‘World News’ Articles
Written by admin on 30 September 2009
A massive tsunami unleashed by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 99 and leaving dozens missing Wednesday. The death toll was expected to rise.
Survivors fled the fast-churning water for higher ground on the South Pacific islands and remained huddled there hours after the quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn Tuesday.
The quake was centered about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa, which has about 180,000 people, and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.
Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks service spokeswoman.
Less than 24 hours later, another strong underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia on Wednesday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert for countries along the Indian Ocean. The 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings, cut power and triggered a landslide on Sumatra island, and at least 75 people were reported killed. Experts said the seismic events were not related.
The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, sirens rang out with another tsunami alert and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, although there was no indication of a new quake.
In American Samoa’s capital of Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars and several boats as a massive cleanup effort stretched into the night. Several buildings in the city — just a few feet above sea level — were flattened. Power was expected to be out in some areas for up to a month.
In Washington, President Obama has declared a major disaster for American Samoa. Obama said in a statement early Wednesday that he and his wife, Michelle, “will keep those who have lost so much in our thoughts and prayers.”
Hampered by power and communications outages, officials in the South Pacific islands struggled to determine damage and casualties.
Samoan police commissioner Lilo Maiava told The Associated Press that police had confirmed 63 deaths but devastated areas were still being searched.
At least 30 people were killed on American Samoa, Gov. Togiola Tulafono said, adding that the toll was expected to rise from searches by emergency crews.
“I don’t think anybody is going to be spared in this disaster,” said Tulafono, who was in Hawaii for a conference. He added that a member of his extended family was among the dead.
Authorities in Tonga, southwest of the Samoas, confirmed at least six dead and four missing, according to New Zealand’s acting Prime Minister Bill English.
Joey Cummings of radio station 93KHJ in Pago Pago told the BBC that he and his colleagues watched from a balcony as a 15-foot tsunami wave struck, and “the air was filled with screams.”
He yelled for people to run uphill, “but they just ran down the street away from the wave rather than make a sharp left and up the steep mountain just feet away.”
A “river of mud” carried trees, cars, buses and boats past his building, which is practically at sea level, Cummings told the BBC.
Some people searched for trapped survivors, he said, but others looted stores. Bodies were stacked in the back of pickup trucks, he added.
Alex Godinet, chief of staff for American Samoa’s congressional delegate, said his “whole house and everything was shaking.” When he went to the nearby village of Leone, the tsunami wave had already struck and receded.
“People, elders were trying to crawl all over the place, crawl up to higher place, higher areas,” he told NBC’s “Today” show.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said three Australians were among the dead. The British Foreign Office said one Briton was missing and presumed dead.
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi looked shaken as he flew from Auckland, New Zealand, to Apia.
“So much has gone. So many people are gone,” he told reporters on board. “I’m so shocked, so saddened by all the loss.”
Malielegaoi said his own village of Lepa was destroyed.
“Thankfully, the alarm sounded on the radio and gave people time to climb to higher ground,” he said. “But not everyone escaped.”
Tulafono said that because the closeness of the community in American Samoa, “each and every family is going to be affected by someone who’s lost their life.” He spoke to reporters in Hawaii before boarding a Coast Guard C-130 plane loaded with aid and carrying Federal Emergency Management Agency officials.
A New Zealand P3 Orion maritime surveillance airplane had reached the region Wednesday and had searched for survivors off the coast, he said.
The Samoa Red Cross estimated that 15,000 people were affected by the tsunami.
New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the Samoan beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale was leveled.
“It was very quick. The whole village has been wiped out,” Ansell told New Zealand’s National Radio from a hill near Apia. “There’s not a building standing. We’ve all clambered up hills, and one of our party has a broken leg. There will be people in a great lot of need ’round here.”
Residents of both Samoa and American Samoa said they were shaken awake by Tuesday’s quake, which lasted two to three minutes and was centered about 20 miles (30 kilometers) below the ocean floor. It was followed by at least three large aftershocks of at least 5.6 magnitude.
The quake came Tuesday morning for the Samoas, which lie just east of the international dateline. For Asia-Pacific countries on the other side of the line, it was already Wednesday.
