NEWS,11.03.2013

Greek economy shrinks 5.7%

Greece's ailing economy contracted by 5.7% in the fourth quarter of 2012 in an annual comparison, provisional data from the state statistics agency showed on Monday.

The agency said the contraction was slightly lower than the previous estimate of 6.0% for the fourth quarter announced a month ago.

Combined with contraction data given for the first, second and third quarters, Greece's economy shrank by 6.4% in 2012.

This is slightly better than the 6.5% estimate contained in Greece's current budget.

The 2013 budget forecasts another contraction of 4.5% this year before the economy limps back into growth in 2014.

In 2011, Greece's economy shrank by 7.1%. Overall, it has contracted by more than a fifth since 2008.

The coalition government of conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has made achieving growth its top priority as the nation struggles to meet its commitments to international creditors.

EU bans animal-tested cosmetics

The European Union is banning the sale of new cosmetic products containing ingredients tested on animals.

The 27-country bloc's executive arm, the European Commission, said on Monday the ban will take effect immediately.

Animal rights groups cheered the news, but industry trade body Cosmetics Europe said the ban comes too early and "acts as a brake on innovation."

The EU has banned animal testing of finished cosmetic products since 2004. The ban on cosmetics containing animal-tested ingredients was first decided four years ago but initially left loopholes for certain tests following resistance from cosmetics companies.

While the industry's rabbits and guinea pigs will now be spared, consumers are unlikely to notice immediate changes because products containing ingredients that were tested on animals before the ban can remain on the shelves.

Chavez death: Cuba has lost 'best friend'

Cuba's Fidel Castro praised the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday as a champion of the poor and said Cubans had lost their best friend ever, in his first comments on the death last week of his socialist ally.

Castro said the news, although not unexpected, had been a hard blow.

"On the 5th of March, in the afternoon hours, died the best friend the Cuban people had in their history," Castro wrote in a column published in Communist Party newspaper Granma.

"We have the honour of having shared with the Bolivarian leader the same ideals of social justice and of support for the exploited," said the 86-year-old Castro who led Cuba's 1959 revolution, ruled the country for 49 years and still plays a behind-the-scenes role.

"The poor are the poor in any part of the world," he said.

During Chavez' years in power, he and Castro forged a close personal and political relationship that resulted in extensive Venezuelan aid to the communist island and a shared strategy for promoting Latin American unity against US influence in the region.
 

Chavez helped rescue Cuba from desperate economic times that followed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, its former top ally, by providing two-thirds of its oil in a barter deal for the services of Cuban professionals, most of them doctors and nurses.

He also signed a number of joint ventures aimed at integrating the two countries' economies.

Chavez, aged 58, was diagnosed with cancer in the pelvic region in June 2011 by Cuban doctors and underwent four surgeries on the Caribbean island, which has an extensive medical system and provides free care to its people.

Except for a set of photographs, Chavez was never seen in public again following his last operation in December and he died on Tuesday in Caracas.

Castro said he had received a phone call via satellite notifying him of what he called "the bitter news".

"The significance of the phrase used was unmistakable. Although we knew the critical state of his health, the news hit us hard," wrote Castro, who resigned as Cuba's president five years ago because of his own health problems.


"I remembered the times he joked with me saying that when both of us finished our revolutionary work, he would invite me to spend time by the Arauca River in Venezuelan territory, which reminded him of the rest he never had," Castro said.

Raul Castro, who succeeded his older brother as Cuba's president, represented the island on Friday at Chavez' funeral.

Chavez' death has raised worries in Cuba that Venezuelan aid will cease to flow to the island.

His preferred successor, Nicolas Maduro, is favoured to win an April election to replace Chavez and expected to continue his Cuba policies for the immediate future.

However, if more conservative opponent Henrique Capriles pulls off an upset victory, he has promised to put an end to Venezuela's oil largesse.

Castro closed his column by paraphrasing a famous quote from another late friend and revolutionary, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine physician who fought alongside him in the Cuban revolution.

"Until victory always, unforgettable friend," Castro wrote of Chavez.

EU anti-terror head warns of threat

The EU's anti-terror chief warned Europe on Monday to remain on its guard, especially against the threat of European jihadists who are finding new safe havens from Syria to Mali.

Gilles de Kerchove, marking a day of remembrance for victims of terror, said the threat remained real whether "it stems from terrorist organisations or lone actors”.

Recent successes against al-Qaeda and associated groups, such as in Mali after the French intervention there in January, were positive, Kerchove said in a statement.

"But we know that terrorists are constantly seeking out new safe havens where they have space to operate, taking advantage of conflict situations," he said.

If most of those fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad have a stake in the future of their country, "Syria has also turned into a destination for European jihadists who want to profit from the situation there, and who may also pose a threat to our societies upon their return," he said.

Pakistan, Nigeria, Yemen and the Horn of Africa remained unstable while the situation in the Maghreb and the Sahel also "has to be watched closely", he said.

"We must continue to help vulnerable countries address injustices, to combat terrorist ideology," at the same time fully respecting human rights and the rule of law, Kerchove said.

"Together, we must continue to fight terrorism in and outside Europe since far too many people have fallen victim to it," he concluded.

UN: Human rights abuses spiral in Iran

Human rights violations in Iran spiralled in 2012, a UN monitor said on Monday in a report spotlighting abuses including repression of freedom of speech, torture and secret executions.

"There has been an apparent increase in the degree of seriousness of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Ahmed Shaheed said in his report to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Shaheed highlighted "frequent and disconcerting" reports about "punitive state action" against a number of groups, including the jailing of opposition politicians, journalists and human rights campaigners.

He also expressed concern about rights violations affecting women and religious and ethnic minorities, and retaliatory action against individuals that Tehran suspects of co-operating with UN monitors.

Such abuses remain "widespread", "systemic" and "systematic", said Shaheed, former foreign minister of the Maldives who was named the UN's Iran monitor in 2011.

Shaheed, who is forbidden from visiting the country, said he regretted Tehran's unwillingness to co-operate with him, despite his repeated efforts.

