NEWS,31.07. AND 01.08.2013

UK bodies act to bolster consumer safety

Four British consumer and business bodies have taken legal steps that could compel the regulator to take swift action to end scams after years of financial product mis-selling.
In a bid to end the litany of mis-selling which stretches back to the 1980s with pensions and home loans, Britain's finance ministry said on Wednesday that four bodies have applied for "super complainant" status.
This means that if they collate enough documented evidence that consumers of financial services are being ripped off, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulator must say within 90 days what action, if any, it will take.
Banks have paid over £10bn ($15.26bn) in compensation so far for selling unsuitable loan insurance, a mounting bill that forced Barclays on Tuesday to announce plans to replenish its capital buffer.
One of the applicants for super complainant status, the Federation of Small Businesses, is representing companies who believe they were mis-sold interest rate protection by banks.
The FCA replaced the Financial Services Authority in April, which was scrapped partly because of mis-selling scandals. The FCA has a remit to protect consumers with its powers to ban products.
"By giving certain consumer and business groups the ability to make 'super-complaints' to the new regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, we can all help to tackle bad practice more rapidly and robustly than before," UK financial services minister Greg Clark said in a statement.
The other three bodies are the Citizens Advice Bureau, consumers association and Consumer Council Northern Ireland. Others are expected and a decision on who will be granted super complainant status will be taken later this year.
Britain passed a law in 2012 making it possible for consumer bodies to become super complainants and called in March for applicants.

'Obamacare' delay to hit US workers hard

President Barack Obama's decision to delay implementation of part of his healthcare reform law will cost $12bn and leave a million fewer Americans with employer-sponsored health insurance in 2014, congressional researchers said Tuesday.
The report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office is the first authoritative estimate of the human and fiscal cost from the administration's unexpected one-year delay announced on  July 2 of the employer mandate - a requirement for larger businesses to provide health coverage for their workers or pay a penalty.
The analysts said the delay will add to the cost of "Obamacare's" insurance-coverage provisions over the next 10 years. Penalties paid by employers would be lower and more individuals who otherwise might have had employer coverage will need federal insurance subsidies.
"Of those who would otherwise have obtained employment-based coverage, roughly half will be uninsured (in 2014)," CBO said in a July 30 letter to Representative Paul Ryan, Republican chairperson of the House of Representatives Budget Committee.
Under Obama's healthcare reform law, employers with 50 or more full-time workers were supposed to provide healthcare coverage or incur penalties beginning on January 1. But the requirement will now begin in 2015.
The delay intensified doubts about the administration's ability to implement Obama's signature domestic policy achievement, and stirred Republican calls for a similar delay in another Obamacare mandate that requires most individuals to have health insurance in 2014.
The Republican-controlled House followed up the administration's decision by voting on July 17 for its own measures to delay the employer and individual mandates. Neither piece of legislation is expected to succeed in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
State and federal officials are racing to set up new online health insurance exchanges, where lower-to-moderate income families that lack health insurance will be able to sign up for federally subsidised coverage beginning on October 1. The poor will also be able to sign up for Medicaid coverage in 23 states that have opted to expand the programme.
Most large employers already offer health insurance and CBO said few are expected to drop coverage because of the delay.
But the change will still result in a $10bn reduction in penalty payments that some employers would have made in 2015 for failing to provide coverage next year, CBO said.
The change also means another $3bn in added costs for exchange subsidies. That is because about half of the one million workers who would have gained employer-sponsored coverage next year will now obtain insurance through the exchanges or via public programmes including Medicaid, CBO said.
Other changes, including an increase in taxable compensation resulting from fewer people enrolling in employment-based coverage, will offset those factors by about $1bn.
CBO now puts the net cost of Obamacare's insurance coverage provisions at around $1.38trn over the next 10 years, versus its May baseline projection of $1.36trn.

Obama offers 'grand jobs bargain'

