Cameron urges RBS to show 'restraint' over more bonuses
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged RBS to show "restraint" in the award of other bonuses for senior executives.
Although RBS chief executive Stephen Hester has waived his award of £963,000 in shares, senior colleagues are also in line for bonuses.
Mr Cameron told reporters at the EU summit there had to be a better link between pay and performance.
However, a Downing Street spokeswoman said the government would not block bonuses to other executives.
On Sunday, Mr Hester waived the 3.6 million shares package - his performance bonus for 2010 - after Labour MPs planned to force a Commons vote on the issue.
It came the day after it emerged that RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton had waived a shares-only bonus worth £1.4m.
Mr Cameron defended the government's role in the RBS bonus affair amid suggestions that it was Labour's threat of a Commons vote that forced Mr Hester's hand.
The prime minister said: "We made our views very clear... What needs to happen is a sense of restraint, and they have got to do a better job to demonstrate how pay is linked to performance."
Mr Cameron said he had made his views known to RBS, but said "voluntary restraint" was needed.
Earlier in the day, a Downing Street spokeswoman told the BBC that there would be no compulsory veto of bonuses.
"We are not going to micro-manage bonuses... They [the bank] are doing a good job and making good progress," she said.
She added it was absolutely essential that the RBS executive team was left in place to sort out its problems.
The spokeswoman added: "The prime minister's view was that he wanted the bonuses to be lower.
"He always made it clear that it was a matter for Mr Hester whether he took that bonus or not, and that should remain the case.
"Reward for good performance is not in itself a bad thing."
'Acknowledging hypocrisy'
Mr Hester was appointed chief executive at the end of 2008 to replace Sir Fred Goodwin, after the bank had to be bailed out by the government, which now owns 82% of it.
David Fleming, national officer for the Unite union, said: "Better late than never will be the feeling amongst the call centre, bank branch and processing staff at RBS, that Stephen Hester has finally bowed to public pressure to waive his nearly £1m bonus.
"This gesture goes some way in acknowledging the hypocrisy of an organisation, which has sacked over 21,000 staff, while still attempting to pay bumper bonuses to the bosses."
Lord Oakeshott, the former Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: "I'm all in favour of Mr Hester or anyone else earning plenty of money from RBS - if he runs the bank to do what really matters and if he won't lend to small business, as he promised, he shouldn't get any bonus."
Fall in shares
Earlier this month, RBS announced it would cut 3,500 jobs from its global banking division.
The cuts will mean RBS has removed 11,000 employees from its staff, almost halving its 2007, pre-credit crunch headcount of 24,000.
Shares in the bank have fallen 36% in the last year, and were down 4.5% on Monday's open.
The overall bonus pool at RBS's investment banking arm, which will be revealed days before the results on 23 February, is expected to be about half of the £950m of the previous year.
Barclays, which unlike RBS received no direct state help during the credit crunch, is reported to be considering paying its chief executive Bob Diamond up to £10m in the forthcoming bonus season, compared with a total payout of £6.5m in the previous year.
However, no formal announcement has been made.
France cuts 2012 growth forecast
France has cut its growth forecast for this year to 0.5% from 1%, Prime Minister Francois Fillon has announced.
The revision was made to "take into account the deterioration of the economic situation", he said.
It comes as European leaders meet in Brussels to discuss the eurozone crisis, and are expected to focus on growth and job creation.
On Sunday, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced plans to introduce a tax on financial transactions.
The 0.1% levy, to be introduced in August, is part of a package of measures designed to promote growth, set out by Mr Sarkozy in the run-up to April's presidential election.
Last week, the International Monetary Fund revised down its forecasts for several European countries, including France. It now expects the eurozone's second biggest economy to grow by just 0.2% this year, down from 1.4%.
China loses WTO appeal over raw materials exports
The World Trade Organisation's appeals body has upheld a ruling that China restricted exports of certain raw materials to protect its domestic manufacturers.
China had appealed a WTO ruling in July that it broke global trade rules.
The US, Europe, and Mexico argued that China's export block on such things as magnesium and bauxite drove up prices.
But China had argued that its export limits on nine raw materials were needed to protect the environment.
In a statement the appeals body said China must now "bring its export duty and export quota measures into conformity with its WTO obligations".
The issue has caused tension between China and some of its major trading partners.
In a statement, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk called the ruling "a tremendous victory for the US... particularly its manufacturers and workers".
While the case requires China to comply, the EU "continues to be deeply troubled by China's use of export restrictions'' for other rare earth and industrial raw materials, the European Commission said in a statement.
But China's WTO mission in Geneva said it "deeply regrets'' that the appeals body upheld major parts of the earlier ruling's conclusions.
However, China said it would abide by the organisation's findings.
Romney Leads Polls Heading into Florida Vote
Republican voters in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida are heading to the polls Tuesday in what is expected to be a pivotal contest in the race for the party's presidential nomination.