He wrote his report by contacting campaigners, exiles and victims of the abuses.

"Moreover, a lack of government investigation and redress generally fosters a culture of impunity," he said, emphasising that this undermined global human rights accords signed by Iran.

The torture of detainees was also an ongoing concern which Shaheed said he had raised in a previous report.

"The Iranian government maintained that allegations of torture in the country are baseless since the country's laws forbid the use of torture and the use of evidence solicited under duress," he said.

"The existence of legal safeguards does not in itself invalidate allegations of torture, and does not remove the obligation to thoroughly investigate such allegations," he added.

Turning his focus to executions, Shaheed said while 297 were officially announced by the government - 58 of them carried out in public - some 200 "secret executions" had been acknowledged by family members, prison officials or members of the judiciary.

Nearly 500 executions - both official and unofficial - were carried out in 2012, compared to 661 in 2011, and 542 the year before.

Despite that drop, the number of executions had, nevertheless, risen progressively in recent years, Shaheed said, having stood at less than a hundred a year a decade ago.

He said he was "alarmed" by the escalating rate "especially in the absence of fair trial standards" and for offences that did not warrant capital punishment including alcohol consumption, adultery and drug-trafficking.

All eyes on Vatican chimney

Forget all the artistic masterpieces. The most gazed-at item at the Vatican this week will be a humble, copper, 2m-high chimney that will pipe out puffs of smoke to tell the world if there's a new pope.

Black smoke means "not yet." White smoke means "pope elected."

When three Vatican firefighters hoisted the chimney to its perch a few days ago, it was a visual cue that preparations for the conclave to elect retired Pope Benedict XVI's successor were in high gear.

The Sistine Chapel and its magnificent Michelangelo-frescoed ceiling were made off limits to tourists. Two metal stoves were then installed in a far corner, away from the chapel's altar and the area where the cardinals will write out their picks for the next pope on slips of paper.

In the past, counted ballots went into just one iron stove along with damp wood chips or wet clumps of straw to create black smoke if the vote didn't yield a pope.

But the smoke signal system has been unreliable, triggering nervous cries of "It's white" and emphatic choruses of "No, it's black!" in the various tongues of the faithful and curious who flock to St Peter's Square for a glimpse of the chimney.

So in 2005, for the conclave that made Benedict pope, the Vatican tried something different: A second stove was installed that produces smoke from a chemical compound whipped up by the Vatican's own technicians. The smoke from the burned ballots from the first stove and the coloured smoke from the second stove were funnelled up one pipe that leads to the chimney and the outside world.

But that solution hardly made the distinction between black and white smoke any clearer - and confusion still was the order of the day.

It's a big unknown whether the Vatican has improved its technology this time around.

The sequestered cardinals will have a first chance to vote early on Tuesday evening. If they fail to pick a pope, the next few days can see as many as two rounds of balloting each morning and two rounds each afternoon, until one man clinches the required two-thirds majority.

The weather forecast promises to cloud the situation even further.

Rain, sometimes heavy, is predicted through Thursday, with Friday's skies forecast to be partly cloudy.

The Vatican says it will shine spotlights on the chimney for the evening votes.

In following the conclave, it will be wise not just to keep your eyes open, but your ears as well: The bells of St Peter's Basilica will be set ringing when a new pope has been chosen.

NEWS,10.03.2013

Questions over stress test scores

The newest stress tests for US banks produced scores that are at odds with other measures of lenders' safety, in another sign that some institutions may be too big for regulators to understand and executives to manage.For example, Citigroup, which has been bailed out multiple times by the US government, showed up on the score sheets posted by the Federal Reserve on Thursday as being clearly safer than JPMorgan Chase & Co.That conclusion is at odds with the views of investors, bond analysts and credit-rating agencies, as well as when measured by a yardstick regulators themselves want to use in the future."At the end of the day, there is a legitimate question about the ability of regulators to fully evaluate $2 trillion institutions because of the complexity and exposures they have," said Fred Cannon, director of US research at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.On Thursday, the Federal Reserve reported the latest results of the tests that began after the 2007-2009 financial crisis to determine if banks have enough capital to withstand a severe economic crisis. The Fed concluded that the banks are in "a much stronger position" than before the financial crisis in 2008.While experts are not arguing with the fact that the banks are better capitalised now and that the system is safer than it was in the run-up to the financial crisis, some of the numbers the regulators published left analysts and bank executives groping for explanations. The test raises questions about the ability of regulators to head off the next big threat to the financial system because of the complexity of the institutions.The results are also important as they will help the Fed decide how much capital banks can return to investors.The report showed that Citigroup's capital, as tracked by the Tier 1 common capital ratio, would dip to 8.3% during two years of hypothetical stress. JPMorgan's would fall to 6.3%. Both numbers are better than the 5% minimum under current regulations, but they show Citigroup having a bigger cushion to weather losses.That does not make a lot of sense to Kathleen Shanley, a bond analyst at GimmeCredit, a research service for institutional investors."I wouldn't say that Citi is safer than JPMorgan, for a variety of reasons, including its track record," Shanley said.Citigroup has lower credit ratings than JPMorgan, and prices for credit default swaps show the market views JPMorgan as safer. Citigroup is the third-biggest US bank by assets and JPMorgan is the biggest.A Federal Reserve spokesperson declined to comment, as did representatives for Citigroup and JPMorgan.Citigroup's score came out better partly because it started the test with a better Tier 1 common ratio, 12.7% compared with JPMorgan's 10.4%.The starting ratios were based on the banks' financial statements at the end of September. They were calculated based on a set of international regulations known as Basel 1, which the Federal Reserve intends to replace as inadequate with a pending new set known as Basel 3.Under the expected Basel 3 rules, Citigroup has estimated its ratio was 8.6% at the end of the third quarter, about the same as the 8.4% JPMorgan estimated.Among the reasons that Citigroup's ratio will fall so much under Basel 3 from the Basel 1 level is that the new rules will not treat as favourably Citigroup's deferred tax assets.Citigroup expects those assets to allow it to pay lower taxes on future profits because it lost so much money when the financial crisis and recession hit. Also, Basel 3 will reduce the benefits of stakes Citigroup has in joint ventures, such as its brokerage with Morgan Stanley.The Federal Reserve did not publish stress scores for the banks under Basel 3 because the regulators have not finalised those rules yet.Analyst Cannon said there was one reason to think of Citigroup as being safer: its capital markets business is smaller than JPMorgan's. Regulators regard capital markets operations as riskier than consumer banking businesses.The Fed's scoring is also at odds with results some of the banks calculated for themselves under the same scenarios, which shows there is room for subjectivity in the testing.JPMorgan, for example, found that its ratio would fall to 7.6%, significantly better than the 6.3% reported by the Fed. Goldman Sachs Group determined its low during the hypothetical stress period would be 8.6%, compared with the 5.8% reported by the Fed, with some of the difference related to its extensive capital markets activities.Goldman declined to comment.Wells Fargo & Co pegged its low at 8.3% compared with the Fed's 7%.Wells Fargo said in a statement that it could not fully explain the difference because the Fed does not disclose all of the models it uses to score the banks. The bank said that for some securities, it takes into account more risk factors than the regulators do."It is primarily model-driven assumptions that will drive the differences," said Fernando De La Mora, who leads PricewaterhouseCoopers' banking and capital markets risk.Last year, differences between scores by the banks and by the regulator were not disclosed, but people in the industry knew of significant disagreements over expected losses in some portfolios, said De La Mora.This year, the Fed told the banks that it "will focus on the robustness" of each bank's testing.For Citigroup, the Fed's ratio this year of 8.3% was nearly as high as the 8.4% the bank tallied for itself.

