana after being threatened by a crowd of protesters who advanced towards them, armed with machetes.
The 270 miners, six of whom remain in hospital, were arrested during the protests.
They were charged on Thursday, with the prosecutors arguing they were part of the crowd whose actions provoked the police into opening fire.
No police officers have been charged over the deaths because a judicial inquiry and an internal police review are under way, but these are expected to take several months to complete.
The strike turned violent before the police shooting, with the deaths of 10 people including two police officers and two security guards who were hacked to death.
The protests were triggered by demands for a huge pay rise and recognition of a new union.
Talks are continuing to resolve the dispute, which has shut the mine for the past three weeks.


A man reads a local journal in Yangon on Monday.
A man reads a local journal in Yangon on Monday.

(CNN) -- Myanmar's Ministry of Information announced Monday that it has ended pre-publication censorship, but it laid out a welter of strictures on free expression that remain in place.
The announcement was made by Tint Swe, the deputy director general of the Press Scrutiny and Registry Division of the Ministry of Information to a meeting of editors in Yangon.
It was welcomed as a "positive step to a free press" by Nyein Nyein Naing, executive editor of the Myanmar newspaper 7 Day News, but far from his ultimate goal.
"The Censorship and Press Scrutiny Board office still exists and will monitor whether we violate the law or other rules and regulations of the PSB," the editor noted.
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"Because we need to submit copies after publication to the PSB, the PSB will play an internal role of banning stories with laws and regulations after we have published.
"So the end of censorship doesn't mean we have freedom of press. Press freedom still has a long way to go. Drafting of the new press law is still being questioned by local journalists as local journalists were not allowed to be involved in any process of drafting law."
The information ministry's Swe circulated a document stipulating that the following shall not be published:
-- Stories critical of the state or the government;
-- Stories that could adversely affect relations with other countries;
-- News about corruption, manufacturing and dealing in illegal narcotic drugs, forced labor and child soldiers, etc., "without having source reliability";
-- Writing that incites or encourages individuals and organizations to oppose and disturb the state;
-- Stories that criticize "negatively" economic policies of the state;
-- Economic data, news, articles and photos from unreliable sources;
-- Stories revealing parts of the body that are "not appropriate to reveal according to Myanmar culture";
-- Sporting match predictions that "may happen to encourage gambling";
-- Supernatural stories "that may mislead children and youths";
-- Liquor and cigarette advertisements;
-- Photos of juveniles committing crimes;
-- "Appalling" news and photographs.
International journalism advocacy groups welcomed the move, but expressed concerns. "If this decision is implemented and if it really means that these newspapers and magazines will no longer have to submit the drafts of their articles to censors before publishing them, it will mark an historic break with half a century of strict government control of print media content," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
"Reporters Without Borders nonetheless has reservations about the measure, because it should apply to all categories of media and because of concern at the possibility that other, inappropriate measures will be adopted as an alternative form of post-publication censorship."
It called for the end of the Press Scrutiny and Registry Division, noting that its dissolution was announced last October but never carried out.
"This is huge," said Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, director of Southeast Asia programs for Freedom House, a Washington-based advocacy group. "But you have to understand that Freedom House ranked Burma -- in terms of press freedom and civil and political liberties -- as (among) countries that we deemed the worst of the worst in terms of political and press freedom. ... The bar was pretty low to begin with."
She added, "This is not a done deal yet."
Monday's announcement comes after President Thein Sein's commitment to introducing political reforms in Myanmar since assuming leadership last year.
In recent weeks, sectarian violence in the western part of the country has tested the efforts of Sein's administration to seek reconciliation with Myanmar's different ethnic groups and move the country toward more democratic governance.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As Apple's stock rose to new high on Monday, the technology giant set another record: It became the most valuable public company in history.
Apple's market value -- the price of its stock multiplied by the number of outstanding shares -- hit $623 billion in intraday trading. That eclipsed the previous record of $618.9 billion set by Microsoft on Dec. 30, 1999, at the height of the dot-com bubble, according to Howard Silverblatt, S&P's senior index analyst.
Apple shares hit a new record of $664.74 per share. The anticipated September launch of the new iPhone, coupled with rumors of a smaller iPad and a more feature-rich Apple TV have lifted the stock in recent weeks.
It's a stunning achievement for a company that was a struggling also-ran when Microsoft was setting records in the late 1990s. Apple was valued at less than $10 billion as recently as 2004, and at $100 billion just three years ago.
Since 2007, however, Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) has been an unstoppable force. Its iPhone business alone now brings in more money than Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500). Even the iPad, which was intended to be a gap-filling product between the iPhone and the Macintosh, has itself become a multi-billion dollar product for Apple.
Apple is on pace to be the world's largest technology company in terms of sales by the end of the year, and it's among the most profitable companies in the world. In the last three months of 2011, Apple made $13 billion -- second only to ExxonMobil's (XOM, Fortune 500) record-setting $14.8 billion quarter from the fall of 2008, when oil prices were at an all-time high.
The company's lightning-quick growth shows no signs of subsiding. With rumors of new gadgets on the horizon, Apple has crossed the $400 billion, $500 billion and $600 billion marks -- all in 2012 -- as the stock has soared 64% this year.
Despite the fast growth, some say that the company is actually undervalued, since its stock gains haven't kept pace with its earnings. Trading at 15 times this year's earnings forecast, it has a price-to-earnings ratio far below that of some tech stocks, including Facebook (FB), Groupon (GRPN) and even Zynga (ZNGA), whose stock has plunged sharply.
Apple still has one last hurdle to climb: Microsoft still holds the record for most valuable company on the stock market if inflation is taken into account. In 2012 dollars, Microsoft's all-time-high would have amounted to $851 billion.
Apple has quite a way to go before it hits that mark. Its stock would have to reach $908 per share.

