NEWS,11.12.2012

  Italy petrol strike threatens to hit economy

Italian petrol stations began a 60-hour strike today to protest against rising costs and falling profits, causing long queues as drivers rushed to fill up before pumps closed.Hitting at the peak shopping period before Christmas, the strike comes at unwelcome time for retailers.Weak consumer spending has been a key factor in Italy's sluggish economy, which has been dipping in and out of recession since 2008."It is incredible, with all that petrol costs us nowadays, that they can even think of going on strike," Rome resident Ida Lauro said as she queued in her car.Unions have agreed to maintain minimum service on motorways, with at least one station open every 100 km.In a joint statement, unions said they called the strike to combat "a true aggression against the roughly 24,000 small businesses and 120,000 workers in the sector".They say oil companies have forced stations to absorb the costs of discounting campaigns, allowing them a profit of just one euro for every 100 euros ($155) or 55 litres of petrol sold.Oil distributors in Italy Esso and Shell were not immediately available for comment. A government attempt to come to an agreement with the unions this week fell through.Workers will demonstrate outside government buildings in Rome later today to pressure the state to intervene.The strike will end on Friday morning on ordinary roads and late on Thursday on motorways.Between December 17 and 22 the petrol stations will refuse to pay oil companies for refills. Then, between Christmas and New Year, they will refuse credit and debit card payments in protest at bank charges on electronic payments.Mario Monti's technocrat government has cut spending and raised taxes since it was appointed last year to pull Italy out of a debt crisis, and is the focus of increasing protests.The government was thrown into crisis last week when the party of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi withdrew its support, prompting Monti to announce he would resign once the 2013 budget bill is passed before Christmas.

US to keep strong presence in Mideast

The US military will retain a "strong presence" in the Middle East despite a strategic shift to Asia, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday during a visit to Kuwait. The US plans to deploy a majority of its naval fleet to the Asia-Pacific along with other advanced weaponry but Panetta insisted that a robust American force would remain in place in the Middle East.Panetta spoke to journalists aboard his plane travelling to Kuwait City on a two-day visit to discuss bolstering security ties amid tumult in the region and tensions with Iran."Let me assure you that the United States is strong enough that we can maintain a strong presence in the Middle East as well as in the Pacific," he said.He acknowledged that the US had to be "flexible" in managing its forces in a more austere era and that it would have only one aircraft carrier in the Middle East for about two months to allow for maintenance work on another carrier, the USS Nimitz.The American military still had nearly 50 000 troops and warships positioned across the region, he said."But in the end, I am very confident that we're going to be able to maintain the ships and forces we need in order to respond to any contingency."The US has deployed more ships and aircraft in the strategic Gulf over the past year after Iran threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz if Western countries boycotted Iranian oil exports.Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Sabah, held talks at his residence with Panetta in the presence of the crown prince, the prime minister, defence minister and senior officials, the state-run Kuna news agency reported.Kuna provided no details about the talks.During the visit, which ends on Wednesday, Panetta also plans to meet some of the 13 500 US troops stationed in the Gulf state to thank them for their service ahead of the Christmas holidays.His visit is the first to the emirate by a Pentagon chief in five years."We share a history of co-operation that goes back to the first Gulf War," in 1991 that ousted Iraqi occupation forces, Panetta said of Kuwait, calling the country an "important partner"."I look forward to discussing with the government of Kuwait how can we enhance that co-operation in the face of regional security challenges in the area," he said."Our presence in Kuwait and throughout the Gulf helps enhance the capabilities of partner nations, deters aggression and helps ensure that we're better able to respond to crises in the region."Panetta's visit coincides with a wave of protests in the oil-rich Gulf state, with thousands of opposition demonstrators demanding fresh elections due to a bitter dispute over amendments to the country's electoral law.Kuwaiti activists have called for protesters to camp outside parliament next Saturday on the eve of its opening session.