Sturdy US job gains show economy growing

US employers added a greater-than-expected 236 000 workers to their payrolls in February and the jobless rate fell to a four-year low, offering a bright signal on the economy's health.The data from the Labour Department on Friday showed the economy gaining traction. The jobless rate fell 0.2 percentage point to 7.7%, the lowest since December 2008 as more people found work and others gave up the hunt.Economists welcomed the report, but worried that budget tightening in Washington could slow the recovery's momentum."We had already moved from a slog to a jog and we are on course to really get rolling. The risk here is, while the economy is gathering speed, the politicians are stepping on the brakes," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services in Boston.A 2% payroll tax cut ended and tax rates went up for wealthy Americans on January 1, and $85bn in federal budget cuts started taking effect on March 1.The employment report, which showed broad-based job gains, was just the latest sign of the economy's fundamental health, and it added fuel to a rally in US stocks that had already propelled the Dow Jones industrial average to record highs.At the same time, the dollar raced to a 3-1/2 year high against the yen, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note hit an 11-month high.While payrolls growth beat economists' expectations for 160 000 jobs, it was not seen as a game changer for the Federal Reserve, which has pumped more than $2.5 trillion into the economy to foster faster growth."It's a first step down a long road before the Fed is convinced we are really seeing a substantial improvement in labour market conditions," said Michael Hanson, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York."They will want to see 200 000 job growth, not just in one month, but several months in a row. The unemployment rate is still too high."The central bank is buying $85bn in bonds per month and has said it would keep up asset purchases until it sees a substantial improvement in the labour market outlook. It is likely to remain leery of withdrawing its support too soon given the tightening of fiscal policy.Although December and January's employment data was revised to show 15 000 fewer jobs added than previously reported, details of the report were solid, with construction adding the most jobs since March 2007 and hours for all workers increasing.The pace of hiring in February marked an acceleration from the 195000 per month average of the prior three months, and it approached the roughly 250 000 jobs per month economists say are on a sustained basis to significantly reduce unemployment.Still, employment remains 3 million jobs below the peak reached in January 2008.Highlighting the need for faster employment growth, the share of the work age population with a job was unchanged at a historically low 58.6% for a third straight month a reminder of the immense slack that remains in the labour market.In addition, the report showed in February the jobless experienced longer periods of unemployment.In February, construction employment increased by 48 000 jobs after rising by 25 000 in January. The housing market has turned around decisively and employment is also being supported by rebuilding on the East Coast after the destruction by Superstorm Sandy in late October.Manufacturers also stepped up hiring. Factory jobs increased 14 000 last month after rising 12 000 in January.Retail employment increased by 23 700 jobs, an eighth straight monthly gain that defied a recent slowdown in sales.Healthcare and social assistance saw another month of solid job gains. The same was the case for leisure and hospitality.Government continued to shed jobs. Public payrolls dropped 10 000 last month after falling 21 000 in January.The sustained steady job gains are lending some stability to wages. Average hourly earnings rose four cents last month. That was the fourth straight monthly gain. Earnings were up 2.1% in the 12 months through February, rising by the same margin for a third month in a row."This provides a significant offset to the multitude of headwinds plaguing the consumer in the first quarter and suggests spending could do a bit better than anticipated," said Tom Porcelli, chief US economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

Coffee growers end strike

Striking Colombian coffee growers who have blocked roads for 11 days ended their protest Friday after winning a government subsidy to offset lower prices for their product on international markets. "We are going back to our land to continue producing the best coffee in the world," said Guillermo Gaviria, a protest leader, after the deal was signed with the government.The government concession is a subsidy of up to the equivalent of $80 per 125 kilos (£275) of coffee beans, the agriculture ministry said. But it will only be in effect for one year.Treasury Minister Mauricio Cardenas said it would cost the government the equivalent of $443m.In Colombia, some 560 000 families make their living growing coffee, and 95% of them are small-scale producers.This industry so key to Colombia's economy is going through hard times. Last year prices fell 35% on the international market and the Colombian peso appreciated 10%.