American Samoa’s dominant industry — tuna canning — was also affected. Chicken of the Sea’s packing plant was forced to close, although the facility wasn’t damaged, the San Diego-based company said.
The effects of the tsunami could be felt nearly 5,000 miles away (7,500 kilometers) on a Japanese island, though there were no reports of damage or injuries there.
U.S. officials said strong currents and dangerous waves were forecast from California to Washington state. No major flooding was expected, however.
While the earthquake and tsunami were big, they were not on the same scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said Brian Atwater of the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle. That tsunami killed more than 230,000 in a dozen countries across Asia.
Although the quakes in the Samoas and Indonesia struck within 24 hours of each other, experts said there was no link between them.
“When you look at that, it’s like, ‘Oh something’s going on there.’ But researchers are convinced that because quakes are essentially a random process that they’re not related,” said Don Blakeman, an analyst for the U.S.-based National Earthquake Information Center.
Various factors explain why the Samoa earthquake caused a massive tsunami and the Indonesia quake, with a magnitude of 7.6, did not.
The difference in magnitude was one factor, Blakeman said. “It also has to do with the depth of earthquakes. The Samoan one was very shallow. The Sumatran one, I think, was about 80 kilometers (49 miles).”
___
Sagapolutele reported from Pago Pago, American Samoa. Associated Press writers Ray Lilley in Wellington, New Zealand; Jaymes Song and Herbert A. Sample in Honolulu, Cara Anna in Bangkok and Seth Borenstein and Michele Salcedo in Washington contributed to this repor
t.
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Written by admin on 29 September 2009
After the discovery of water on the Moon, scientists have picked a new target for the planned October 9 crash of a NASA spacecraft into a crater near the Moon’s south pole, in the hopes of gathering water ice.
Earlier, the Lunar Crater Remote Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) was going to target Cabeus A, a crater half as wide that sits further from the South Pole.
Now, according to a report in Nature News, LCROSS will now plough into Cabeus, a 100-kilometre-wide crater, in the hopes of kicking up some ice along with the rock and dust of the lunar soil.
Cabeus A presented favourable viewing angles for the many telescopes on Earth that will be trained on the impact site.
But, instruments aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched with LCROSS on June 18, have been offering up startling evidence: not only that water could be locked in a deep freeze within permanently shadowed polar craters, but also that there are significant differences between the craters.
In particular, a neutron-counting instrument has shown a significant excess of hydrogen a possible indicator of ice within Cabeus.
“The Cabeus region seems to be one of the places that could be the wettest, so we’d like to go there,” said Jennifer Heldmann, the LCROSS observation campaign coordinator at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California.
Cabeus is deeper than Cabeus A, so the impact plume will have to rise higher to be seen from Earth.
But, according to Heldmann, this drawback is mitigated by a deep cleft in the rim wall of Cabeus, which will make viewing lower parts of the plume not as difficult as it could be.
The LCROSS team told astronomers of the new target on September 25.
Nancy Chanover, an astronomer at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, said that the adjustment shouldn’t be too difficult.
“It’s not a big burden,” said Chanover, who is leading an effort to deduce the composition of the plume through an analysis of its ballistics.
Twenty professional observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope, will be watching the event, and hundreds of amateur astronomers are expected to add their data to the mix.
But LCROSS itself, which has two components, will have the closest view.
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Written by admin on 17 August 2009
Meteor Shower Tonight | Meteor Shower August 2009 | Best time to view the Perseid Meteor Shower is tonight
The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a good show this week for those willing to get up in the wee hours of the morning and wait patiently for the shooting stars.
In North America, the best time to watch will be between midnight to 5 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, but late Tuesday night and also Wednesday night could prove fruitful, weather permitting.
The Perseids are always reliable, and sometimes rather spectacular. The only things that puts a damper on the August show are bad weather or bright moonlight. Unfortunately this week, as the Perseids reach their peak Tuesday and Wednesday nights, the moon will be high in the sky, outshining the fainter meteors.
Still, skywatchers around the globe will have a good chance of spotting the brighter meteors. Some already are enjoying the show.
