Bernanke Endorses Additional Stimulus Effort
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US Central Bank chief says 'targeted' measures can help ease impact of economic slowdown
The head of the U.S. central bank says raising government spending again to stimulate the economy would be a good idea now.Ben Bernanke testifies before Congressional committee, 20 Oct 2008Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the a key Congressional committee that the U.S. economy faces a possibly "protracted" slowdown, and "targeted" measures could ease the impact. In Monday's testimony, he suggested these measures be crafted in ways to get the credit market moving again, but did not specify how. Severe problems in the U.S housing market and a stalled credit market sparked the recent global financial crisis. Asian, European, and U.S. stock markets moved higher in Monday's trading with investors and lenders apparently encouraged by the stimulus idea and other efforts to bolster the battered financial system.A key measure of banks' willingness to lend to each other, businesses, and consumers, showed the tight credit market is easing. The stalled credit market had slowed business and raised fears the economy could shrink.South Korea has said it will guarantee up to $100 billion in foreign debts held by the country's banks, and provide lenders with $30 billion in direct funds.Earlier, the Netherlands said it will inject $13 billion into Dutch-based ING, one of the world's 20 largest banks. ING warned Friday it expects a quarterly loss of $670 million because of the global credit crisis. On Saturday, U.S. President George Bush and visiting European leaders agreed to hold a series of summits aimed at reforming the global financial system.Mr. Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the first summit will focus on reaching "principles of reform" to ensure future prosperity. Later summits will develop specific steps to meet those goals.
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Major European Markets Follow Asian Lead, Move Higher
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Analysts say financial institutions growing less wary of lending to each other, freeing up credit for consumers
Major European markets opened moderately higher, following the lead of Asian markets that posted solid gains. For VOA, Tom Rivers in London has details.German stock trader makes phone call in FrankfurtEuropean markets posted modest increases as investors took some comfort in the global efforts to prop up the international banking system.Analysts say that as financial institutions grow less wary of lending to each other it will free up credit for consumers to purchase essential things like mortgages and small business loans.The biggest gainers in European trading were in the financial sector. Deutsche Bank in Germany and Lloyds TSB in Britain are recovering some of the losses incurred during the past few weeks.Energy stocks are up as well.But amid this moderate, short-term optimism is the realization that the world economy is slowing.Here in Britain, the economy shrank by two-tenths of one percent in the last quarter and people like professor Peter Spencer from Ernst and Young's Item Club say for all intents and purposes, Britain is in a recession."It is a recession," he said. "But it is relatively shallow and short compared to the bad old days of the 1970s and 1980s, and that is for one simple reason and that is that the Bank of England is in a position to cut interest rates as inflation is coming off its peak."Spencer says the next year will be financially rocky with growth slowing further and unemployment increasing."It will be apparent to everybody, if it is not already, that the good times are over and that belts have to be tightened," he said. "OK, inflation may be coming down a bit, but we will be finding our incomes squeezed in our pay packet. Those people who hold on to their jobs, hopefully the majority of us, will see that their pay really is not increasing."But as he sees it, by the end of 2009, an economic recovery should be starting here.The British government's strategy is to borrow its way through these tough times. The latest six-month total of public sector borrowing stands at a level not seen for 60 years.