President Barack Obama proposed a "grand bargain for middle-class jobs" on Tuesday that would cut the US corporate tax rate and use billions of dollars in revenues generated by a business tax overhaul to fund projects aimed at creating jobs.
The goal, as outlined in his speech to an enthusiastic audience at an Amazon.com Inc facility in southeastern Tennessee, was to break through partisan gridlock in Congress with a formula that satisfies Republicans and Democrats alike.
But there was no sign that congressional Republicans who have fought nearly every facet of Obama's domestic agenda would look favourably upon the president's proposal.
The president's plan combined a proposed corporate tax rate cut desired by Republicans with new spending on infrastructure projects like roads and bridges as well as education investment desired by his fellow Democrats.
"I've come here to offer a framework that might help break through the political logjam in Washington and get some of these proven ideas moving," Obama said.
Despite the olive branch, Obama's proposal immediately drew fire from the top Republicans in Congress. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said: "It's just a further-left version of a widely panned plan he already proposed two years ago - this time, with extra goodies for tax-and-spend liberals."
Bickering broke out as the White House said it had tried to tell aides to John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, about the plan on Monday but, according to Obama spokesperson Jay Carney, "never heard back" from them.
The president in his speech also jabbed at Republicans over their support for a proposed oil pipeline from Canada and their continual opposition to his ideas.
The contretemps reflected the hyperpartisan environment that has made negotiations nearly impossible in Washington. Efforts to reach a "grand bargain" between Democrats and Republicans on deficit reduction have been at an impasse for months.
New showdowns over spending are expected in the fall, as Congress confronts an October 1 deadline to pass a bill funding the government and then a White House request to raise the federal borrowing limit, known as the "debt ceiling".
Senior administration officials said Obama is not giving up on a big deficit-cutting package, but since no agreement appears imminent, he is offering a new idea to try to follow through on his 2012 re-election campaign promises to help the middle class.
But his narrow proposal on corporate taxes suggested that Obama had all but abandoned a big deal with Republicans on deficit reduction. He argued the deficit was rapidly declining anyway and no deal seemed near with his political opponents.
'The white flag'
The president cast his latest tax proposal as part of a menu of items he is offering to help the United States pick up its economic game in a competitive world economy.
"If we don't make these investments and reforms, we might as well throw up the white flag while the rest of the world forges ahead in a global economy," he said. "And that does nothing to help the middle class."
Obama wants to cut the corporate tax rate of 35% to 28% and give manufacturers a preferred rate of 25%. He also wants a minimum tax on foreign earnings as a tool against corporate tax evasion and the use of tax havens.
In exchange for his support for a corporate tax reduction, Obama wants the money generated by a tax overhaul to be used to fund such projects as repairing roads and bridges, improving education at community colleges and promoting manufacturing, senior administration officials said.
For his part Obama, who will need Republican backing for any budget deal, had scathing words for Republican proposals on economic growth.
He spoke dismissively of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, which Republicans have urged him to approve because of its economic benefits. The president said it would create only 50 permanent jobs, adding: "That's not a jobs plan."
Obama's plan to cut corporate taxes while also curtail some existing tax benefits would result in a one-time source of revenue. The White House did not say how much money would be raised, but Obama called for $50bn for infrastructure spending in his State of the Union speech in February.
Republicans contended that by spending the revenue, it would violate Obama's previous commitment to a "revenue-neutral" overhaul of corporate taxes.
Administration officials said they recognise that the climate is difficult in Congress, with Republicans adamantly refusing anything that is seen as increasing spending and Democrats in no mood to cut taxes and get nothing for it.
The president, who has failed in several tries to reach a comprehensive fiscal accord with Republicans, accused them of holding a personal grudge against him and called for a good-faith exchange of ideas.
"If folks in Washington really want a grand bargain, how about a grand bargain for middle-class jobs?" Obama said.
"I don't want to go through the same old arguments where I propose an idea and the Republicans just say: 'No,' because it's my idea. So I'm going to try offering something that serious people in both parties should be able to support," he added.
Boehner's spokesperson, Michael Steel, criticised the proposal even before Obama's speech, saying: "Republicans want to help families and small businesses, too.
"This proposal allows President Obama to support President Obama's position on taxes and President Obama's position on spending, while leaving small businesses and American families behind."