Striking workers outside the Lonmin mine. 20 Aug 2012 The atmosphere among strikers outside the mine was said to be calmer on Monday
Workers have trickled back to the South African platinum mine where police shot dead 34 striking workers last Thursday, but not in enough numbers to resume operations, its owners said.
Lonmin said the Marikana mine reopened but no ore was produced after fewer than a third of staff turned up.
It also said a deadline for striking miners to return to work or face dismissal had been extended to Tuesday.
President Jacob Zuma declared a week of national mourning for those killed.
He has also called for a commission of inquiry to investigate the incident.
Memorial service
"Lonmin can confirm that work at its Marikana operations resumed today as significant numbers of employees returned to work," the company said in a statement.
"Almost one third of the 28,000-strong workforce reported for their morning shifts.
"The company can also announce that those illegal strikers who did not return to work this morning will not be dismissed and have been allowed an extra day in light of current circumstances."
Later, Lonmin executive vice-president for mining Mark Munroe said that "for all intents and purposes" no ore had been produced at the mine on Monday.
"By 07:00 tomorrow (05:00 GMT) we expect workers to return to work. After that, Lonmin has the right to fire them," he said.

Start Quote

They can fire us if they want, we are not going back to work. [President] Zuma must shut down that mine”
Striking miner at Marikana
Lonmin chief financial officer Simon Scott said the company wanted to "rebuild the trust of the workers".
"We are aware that it will take some time for some trust to be regained," he added.
Union officials quoted by Reuters said that at least 80% of the workforce was needed to bring platinum out of the shafts.
The BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Johannesburg says it remains to be seen whether more workers will report for duty on Tuesday.
A significant number have vowed to prolong their stay-away, saying that returning to work would be an insult to their dead colleagues, she adds.
The week of mourning began on Monday and a memorial service is planned for Thursday.
About 3,000 rock-drill operators (RDOs) walked out more than a week ago in support of demands for higher pay.
The strike was declared illegal by Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum producer, and the mine was shut.
Clashes between strikers, some holding clubs and machetes, and police culminated on Thursday when officers armed with automatic rifles and pistols fired dozens of shots.
Lonmin executives Mark Munroe and Simon Scott at news conference. 20 Aug 2012 Lonmin executives Mark Munroe, left, and Simon Scott have laid out the company's position
In addition to those killed, at least 78 people were injured and some 250 people were arrested.
Those arrested were remanded in custody by a court in the Pretoria township of Ga-Rankuwa on Monday. Charges included murder, public violence and attempted robbery.
During the hearings, about 100 women appeared outside the court to appeal for leniency for the men.
While union leaders held meetings on Monday, about 1,000 workers gathered near the mine said they would not return.
Several accused Lonmin of insensitivity for expecting them to go back to work while they were still in mourning.
"They can fire us if they want, we are not going back to work. [President] Zuma must shut down that mine," one worker told AFP news agency.
Correspondents at the scene said workers outside the mine were unarmed and in a calmer mood than on previous occasions.
The miners, who are currently earning between 4,000 and 5,000 rand ($484-$605) a month, say they want their salary increased to 12,500 rand ($1,512).

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