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Taliban Claims Responsibility for Killing Female Aid Worker
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Officials say woman working for Christian charity, SERVE Afghanistan, was shot dead Monday morning as she walked to her job in suburban Kabul
A British woman who had been helping the handicapped in Afghanistan has become the latest victim of Taliban violence targeting foreign aid workers in the country. VOA Correspondent Steve Herman reports from Kabul that Afghanistan's government and aid agencies are vowing that such attacks will not hamper the international effort to rebuild the country. Afghan official stands near scene where female Western aid worker was shot dead in Kabul, 20 Oct 2008International officials say assistance programs for Afghanistan should not be undermined by the rising number of attacks on foreign aid workers here. A worker for the Christian charity, SERVE Afghanistan, was shot dead Monday morning as she walked to her job in suburban Kabul. Police and diplomatic sources say Gayle Williams, a British national of South African origin working with the disabled, was attacked by gunmen who got off a motorcycle and fired at her numerous times.The fundamentalist Taliban say they killed the woman because she was working for an organization that was preaching Christianity in the predominately Muslim nation. Several other Christian charities in the country contacted by VOA News say they intend to maintain a low profile and do not want to comment on how the killing would affect their operations here. Security groups working with international organizations say attacks on aid workers are at their highest level in six years. Spokesman Dan McNorton of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan tells VOA News it is too early to say what impact the latest killing in Kabul might have on the operations of foreign aid agencies in the country. "We are all aware that Afghanistan has seen an increase in security incidents," McNorton said. "And it has become increasingly difficult for humanitarian agencies to work in the country. But most agencies are still here and most agencies are still getting on with their jobs of providing help to the people of Afghanistan."Three female aid workers and their Afghan driver were ambushed and killed in August by Taliban insurgents. There have also been more than 70 reported abductions of aid workers this year in Afghanistan. But it is ordinary Afghans who continue to be the primary targets of the increasing violence perpetrated by the Taliban, other rebel groups and criminal gangs. Kidnappings of wealthy Afghans have become routine. The latest reported abduction: Hamayon Shah Asifi, the influential and wealthy brother-in-law of former King Zahir Shah. An estimated three thousand Afghans have died due to insurgency-related violence this yearIn one of the latest major incidents, Taliban fighters are claiming responsibility for killing about 30 people on two buses in southern Kandahar province last week. The insurgents say they attacked the buses because they were filled with Afghan soldiers. But government officials say those who were killed were all civilians, including a child. On the battlefront, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force says a two-day battle against militants has left 20 insurgents dead in Maydan Wardak province, where the Taliban have a presence less than 60 kilometers southwest of Kabul. Countering the rising insurgency, besides the Afghan National Army, are 65,000 international troops - either under the command of NATO or the U.S. military.
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US Diplomat Meets Pakistani Leader in Peshawar
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US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher meets with various officials to press for the government to do more to combat terrorism
US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, left, shakes hands with Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik prior to their meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan, 18 Oct 2008The top U.S. diplomat for South Asian affairs has met Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Islamabad.Officials have not commented on the meeting between U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher and Mr. Gilani Monday, but the men were expected to discuss Pakistan's fight against terrorism.Boucher met Sunday with the chief minister of North West Frontier Province Amir Haider Khan Hoti. During the meeting in Peshawar, the minister said he wanted to "resolve all political problems through peaceful dialogue."Pakistan has criticized the U.S. for carrying out missile strikes on suspected Taliban and al-Qaida militants along the Pakistani border with Afghanistan.The United States has been pushing Pakistan to take stronger action against the militants. Washington says the fighters are using Pakistan as a base to attack U.S. and Afghan troops in Afghanistan. Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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Obama, McCain Campaign in Crucial States as Election Nears
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Democratic candidate Barack Obama is campaigning in Florida while Republican candidate John McCain is campaigning in the closely contested Midwestern state of Missouri
US presidential candidates Barack Obama in Fayetteville, N.C. and John McCain in Toledo, Ohio, 19 Oct 2008
U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are campaigning Monday in states crucial to winning the election 15 days from now.Republican Senator McCain is in the closely-contested midwestern state of Missouri. His vice presidential pick, Sarah Palin, held a rally in the western state of Colorado. Both Republicans emphasized their aims to cut business and capital gains taxes, carry out plans to keep Americans in their homes, and help protect retirees' investments. Senator Obama, a Democrat, is holding a series of events in the battleground state of Florida, one day after receiving the endorsement of President Bush's former Secretary of State Colin Powell.Obama's campaign also announced it raised a record $150 million during September.Recent national polls show Obama leading McCain by an average of 5.5 percentage points among likely voters.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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Abbas Criticizes Israeli Response to Attack on Palestinian Farmers
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Palestinian president says Israel's failure to protect the harvest means it is not serious about a peace deal