UK fiscal watchdog rebuffs Cameron

Britain's independent fiscal watchdog has criticised Prime Minister David Cameron for misrepresenting its position on the impact of measures aimed at cutting the national debt.In a speech on Thursday, Cameron said Britain's economy had been hurt not by the government's deficit-cutting agenda but by problems in the eurozone and higher oil prices - a view he claimed the independent watchdog endorsed.The claims were untrue, said Office for Budget Responsibility Chairperson Robert Chote."It is important to point out that every forecast published by the OBR since the June 2010 Budget has incorporated the widely held assumption that tax increases and spending cuts reduce economic growth," Chote wrote in an open letter published on Friday.The rebuke is embarrassing for the government which set up the watchdog shortly after it came to power in May 2010. The government uses the OBR's projections as the basis for its budget planning and has made much of the credibility of its forecasts.Chote's letter marks the first public clash between the watchdog and the prime minister, and will be seized upon by critics who blame the government's spending cuts and tax hikes agenda for the country's economic woes.Britain is perilously close to tipping into its third recession in four years and was stripped of its triple A credit rating by Moody's last month.

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,07.03.2013

N Korea threatens US with nuclear strike

 

North Korea threatened a "pre-emptive" nuclear strike against the United States and any other aggressors on Thursday as the UN Security Council prepared to vote on new sanctions against the isolated state.A foreign ministry spokesperson also warned that a second Korean war was "unavoidable," with both the United States and South Korea refusing Pyongyang's demands to cancel a large-scale joint military exercise next week."Now that the US is set to light a fuse for a nuclear war, our revolutionary armed forces... will exercise the right to a pre-emptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors," the spokesperson said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).In the past, the North has threatened attacks on US forces in South Korea and also claims to possess long-range missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.The latest threat came two days after the North Korean military announced it would rip up the 1953 armistice agreement ending the Korean War - a move that would theoretically pave the way for a resumption of hostilities.Tensions have escalated sharply on the Korean peninsula in recent days, ahead of the UN Security Council vote and the annual US-South Korean military exercise scheduled to begin on Monday.The Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution tightening the UN sanctions screws on North Korea after its widely condemned nuclear bomb test last month.Amounting to one of the toughest sanctions regimes ever ordered by the United Nations, the resolution also threatens "further significant measures" if the North stages a new nuclear test or rocket launch.

New sanctions a punishment for N Korea

The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday for tough new sanctions to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test, a move that sparked a furious Pyongyang to threaten a nuclear strike against the US. The vote by the UN's most powerful body on a resolution drafted by North Korea's closest ally, China, and the US sends a powerful message that the international community condemns the ballistic missile and nuclear tests - and repeated violation of Security Council resolutions.Immediately before the vote, an unidentified spokesperson for Pyongyang's foreign ministry said the North will exercise its right for "a pre-emptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors" because Washington is pushing to start a nuclear war against the North.It appeared to be the most specific open threat of a nuclear strike by any country against another.Although North Korea boasts of nuclear bombs and pre-emptive strikes, it is not thought to have mastered the ability to produce a warhead small enough to put on a missile capable of reaching the US. It is believed to have enough nuclear fuel, however, for several crude nuclear devices.The new sanctions are aimed at reining in North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes by making it more difficult for Pyongyang to finance and obtain material for these programmes, tracking illegal diplomatic activity and intensifying inspections of cargo to and from the country. In a measure targeted at the reclusive nation's ruling elite, the resolution bans all nations from exporting expensive jewellery, yachts, luxury automobiles and racing cars to the North.After the 15-0 vote, US Ambassador Susan Rice told reporters, that "taken together, these sanctions will bite and bite hard”.Responding to Pyongyang's nuclear strike threat, she said, "North Korea will achieve nothing by continued threats and provocation."She urged North Korea's leaders to heed President Barack Obama's call to follow the path of peace. If it doesn't, she said, the Security Council is committed in the resolution to take further measures.China's UN Ambassador Li Bao Dong said the top priority now is to "bring down the heat" and focus on diplomacy and restarting the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.In North Korea, Army General Kang Pyo Yong told a crowd of tens of thousands that North Korea is ready to fire long-range nuclear-armed missiles at Washington."Intercontinental ballistic missiles and various other missiles, which have already set their striking targets, are now armed with lighter, smaller and diversified nuclear warheads and are placed on a standby status," Kang said. "When we shell [the missiles], Washington, which is the stronghold of evils.... will be engulfed in a sea of fire."AccusationsThe statement by the North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson was carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency.It accused the US of leading efforts to slap sanctions on North Korea. The statement said the new sanctions would only advance the timing for North Korea to fulfil previous vows to take "powerful second and third countermeasures" against its enemies. It hasn't elaborated on those measures.The statement said North Korea "strongly warns the UN Security Council not to make another big blunder like the one in the past when it earned the inveterate grudge of the Korean nation by acting as a war servant for the US in 1950."North Korea demanded the Security Council immediately dismantle the American-led UN Command that's based in Seoul and move to end the state of war that exists on the Korean Peninsula, which continues six decades after fighting stopped because an armistice, not a peace treaty, ended the war.In anticipation of the resolution's adoption, North Korea earlier in the week threatened to cancel the 1953 cease-fire that ended the Korean War.ThreatsNorth Korean threats have become more common as tensions have escalated following a rocket launch by Pyongyang in December and its third nuclear test on 12 February. Both acts defied three Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea from testing or using nuclear or ballistic missile technology and from importing or exporting material for these programmes.The US and other nations worry that North Korea's third nuclear test pushed it closer to its goal of gaining nuclear missiles that can reach the US. The international community has condemned the regime's nuclear and missile efforts as threats to regional security and a drain on the resources that could go to North Korea's largely destitute people.The UN resolution identifies three individuals, one corporation and one organization that will be added to the UN sanctions list. The targets include top officials at a company that is the country's primary arms dealer and main exporter of ballistic missile-related equipment, and a national organisation responsible for research and development of missiles and probably nuclear weapons.The success of a new round of sanctions could depend on enforcement by China, where most of the companies and banks that North Korea is believed to work with are based.Nuclear test condemnedThe UN resolution condemns the latest nuclear test "in the strongest terms" for violating and flagrantly disregarding council resolutions, bans further ballistic missile launches, nuclear tests "or any other provocation," and demands that North Korea return to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. It also condemns all of North Korea's ongoing nuclear activities, including its uranium enrichment.But the resolution stresses the council's commitment "to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution" and urged a resumption of six-party talks.According to the resolution, all countries would now be required to freeze financial transactions or services that could contribute to North Korea's nuclear or missile programmes.To get around financial sanctions, North Koreans have been carrying around large suitcases filled with cash to move illicit funds. The resolution expresses concern that these bulk cash transfers may be used to evade sanctions. It clarifies that the freeze on financial transactions and services that could violate sanctions applies to all cash transfers as well as the cash couriers.The resolution also bans all countries from providing public financial support for trade deals, such as granting export credits, guarantees or insurance, if the assistance could contribute to the North's nuclear or missile programmes.It includes what a senior diplomat called unprecedented new travel sanctions that would require countries to expel agents working for sanctioned North Korean companies.The resolution also requires states to inspect suspect cargo on their territory and prevent any vessel that refuses an inspection from entering their ports.And a new aviation measure calls on states to deny aircraft permission to take off, land or fly over their territory if illicit cargo is suspected to be aboard.