Already underway
The Perseids are bits of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, which has laid down several streams of debris, each in a slightly different location, over the centuries as it orbits the sun. Every August, Earth passes through these debris streams, which spread out over time.
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Written by admin on 27 June 2009
Pictures of Michael Jackson Dead ! Photos of Michael Jackson Dead ! Pictures of Michael Jackson ! Michael Jackson Dead ! Dead Michael Jackson Photos
Pictures of Michael Jackson Dead – Picture of Michael Jackson in the ambulance that was published by ET. It was already too late, and all the efforts to revive Michael Jackson were futile, any way the Jackson Doctor missing.
Jackson Doctor Missing – According to reports about Dr. Robert Conrad Murray ( Jackson Doctor) who gave Michael Jackson Demerol (a painkiller injection) has gone now and LA Police can not find the doctor, read the rest michael jackson autopsy results and Demerol here.
Michael Jackson’s doctor is missing following the star’s death yesterday book4buy breaking news site, and TMZ reported this news.
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Treviso, Italy – Food security and efforts to stabilize global food prices were set to dominate the first-ever meeting of agriculture ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) which began Saturday.
But the potentially divisive issue of protectionism was also likely to crop up in the talks which are being held near the northeastern Italian city of Treviso and are scheduled to run until April 20.
Setting some of the tone on the topic on Saturday, was Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia, whose country currently holds the G8 presidency.
Declaring himself a “believer in the (free) market,” Zaia however added that “if the alternative is closing hundreds or thousands of farms, then I don’t have doubts: I will fight to maintain (import) duties.”
But speaking to reporters on Saturday ahead of the talks with his counterparts from the other G8 nations – US, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Canada and Russia – Zaia confirmed that food security remained the main issue.
A policy document, prepared by the Italian presidency ahead of the talks calls for “immediate interventions” aimed at doubling by 2050 global agriculture production to ensure that the world’s fast-growing population have enough to eat.
Zaia said provisions to boost food security would be contained in a final document prepared by the G8 agriculture ministers for the end of the three-day meeting.
However, with food security being about both “quantity and quality,” Zaia said he intended to put forward Italy’s case for the “defence of genuine products.”
“Out of 10 food products in the world billed as Italian, only one actually comes from Italy,” he said.
The need to fight counterfeit foods such as cheese “made in China but being sold as Italian mozzarella,” was linked to ensuring health standards and should be of major international concern he added.
Zaia said the measures contained in the document would also be fruit of consultation with agriculture ministers from Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, Argentina, Australia and Egypt who have also been invited to attend several sessions of the meeting.
“I am confident the document we adopt here will be accepted by the G8 summit,” Zaia said, referring to the main meeting of G8 government leaders scheduled for July.
G8 agriculture ministers also plan to look at ways to stabilize prices, especially in the wake of the sharp increase for commodities such as wheat and rice in 2008 – a situation that triggered riots in dozens of nations.
While prices have since fallen by as much as 40-50 per cent, they are still well above their pre-crisis levels with global cereal prices for example, still some 70 per cent higher than in 2005.
The price hike has had a major impact in pushing the number of the world’s undernourished people to 963 million, as estimated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Rome – Pope Benedict XVI plans to visit the earthquake-hit central Italian region on April 28, the Vatican announced Saturday.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi made the announcement, coming after Benedict had said over the Eastern holidays that he hoped to visit the heavily damaged city of L’Aquila as soon as possible in order to boost the local residents’ morale.
The April 6 quake claimed 294 lives and destroyed or seriously damaged thousands of homes. Tens of thousands of survivors are now living in tent encampments. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Tehran – The Iranian judiciary issued an eight-year prison term for an Iranian-American journalist on charges of spying for the United States, her lawyer told reporters in Tehran Saturday.
The court has not yet issued any official statement and no further details were available.
Roxana Saberi, 31, a reporter for US National Public Radio, has been in custody since January in Tehran’s Evin prison.
The foreign ministry first said that her arrest was solely because of press activities without legal accreditation but the judiciary later charged her with espionage.
