MACTV News: France says G8 will seek agreement on Libya action, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

March 14, 2011 1:02:12 PM

PARIS, March 14 (Reuters) - Group of Eight foreign ministers will try to agree in Paris on what action should be taken in Libya, to speed up a U.N. Security Council decision on whether to impose a no-fly zone, France said on Monday.

The current G8 president, France said Libya would be a priority during talks on Monday and Tuesday between U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

With violence worsening, "no option could be ruled out", foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told an electronic press briefing as Muammar Gaddafi's troops battled rebel fighters for control of the oil town of Brega.

"The conclusions from the March 11 European summit and the Arab League's March 12 resolution clearly demonstrate the international community's firm commitment to protecting Libyan civilians," Valero said.
"This issue will be discussed as a priority at the foreign minister's meeting with his G8 counterparts with the aim of reaching an agreement that will enable the Security Council, which has received an official request from the Arab League, to move forward as fast as possible."

The Arab League's weekend call for a U.N. no-fly zone seemed to satisfy one of three conditions set by NATO for it to police Libyan air space, that of regional support. The other two are proof its help is needed and a U.N. Security Council resolution. (Reporting by Vicky Buffery; editing by Mark Heinrich)

MACTV News: SNAPSHOT-Developments after major Japan earthquake, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

March 14, 2011 1:45:43 PM

• JAPAN-QUAKE/SNAPSHOT

TOKYO, March 14 (Reuters) - Following are main developments after a massive earthquake struck northeast Japan on Friday and set off a tsunami.

- Death toll expected to exceed 10,000 from the quake and tsunami, public broadcaster NHK says. About 2,000 bodies found on two shores of Miyagi prefecture, Kyodo news agency reports.

- Japan battles to prevent nuclear catastrophe. A hydrogen explosion jolts the No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) says 11 people were injured.

- Before the blast, officials said 22 people had suffered radiation contamination. Up to 190 may have been exposed.

- Operator TEPCO begins reinjecting water into No. 2 reactor in the hope of cooling it, and says water levels have risen and half the fuel rods are exposed.

- Nuclear safety agency rates the incident a 4 on the 1 to 7 International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, less serious than Three Mile Island, a 5, and Chernobyl at 7.

- Switzerland's energy minister says suspends approvals process for three nuclear power stations so safety standards can be revisited.

* Germany's ruling coalition is discussing suspending for three months its decision last year to extend the life of Germany's nuclear power plants, a coalition source says.

- Authorities have set up a 20-km (12-mile) exclusion zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and a 10-km (6 mile) zone around Fukushima Daini.

- Strong aftershocks persist in the stricken area.
- About 450,000 people evacuated nationwide in addition to 80,000 from the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plants. Almost 2 million households are without power in the freezing north and about 1.4 million households have no running water.

- Reactor operator says rolling blackout to affect 3 million customers, including large factories, buildings and households. Blackouts affected 113,000 households on Monday, it says.

- Japan's Nikkei share index falls more than 6 percent, dragging European stocks to their lowest in three months.

- The Bank of Japan (BoJ) offers to pump a record $85 billion into the banking system.
- Credit Suisse estimates the loss at between 14 trillion yen ($171 billion) and 15 trillion yen just to the quake region.
(Tokyo bureau; World Desk Asia, Singapore +65 6870 3815)

Gaddafi forces attack western Libyan town-residents, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Govt forces coming from various directions, residents say
* Residents hide in houses; rebels say one killed
* Town is one last remaining rebel holdouts in western Libya


(adds details, quotes from Misrata)

By Mariam Karouny
TUNIS, March 14 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi attacked the small town of Zuwarah on Monday, seeking to recapture one of the last remaining rebel holdouts in western Libya, residents said.

"They are coming from the eastern side and also trying to get in from the west and the south. They are one kilometre from the centre of town," resident Tarek Abdallah told Reuters by telephone.

"They are firing artillery shells. The shops are closed, people are terrified. There is no life in Zuwarah right now." Zuwarah is a Mediterranean coastal town of 40,000 people, mostly from the Amazigh Berber minority, some 120 km (70 miles) west of the capital Tripoli and near the border with Tunisia.

"I do not think we will hold on for long because there aren't that many of us, but the rebels went to try to defend the town anyway," Abdallah said. Another resident, Waleed, said: "We are hiding in our houses, we are very scared. How can they do something like that to us? We are Libyans like them."