Iran sanctions bill to slash oil exports

The House of Representatives easily passed a bill on Wednesday to tighten sanctions on Iran, showing a strong message to Tehran over its disputed nuclear program days before President-elect Hassan Rouhani is sworn in.
The vote also highlighted a growing divide between Congress and the Obama administration on Iran policy ahead of international talks on the nuclear program in coming months. Iran insists the nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes.
The bill, which passed 400 to 20, would cut Iran's oil exports by another 1 million barrels per day over a year to near zero, in an attempt to reduce the flow of funds to the nuclear program. It is the first sanctions bill to put a number on exactly how much Iran's oil exports would be cut.
The legislation provides for heavy penalties for buyers who do not find alternative supplies, limits Iran's access to funds in overseas accounts and penalizes countries trading with Iran in other industrial sectors.
Existing US and EU measures have already reduced Iran's oil exports by more than half from pre-sanction levels of about 2.2m barrels per day (bpd), costing Tehran billions of dollars in lost revenue a month.
Most of the OPEC member's exports head to Asia, where the United States has worked with Iran's top four customers China, India, Japan and South Korea to push them towards alternative suppliers. The four have cut purchases from Iran by more than a fifth in the first half of this year, over and above the reductions made last year.
China
The success of any toughening of the sanctions will depend on China, Iran's top customer, which has repeatedly said it opposes unilateral sanctions outside the purview of the United Nations, such as those imposed by the United States.
The country reduced oil purchases from the Middle Eastern nation by 21% last year, but that was partly on account of differences in the first quarter over the renewal terms of annual contracts and shipping delays.
Chinese officials have said refiners are likely to cut shipments 5% to 10% this year from last. They cut imports 2% in the first six months of the year.
"I don't think the Chinese government will give in to this kind of pressure," said an official with a Chinese refinery that processes Iranian crude. "There is no chance that Iranian supplies would come to a halt."
For now, relatively steady oil prices have allowed the efforts to continue, but analysts say further sanctions risk pushing up prices and damaging the economies of US allies.
"This is almost like an embargo on Iranian oil imports. It is like giving Iran an ultimatum," a Seoul-based refining source said, after the vote. "I think we can find alternatives but we prefer Iranian crude as the economics are better. If very little Iranian crude is available, overall oil prices would rise."
The bill still has to be passed in the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama before becoming law. The Senate Banking Committee is expected to introduce a similar measure in September, though it is uncertain whether the language to cut exports by 1 million barrels a day will survive.
Critics of the bill said it shows an aggressive signal to Iran that last month voted in Rouhani, a cleric many see as more moderate. He will be sworn in on Sunday.
No higher priority
Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican and Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who introduced the bill with Rep. Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat, said the United States has no higher national security priority than preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.
Royce said the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's drive to develop a nuclear arsenal was evident. "New president or not, I am convinced that Iran's Supreme Leader intends to continue on this path," he said.
The vote showed a growing disagreement between the White House and Congress on Iran policy. A senior administration official said on Wednesday the White House is not opposed to new sanctions in principle, but wants to give Rouhani a chance.
The Treasury Department last week partially eased sanctions on Iran by expanding a list of medical devices that can be exported there without special permission.
One of the 20 lawmakers to vote against the bill, Jim McDermott, a Washington-state Democrat, said shortly before the vote that the rush to sanction Iran before Rouhani takes office could hurt efforts to deflate the nuclear issue.
"It's a dangerous sign to send and it limits our ability to find a diplomatic solution to nuclear arms in Iran," McDermott said.
A supporter of harsher sanctions disagreed.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "doesn't see our flexibility and good faith efforts as a sign of good intentions, he sees it as a sign of weakness," said Mark Dubowitz, the head of Foundation of Defense of Democracies, an advocate of sanctions.
"If anything, it's only going to be massively intensified sanctions that get him to blink."
But Trita Parsi, the president of the National Iranian American council, said the House action undermines the US strategy which has long been one of good cop - bad cop.
The White House has taken a softer stance toward Iran's nuclear program and Congress has taken a tougher one. But now there are signs that the good cop cannot control the bad cop, he said.
"The impression on the Iranian side is not that it's good cop bad cop, but complete chaos and mayhem," Parsi said.
'Too much'
The bill also further denies Iran's government access to foreign currency reserves, and targets Iranian efforts to circumvent international sanctions against its shipping business.
"I think it's too much. Asian countries don't have much oil resources and they need to import a lot from the Middle East," said a trader with a North Asian buyer of Iranian crude. "If the United States keeps pushing further, it would be a big burden for Asian refineries."
While the bill has more steps to clear before becoming law, other buyers, apart from China, have already begun voicing their inability to reduce dependence on Iranian oil much further.
"Cuts in our imports from Iran have been the maximum as compared to other Asian countries," an Indian industry executive said. "At this moment there is no scope for further reduction."
India cut its Iranian oil imports by 43% over the first half of the year. That's more than the 27% cut by South Korea and 22.5% by Japan.
Turkey would also struggle to cut its crude oil imports from Iran any further, a Turkish official said. 

Snowden leaves Moscow airport

Fugitive former US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden left Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport on Thursday after Russia granted him refugee status, ending more than a month in limbo in the transit area.

A lawyer who has been assisting Snowden said the young American, who is wanted in the United States for leaking details of secret government intelligence programmes, had left the airport for a secure location which would remain secret.

"Edward Snowden has successfully acquired refugee status in Russia," the anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks, which is also assisting Snowden, confirmed on Twitter.

His lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told state television: "I have just seen him off. He has left for a secure location ... Security is a very serious matter for him."

Snowden, aged 30, arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong on 23 June. He had hoped to fly to Latin America, where three countries have offered to shelter him, but was concerned that the United States would prevent him reaching his destination.

Snowden's case has caused new strains in relations between Russia and the United States which wants him extradited to face espionage charges.

According to reports, Snowden, who has left the airport for an undisclosed location, will be allowed to live in Russia for a year.

US dept 'horrified' by WikiLeaks release

Prosecutors in the case of US soldier Bradley Manning are focusing on the damage done by his release through WikiLeaks of more than 250 000 US diplomatic cables.

The first witness on Thursday at Manning's sentencing hearing was former deputy assistant secretary of state Elizabeth Dibble.
She says agency officials reacted with "horror and disbelief" when WikiLeaks began publishing the leaked cables in the autumn of 2010.
The former army intelligence analyst faces up to 136 years in prison for sending the cables and more than 470 000 Iraq and Afghanistan battlefield reports to the anti-secrecy website.
The government opened its sentencing case on Wednesday with testimony that WikiLeaks' publication of the leaked battlefield reports fractured US military relationships with foreign governments and silenced some friendly Afghan villagers.

NEWS,20.05.2013

Bird flu costs China industry $65bn

China's human H7N9 bird flu outbreak has cost the country's poultry industry more than 400 billion yuan ($65bn) as consumers shun chicken, government officials said according to state media Monday.
The sector has been losing an average of one billion yuan a day since the end of March, the Beijing Times said, citing Li Xirong, head of the National Animal Husbandry Service.
H7N9 avian influenza has infected 130 people in China, killing 35, since it was found in humans for the first time, according to latest official data.
Poultry sales have tumbled and prices plunged, Li said, causing major financial problems and job losses as a result.
Another agriculture ministry official, Wang Zongli, said government agencies should set a good example for the public by treating "poultry products in a correct way", the report added.
In a stunt to boost confidence, officials and poultry business leaders in the eastern province of Shandong held a widely reported all-chicken lunch last week, according to Chinese media.
China has seen several food safety scares in recent years, including one in which the industrial chemical melamine was added to dairy products in 2008, killing at least six babies and making 300 000 ill.