A recent survey of likely voters showed that multi-millionaire investor and former governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney holds a 14-percent lead on his closest rival, former House speaker Newt Gingrich.
More than 600,000 Floridians also already have cast ballots in early voting leading up to Tuesday's primary, with polls showing most of those votes going for Romney.
Both candidates have campaigned hard in the state. Analysts expect the results to have a huge impact on who will face Democrat Barack Obama in the November presidential election.
Two other candidates are also on the ballot in Florida, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and Texas congressman Ron Paul, although poll show both far behind the front-runners.
Romney also needs a win in Florida to regain his momentum after losing to Gingrich by double-digits in the South Carolina primary January 21.
Gingrich lashed out at Romney on Monday, accusing him of being a liberal and running dishonest political ads. The former congressman says he expects a long campaign in the battle for the Republican presidential nomination.
Speaking after a church service Sunday near the city of Tampa, Gingrich called Romney a “pro-abortion, pro-gun control, pro-tax increase moderate from Massachusetts.”
Romney has said that Gingrich is making excuses for his debate performances, and blasted Gingrich for being found guilty of ethics violations that forced him to resign as House speaker.
UN Nuclear Watchdog Approves Japanese Nuclear Stress Tests
The United Nations' nuclear agency has approved the Japanese government's plan to assess the safety of its nuclear power plants.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday turned over the results of its week-long fact-finding visit to officials with Japan's nuclear watchdog, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. The 10-member IAEA team discussed the government's plan to conduct stress tests on its nuclear plants, and toured the Ohi plant in Fukui prefecture.
“In our review of the process that they did, we were able to see the review that NISA performed on the Ohi comprehensive safety assessment. And we were satisfied with the work they had done as part of their primary assessment. There's also going to be a secondary assessment that includes additional areas for them to review and we've made a few suggestions about how they can improve that process.”
Japan ordered the stress tests to determine if the nuclear facilities can withstand the kind of natural disasters that crippled the Fukushima nuclear power plant last year.
“We were encouraged that the Japanese assessment was evaluated as valid. The review including our implementation of emergency safety measures and the efforts to ensure transparency in operations resulted as in line and consistent with the IAEA safety standard as well as in terms of international practices.”
The IAEA team recommended that authorities hold meetings with communities located near the power plants to discuss the findings of the stress tests.
The earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan last March triggered a meltdown of the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi powerplant. The meltdown was the world's worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, and eroded public confidence in Japan's nuclear power industry.
Beijing Increases Security in Tibetan Monasteries to Contain Protests
A top official in Chinese-ruled Tibet has ordered increased surveillance in Buddhist monasteries in an apparent effort to prevent the spread of anti-government protests by ethnic Tibetans in neighboring Sichuan province.
Qi Zhala, the Communist Party leader in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, was quoted in state media on Tuesday as saying that officials should work to “preserve stability” in Tibetan temples and monasteries.
He said authorities should “strike hard” at what he called “separatist” and “criminal” activities by those loyal to the Dalai Lama, saying not “even a small incident” should be allowed to occur.
Qi made his comments during an inspection of security facilities along a key roadway that connects the Tibetan capital to Sichuan province.
Witnesses and exile groups say up to seven Tibetan protesters died in Sichuan last week when Chinese police opened fire on them in three separate incidents.
The government is hoping the protest movement – the biggest challenge to its rule of Tibet in several years – does not spread to Tibet proper. It has ordered increased security along main highways in order to prevent “trouble-makers” from entering the region.
Beijing has acknowledged that two protesters were killed in the recent clashes. But it blames the violence on mobs that it says were attacking police. It accuses Western media and exiled Tibetan organizations of exaggerating the incidents.
The crackdown comes as authorities were already stepping up security ahead of the Tibetan new year, as well as several upcoming anniversaries of previous anti-Chinese uprisings.
China seized control of Tibet more than 50 years ago, forcing the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan leaders to flee to northern India. Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of wanting to split Tibet from the rest of China, a charge that he denies.
Burmese President Says Nation on Path to Democracy
Burmese President Thein Sein says his government is committed to moving the country towards a healthy democracy after decades of military rule.
Thein Sein made the promise Monday during a formal state dinner in Singapore, and again in a newspaper interview in the city-state's Straits Times newspaper.
Burma's military-backed civilian government has undertaken a series of dramatic political reforms since taking power last March, including the release of hundreds of political prisoners, the holding of peace talks with ethnic rebels and the allowance of greater press freedoms.
Thein Sein arrived in Singapore Sunday, accompanied by a delegation of business leaders and economic ministers.
The two sides singed an economic agreement Monday, which calls for Singapore to offer technical and vocational education to help Burma train people in such areas as economic planning and urban development.
Burma's economy has largely ground to a halt after decades of mismanagement by the military junta, as well as international sanctions against the junta over its poor human rights record.