One rebel fighter was killed and many wounded, insurgent Abu Zeid said. "They came in military vehicles and started shooting at us," he said. "We do not have weapons, we are fighting with whatever we can find here. God knows what will happen to us."
There were reports of fighting in Zuwarah at the start of the insurrection against Gaddafi's four-decade rule last month but since then there had been no news from the town.

Gaddafi's forces initially lost control over large swathes of the oil exporting North African country, but over the past week, military momentum has shifted back in their favour.

His forces have stamped out a rebellion in Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli and pushed insurgents in the east back from the oil towns of Ras Lanuf and Brega.
The only major city held by insurgents in the west is Misrata, 200 km (130 miles) east of the capital.

Rebels and residents there have reported that an assault on the city had been held up by a mutiny within the ranks of the besieging government forces. "The fighting has stopped now. Early on Monday we heard five shells after a fierce night of fighting and now it has stopped," Mohammed, a resident of Misrata, told Reuters by telephone.

"We are not sure why it has stopped. Maybe they got tired or maybe one group won over the other. Things are not clear."

The government has denied the reports, which could not be verified independently because Libyan authorities have not allowed reporters access to the city.

(Writing by Silvia Aloisi; editing by Mark Heinrich)

mactv nEWS: Corruption threatens India's high growth momentum-KPMG, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

 

March 14, 2011

 

* Endemic corruption grows in scope and size

* Large scams cast doubt on India's PM

* Respondents remain largely committed to India

* But majority says corruption hinders growth


By Matthias Williams
NEW DELHI, March 14 (Reuters) - Endemic corruption in India has grown in scale and represents billions of dollars, with the potential to discourage investors and derail growth prospects, consultancy firm KMPG said in a survey published on Monday.

The survey of 100 leading domestic and foreign businesses was published as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government struggles to defend itself against graft cases ranging from a $39 billion telecoms scandal to houses for war widows diverted to bureaucrats.

The scams, exposed in recent months, point to a pervasive culture of corruption in Singh's administration, prompting a man once seen as India's most honest politician to defend his leadership and scramble to keep the ruling coalition intact.

And the graft riddling Asia's third-largest economy was no longer confined to bribing government officials for passports or telephone connections from the state provider, the report said.

"Today India is faced with a different kind of challenge," the report said. "It is not about petty bribes (`bakshish') any more, but scams to the tune of thousands of crores (billions of rupees) that highlight a political/industry nexus which, if not checked, could have a far reaching impact."

Most businesses surveyed said they were committed to their positions in one of the world's fastest growing economies with a rapidly growing, and wealthier, middle class, the survey showed.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed said corruption prevented India from moving beyond the 9 percent growth expected in the next fiscal year starting April 1. Just over half said graft would make the country less attractive to foreign investors.

"Corruption poses a risk to India's projected 9 percent GDP growth and may result in a volatile political and economic environment," the report said.

The murkiest sectors were real estate and construction - a focus for India as it plans to spend $1.5 trillion over a decade to overhaul creaky infrastructure - followed by telecommunications where the state was still heavily involved and the stakes high.

The scandals have created a sense of regulatory uncertainty, especially in the telecoms sector, which has come under heavy scrutiny after faulty allocation processes were said to have cost the government up to $39 billion in lost revenue.

Several big businessmen, including billionaire Anil Ambani, were questioned by federal police, and even Singh had to defend his conduct to the Supreme Court, unprecedented events in a country where the business and political elite were sometimes seen as above the law.

"India has at last realised that one of the major reasons for most of the large scale corruption incidents has been due to the empowered discretion that the government has had," Surjit Bhalla, the head of Oxus Investments, wrote in the preface to the report.


BUSINESS CLIMATE
British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote to Singh in February warning that India's unpredictable and non-transparent business climate could derail bilateral trade ties.

Ratan Tata, one of India's most prominent industrialists, in November recounted a conversation with a fellow businessmen in which the latter detailed the hefty bribes the government demanded from players in the airlines business.

The Hindustan Times said in a report on Monday that envoys from eight countries, including Britain, wrote to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to complain about unpaid bills of more than $74 million owed to firms from their nations from contracts relating to the Commonwealth Games.

The sporting extravaganza last October, which cost up to $6 billion, was also dogged by several cases of alleged corruption, including the purchase of equipment and issuing contracts.

Regulatory delays over London-listed Cairn Energy's $9.6 billion asset sale to India's Vedanta Resources , and legal wrangling over India's $2.6 billion Vodafone tax demand were raised by Cameron to Singh.