US gun safety measures face first votes

President Barack Obama's prospects for winning near-universal background checks for gun purchases seemed shaky on Thursday as Congress faced its first votes on curbing firearms since December's deadly shootings at a Connecticut school. The shootings of 20 children ages 6 and 7 turned gun safety into a leading national issue, though many of Obama's proposals are opposed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and many Republicans who point to the Constitutional guarantee of the right to bear firearms.The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee had four bills on its agenda on Thursday.Besides expanding background checks, the measures would ban assault weapons and ammunition magazines carrying more than 10 rounds, make gun trafficking and the purchase of firearms for people barred from owning them federal crimes, and provide more money for schools to buy video cameras and other safety equipment.All four measures were expected to pass the committee. But their fate when the full Senate considers them, probably in April, was less certain.In addition, gun safety supporters say the Senate will have to approve legislation with strong bipartisan support to boost their chances of success in the Republican-led House of Representatives. Republican leaders there have said they won't act until the Senate produces legislation.Expanding background checks is the cornerstone and most popular part of Obama's effort to rein gun violence. They are now mandated only for sales by the nation's 55 000 federally licensed gun dealers, not for private sales between individuals, like those at gun shows or online.An AP -GfK poll in January found 84% favoured requiring background checks at gun shows. Other proposed gun curbs were supported by just over half the public.

13-hour speech doesn't stop CIA vote

He spoke for 13 hours straight, but a Republican senator's attempt to block confirmation of President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the CIA over questions about the possible use of unmanned drones against US citizens, ended early on Thursday. Senator Rand Paul, a son of former Libertarian presidential candidate Ron Paul and a possible candidate himself in 2016, started just before midday on Wednesday by demanding that Obama or his attorney general issue a statement assuring that drones would not be used in the US to kill terrorism suspects who are citizens.His marathon performance energised his colleagues, who stepped up to support him by reading tweets and Shakespeare. But Paul finally ceded the floor shortly after midnight.A confirmation vote on the CIA pick, John Brennan, had been pushed for Wednesday before Paul started speaking. Brennan now serves as Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser in the White House.The vote on Brennan is now possible later this week.Paul said he recognised that he can't stop Brennan from being confirmed. But he said the nomination was the right vehicle for a debate over the government's ability to conduct lethal operations against suspected terrorists. Drones have become the centrepiece of the Obama administration's campaign against al-Qaeda suspects."No president has the right to say he is judge, jury and executioner," Paul said.The filibuster, as the rarely used delaying tactic is known, is the latest challenge to Obama's cabinet picks that need confirmation by the Democrat-controlled chamber. So far, only Senator John Kerry's nomination for secretary of state was approved without problem.Not all Republicans were enthusiastic about Paul's performance. Senator Lindsey Graham said the prospect of drones being used to kill people in the US was "ridiculous”.Congressman Mike Rogers, the chairperson of the House Intelligence Committee, said it is unconstitutional for the US military or intelligence agencies to conduct lethal counter-terrorism operations in the US against citizens. Suggesting they can or might, Rogers said, "provokes needless fear and detracts attention from the real threats facing the country”.Expanded use of dronesPaul read from notebooks filled with articles about the expanded use of drones. Senate rules say a senator has to remain on the floor to continue to hold it, even though he can yield to another senator for a question.Paul snacked on candy at the dinner hour while continuing to speak. Well-wishers with privileges to be on the Senate floor shook his hand when he temporarily turned the speaking over to his colleagues.Republican Senator Ted Cruz read Twitter messages from people eager to "Stand With Rand”. As the night went on, Cruz an insurgent Republican with strong backing from the conservative tea party movement, read passages from Shakespeare's "Henry V" and lines from the 1970 movie "Patton," starring George C Scott.The record for the longest individual speech on the Senate floor belongs to former Senator Strom Thurmond, who protested for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.Paul ended his lengthy speech by saying he was tempted to try to break Thurmond's record, but he needed to use the bathroom."I discovered that there are some limits to filibustering, and I'm going to have to go and take care of one of those in a few minutes," Paul said.Lethal force inappropriateAttorney General Eric Holder, the country's top lawyer, came close to making the statement Paul wanted earlier in the day during an exchange with Cruz at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, according to Paul.Cruz asked Holder if the Constitution allowed the federal government to kill a US citizen on US soil who doesn't pose an imminent threat. Holder said the situation was hypothetical, but he did not think that in that situation the use of a drone or lethal force would be appropriate.Cruz criticised Holder for not simply saying "no" in response.In a letter sent on Tuesday to Paul, Brennan said the CIA does not have authority to conduct lethal operations inside the US.Holder told Paul in a 4 March letter that the federal government has not conducted such operations and has no intention of doing so. But Holder also wrote that he supposed it was possible under an "extraordinary circumstance" that the president would have no choice but to authorise the military to use lethal force inside US borders. Holder cited the attacks at Pearl Harbour in 1941 and on 11 September 2001, as examples.If confirmed, Brennan would replace Michael Morell, the CIA's deputy director who has been acting director since David Petraeus resigned in November after acknowledging an affair with his biographer.