US to keep close eye on anti-Semitism

The state department has appointed a special envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism as a new report documents a global increase in incidents of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Ira Forman, former CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council, was chosen as special envoy as the state department released its annual report on religious freedom around the world.
The report said expressions of anti-Semitism by government officials, religious leaders and the media were of great concern, particularly in Venezuela, Egypt and Iran.
At times, the report said, such statements led to desecration and violence.
Secretary of State John Kerry called the report a "clear-eyed, objective look at the state of religious freedom around the world" and said that in some cases, the report criticises US allies and would-be allies.

Russia foils terror attack on Moscow

Russian security services said on Monday they had foiled a terror attack on Moscow, killing two of the plotters and arresting another.
"Our forceful actions prevented an attempted act of terror in the capital," the National Anti-Terror Committee said in a statement.
The statement said the men, all three of them ethnic Russians, were detected on the outskirts of Moscow. A gunfight erupted during their attempted arrest which left a Russian federal security official lightly injured.
The committee added that all three men are suspected of having received their training in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been personally informed about the foiled plot.

Republicans eye White House amid scandal

Scandals dogging President Barack Obama are a political gift to Republicans, who could use some good luck after recent election losses.

It's not clear, however, how Republicans can best capitalise on Democrats' woes.
The White House's scandal problems offer a big, enticing target.
Congressional Republicans have ripped into the ousted head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), who apologised last week for the tax agency's heightened scrutiny of tea party affiliates and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.
Republicans have been equally indignant in ongoing inquiries into the administration's role in last September's terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four US officials, including an ambassador.
Another controversy now dogging the White House - the justice department's secret seizure of AP’s phone records in a security leak investigation - has thus far stirred less emotion and partisanship in Washington.
An ‘inept’ administration
Taken together, Republicans say, these three controversies portray a rapaciously political and inept administration.
That could be a powerful message in next year's congressional elections, and perhaps in the 2016 presidential race.
"I think people are beginning to think, 'Is anybody running the government up there?'" said Congressman Tom Cole, a close ally of House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner. "Incompetence, detachment, lack of oversight. I think the damage is going to be real and lasting for the president."
Last November's election dynamics that led to Obama's re-election and Democratic gains in Congress complicate the picture, however, and some Republican leaders are urging a bit of restraint in exploiting the White House's new weaknesses.
Party leaders wince when their more zealous colleagues talk of trying to impeach Obama and remove him from office.
Immigration reform
Some Republicans would like to deny Obama a legacy-enhancing prize like passing an overhaul of US immigration laws, one of Obama's biggest second-term goals.
But party strategists say Republicans may need immigration reform more than Democrats do.
Some conservatives, like rising star Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, are urging their party to embrace an overhaul, including a path to citizenship for 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.
Hispanics are America's largest minority group and one that is steadily making up a bigger share of the electorate.
They overwhelmingly backed Obama in both his elections, and the trend might worsen for Republicans if they don't show greater interest in Latinos' concerns. For many, that includes major changes to immigration laws.
In the end, the scandals - titillating as they are inside Washington - may have surprisingly little impact on immigration legislation and other bills in Congress.
Boehner, asked on Thursday how the Republicans' apparent momentum might influence legislation, said: "I don't expect that it will."
Tea party
The controversies have managed to reignite the limited-government tea party movement, whose influence in 2012 had waned compared to its muscular role in 2010.
Tea party groups have found new political fuel, especially in the IRS scandal that largely centres on such conservative groups, and are flooding mail boxes with fiery fundraising letters and renewed calls to arms.
Democrats hope conservatives overplay their hands. Even if tea party activists boost Republican turnout in next year's nonpresidential elections, they could complicate the Republican Party's need to woo a wider audience to win presidential elections in 2016 and beyond. Republicans have lost the popular vote in five of the last six presidential elections.
A Quinnipiac University poll this spring found that 24% of Americans view the tea party movement favourably, and 43% view it unfavourably.
Scandals
Democrats love to remind Republicans of their partisan excess in 1998, when the House's impeachment of President Bill Clinton for trying to cover up an affair with an intern struck millions of Americans as political overkill.
Republicans lost House seats that year, costing Speaker Newt Gingrich his leadership post. The Senate acquitted the president.
Boehner and other party leaders are keenly aware that Republicans can overdo their attacks, and even build sympathy for Obama, if their criticisms appear nakedly political or not supported by facts, said Cole, the Republican congressman.
Congressman Jack Kingston of Georgia said he hopes the scandals will increase public attention on Congress, enabling Republicans to highlight an agenda he thinks voters will embrace.
"The scandals, they're not your ticket to the dance," said Kingston, who is running for the Senate in a crowded Republican field.
"They are a reason to have people look at your party. And then, if you have good private-sector job ideas, and balancing the budget, then I think people will vote for you."

Israel MP speaks of removing settlers

Finance Minister Yair Lapid, whose new centrist party is the second largest in Israel's government, said on Monday thousands of Jewish settlers would have to be removed from occupied land under any peace deal with the Palestinians.

But, echoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position, Lapid said Israel intended to hold onto major settlement blocs in the West Bank when final borders are set in the six-decade-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"It's heartbreaking. We will have to remove tens of thousands, not just from their homes, but from their dreams," he said, speaking at a business conference in Tel Aviv. But, he added: "The settlement blocs will remain in Israel."

Lapid did not say which settlements he felt would need to be evacuated. About 80% of 340 000 settlers in the West Bank live in large clusters near Jerusalem and central Israel.

Lapid's Yesh Atid party soared to a surprising second place finish in the January general election and joined the right-wing Netanyahu's coalition.

The former TV news anchor's pre-election promise to partner with Netanyahu only if Israel entered into negotiations with the Palestinians raised hopes among Western powers that Lapid could push the premier into peacemaking concessions.

'Meaningful compromise'

US-brokered peace talks broke down in 2010 in a dispute over continuing Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. Palestinians have demanded a settlement freeze as a condition for returning to the negotiations.

Netanyahu, speaking in general terms, has said that Israel is prepared for a "meaningful compromise" with the Palestinians, noting that it has withdrawn from occupied territory in the past, such as the Gaza Strip in 2005 and south Lebanon in 2000.

But he has rejected any Israeli return to the lines that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, calling those boundaries indefensible.

Palestinians seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital. About 500 000 Israelis have settled in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. About 2.7 million Palestinians live in those areas.

Lapid, speaking just days before US Secretary of State John Kerry returns to the region to try to restart negotiations, questioned Palestinian leaders' commitment to pursuing peace.

"Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] is one of the founders of the Palestinian victimhood doctrine and at this stage I do not see him taking one step in our direction," Lapid said.

He was referring to the view of some Israelis that Palestinian leaders focus more on highlighting Palestinian suffering at Israel's hands than on making compromises that might hasten the establishment of an independent state.

Kerry is to meet separately with Netanyahu and Abbas in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday and Friday.

Israel cancels Unesco mission to Jerusalem

Israel announced on Monday it was calling off a United Nations investigative mission to the Old City in annexed east Jerusalem because of Palestinian efforts to politicise the visit.

"Israel has cancelled the delegation," which was due to have arrived the same day, a foreign ministry official said.

"The Palestinians were not respecting the understandings. The visit was supposed to be professional, [but] they were taking measures that showed they were politicising the event and not letting the delegation focus on professional sides of it," the official said.

Israel in April agreed that the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) could assess the state of the Old City of Jerusalem, the first such monitoring mission since 2004, following pressure from Jordan and the Palestinians, who became members of the organisation in 2011.

But ahead of the start of the delegation's work, the Palestinians were trying to "politicise" it, Israel said, contrary to understandings reached by the sides, and to change the action plan Unesco decided upon in 2010.

"Palestinian foreign minister Riad Malki recently said they considered the mission a 'commission of inquiry'," the official said, "and said they would discuss political issues with the mission."

"The Palestinians are also pushing for the delegation to visit the Temple Mount," which is revered as Judaism's most sacred place, said the official, using the Israeli term for the complex known to Muslims as Al-Haram Al-Sharif that houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Cultural and religious heritage is a highly politicised issue for Israel and the Palestinians.

In March, the Palestinian Authority confirmed a verbal agreement dating back to 1924 giving Jordan custodianship over Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem, whose eastern sector Israel seized in the 1967 Middle East war.

NEWS,09.03.2013

Obama reaching out to Republicans

US President Barack Obama says he's reaching out to lawmakers from both parties in hopes of untangling the gridlock that has stymied progress on budget issues in Washington.In his weekly radio and internet address, Obama said on Saturday that he's talking with Republicans about ways to replace the automatic spending cuts that took effect on 1 March. He said immigration reform and gun control are other areas where he's hopeful Democrats and Republicans can find common ground.Obama said that even though unemployment fell to 7.7% last month, expanding the economy is still his top priority.In the Republican address, Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama says he's worried that Senate Democrats will unveil a budget next week that won't curb the nation's debt. He's insisting that lawmakers balance the federal budget.