Israeli settlers attack a Palestinian photographer during an olive harvest in the occupied West Bank, 18 Oct 2008 (picture released by Active Stills)Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accused Israel of not protecting Palestinian olive farmers against recent attacks by Jewish settlers.Palestinian newspapers published Mr. Abbas's comments Monday after an attack over the weekend on two news photographers and a British activist helping farmers with the annual olive harvest. The Palestinian leader said Israel's failure to protect the harvest means it is not serious about a peace deal.Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has responded by condemning the harassment of the farmers and called the attackers "hooligans." But he also dismissed Abbas' claims and said the military is doing its best to protect the farmers.Medic attends a Palestinian olive farmer after Jewish settlers from a nearby settlement in the northern West Bank allegedly attacked him, 11 Oct 2008.Thousands of Palestinians participate in the annual olive harvest, which is critical to their economy.Meanwhile, Israeli President Shimon Peres will meet with his Egyptian counterpart this week to focus on promoting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, as well as the impact of the global financial crisis.Egypt has been brokering a possible prisoner exchange between Israel and Gaza's Hamas leaders. Hamas is holding an Israeli soldier kidnapped two years ago in southern Israel.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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Opposition Boycotts Southern African Summit on Zimbabwe
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Morgan Tsvangirai will not attend Monday's regional summit on Zimbabwe's political impasse because he could not get necessary travel documents
The parties to the Zimbabwe crisis talks were to brief southern African leaders in Swaziland, but the opposition is boycotting the session because the leader of the main opposition party, Morgan Tsvangirai, has not been given a passport. VOA's Scott Bobb reports from our Southern Africa Bureau in Johannesburg.Morgan Tsvangirai (file)The head of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, and prime minister-designate, Morgan Tsvangirai refused to travel to Swaziland for the summit of southern African leaders because the government of President Robert Mugabe has refused to give him a passport. For several months he has been obliged to request a special travel document for each trip abroad.The secretary-general of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change, Tendai Biti, said this could not continue."The travel document is an insult," he said. "To give the prime minister-designate, the leader of a party that has won [elected] the ruling party, a travel document that lasts for the three days that he is there is an insult and it is a reflection that they are not ready [to share power]."Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party one month ago signed a power sharing agreement with Tsvangirai and a smaller opposition party headed by Arthur Mutambara. Under the accord, Mr. Tsvangirai is to assume the newly created position of prime minister, but talks on a unity government were declared deadlocked on Friday.Mutambara told reporters in the Swazi capital the opposition would boycott discussions without the presence of the veteran opposition leader."Without Mr. Tsvangirai there will be no discussion of Zimbabwe today," he said. "However, we have been assured that a jet has been sent to Harare to bring Mr. Tsvangirai to this meeting. Until such an activity has happened and Mr. Tsvangirai has come to this meeting there is no dialogue on Zimbabwe here."A Zimbabwean official dismissed Tsvangirai's refusal to travel as a maneuver, saying he had been given a travel document because the government does not have the foreign exchange to import the material to make new passports.The MDC said rather it was a deliberate attempt by the government to prevent Mr. Tsvangirai from traveling to brief heads-of-state on the political and economic crisis in his country.Leaders of the political commission of the Southern Africa Development Community convened the summit after the talks deadlocked in Harare.The Zimbabwean opposition won a majority of the seats in parliament in elections last March and Mr. Tsvangirai defeated Mr. Mugabe in the first round of the presidential vote. But Mr. Mugabe won the run-off election after Mr. Tsvangirai pulled out citing a campaign of intimidation in which more than 100 of his supporters were killed.
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Sudan Blames Rebels for Kidnapping Chinese Oil Workers
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Gunmen kidnapped 9 employees of the China National Petroleum Corporation on Saturday at the Block-4 oil field, which straddles the border between northern Sudan and the semi-autonomous South, and lies to the east of the Darfur region
Sudanese and Chinese officials are working together to make contact with the kidnappers of 9 Chinese oil workers abducted in central Sudan on Saturday. As Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa bureau in Nairobi, Sudanese officials have blamed the attack on a Darfur rebel group.China's ambassador to Sudan Li Chengwen, left, and Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ali Sadiq, right, speak to the media in Khartoum after a meeting on the fate of kidnapped Chinese oil workers, 20 Oct 2008Gunmen kidnapped 9 employees of the China National Petroleum Corporation on Saturday at the Block-4 oil field, which straddles the border between northern Sudan and the semi-autonomous South, and lies to the east of the Darfur region.A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Khartoum, Raymond Yu, said that there had not yet been any contact with the kidnappers. "We have 9 Chinese oil workers who were working in the oil field, they were kidnapped together with a Sudanese driver."He said, "Later, the Sudanese driver was released, but the 9 Chinese workers are still kidnapped. The Chinese embassy here is strengthening contacts and consultation with the Sudanese government."According to the Sudanese state media, the Sudanese government has blamed the Justice and Equality Movement, a rebel group based in Darfur, for the kidnapping. The group was responsible for 2 attacks on Chinese oil installations in the area in late 2007, and had warned Chinese companies to leave the country. The Justice and Equality Movement accuses China of backing Khartoum in the conflict in Darfur.The research director of the Africa Asia Center at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, Dan Large, said such attacks have had little impact on China's oil operations in Sudan. "In terms of its political impact, it certainly has brought China's role within Sudan to the closer attention of Chinese authorities in Beijing. But fundamentally this has not disrupted its oil operations in Sudan to date."