Trade Minister Stephen Green told Reuters in New Delhi that Britain wanted more predictability and transparency in India's business climate and would raise concerns from British firms during a visit this week.

Asked whether he would raise the Cairn-Vedanta deal and Vodafone tax issue, Green said he would discuss "specific business situations which are under examination.

"I think we'll see a significant increase in investment in both directions. In order to facilitate that ... we need to have predictability, transparency on both sides," he said.

But despite the murky regulatory environment, business remained engaged in India, with more than half of those surveyed by KPMG saying they were unaffected by corruption.

More than 80 percent of respondents disagreed that corruption had reduced their ability to access domestic or foreign funds, while 55 percent disagreed that corruption had impacted their business.

That would appear to chime with remarks on Monday by General Electric Co Chief Executive Jeff Immelt who, on a visit to New Delhi, brushed off concerns over the investment climate.

"We're long-term players in India," Immelt said. (Additional reporting by Paul de Bendern and C.J. Kuncheria; editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Miral Fahmy)

Food and water shortage at earthquake shelter in Sendai, Japan, Posted by Meosha Eaton

More than 3,000 residents in Sendai, Japan took shelter at a suburban high school of the city after the 9-magnitude earthquake devastated their homes. Due to the current shortage of food and water supply, only children and seniors at and above 75 years old are provided with food at the emergency shelter.

Each of the people taking shelter here has a ration of only two bottles of water every day. As the access to the disaster area is cut off, the shipment of good, especially food and drinking water, to Sendai is also blocked.

Food supply to the shelter dwellers has come to a halt as of today. Still people have to live here, as their own homes are no longer in existence or safe after the catastrophic earthquake. Given the constant aftershocks at present, the shelter is the best place they could find for the time being.

"I moved here yesterday," said a young woman. "How is your own home?" asked the reporter. "Its appearance looks ok, but inside it's all a mess," said the young woman.

"My home is gone completely, with the TV set and other things rocked down everywhere, and it's dangerous to go back there," said a woman.

"Have you got a food ration?" asked the reporter.
"No, only children and seniors at and above 75 years old are entitled to a food ration," answered the woman.

For any questions please call +86-10-63969499, or email newscontent@cctv.com. If you want to learn more, please go to the CCTV website at http://newscontent.cctv.com.

Amman protest calls for release of political prisoners, Posted by Meosha Eaton

AMMAN, JORDAN (MARCH 13, 2011) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
1. VARIOUS OF DEMONSTRATORS NEAR PRIME MINISTRY BUILDING
2. DEMONSTRATORS HOLDING BANNERS
3. YOUNG BOYS HOLDING BANNERS CALLING FOR RELEASE OF PRISONERS
4. BANNER WRITTEN IN ARABIC, READING: "WE CALL FOR THE RELEASE OF PRISONERS"
5. PROTESTERS
6. BOY HOLDING BANNER READING: "RELEASE SHEIKH ABU MOHAMMAD AL-MAQDISI"
7. MAN ADDRESSING CROWD
8. PEOPLE LISTENING

9. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) RELATIVE OF PRISONER, MOHAMMAD, SAYING:
"They are political prisoners and there is actually no reason for their detainment, particularly during such difficult times. If the king, Abu Hussein, releases these people, he would put an end to a crisis and it would be a great service for the Jordanian people."

10. YOUNG BOYS HOLDING BANNERS

11. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FATHER OF TWO POLITICAL PRISONERS, MOHAMMAD HIJAZI, SAYING:
"The government promotes itself as a moderate state with the enemy, the zionist entity, therefore I call on them to use a moderate approach with the prisoners, the ones they refer to as Islamist group prisoners. The killer zionists are not better than my sons and the sons of other Islamist prisoners. I demand the government release them immediately."

12. WOMEN HOLDING BANNERS DURING PROTEST
13. WOMAN HOLDING GIRL DURING PROTEST
14. WOMAN HOLDING BANNER WRITTEN IN ARABIC, READING: "UNTIL WHEN WILL ABU SAYAF AND THE PEOPLE OF MA'AN REMAIN IN PRISON?"
15. BOY HOLDING MASKS WITH ARABIC WRITING, READING: "JWEIDEH PRISON, GENERAL INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT PRISON"

 Hundreds of family members demonstrated near the prime minster's office in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on Sunday (March 13) to demand the immediate release of their relatives arrested over alleged ties to banned Islamist groups.

Protesters came from as far as Ma'an, a town located 250 kilometres south of Amman where many political prisoners are being held on terrorism-related charges.