Fiery funeral for Venezuela's Chavez

Hugo Chavez was lauded as a modern-day reincarnation of Latin American liberator Simon Bolivar at a fiery, foot-stomping state funeral on Friday, hours before his handpicked successor was sworn in as acting president over the fierce objections of the opposition.Nicolas Maduro took the oath of office in the National Assembly before ruling party legislators, dignitaries and a boisterous crowd of sympathisers that chanted "Chavez lives! Maduro carries on!" Holding up a tiny blue-bound booklet of Venezuela's 1999 constitution in his right hand, Maduro pledged his "most absolute loyalty" to Chavez.He broke into tears as he spoke of his mentor during a strident acceptance speech that included numerous attacks on the United States, capitalist elites and the international media.Maduro also claimed the allegiance of Venezuela's army, calling it "the armed forces of Chavez" as he pumped his fist in the air, a gesture that was reciprocated by the defense minister watching from the gallery. Critics have voiced increasing concern about the overt support the military has shown to the ruling party since Chavez's death despite a ban on the army's participation in politics.The opposition largely boycotted the swearing-in, calling it unconstitutional. Henrique Capriles, Maduro's likely opponent in presidential election that must be called within 30 days, spoke condescendingly of the former bus driver and union leader, referring to him as "boy" and accusing him of "shamelessly" lying to the country.At Chavez's state funeral earlier in the day, Maduro stood before an assemblage of presidents, princes and left-wing glitterati, speaking in a booming voice over the flag-draped casket in a ceremony that at times smacked of a political rally."Here we are, Comandante, your men, on their feet," Maduro shouted, government officials rising behind him. "All your men and women ... loyal until beyond death."The funeral began with Venezuela's national youth orchestra singing the national anthem, led by famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel. A government-allied congressman later belted out cowboy songs from Chavez's native Barinas state.The streets outside the military academy took on a carnival atmosphere, with military bands launching into marches and an expanse of supporters wearing the red of Chavez's socialist party. Street vendors sold paper replicas of the presidential sash, which many people in the line slipped over their shoulders.Throngs watched the ceremony on huge monitors under the blazing sun. A line of people waiting to see Chavez's body stretched 2km, but the viewing was halted as the funeral got under way.In the funeral hall, more than 30 political leaders including Cuba's Raul Castro, Spanish Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon, and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood at attention before Chavez's flag-draped coffin, which was closed for the ceremony.Maduro announced on Thursday that the government would embalm Chavez's body and put it on permanent display, a decision that touched off strong passions on both sides.

Venezuela waits for election details

Venezuela on Saturday was awaiting a key ruling from the nation's elections commission about details of a vote to replace Hugo Chavez, including a possible date for the poll.The constitution mandates that elections be called within 30 days of Chavez's 5 March death, though some have speculated the country will not be ready to organise a vote in that time frame.The National Election Commission scheduled an announcement amid increasingly strident rhetoric on both sides of this politically polarised country.Chavez's boisterous, passionate state funeral on Friday often felt like a political rally for his anointed successor, Nicolas Maduro, who eulogised him by pledging eternal loyalty and vowing to never be defeated.Maduro was sworn in as interim leader late on Friday, delivering a strident speech that took shots at the US, the media, international capitalism and domestic opponents he often depicted as treacherous. He claimed the allegiance of Venezuela's army, referring to them as the "armed forces of Chavez", despite the fact the military is barred from taking sides in politics.The opposition has denounced the transition as an unconstitutional power grab, and likely standard-bearer Henrique Capriles said his side was studying its strategy for the vote, which will be held in the shadow of the government's efforts to immortalise Chavez.Since his death, the former paratrooper has been compared to Jesus Christ and early 19th century Venezuelan liberator Simon Bolivar, and the government announced that his body would be embalmed and put on eternal display.Venezuelan television on Saturday showed a long line of people still filing by Chavez's glass-topped coffin, which has been on display since on Wednesday. Many had waited through the night for a brief glimpse of their former leader.In his acceptance speech on Friday, Maduro warned the opposition not to boycott the vote."That would be a grave error," he said.Opposition figures have said they are concerned about the vote's fairness, particularly given the public vows of allegiance to Chavez from senior military officials. Capriles lost to Chavez in 7 October elections, but he garnered 45% of the vote.A boycott of 2005 legislative elections was widely seen as disastrous for the opposition. It let Chavez's supporters to win all 167 seats, allowing him to govern unimpeded by any legislative rivals.In the streets on Saturday, many Venezuelans said they expected the opposition to take part in the poll, which will decide the president for the next six years."They will be present, yes, they will take part in the election," said Benito Villalba, a 62-year-old retiree who said he would vote for Maduro.

Catholics ready election of new pope

Fire-fighters on Saturday installed the top of the Sistine Chapel chimney that will signal to the world that a new pope has been elected, as the Vatican took measures to definitively end Benedict XVI's pontificate.While construction workers prepared the interior of the frescoed Sistine Chapel for Tuesday's start of the conclave, officials elsewhere in the Apostolic Palace destroyed Benedict's fisherman's ring and the personal seals and stamps for official papers.The act, coupled with Benedict's public resignation and pledge of obedience to the future pope, is designed to signal a definitive end of his papacy so there is no doubt in the church that a new pope is in charge.The developments all point toward the momentous decision soon to confront the Catholic Church: Tuesday's start of the conclave to elect a new pope to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and try to solve the numerous problems facing the church.The Vatican outlined the timeline for the balloting and confirmed that the bells of St Peter's Basilica will ring once a pope has been elected. But Vatican officials also acknowledged that there is some uncertainty about the whole endeavour, given the difficulties in discerning the colour of smoke that will snake out of the Sistine chimney - black if no pope has been elected, white if a victor has emerged.Vatican spokesperson, the Reverend Federico Lombardi, laughed off concerns, saying that some "suspense" was all part of the beauty of the process."We're not going to send out text messages or SMS messages, you'll have to come and see," another Vatican spokesperson, the Rev Thomas Rosica, said.For the sixth day, cardinals met behind closed doors to discuss the problems of the church and once again they discussed the work of the Holy See's offices "and how to improve it", according to Lombardi.The Holy See's internal governance has been the major constant in these days of discussion, an indication that the revelations of corruption, political infighting and turf battles exposed by the leaks of papal documents last year are casting a very big shadow over this conclave.While the cardinals ponder their choices, preparations for the vote continue.On Saturday, a handful of fire-fighters climbed onto the Sistine Chapel's roof and installed the top of the chimney. Inside Michelangelo's frescoed masterpiece, construction workers staple-gunned the felt carpeting to the false floor that has been erected over the chapel's stone floor.The false floor both evens out the steps of the chapel and hides the jamming equipment that has been installed to prevent any cellphone or eavesdropping devices from working. And in fact, on Saturday, cellphones had no reception in the chapel.For such an important decision, the Sistine chimney is an awfully simple affair: A century-old cast iron stove where the voting ballot papers are burned, with a copper pipe out the top that snakes up the Sistine's frescoed walls, out the window and onto the chapel roof.After years of confusion about whether the smoke was black or white, the Vatican in 2005 installed an auxiliary stove where fumigating cases are lit. The smoke from those cases - black or white - joins the burned ballot smoke out the chimney.