Large added, "It has exercised some influence politically, but so far has not persuaded China to adopt any form of robust pressure on Khartoum to resolve the conflict in Darfur."Rebel spokesmen did not claim responsibility for the attack, but acknowledged that their forces are operating in the area and that it is possible that members of the group did abduct the workers.In May, 4 Indian oil workers were also abducted in the area, then by Misseriya Arab tribesmen demanding a greater share of the country's oil wealth, and there was some speculation that the same group could again be responsible.Large said China's special envoy for Darfur, Liu Guijin, is to visit Sudan later this week. "This incident will almost certainly feature in his discussions with the Sudanese government. But there will also be quite pressing issues he is expected to discuss as well, including the deployment of the UNAMID peacekeeping force in Darfur, as well as the current debate about the ICC discussion of the possible indictment of Sudan's president Omar Bashir."China is the largest foreign investor in Sudanese oil, and Sudan's largest trading partner. Sudan supplies roughly 7 percent of China's oil imports.
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Red Cross Says Media Reports Mainly Negative News About Africa
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Spokesman for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says there are many positive indications that the African economy is getting stronger and governments are becoming more accountable
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is launching a new initiative aimed at getting the media to report the good as well as the bad news from Africa. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Red Cross headquarters in Geneva. A view of one of the largest steel producing companies in South Africa's industrial site close to the industrial port of Saldanha bay, South Africa (File)Spokesman for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Paul Conneally, tells VOA that media coverage of Africa focuses almost exclusively on war, famine and poverty. He says a survey conducted among high-level policy makers in more than 30 donor governments affirms this perception. He says success stories in Africa are being overlooked in favor of stories that reinforce the image that the continent is a basket case."More than 75 percent of the stories in Africa were negative. And, this despite the fact that there are many positive indications that the African economy is going from strength to strength, that governments are becoming more accountable. And we just wanted to facilitate this discussion and this initiative to try and focus a more positive light on the continent of Africa," he said.Conneally agrees humanitarian organizations are faced with a dilemma. He says aid agencies seeking funds for relief operations in Africa have to stress the suffering of Africans who lack food or health care. Yet, this, he says just reinforces the image of Africa as being beyond hope. He says it is important to balance these negative perceptions with positive images. He says there are many success stories, which usually go unreported. For instance, he notes the Red Cross has almost tripled its ability to respond to emergencies, while natural disasters in Africa have more than doubled in the past two years. "Additionally to that, we have succeeded primarily through the community level, dedication, and commitment and skill of Red Cross-Red Crescent volunteers to reduce mortality through measles by some 91 percent over the last four years," added Conneally. "This is a phenomenal achievement by any success, by any standard. And, if you scan the media today, you will not find the story. It is completely beneath the radar." A majority of those surveyed say they are optimistic about Africa's future, but none are very optimistic. Only two of the respondents in the 30 donor governments say they are pessimistic. The greatest concerns for Africa's future are centered on economics and governance, followed by conflict and external relations, food security, climate change, HIV/AIDS and slow progress toward the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.
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Experts Warn of China Health Time Bomb
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Chronic diseases claimed 74 percent of all 2005 deaths, up from 47 percent in 1973
International health experts warned China it must tackle a growth in chronic diseases or face a health and economic time bomb.A report by U.S. and Chinese researchers urged Chinese to cut their intake of fatty foods and salt, and to stop smoking and start exercising.The report, in the British medical journal The Lancet, also called on the government to launch campaigns to promote healthier habits. The researchers said that as China has become increasingly affluent, diets have worsened, putting a growing number of Chinese at risk of heart and lung disease. China is debating the creation of a universal health care program that aims to provide health insurance to all of its 1.3 billion citizens by 2020.According to the report, 177 million Chinese currently suffer from hypertension, a condition blamed in part on high salt consumption. The report says Chinese cigarette use is on the rise. It is estimated that Chinese smoked more than 2 trillion cigarettes in 2006.Although infectious diseases plagued the country prior to 1990, chronic illnesses are now the leading cause of death.Figures show that in 2005, chronic illnesses accounted for 74 percent of all deaths, up from 47 percent in 1973.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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