Tehran’s deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad said last week Saberi’s case was sent to a revolutionary court, and claimed that she had accepted all charges. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
According to information from a source close to Bobby Khan, who supervises the ‘Bollywood’ segment at Madame Tussaud’s in London, the next Indian actor likely to be ‘waxed’ at the famous wax museum is Aamir Khan.
The source said: “Aamir is popular and a Bollywood A-lister. He is definitely next!”
While two of Aamir Khan’s contemporaries, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan, already have their wax figures put up at Tussaud’s, Aamir, who had earlier refused the offer, might agree this time round, with Tussaud’s coming to India. Other well-known Bollywood stars on the to-be-waxed-at-Tussaud’s list include Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif.
A few days back, a wax structure of the Indian cricketing icon, Sachin Tendulkar, was installed at the museum.
The source also updated the news about Tussaud’s in India saying that Bobby Khan plans to bring the museum to Delhi first, before Mumbai and Hyderabad. The source said: “Bobby is working out the terms and conditions with people in Delhi. He may choose either Saket or Gurgaon. Work on it is slow right now because it’s election time and talks have been put on hold. But after May 20, things are going to move fast.”
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
In line with the stipulations of the credit flow-regulating Credit Information Companies Act (CICA), 2005, the Credit Information Bureau India Ltd – CIBIL – has been granted ‘in-principle approval’ for Certificate of Registration by the Reserve Bank of India.
The certification allows companies in the telecommunications and insurance sectors to access credit data. Previously, the credit data could be accessed and shared by financial institutions such as banks and NBFCs.
While the CICA does not make it mandatory for the telecom and insurance firms to contribute data, they would be allowed to access data from CIBIL, which presently has more than 135-million accounts directory, thanks to contributions from almost 160 financial and non-banking institutions. After receiving the final registration and operational guidelines, the telecom and insurance companies can collect information from more sources.
The CIBIL functioning includes providing a credit score of up to 900, depending upon the borrower’s liabilities and past payment records, and a deferred installment payment affects the credit score.
According to The Times of India, Terry McCafferty, CIBIL’s Chief Operating Officer, talking about the recent ‘in-principle’ approval said: “The approval gives us the right to continue our operations and allows telecom companies and insurers to access the CIBIL database. We need to develop and enable our systems so that all this can be put to effect soon.”
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Berlin – Leaders of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) met in Berlin on Saturday to approve an election manifesto designed to win over voters with promises of more cash.
Key points of the platform are tax cuts and state handouts for low income groups and families with children to be financed in part by a tax on the rich and a levy on stock transactions.
The centre-left SPD is seeking to distance itself from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) as Germany’s two coalition partners gear up for a parliamentary election on September 27.
Campaigning is expected to be dominated by the fallout from the economic crisis, which has hit key sectors of German industry and put tens of of thousands of workers on reduced hours with less pay.
The SPD measures “are the right answer” to the unprecedented downturn, said Ralf Stegner, a member of the party’s executive bureau, ahead of Saturday’s meeting.
The programme includes a 4-point reduction in the lowest bracket of income tax to 10 per cent as well as a 200-euro (264 dollars) tax break for families with children.
There is also a 300-euro bonus for people on low wages if they forgo filling in a tax return, a move the party says will also help cut red tape.
The measures will be counter-financed by a 2 point increase in the top tax band to 47 per cent for people on annual incomes of 125,000 euros upwards and a 0.5 per cent levy on stock exchange transactions.
The party estimates these steps would generate 5 billion euros in extra revenue, part of which would be used to improve educational facilities.
“We are providing relief to the centre by lowering the opening tax rate and by investing more in the education of their children,” said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the man chosen by the SPD to challenge Merkel for the chancellorship in September.
Steinmeier is due to unveil the election manifesto on Sunday before it is presented for approval to a party congress in Berlin on June 14. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Dhaka – At least three people were reportedly killed as Cyclone Bijli swept over south-eastern part of the country Saturday, officials said.
The cyclone hit Bangladesh’s coastal areas late Friday night and turned into a land depression the following morning.
Reports from southern tourism district of Cox’s Bazar said three people were killed when their thatched homes collapsed and trees fell on them.