Whaboy
Keury M Smith was born September 5, 1990 better known by his stage
name Whaboy, started his early years in Herrera City Santo Domingo,
later on he moved to Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands where he
was raised by his loving mother. At the age of 8 he started noticing that
music was everywhere around him, by the time he reached grade 6 his
rapping career begun when he first performed at his graduation his
motivation sparked by the crowds reaction. Ever since he decided to
put together a studio in his room at that time all he had was a lap top,
a mic and some speakers and with his passion for rapping he continues
to grow up to today. This dream holds a mission for Whaboy he is currently
the President of Public Figure Presentation which has been projected to be
a music empire of the Turks & Caicos Islands. He has cultivated audiences
of all ages with his soul-inspired and energy-hyped performances. Whaboy has made many other great achievements, at the 2006 Regatta
festival in South Caicos, Turks & Caicos Islands he performed alongside
well known artists Genuwine, Allison Hinds, Cecile among others.
Among his many achievements he has won TCI GOT TALENT competition
on August 2, 2010 which is one of the biggest events to-date within the TCI.
He has since dropped his first mixtape called “Hard-Work Pays off” which
was released November 12, 2010 produced by Lenny Skoolkid.
When asked, he said “this is just the beginning for Whaboy” further stating
“they say the sky is the limit and to the highest star I am aiming”.
“I dream big because of my ambition, I am here to accomplish a task and that’s my mission”.
He is grateful to the big man above “God” (as he says with him all things are possible) for helping him to achieve
his goals.
Obama Confirms Drone Strikes in Pakistan
U.S. President Barack Obama has defended the use of drone strikes in Pakistan, which U.S. officials have never before publicly acknowledged.
Speaking during an online town hall discussion Monday, Mr. Obama said the drone attacks have been used to target al-Qaida and its affiliates, and that many of the strikes have been in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal areas.
The president said the operations are used for “very precise, precision strikes,” and he said the U.S. does not authorize the attacks “willy-nilly.” He said it is a targeted, focused effort against “active terrorists” in difficult-to-reach locations.
Prior to Monday's remarks, U.S. officials had never confirmed the missile strikes against militants in Pakistan's tribal areas, but they have anonymously confirmed such attacks to various news outlets.
Pakistan has publicly condemned the drone strikes as a violation of the country's sovereignty, but they are believed to be carried out with the help of Pakistani intelligence.
Disruption of Meeting on the Pathway to Citizenship
RTC NEWS received a press release from Chair of the Consultative Forum, Lilian Missick as according to the release disruption of a meeting. The release reads:
The disruption of tonight’s meeting on the pathway to citizenship at the Graceway Sports Centre by a small mob of TC Islanders manifested the kind of belligerent ignorance that we simply cannot tolerate.
It was unfair to the Filipinos who duly heeded the Forum’s admonition to register for this meeting and paid out of their pockets to organize it – just as groups of TC Islanders have done without any fuss or controversy. And it was disrespectful to the Forum members who signed on to lead tonight’s discussions – just as other members have done without any fuss or controversy.
That said, let me hasten to set the record straight:
No member of the interim administration and, in particular, no member of the Consultative Forum has ever promoted or even suggested that there should be separate meetings for locals and expats.
In fact I was so disappointed that so few locals were participating in the national questionnaire on the pathway to citizenship that I issued a national plea just weeks ago for more of our people to not only fill out those questionnaires, but also register with the Forum if, like the Filipinos and other groups, they felt the need for more information and guidance in this respect.
So the only reason there were two meetings scheduled for tonight is that a group of locals decided to shun the process that is being facilitated by the Forum. This of course is their right. But they are the ones who decided to separate themselves from the process, which makes any claim that the interim administration is conducting one set of meetings for locals and one set for expats as fatuous as it is mischievous.
It would be one thing if this were the first time a group of TC Islanders has decided to duplicate (or arguably undermine) the efforts of the Forum to inform and engage our people on an issue of national importance. But this is only the latest manifestation of a strain of anti-government, anti-Forum bias that has been doing nothing but sowing discord not just between locals and expats, but also amongst ourselves.
It is often said that a lie can make it around the world before the truth gets out of the door. Far too often this has been the case in our beloved country. The sad thing is that our own people are invariably the ones propagating those lies and we are the only ones being hurt by them.
Alas, there is nothing the governor or I can do to stop people from rumormongering under fake names on the Internet. But the governor can do more to stop this kind of mob-like behaviour, and I urge him to take all necessary steps to do so.
For my part, I can only beg our people to consider the source of their information before acting on it. Because, instead of being proud of what happened tonight, all sensible TC Islanders should feel nothing but shame. I know the vast majority of us do.
That was a release from Chair of the Consultative Forum about a disruption at a meeting held in Providenciales.
Where you at the meeting? Please share with us below what took place.