N Korea removes rocket from launch pad

North Korea has removed a long-range rocket from its launch pad for repair, South Korean media reported on Tuesday, a day after Pyongyang extended the widely-criticised mission's launch window.According to analysis of the latest satellite imagery, the entire three-stage Unha-3 carrier has been removed to a nearby assembly facility, Yonhap news agency quoted a military source as saying."It seems that North Korea has pulled down the rocket from the launch pad to fix technical problems," the source said.The defence ministry refused to confirm the report which, if true, would signal a lengthy delay in the launch schedule.North Korea says the rocket is being used to put a satellite into orbit, but the United States and its allies insist the launch is a disguised ballistic missile test.North Korea had originally provided a 10-22 December window for launching the rocket, but that was extended by another week on Monday when a "technical deficiency" was discovered in the first-stage engine.Yonhap's military source said Pyongyang was expected to go ahead with a launch after repair works are completed.The North's decision to try and launch the rocket in winter has led analysts to suggest a political imperative behind the timing, which may have overruled technical considerations.New leader Kim Jong-Un is believed to be extremely keen that the launch falls around the first anniversary of the death of his father and former leader Kim Jong-Il on 17 December.The possibility that the launch has been rushed has been backed by missile experts, sceptical that the problem which resulted in the failure of the North's last rocket launch in April could have been resolved in just eight months.North Korea is banned from conducting missile tests under UN resolutions triggered by Pyongyang's two nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.The latest planned launch has been condemned by the United Nations, as well as the United States and its main military allies in Asia, Japan and South Korea.Russia has joined international calls for Pyongyang to cancel the mission, while China, North Korea's sole major ally and its biggest trade partner and aid provider, has expressed concern.EU foreign ministers said on Monday that an eventual launch would be a "provocative act" in breach of UN resolutions and require an international response.UN diplomats inside and outside the Security Council have started consultations behind the scenes on what action to take if Pyongyang goes ahead with the launch.According to Japanese reports, Japan, the United States and South Korea have agreed to demand the UN Security Council strengthen sanctions on North Korea to levels that match those on Iran.That would include increasing the list of financial institutions, entities and individuals already subject to asset freezes.

Berlusconi, Monti set fiery campaign tone

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday set the tone for his election campaign saying nobody should care about bond spreads, and accusing Mario Monti of being "German-centric" as the prime minister said he had spared Italy from the same fate as Greece."Who cares about the spread?" the 76-year-old Berlusconi, who is running for the sixth time in two decades, said in an interview with Canale 5 television part of his media empire."The spread is a trick and an invention with which they tried to bring down the majority that ruled this country," said the three-time prime minister and billionaire, referring to his last government which collapsed in November 2011 following a parliamentary revolt and panic on the markets.The spread is the differential between Italian and benchmark German 10-year sovereign bonds  a closely watched measure of investor confidence.The spread had narrowed to below 300 points last week but has widened since Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party said on Thursday that it was withdrawing its support for Monti's government.Berlusconi then announced he would run for prime minister and Monti said he would resign as soon as parliament approves next year's budget, bringing forward the likely date for elections to February.There is growing speculation that Monti will also decide to run in the election although he has so far declined to comment, saying only that he is not considering the option "at this stage".The spread was around 349 points on Tuesday, while the stock market inched up 0.64% in afternoon trading - a day after it trailed other European bourses reacting to the weekend of political drama and the re-emergence of Berlusconi.Polls say the favourite to win is centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani, a cigar-chomping former communist and two-time minister who spearheaded a liberalisation drive when he was in office.Berlusconi on Tuesday also criticised Monti as "too German-centric" and said that all the main economic indicators had worsened since the former Eurocrat was installed in power.He continued saying that Italy's record-high public debt of nearly $2.6 trillion, or around 120% of gross domestic product, was "not as high as they want to make you think".Monti also gave an interview to Rai public television in which he said that the government had to be "very careful" and "calm" about bond spreads.In a rare moment of candour on his personal life, he revealed his own grandson had been nicknamed "spread" at his kindergarten and recognised the word as his own name when he heard it on television.Monti also warned about rising populism ahead of the elections, saying: "There is a tendency to over-simplify things, to present magical solutions."And he defended his record in government saying: "We have made great progress but at a cost. In the short term, there has not been growth."I would appreciate it if someone could explain to me how it would have been possible financially to spare Italy from suffering the same fate as Greece and make it grow at a rapid rate," he said.Newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano's online edition said the contrasting interviews with Monti and Berlusconi on Tuesday were a "head-on clash"."Each one used their own language, but this really is a challenge at a distance," the paper said.Berlusconi also announced that only 10% of the party's candidates in elections now expected in February would be chosen from current lawmakers.Fifty percent of the candidates will come from the business community, 20% from local government and 10% from the world of culture, he said, without explaining where the remaining 10% would come from.The PDL has been riven by infighting and hit by a series of fraud investigations since Berlusconi stepped down last year and retreated from the political fray before suddenly returning last week to the dismay of several dissident party members. Berlusconi also said he would be holding talks later on Tuesday with Roberto Maroni, leader of the populist Northern League party, on forming a possible coalition.Berlusconi's PDL and the Northern League won the last general election in 2008 but there have been tensions between the two parties in recent years.