Cuba gives Chavez hero's send-off

Cuba's leaders gave Hugo Chavez a send-off fit for one of their own on Thursday, with huge crowds turning out to pay homage to the late Venezuelan leader in the Revolution Plaza in Havana and Santiago. Cuban President Raul Castro, dressed in military uniform, placed a wreath before an image of Chavez, who died on Tuesday after a long struggle with cancer, in the ceremony in Santiago, 900km southeast of Havana.Cuba's new number two, Miguel Diaz-Canel, led another mass turnout at Havana's vast Revolution Plaza, the iconic public square from which revolutionary leader Fidel Castro used to address the Cuban people.Other events memorialising Chavez were to take place in plazas across Cuba on Thursday, an honour typically reserved for only historic leaders of the Cuban revolution.In this case, tradition was set aside to remember a crucial oil-rich ally whose largesse has kept the communist-ruled island economically afloat during his 14-year-rule.During his illness, Chavez was treated almost exclusively in Cuba where his cancer was first detected in June 2011. He underwent four rounds of surgery, chemo and radiation therapy before returning home for the last time 18 February.After his death in Caracas, the Cuban government declared that "Chavez is also Cuban" and was hailed as a "true son" of Fidel Castro.Cuban flags were lowered to half mast over the colonial fortresses of Morro and La Cabana overlooking Havana's harbour, and the government ordered three days of mourning.On Friday, when Chavez is buried in Venezuela, his passing will be marked here with a 21-gun salute.

Berlusconi sentenced to year in jail

An Italian court on Thursday sentenced former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to a year in prison over the publication of leaked transcripts from a police wiretap in a newspaper that he owns.Berlusconi, who faces two more verdicts this month for tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute, can appeal the conviction which would suspend the sentence under Italian law.Italian sentencing guidelines indicate that people aged over 75 and with sentences of less than two years do not have to actually go to prison.Berlusconi, a billionaire media tycoon, is aged 76."I am disappointed and concerned because I am convinced that the proof was insufficient, contradictory or missing," Berlusconi's lawyer Piero Longo told reporters after the hearing."I was not expecting a conviction," he said.Demonstration plannedFabrizio Cicchitto, a leading member of Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, said: "The plan to eliminate Silvio Berlusconi through the justice system is now so obvious that it is dangerous for democracy.""We will our voices heard loud and strong on democracy and the need for justice that is fair and worthy of a civilised country," he said.The party is preparing a demonstration later this month against a justice system that Berlusconi frequently portrays as left-wing and biased.Berlusconi stood accused of violating secrecy laws after his Il Giornale daily published transcripts in 2005 that were widely seen as an attempt to discredit a senior member of the centre-left Democratic Party ahead of elections in 2006.The leaks were about the attempted takeover of BNL bank by insurance giant Unipol.Berlusconi's brother Paolo, editor of Il Giornale, was sentenced to two years and three months.Verdict expectedBerlusconi also faces a verdict possibly as early as 18 March in a trial in which he is accused of having sex with a then 17-year-old prostitute when he was prime minister and then abusing the power of his office by putting pressure on police to release her from custody.A verdict in his appeal trial against a tax fraud conviction from last year in which he was also sentenced to a year in prison is also expected around 23 March.Italian court dates are often changed at the last minute and Berlusconi's lawyers have tried to slow down all the trials, invoking "legitimate impediment" because of his duties as an MP.

NEWS,05. AND 06.03.2013

Prince to boycott Forbes billionaires list

Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the richest man in the Arab world, is to boycott Forbes magazine's global billionaires list claiming that it underestimates his wealth, his Kingdom Holding Company announced Tuesday.Forbes' recently issued billionaires list puts Alwaleed at 26th place, with a net worth of $20bn.A statement posted on the company's website said that "Prince Alwaleed has taken this step as he felt he could no longer participate in a process which resulted in the use of incorrect data and seemed designed to disadvantage Middle Eastern investors and institutions."It said Forbes was using "differing standards of proof for different individuals and organizations resulting in an arbitrary and confusing set of standards that seems demonstrably biased against the Middle East".The Kingdom Holding Company statement included a recommendation for the rival Bloomberg Billionaires List which puts Alwaleed in 16th place worldwide and pegs his wealth at $28bn.An article posted on Forbes' website hit back at Alwaleed, saying that "Of the 1 426 billionaires on our list, not one ... goes to greater measures to try to affect his or her ranking".Forbes writer Kerry Dolan added that "former Alwaleed executives have been telling me that the prince, while indeed one of the richest men in the world, systematically exaggerates his net worth by several billion dollars".