Screaming crowds greet Kim on frontline

North Korean television broadcast emotional scenes on Friday of cheering soldiers and their young families greeting leader Kim Jong-Un as he visited a frontline unit that shelled the South in 2010. With tensions surging on the Korean peninsula, Kim said the North's military was "fully ready to fight a Korean style all-out war," as he visited two islands close to the disputed maritime border on Thursday, state media said.Footage of the visit showed him being greeted by chanting troops who were held back as they surged towards him. Their families brought their children to meet him, with one woman encouraging her daughter forward for a hug.At the end of the trip, the soldiers ran down to the beach and waded chest deep into the freezing water clutching at Kim's motor launch as it moved away. The tour coincided with an outpouring of vitriol from Pyongyang over UN sanctions imposed for its nuclear test last month, with the North threatening pre-emptive nuclear strikes on the US and its allies, and vowing to rip up peace pacts with South Korea.Speaking to troops stationed on the islands, Kim said the slightest provocation would result in his immediate order for a "great advance" along the entire frontline with the South, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.On Mu island he inspected artillery units that shelled the nearby South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in November 2010, killing four people and triggering an exchange of fire that sparked fears of a full-blown conflict.State television showed Kim inspecting the craters left by South artillery shells on the island in what he described as the "most gratifying" battle since the end of the Korean War in 1953.The television footage showed him with binoculars looking across at Yeonpyeong Island and apparently discussing target selection with the artillery officers."He reconfirmed in detail reinforced fire power strike means and targets of the enemy deployed on five islets," including Yeonpyeong island and "defined the order of precision strikes" on those targets, KCNA said.Kim was accompanied on his tour by top members of the North Korean leadership, including political commissar Choe Ryong-Hae and Defence Minister Kim Kyok-Sik.

NEWS,17.01.2013

EU tax ruling a blow to health firms

Spain's decision to cut VAT on some medical products was ruled illegal by Europe's highest court on Thursday, a fresh blow to health companies already struggling to get local authorities to pay their bills, who will now have to raise product prices.The ruling means that cuts made two years ago to bring value-added tax to between 4 and 10% will have to be reversed to the standard level of 21%.Fenin, an association that represents health technology companies in Spain, warned a VAT hike would increase costs for local governments by at least €1bn and lead them to rack up even more debt with pharmaceutical companies. "This ruling is unfair for citizens and could create difficulties for patients to access products that play an important part in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses," Fenin said in a statement. Spain's cash-strapped local authorities, which control health budgets, have racked up billions of euros in unpaid bills for medical goods, missing budget targets set by central government as it grapples with a national economic crisis.Central government settled €6bn of outstanding bills by the end of the 2011 but the regions still owed €2.3bn as of last September.Pharmaceutical companies in Spain have warned their future could be jeopardised if the government does not stop over-spending regions from racking up debts.Spain's Treasury said it would work with the European Commission to identify which products would be affected by the court ruling.Brokerage Banesto Bolsa said the EU ruling was "very bad news" for companies that provide medical products like syringes for hospitals, estimating that their earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation could fall 15%. Lobby group Farmaindustria, which represents pharmaceutical companies, said the decision would have little effect on laboratories that produce new medicines, given that tax on raw materials used in the process was a very small part of total expenditure."Of course there will be impact but it won't be major," said Julian Zabala, spokesperson for the group.Spain found itself in the dock after the European Commission said it had breached EU rules."By applying reduced rates of VAT beyond what is authorised under the VAT Directive, Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law," the Luxembourg-based EU Court of Justice ruled.The court said Spain could not set lower taxes for medical substances, which are normally used in making medicines, or for medical products used to treat illnesses.