NEWS,24.04.2012.

North Korea's nuclear test ready 'soon'

North Korea has almost completed preparations for a third nuclear test, a senior source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing said, which will draw further international condemnation following a failed rocket launch if it goes ahead.The isolated and impoverished state sacrificed the chance of closer ties with the United States when it launched the long-range rocket on 13 April and was censured by the UN Security Council, including the North's sole major ally, China.Critics say the rocket launch was aimed at honing the North's ability to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States, a move that would dramatically increase its military and diplomatic heft.
Now the North appears to be about to carry out a third nuclear test after two in 2006 and 2009."Soon. Preparations are almost complete," the source said when asked whether North Korea was planning to conduct a nuclear test.This is the first time a senior official has confirmed the planned test and the source has correctly predicted events in the past, telling Reuters about the 2006 test days before it happened.
The rocket launch and nuclear test come as Kim Jong-Un, the third of his line to rule North Korea, seeks to cement his grip on power.Kim took office in December and has lauded the country's military might, reaffirming his father's "military first" policies that have stunted economic development and appearing to dash slim hopes of an opening to the outside world.Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, which have most to fear from any North Korean nuclear threat, are watching events anxiously and many observers say that Pyongyang may have the capacity to conduct a test using highly enriched uranium for the first time.Defence experts say that by successfully enriching uranium, to make bombs of the type dropped on Hiroshima nearly 70 years ago, the North would be able to significantly build up stocks of weapons-grade nuclear material.It would also allow it more easily to manufacture a nuclear warhead to mount on a long-range missile.The source did not specify whether the test would be a third test using plutonium, of which it has limited stocks, or whether Pyongyang would use uranium.
South Korean defence sources have been quoted in domestic media as saying a launch could come within two weeks and one North Korea analyst has suggested that it could come as early as the North's "Army Day" on Wednesday.Other observers say that any date is pure speculation.The rocket launch and the planned nuclear test have exposed the limits of China's hold over Pyongyang. Beijing is the North's sole major ally and props up the state with investment and fuel."China is like a chameleon toward North Korea," said Kim Young-Soo, professor of political science at Sogang University in Seoul. "It says it objects to North Korea's provocative acts, but it does not participate in punishing the North."Reports have suggested that a Chinese company may have supplied a rocket launcher shown off at a military parade to mark this month's centenary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the state's founder, something that may be in breach of UN sanctions.China has denied breaching sanctions.
The source said there was debate in North Korea's top leadership over whether to go ahead with the launch in the face of US warnings and the possibility of further UN sanctions, but that hawks in the Korean People's Army had won the debate.The source dismissed speculation that the failed launch had dealt a blow to Kim Jong-Un, believed to be in his late 20s, who came to power after his father Kim Jong-Il died following a 17-year rule that saw Nort.Korea experience a famine in the 1990s."Kim Jong-Un was named first secretary of the [ruling] Workers' Party and head of the National Defence Commission," the source said, adding that the titles further consolidated his grip on power.North Korean media has recently upped its criticism of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who cut off aid to Pyongyang when he took power in 2008, calling him a "rat" and a "bastard" and threatening to turn the South Korean capital to ashes.Pyongyang desperately wants recognition from the United States, the guarantor of the South's security. It claims sovereignty over the entire Korean peninsula, as does South Korea."North Korea may consider abandoning [the test] if the United States agrees to a peace treaty," the source said, reiterating a long-standing demand by Pyongyang for recognition by Washington and a treaty to end the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in a truce.