EU delays bank bonus ban

European Union governments on Tuesday delayed a decision on controversial bank bonus caps after Britain offered hope of an overall deal if given more time to negotiate.EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to take another look at plans to cap bonuses at the same amount as is paid in a fixed annual salary, or twice that sum if shareholders approved the payment.British Finance Minister George Osborne told his peers during a public debate on Tuesday that "we can’t support the proposal currently on the table".However, he added, that "if we make progress in the next couple of weeks ... I would hope that the finance minister of the largest financial centre in Europe can support (an amended legislative text) wholeheartedly". The European Parliament is planning to vote in April on the accord drawn up with the Irish EU presidency which introduces new internationally agreed legislation to strengthen banks and make them better able to withstand any future crisis.Parliament insisted that a cap on bank bonuses be included at the same time so as to satisfy public anger over the issue.After last week's accord was worked out, Switzerland voted on Sunday strongly in favour of sharp curbs on executive pay, widely blamed for the excessive risk-taking which contributed to the 2008 global financial crisis.The new regulations called Basel III primarily tighten up bank capital requirements. They were due to take effect this January but next year now seems the most likely.Britain is home to some three quarters of the EU's finance industry and London has long maintained that bonus and salary caps would make Europe's banking sector uncompetitive.Osborne said, however, that he accepted and understood public anger at exorbitant remuneration that brought banks and then governments to their knees in the last five years.He told his counterparts that Britain was "absolutely clear that more and more of the pay paid to bankers should be tied to long-term performance".He pleaded that banking excesses had already been curbed, arguing that "bonuses in London are today 80% less than at the height of the irresponsibility in the banking system".And he warned that the plans agreed by the EU's Irish chair and the Parliament would leave taxpayers exposed once more."It will push salaries up, it will actually make it more difficult to claw back bonuses when things go wrong," Osborne said.An official said negotiations would now centre on how to steer permissible incentives more towards the long-term, with extra safeguards enabling "clawbacks" when things go wrong.Osborne won crucial backing during the meeting from Germany's Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said the "broad concensus" of support around the table was adequate but not sufficient."I think if we could achieve (an agreement) in the final decision, not only a qualified majority, it would be better" than isolating London in another backs-to-the-wall vote, he reasoned.Ireland's Michael Noonan, summing up, said officials and the European Parliament would work further on the proposed caps and timescales for banks to apply them."We will try to iron these out in the coming weeks," said Noonan.

BoE boss urges government to break up RBS

Bank of England governor Mervyn King said on Wednesday that the British government should split the Royal Bank of Scotland into "good" and "bad" bank divisions to return it more quickly to the private sector.King argued that state-rescued RBS needed a "decisive restructuring" in comments before the Parliamentary commission on banking standards, which was set up to report on professional standards and culture in Britain's banks.The BoE chief told lawmakers that RBS was holding the wider economy back, and added that it was "not beyond the wit of man" to split RBS into a "good" and "bad" bank to ensure it would aid recovery and boost lending."The lessons of history is that we should face up to it - it's worth less than we thought and we should accept that and get back to finding a way to create a new RBS that could be a major lender to the UK economy," said King, who will be replaced as the central bank's head by Canadian Mark Carney in July.RBS, which remains 81% state-owned after a vast state bailout, had last week posted a net loss of almost £6.0bn (€6.9bn, $9.0bn) for 2012. That was the bank's fifth successive annual loss.The lender was rescued at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008 with £45.5bn of taxpayers' cash.RBS chief executive Stephen Hester had insisted on Thursday last week that its return to the private sector was on track and could be completed within two years.However, King said on Wednesday that it was "nonsense" to think the government could run the bank at arm's length, adding that he had discussed the matter with Finance Minister George Osborne."Time has passed and aside from reducing the balance sheet, nothing has been achieved - we haven't managed to get it into the private sector," noted the BoE chief."It would be much better to accept that it should have been a temporary period only, and the longer this goes on, the more difficult it becomes."RBS was plagued last year by compensation payouts for mis-selling, Libor rate-rigging fines and a vast accounting charge.Losses after taxation widened to £5.97bn last year, compared with a shortfall of £1.997bn in 2011.RBS was sunk by its badly-timed consortium takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro at the top of the market in 2007, just before the financial crisis struck.

US wasted billions in Iraq

After invading Iraq ten years ago, the United States spent $60bn on a vast reconstruction effort that left behind few successes and a litany of failures, an auditor's report said on Wednesday. The ambitious plan to transform the country after the fall of Saddam Hussein has been marked by half-finished projects and crushed expectations, according to the final report of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen.The aid effort was plagued by in-fighting among US agencies and an improvised "adhocracy" approach, with no one clearly in charge of a massive investment that was supposed to put Iraq on a stable footing, said the report to Congress."Management and funding gaps caused hundreds of projects to fall short of promised results, leaving a legacy of bitter dissatisfaction among many Iraqis," it said.Some of the reconstruction money was stolen, with a number of US military officers and contractors now imprisoned for fraud, while other funds remain unaccounted for to this day, it said.Of $2.8bn in Iraqi oil revenues handled by the US Defence Department, officials could not produce documents accounting for the use of about $1.7bn, including $1.3bn in fuel purchases, it said.The lengthy report highlighted some of the worst examples of mismanagement and graft and included interviews with senior Iraqi and US officials who mostly regretted the outcome of the reconstruction programme."The level of fraud, waste, and abuse in Iraq was appalling," Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, was quoted as saying.She was "especially angry when she learned that some reconstruction money found its way into the hands of insurgent groups," the report said.Both Iraqi and US officials agreed that the Americans ignored the advice of Iraqis or never bothered to consult them before launching costly projects, with sometimes disastrous results.The litany of failures included a new police academy with raw sewage leaking through ceilings, a subcontractor charging $900 for a control switch valued at seven dollars and a project to build large prison in Diyala province that was eventually abandoned, despite an investment of $40m.

Memorable Chavez quotes

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died on Tuesday at the age of 58, was a garrulous public speaker whose words enchanted followers and angered foes. Here are some memorable phrases:

- "Comrades, regrettably, for now the goals we set were not achieved."

On 4 February 1992 when the then paratrooper lieutenant colonel took responsibility for the failure of a coup against Venezuelan president Carlos Andres Perez.

- "Marisabel, tonight I will give you what is yours."

On 14 February 2000 to his wife Marisabel Rodriguez, whom he later divorced.

- "Cuba is the sea of happiness. That's where Venezuela is going."

On 8 March 2000 as he received Cuban volunteer workers. Cuba's retired leader Fidel Castro was a key political ally of Chavez, who regarded him as "a father".

- "ALCA, ALCA... al carajo [Go to hell]!"

On 4 November 2005 on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in the Argentina as he opposed the creation of the US-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas, known by the Spanish acronym ALCA.

- "You are a donkey, Mr Danger."

On 19 March 2006 in his weekly television show Hello President, referring to then US president George W Bush, whom he also described as "a coward", "a killer", "a [perpetrator of] genocide" and "a drunk".

- "Yesterday, the devil was here. Right here, and it still smells of sulfur."

On 20 September 2006 in a speech to the UN General Assembly again referring to Bush, who had addressed the assembly a day earlier.