“There are reports coming in of damage of property and homes in the remote areas, we are still assessing the loss of property,” Syedul Islam, an official at the disaster management ministry, said.
Several thousand inhabitants, who were evacuated from the islands in the Bay of Bengal, returned to their homes Saturday as the storm weakened. But fishing boats and trawlers in the northern Bay of Bengal had not yet gone back to sea. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Srinagar, Kashmir – Two militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group and their female associate were killed in a shootout with security forces in India-administered Kashmir on Saturday, police said.
The combat took place near a village in the Doda district about 180 kilometres north-east of the state’s winter capital Jammu, after a joint army-police team started search operations.
“The two militants were active in the area and were behind many killings and abductions. They were eliminated in the gunbattle which lasted for an hour,” senior police official Parbhat Singh said.
A woman who was with the militants and was believed to be linked with the LeT was also killed.
According to Indian intelligence agencies, rebels are planning to increase the levels of violence in the region as the nationwide elections get underway.
The disputed Kashmir region is divided into two parts, one administered by India the other by Pakistan. The neighbours have fought two wars over the disputed region.
More than 45,000 people have died in violence since violent secessionist militant movement emerged in the 1980s.
India has repeatedly accused Pakistan of aiding Kashmiri militants. Islamabad denies the charge, calling the insurgents freedom fighters. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Nokia’s Eseries of smartphones has a new addition for India – the SIM-free, first side slider phone called the Nokia E75!
Offering full desktop email functionality, along with complete integration of email and messaging services, the E75 also supports as many as sixteen third party email solutions including Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Sify, Rediffmail, In. com, and Indiatimes. It can alert users for up to two email accounts.
Available in two colors – red and silver black – the Rs 26,299 priced phone boasts of features like a 3.2 megapixel camera; A-GPS; pre-loaded maps; media player; music player; FM; Internet radio and a built-in mobile VPN for intranet access.
The user-friendly interface of the E75 enables users to manage their personal and business life with ease, thanks to its two customizable home screen modes. The phone’s full integration between email, home screen, calendar and contacts, allows users to look up contacts, auto-complete and create and respond to meeting requests.
Talking about Nokia’s latest offering, Vineet Taneja, Marketing Director, Nokia India states, said: “Business mobility is now a necessity. The power-packed Nokia E75 with Nokia Messaging Service is the definite efficiency tool that offers the complete mobile email functionality and gives consumers an enriched and easy to use email experience while on the move. Connecting to and using email now on will be as easy as using SMS.”
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Cairo- US special envoy George Mitchell is holding talks with Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak on Saturday in Cairo as part of his Middle East tour to promote peace in the region.
Mitchell arrived in Cairo on Friday night, coming from Israel and the Palestinian territories, and met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
After the meeting Mitchell praised the Egyptian role in establishing peace in the Middle East and told reporters that the US was committed to “comprehensive peace” in the region.
Mitchell conveyed a similar message in Ramallah on Friday, that President Barack Obama is committed to the establishment of a sovereign, independent Palestinian state and regards this as a “national interest” of the US.
“This conflict has gone on for far too long. The people of this region should no longer have to wait for the just peace,” Mitchell said.
In Israel, Mitchell told officials that Obama administration’s commitment to Israeli security, but also to a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict.
The new Israeli government has refused to openly endorse a two-state solution to the conflict.
The Middle East tour, the first since the new government of hardline premier Benjamin Netanyahu took office last month, will also take Mitchell to the Gulf region.
Meanwhile, the Hamas government of the Gaza Strip on Saturday called on the Obama administration to take a clear position regarding Israeli settlement activities.
Taher al-Nounou, a spokesman for the deposed government, said that Israel “continues its aggressive campaign in the occupied Jerusalem to make al-Aqsa mosque Jewish.”
Settlement activity in Jerusalem, and the West Bank, and the restrictions on the Palestinian prisoners were being conducted “while the US envoy George Mitchell is visiting the region,” according to Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nounou. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Washington – A small plane plunged into a home in Florida on Friday shortly after taking off from a nearby airport.
The twin engine Cessna crashed in Oakland Park after taking office from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, a police spokeswoman said. There was no preliminary information about fatalities.