Protesters called on King Abdullah to use his power to grant freedom for detainees, many of whom were tried in military courts.

Hundreds of Salafis, an ultra conservative branch of Islam that strictly follows the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad, are held in prisons across Jordan after being tried in military courts on terrorism related charges.

"They are political prisoners and there is actually no reason for their detainment, particularly during such difficult times," said Mohammad, a relative of one prisoner.
"If the king, Abu Hussein, releases these people, he would put an end to a crisis and it would be a great service for the Jordanian people," Mohammad added.

Many Salafi scholars promote violence, but others have renounced it since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

But some militant groups still claim Salafism as their ideology, despite an iron fisted policy by pro-western authorities in Jordan.

Observers said Jordanian authorities stepped up their anti-Salafi campaign as part of a global war against al-Qaeda and in response to U.S. pressure to quell fundamentalist Islamists.

"The government promotes itself as a moderate state with the enemy, the zionist entity, therefore I call on them to use a moderate approach with the prisoners, the ones they refer to as Islamist group prisoners," said Mohammad Hijazi, who has two sons held in a maximum security prison on terrorism related charges.

"The killer zionists are not better than my sons and the sons of other Islamist prisoners. I demand the government release them immediately," Hijazi added.
Authorities in Jordan have been accused by international human rights groups of discriminating against Islamist detainees.

Tension rises in Iraq's Kirkuk over presence of Peshmerga forces, Posted by Meosha Eaton

Japan, Libya to dominate at G8 formin meeting, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* G8 foreign ministers to meet in Paris Monday, Tuesday
* Japan quake, Libya crisis set to dominate agenda

By John Irish


PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) -

The earthquake disaster in Japan looks set to dominate a Group of Eight foreign ministers meeting this week in Paris as members discuss ways to coordinate help for the only Asian country in the group. The crisis over Libya will also be a key issue, with the international community seeking to agree on how to stop a violent crackdown in the North African state by leader Muammar Gaddafi's government forces.

Japan was trying on Sunday to avert a disastrous meltdown at two nuclear reactors, crippled by a major earthquake on Friday that caused a tsunami estimated to have killed more than 10,000 people.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe pledged aid to the Japanese, offering expertise in nuclear plant safety and help in clearing up wreckage and finding buried victims. Two rescue teams were preparing to fly to Japan. Juppe and the other G8 foreign ministers are expected to look to co-ordinate the rescue and aid effort.

"Japan is a historic member of the G8, so we will definitely be showing solidarity," a French diplomatic source said. Japan's foreign minister is still scheduled to attend the meeting, a Japanese embassy official in Paris said on Sunday.

British Foreign Office minister Jeremy Browne said this weekend that a "really big coordinated international response" was needed and that Britain was playing a full part.
The fast-moving situation in Libya is also set to be a focal point for the G8 foreign ministers, the diplomatic source said.

"The current international situation will invite itself onto the programme and the ministers will study the various options (for Libya)," the source said. Libyan leader Gaddafi's forces appear to have regained the momentum in the three-week-old conflict inspired by popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt.

Gaddafi's troops forced outgunned Libyan rebels to retreat eastwards on Sunday and laid siege to pockets of resistance, unimpeded by diplomatic efforts to impose a no-fly zone. Paris has been playing a leading role in the international response to the uprising, especially in its calls with Britain to secure U.N. support for a no-fly zone resolution.

Those calls have met some reluctance from fellow G8 members Russia and the United States as well as non-G8 China. At Friday's EU leaders summit, an airborne military option also appeared to be played down, specifically by Germany.

The United States said this weekend a call by the Arab League for such a no-fly zone was an "important step", but while Washington said it was preparing for "all contingencies" it has remained cautious over endorsing direct military intervention.

"The G8 foreign ministers ... will be an opportunity to widen the international coalition addressing the crisis in Libya," British Foreign Minister William Hague said. "And to reaffirm our collective support for political transition in Egypt and Tunisia."

U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton will make her first visit to France since new foreign minister Juppe took charge before she heads on to the North African states.

The two-day event begins informally with the eight ministers meeting President Nicolas Sarkozy at his Elysee Palace on Monday before officially kicking off at 2000 (1900 GMT), and ending the following day around 1500 (1400 GMT).

The talks will also touch on Iran's nuclear programme and at ways to revive the Middle East peace process in preparation for a G8 leaders summit in the northern seaside resort of Deauville at the end of May.

(Editing by Myra MacDonald)