- "Don't mess with me, Condoleezza. Don't mess with me, girl."

On 19 February 2006, responding to then US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, who days earlier had slammed Venezuela as a threat to regional democracy and a "sidekick" of Iran.

- "Go to hell, shitty Yankees!"

On 11 September 2008, during a fiery speech as he expelled the US ambassador in Caracas in solidarity with Bolivia, which had taken a similar action days earlier.

- "I want to be your friend."

On 18 April 2009 to US President Barack Obama during the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

- "We will live and will win!"

On 30 June 2011 after he was diagnosed with cancer, dropping his gloomier slogan: "Socialist fatherland or death."

- "You have a pig's tail, a pig's ears, and you snort like a pig. You are a pig."

On 16 February 2012 to opposition rival Henrique Capriles ahead of the October presidential election.

- "Give me your crown of thorns, Christ, give it to me, so that I bleed; Give me your cross, 100 crosses, and I will carry them for you. But give me life, because I still have things to do for my people and my country. Don't take me yet."

On 5 April 2012 during a mass for his health during cancer treatment.

- "Choose Maduro as president of the republic. I am asking you this from all my heart."

On 8 December 2012 urging countrymen to vote for Vice President Nicolas Maduro in the next election should he become incapacitated as he revealed that he needed more cancer surgery.

- "We have arrived again to the Venezuelan motherland... Thank you, God. Thank you, my beloved people... I am holding on to Jesus Christ and trust my doctors and nurses... As always, see you in victory. We will live and we will win."

On 18 February breaking a weeks-long period of silence to announce his return to Venezuela after a final trip to Cuba for treatment.

Venezuela says goodbye to Chavez

Throngs of Venezuelans crowded the streets of Caracas on Wednesday, many clad in red, waving flags and weeping in a final goodbye to late president Hugo Chavez as he was taken through the capital. Some watched from apartment windows, others climbed fences to get a better view and many held up smartphones to take pictures of the flag-draped coffin adorned with flowers. Many shouted "I love you Chavez!""Viva my comandante! We love you Chavez," exclaimed Hector Carrasquel, 40, who came from Tejeria, west of Caracas, for the procession."I'm here to say my final goodbye to my president. There will never be another Chavez. He is the greatest man that this fatherland gave us," said Jose Gregorio Conde, 34, an education worker."I couldn't sleep all night thinking about what happened," he said outside the Caracas military hospital where Chavez lost his battle to cancer on Tuesday at the age of 58.A guard in red uniform led the procession, holding a sword, as Vice President Nicolas Maduro and other officials marched toward the military academy where Chavez will lie in state until Friday. "What can I say, I am very sad," said Isabel Febres, who cried as she stared at a photo of Chavez with his presidential sash.Many had spent the night outside the hospital while others arrived early under the Caribbean sun. Some read the official daily Ciudad Caracas, whose headline read "Onward to victory, always, Comandante Chavez!""I love him," said Iris Dicuro, 62, who came from the north-eastern city of Puerto La Cruz and wore a shirt with the words "Forward Comandante”. "I want to bid farewell because he was a good man who gave everything to the poor.""He did well for me. I am healthy thanks to him, for the Cuban doctors that he brought here," she said, referring to one of the many oil-funded social programs he brought to impoverished neighbourhoods.Amid the grief, many were sure that Chavez's 14-year legacy would continue and that they would vote for Maduro, his chosen successor, in elections expected to take place within 30 days."God willing, we will continue the last wishes of my president and we will vote for Maduro. We can't allow everything to be lost. What he did, giving us education, new homes, food, he did so much," said Mairis Briceno, 21, wearing a red shirt with an image of Chavez hugging and elderly woman and the words "love with love pays off”.Aldemar Castro, a 29-year-old bricklayer, said that if Chavez hand-picked Maduro, "it is because he knows that he can do something good for Venezuela.”

UN holds minute's silence for Chavez

The United Nations' main human rights forum observed a minute's silence on Wednesday for the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez whose record it has often criticised over the years.The UN Human Rights Council has voiced repeated concerns about freedom of expression, lack of independence of the judiciary, restrictions on activists, and arbitrary detentions in Venezuela under Chavez who died on Tuesday.The ambassador of Cuba which has declared three days of mourning for its ally Chavez - led diplomats in Geneva in observing the minute's silence."On behalf of the Latin American and Caribbean states, we wish to express our deep solidarity with the people and government of Venezuela, particularly the family members and friends of Commandante Chavez," Ambassador Anayansi Rodriguez Camejo said."Chavez was key in Latin America's advance towards its second independence. He worked tirelessly not only for his people, but for the betterment of the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean," she said.Under Chavez, Venezuela achieved most of the ambitious UN targets for improving health and education, known as the Millennium Development Goals, Cuba's envoy said."Chavez has not died, he didn't enter history yesterday, he entered history a decade ago when he began the Bolivarian Revolution and the struggle for real Latin American integration," she said.Poland's Remigiusz Achilles Henczel, who holds the Council's rotating presidency, said: "We reiterate on behalf of the Council our condolences to the people and government of Venezuela at the death of Hugo Chavez."Venezuela became one of the council's 47 members this year, under a system where member countries are selected by the UN General Assembly. Western states expect it to vote along similar lines of Cuba on issues such as Syria and North Korea, now that its Caribbean ally is no longer a member.The Council, which is holding its main annual four-week session, on Tuesday discussed cases of arbitrary detention, including that of Venezuelan judge Maria Lourdes Afiuni Mora.Afiuni has been held since December 2009 and was raped in detention, independent UN experts said last month. She was jailed after allowing the release of a businessman charged with subverting currency controls, saying his pre-trial detention was longer than generally allowed under Venezuelan law."Judge Afiuni's situation is an emblematic case of reprisal for having co-operated with one of the UN's human rights organs," Margaret Sekaggya, UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said in a 14 February statement.Venezuela's delegation on Tuesday denounced her "fraudulent activities and refusal to appear before the court".