“We are waiting to hear word of possible injuries or possible casualties,” Veda Coleman Wright, a spokeswoman for the Broward Sheriff’s Office, said.
Firefighters were on the scene dousing flames in the gaping hole the plane left in the house. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Washington – In a landmark ruling Friday, US President Barack Obama’s administration found that greenhouse gases threaten US air quality and public health, setting the stage for new limits on industry emissions that cause global warming.
The so-called “endangerment finding” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had long been anticipated by environmental groups and marks the latest shift on US climate policy since Obama took office in January.
The ruling, which now has to be submitted for public comment for 60 days, would allow the government to regulate greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide under existing clean air laws in the United States.
“This finding confirms that greenhouse gas pollution is a serious problem now and for future generations,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statements.
Former president George W Bush had rejected imposing mandatory limits on climate-damaging pollution and the decision comes nearly two years after the US Supreme Court ruled that the EPA must consider regulating greenhouse gases under the existing Clean Air Act, a 1990 US law governing air pollution.
The US is taking its first steps as a nation to confront climate change,” said Vickie Patt of the climate group Environmental Defense Fund. “EPAs action is a wake up-call for national policy solutions that secure our economic and environmental future.”
The EPA’s ruling could pave the way for tougher federal standards on emissions from cars, power plants and other sources global warming.
But it remains unclear how far the administration will use this authority. Congress is considering new legislation this year to create a cap-and-trade system that would force polluting companies to pay for their emissions.
Jackson, while not yet announcing any new limits, said the “solution” to global warming was finding ways to encourage green energy technologies. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Baghdad – A round of mortar attacks in southern Baghdad killed seven and left 18 wounded on Friday, according to witnesses.
The mortar rounds struck Jisr Diyala district, an impoverisehd neighbourhood in the south of the capital.
Shiite districts in Baghdad remain volatile. Earlier this month, seven car bombs exploded in different parts of Baghdad killing 37 people. (dpa)
Tags: attack, baghdad, capital, car, Car Bombs, Car Parts, district, Diyala, DPA, Friday, impoverisehd, Jisr, Killing People, month, mortar, Mortar Attack, Mortar Attacks, mortar rounds, neighbourhood, round, south, southern Baghdad
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Kiev – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to greenlight an additional 2.8 billion dollars assistance loan to Ukraine, IMF officials in Kiev said on Friday.
An IMF mission visiting the former Soviet republic recommended Ukraine receive the badly-needed credit after meetings with the country’s government.
At least half of the money to be advanced by the IMF will go towards balancing Ukraine’s budget, mostly by helping service foreign-issue bonds, Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said, according to an Interfax news agency report.
An IMF team led by mission head Ceyla Pazarbasioglu had been in Ukraine for more than a week discussing a continuation of loans.
The Fund in February refused to advance the second tranche of a total 16.5 billion dollar loan, because Ukraine’s government had failed to enact reforms as per the loan terms.
The first tranche of the loan, 4.5 billion dollars, was given to Ukraine in November.
“We have agreed (with the Tymoshenko government) to recommend to Fund headquarters another tranche of 2.8 billion dolars,” Pazarbasioglu said at a Kiev press conference.
A final IMF approval of the loan would depend on the Tymoshenko government’s sending a formal letter to IMF headquarters, confirming in writing Kiev was in agreement with the terms of the second tranche.
An IMF decision would come in May, Pazarbasioglu said.
Provided Ukraine continued to meet IMF conditions a third tranche, also of 2.8 billion dollars, could be made available “relatively quickly,” she added.
The two 2.8 billion dollar tranches newly agreed upon by the IMF and Ukraine were a change from loan terms agreed last year, originally forseeing a 4.5 billion dollar credit to Ukraine in November 2008, a second 1.87 billion dollar credit in February 2009, and a third 3.73 billion dollar credit in May 2009.
IMF and Ukrainian officials had argued over the use of the first tranche of the loan, with the Tymoshenko government wishing to use the money primarily to cover the budget deficit, and the IMF insisting the money be used to refloat fragile Ukrainian banks. Ukrainian deficit-spending was another problem.