US gun measures face tough road ahead

President Barack Obama's sweeping gun-control package faces an uncertain future in Congress, where majority Republicans in the House of Representatives are rejecting his proposals, while the president's allies in the Democratic-controlled Senate are stopping well short of pledging immediate action. Obama's plan marks the most comprehensive effort to tighten gun laws in nearly two decades as he tries to build on the high emotions over last month's school shooting in Connecticut, where a gunman with a legally purchased high-powered rifle killed 20 children and six adults. Obama has called that day the worst of his presidency.The president's announcement on Wednesday appealed to both common sense and conscience, but frustrated observers of Congress say the growing partisan divide is little swayed by either."To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act," Obama said. "And Congress must act soon."Obama must try to push through an assault weapons ban and other sensitive measures through a Congress that is already busy preparing for fights over three looming fiscal deadlines and a debate over comprehensive immigration reform.The country's most powerful pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), is already rejecting many of Obama's proposals as it insists on an absolute reading of the Constitution's Second Amendment-guaranteed right to possess and bear firearms. The group, which also represents a gun industry that since the Civil War has promoted a national gun culture, has long warned gun owners that Obama wants to take their guns away.Critics counter that the country's founding fathers never could have foreseen assault weapons more than two centuries ago, when guns were intended for the common, not individual, defence, guns were often stored in community areas and rifles fired one shot at a time.The head of the NRA on Thursday morning said the organisation has no problem with tighter background checks of gun purchasers, another key Obama proposal. But David Keene told CBS that too much emphasis has been placed on banning certain firearms and said officials should focus instead on the "devastatingly broken mental health system in this country”.The fate of Obama's gun plan could ultimately hinge on a handful of moderate Democratic senators. Although they are unlikely to endorse the president's call for banning assault weapons, they might go along with other proposals, such as requiring universal background checks on gun purchases and limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds or less.Several of these senators responded warily after Obama unveiled his proposals."I will look closely at all proposals on the table, but we must use common sense and respect our Constitution," said Senator Jon Tester. The Democrat told the Missoulian newspaper in his home state recently that he supports background checks but doesn't think an assault weapons ban would have stopped the Connecticut shootings.Seeking to circumvent at least some opposition in Congress, Obama signed 23 executive actions on  Wednesday that don't require lawmakers' approval, including orders to make more federal data available for background checks and end a freeze on government research on gun violence. But he acknowledged that the steps he took on his own would have less impact than the broad measures requiring approval from Congress."I will put everything I've got into this, and so will Joe," the president said, referring to his vice president. "But I tell you, the only way we can change is if the American people demand it."Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have made clear they'll wait for the Senate to act first, since they see no need to move on the contentious topic if it doesn't."House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations. And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that," said Michael Steel, spokesperson for House Speaker John Boehner.Many rank-and-file Republicans criticised Obama's proposal. "The right to bear arms is a right, despite President Obama's disdain for the Second Amendment," said Republican Tim Huelskamp.Senators are expected to begin discussions on how to proceed when they return to Washington next week from a congressional recess, according to a Democratic leadership aide who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. They could end up breaking the president's proposals into individual pieces, with votes possibly starting next month.While the assault weapons ban is seen as having little if any chance of passage, support may coalesce behind requiring universal background checks, which is a top priority for advocacy groups that see it as the most important step to curbing gun crimes. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says 40% of gun sales are conducted with no criminal background checks, such as in some instances at gun shows or by private sellers over the Internet. Obama would seek to require checks for all sales.Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, already has sponsored a bill to require universal background checks that the Senate could take up, while Senator Frank Lautenberg, another Democrat, has legislation banning ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat and gun-rights backer who's been supported by the NRA in the past, responded cautiously, saying he was committed to ensuring the Senate considers legislation on gun violence early this year. He didn't endorse any of Obama's proposals.Despite the uncertainty in Congress and opposition from the powerful NRA, outside groups are encouraged by polling showing public support for change.A lopsided 84% of Americans back broader background checks, according to a new AP -GfK poll. Nearly six in 10 Americans want stricter gun laws, the same poll showed, with majorities favouring a nationwide ban on military-style weapons."Now it's up to us," said Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign. He said his group would be working "to bring that voice to bear in this process, because without that it's not going to happen”.

Israel's voting system breeds pluralism

Israel's voting system reflects the many different political currents in society, but it has also been behind the repeated failure of governments to form stable coalitions.The proportional representation system means that any party can enter the 120-member parliament, or Knesset, if it passes a threshold of 2% of the popular vote.The number of seats that party secures is proportional to the number of votes received.In Tuesday's election to choose the country's 19th Knesset, 5.6 million citizens are eligible to vote. There are 10 133 polling stations nationwide.Thirty-eight parties on 34 lists will battle for seats in the next Knesset, reflecting the country's eclectic political map. However, polls predict that fewer than half of them are expected to enter parliament.After the official results, President Shimon Peres has seven days in which to entrust forming the next government to the party leader who says he or she is ready to do so.The party leader then has 28 days to put together a coalition. If necessary Peres can extend the deadline by another 14 days.If a coalition fails to emerge, he can assign another party leader with the task, and this person also has 28 days to form a government.If this bid fails, Peres can then assign the task to a third person, but should this person not succeed within 14 days the president then calls a new election.Whoever gets first shot at forming a coalition of at least 61 MPs is generally the leader of the party that wins the most votes, although this is not mandatory.No single party in Israel has ever been able to secure the necessary 61 seats to enable it to rule alone.Twice - in 1996 and 1999 - Israelis voted directly for a prime minister as well as for a party list. In 2001, a special prime ministerial election was held after then Labour Premier Ehud Barak was unable to win the Knesset's support.Creating a coalition can be painstaking, as the leading party must accommodate different parties demanding portfolios in the new cabinet, each with its own agenda.This is the main source of instability in most Israeli governments, with only six of the past 18 parliaments able to complete their four-year mandate.The success of the political haggling that begins immediately after the election will determine how strong and viable Israel's next government becomes.