NEWS,19.04.2012.

India tests missile capable of reaching China

India test-fired a long range missile capable of reaching deep into China and Europe, thrusting the emerging Asian power into an elite club of nations with intercontinental nuclear weapons capabilities.A scientist at the launch site said the launch was successful, minutes after television images showed the rocket with a range of more than 5,000 km blasting through clouds from an island off India's east coast."It has met all the mission objectives," S.P.Dash, director of the test range. "It hit the target with very good accuracy."The Indian-made Agni V is the crowning achievement of a now-mothballed missile programme developed primarily with a possible threat from neighbouring China in mind.Only the UN Security Council permanent members - China, France, Russia the United States and Britain - along with Israel, are believed to have such long-range weapons.Fast emerging as a world economic power, India is keen to play a larger role on the global stage and has long angled for a permanent seat on the Security Council. In recent years it has emerged as the world's top arms importer as it rushes to upgrade equipment for a large but outdated military."It is one of the ways of signalling India's arrival on the global stage, that India deserves to be sitting at the high table," said Harsh Pant, a defence expert at King's College, London, describing the launch as a "confidence boost".The launch, which was flagged well in advance, has attracted none of the criticism from the West faced by hermit state North Korea for a failed bid to send up a similar rocket last week.But China noted the launch with disapproval."The West chooses to overlook India's disregard of nuclear and missile control treaties," China's Global Times newspaper said in an editorial published before the launch, which was delayed by a day because of bad weather."India should not overestimate its strength," said the paper, which is owned by the Chinese Communist Party's main mouthpiece the People's Daily.India has not signed the non-proliferation treaty for nuclear nations, but enjoys a de facto legitimacy for its arsenal, boosted by a landmark 2008 deal with the United States.On Wednesday, NATO said it did not consider India a threat. The US State Department said India's non-proliferation record was "solid," while urging restraint.India says its nuclear weapons programme is for deterrence only.It is close to completing a nuclear submarine that will increase its ability to launch a counter strike if it were attacked.India lost a brief Himalayan border war with its larger neighbour, China, in 1962 and has ever since strived to improve its defences. In recent years the government has fretted over China's enhanced military presence near the border.

Thursday's launch may prompt a renewed push from within India's defence establishment to build a fully fledged intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programme capable of reaching the Americas, though some of India's allies may bridle at such an ambition."Policy-wise it becomes more complicated from now on, until Agni V, India really has been able to make a case about its strategic objectives, but as it moves into the ICBM frontier there'll be more questions asked," said Pant.The Agni V is the most advanced version of the indigenously built Agni, or Fire, series, part of a programme that started in the 1960s. Earlier versions could reach old rival Pakistan and Western China."India can now deter China, it can impose maximum possible punishment if China crosses the red line," Srikanth Kondapalli, professor in Chinese studies at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University told Reuters.The rocket is powered by easier-to-use solid rocket propellants and can be transported by road.

Too early to tell on Kim Jong-Un: Clinton

Washington - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered some hope on Wednesday that North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong-Un, may yet change course despite the reclusive Communist state's recent rocket launch and the threat of a new nuclear test.Clinton said it was too early to tell what to make of the surprise remarks to soldiers on Sunday by the youngest son of the late Kim Jong-Il, who saw North Korea fall into deep poverty and developed a nuclear weapons programme during his 17-year rule.Without elaborating, Clinton said Jong-Un's speech was analysed as "some of the old - same old stuff" and "some possible new approach"."We really are waiting and watching to see whether he can be the kind of leader that the North Korean people need."If he just follows in the footsteps of his father, we don't expect much other than the kind of provocative behaviour and the deep failure of the political and economic elite to take care of their own people," Clinton said."But he is someone who has lived outside of North Korea, apparently, from what we know. We believe that he may have some hope that the conditions in North Korea can change. But again we're going to watch and wait," she said. Jong-Un is in his late 20s.North Korea said on Wednesday it was ready to retaliate in the face of international condemnation of last week's failed rocket launch, increasing the likelihood it will push ahead with a third nuclear test.The United States and others said the launch was a test for a long range missile, while North Korea has insisted it was meant to put a satellite into orbit.