The IMF refused to issue the scheduled second tranche of the loan programme, a planned 1.87 billion dollars, as a result of the dispute.
Ukraine’s government on Thursday announced a refinancing plan for seven weak banks, according to Tymoshenko “exclusive of any money we might get from the IMF.”
A second IMF-pleasing step came earlier in the week, with Tymoshenko ordering wide-reaching reforms of budgetary policy, cuts to food and energy price subsidies, and slashed social support payments.
These cuts will be highly unpopular with middle- and lower-income Ukrainians.
Pazarbasioglu praised Tymoshenko’s cost-cutting, saying Ukraine’s economy had “weathered much of the shock” of the international financial crisis, setting the stage for economic recovery.
Pazarbasioglu cited a cheaper national Ukrainian currency the hryvna, stablising inflation, and a slightly-narrowing deficit as indicators Ukraine’s economy was turning the corner.
The IMF as a result of the talks retreated from a long-held condition Ukraine should maintain a budget deficit of maximum 3 per cent of GDP, raising the permitted figure to 4 per cent.
Economic indicators still are among the worst in the world, with the IMF on Thursday revising downwards estimates of Ukrainian economic performance to a predicted 8 per cent national GDP contraction in 2009. (dpa)
Tags: assistance loan, Budget Deficit, dollar credit, dollar loan, formal letter, imf approval, imf conditions, imf headquarters, imf mission, imf officials, imf team, Interfax News Agency, international monetary fund, international monetary fund imf, issue bonds, loan terms, prime minister yulia tymoshenko, soviet republic, tranche, Ukraine Kiev, ukrainian officials
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Harare – The 19-country Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), Africa’s largest trading bloc, will finally launch its customs union at a long-awaited summit in Zimbabwe in June, COMESA said Friday.
The summit of heads of state and government, which was twice postponed last year, will be held on June 7 and 8 in Victoria Falls resort, Comesa secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya told journalists in Harare Friday.
“We shall have the launching of the Comesa customs union during the summit,” he added.
Comesa said it will finance the summit, as Zimbabwe’s new unity government struggles to find money to feed the population and pay public sector workers.
The government is looking for 10 billion dollars towards rebuilding the economy after a decade of disastrous policies under Mugabe, who remains president but had to give up some of his powers to his longtime rival and now prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Ngwenya revealed that the bloc was considering providing aid to Zimbabwe.
“We are not going to talk numbers. We are working with the ministries, governments and industry (of COMESA member states) to discuss their requirements,” Ngwenya said.
COMESA’s members include Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Sudan and Zambia. (dpa)
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Written by Rahul on 20 April 2009
Monte Carlo – Stan Wawrinka has a score to settle with Novak Djokovic as the pair stage a re-run of last year’s Foro Italico final when they meet in in a semi-final Saturday at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Djokovic, seeded third to the 13th of Wawrinka, beat the Swiss for the Rome title last May. But Wawrinka is riding a wave of clay confidence a day after defeating good friend Roger Federer in the third round.
He followed up that achievement on Friday, putting out German qualifier Andreas Beck 6-2, 6-4.
Djokovic, winner of all three matches against Wawrinka in 2008, booked his last-four spot as he beat Fernando Verdasco, the seventh seed, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Djokovic needed to play on Thursday night in heavy conditions to conclude a day of rain interruptions. He said that the challenge Friday was much the same.
“The courts were really wet, even today you could feel it. The balls were getting bald and really fast – tough to control. But today was a really good match for me. I hung in there and just waited for my chances.”
Djokovic will play in his second consecutive Monte Carlo semi-final after retiring with illness against Federer last year.
Four-time champion Rafael Nadal and Scottish fourth seed Andy Murray were due for two matches on the day after concluding their third-rounders earlier.
Nadal claimed his 24th straight victory at the principality, defeating Nicolas Lapentti 6-3, 6-0. The Spanish top seed was next to face Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who beat Simone Bolelli 7-5 7-6 (7-2).
Murray has been on a roll this season, leading the ATP with three titles and now in a position to threaten both number 3 Djokovic as well as possibly number 2 Federer.
Murray will go against Russian Nikolay Davydenko, who beat David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. (dpa)
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