China Deploys Police to Avert Protest in Inner Mongolia
China deployed more security forces into the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia ahead of planned protests Monday over the hit-and-run death of an ethnic Mongolian herder earlier this month.
Businesses contacted by phone said Monday that police are out in force across the sprawling region and Internet access to several areas has been slowed down or cut off.
The U.S.-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights information Center said a region-wide demonstration was planned for Monday and urged people to protest in front of Chinese embassies around the world.
The state-run Inner Mongolian Daily reported Sunday that the region's Communist Party chief Hu Chunhua met with students and teachers late last week and told them that suspects in the road death and in a separate fatality will be punished “severely and quickly.”
Reports of the Hu meeting followed six days of protests in the vast northern region by hundreds of herders and students.
Ethnic Mongolians, who number less than 20 percent of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region's population, have long complained of being marginalized by China's dominant ethnic Han group, whose members have migrated to the region to mine its vast coal reserves.
On May 10, herders angry at coal truckers for driving over their grazing lands, blocked a road in the region. One protester was struck and killed by a truck in the confrontation, and two suspects were taken into custody.
In the second case days later, residents tried to stop operations at a coal mine to protest air and water pollution linked to the mining operation. State media said the fatality occurred when a mine worker drove a forklift into a protester's car.
NATO Apologizes for Afghan Civilian Deaths
Foreign forces in Afghanistan have apologized for the death of Afghan civilians killed in Saturday's NATO airstrike in southern Afghanistan.
The international coalition apologized Monday for the death of nine civilians in the strike in Helmand province.
But Afghan authorities say the airstrike late Saturday hit two houses and killed 14 people – two women and 12 children. They say six other civilians were injured.
On Sunday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai issued what he called his “last warning” to U.S. and NATO forces about civilian casualties. He has urged coalition forces to minimize night raids and clear them with Afghan forces to reduce the number of civilian casualties.
A White House spokesman Sunday said the U.S. shares President Karzai's concern about civilian casualties.
Princess Royal’s Visit Announced for Bermuda in June
Government House has announced further details of the forthcoming visit to Bermuda of Anne, Princess Royal in early June.
The Princess Royal will visit on the evening of Saturday, June 4 and the morning of Sunday, June 5 as President of the Caribbean-Canada Emerging Leaders’ Dialogue, a two-week programme for Caribbean, Canadian and Bermudian leaders of tomorrow, drawn from the public and private sectors and trade unions.
Following a meeting of all 120 Fellows of the Emerging Leaders’ Dialogue in Canada in late May including five Fellows from Bermuda. The Fellows will be split up into study groups to tour Canada and then the Caribbean or Bermuda to learn more about the local social and economic issues. They all meet again in Barbados in early June with their President, The Princess Royal, to discuss their findings.
A study group of 12 Fellows will be in Bermuda from June 4 to 7. On the morning of June 5, in the presence of The Princess Royal, the Fellows will be given a Financial Services briefing, held at the offices of one of Bermuda’s largest re/insurers, XL, followed by a briefing on Community Issues, at the Chewstick Foundation.
The Financial Services briefing will draw together key speakers from the island’s international business community and regulators. The Community Issues briefing will focus on the behaviour of Bermuda’s youths with a panel of a few of those with in-depth knowledge.
Other briefings for the Study Group will follow on Monday, June 6.
The Princess Royal will attend a reception at Government House in honour of the visiting Study Group of Fellows and HRH The Princess Royal will also meet the Premier, the Hon Paula Cox, JP, MP. From Bermuda,The Princess Royal will travel on to meet other Study Groups of the Caribbean Canada Emerging Leaders’ Dialogue, before attending the final meeting in Barbados.
Leaked cables will not affect US ties, says Jamaica minister
Minister with responsibility for Information, Telecommunication and Special Projects, Daryl Vaz, says the governments of Jamaica and the United States continue to enjoy strong relationships, despite leaked US diplomatic cables regarding the Jamaican administration published on the WikiLeaks website.
“This administration continues to value the strong historical, cultural and economic ties between the people and the government of Jamaica and the people and government of the United States of America. We are confident that these ties are more durable than the exigencies of dynamic diplomatic situations,” he said.
Vaz was responding to questions during post-Cabinet press briefing.
The minister said that individual diplomatic cases, such as the revocation of the visa (of a government minister), have to be dealt with on a specific basis, “but overall, we enjoy and have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the US and we continue to do so”.
He said the United States government has categorically stated and made it abundantly clear that those internal cables do not represent the official position of the US government, “but merely reflects the opinions of individuals within the Embassy which, most times, could be deemed as speculative in nature”.
Vaz explained that it is not the intention of the government of Jamaica to respond to any of those leaks which have been released, based on the position taken from the outset by the United States regarding the cables.
The minister encouraged the local newspaper publishing the cables to reveal all the relevant information regarding the cables.
WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret and classified information from anonymous news sources, news leaks and whistleblowers.
Caribbean Airlines, Air Jamaica deal finally signed
The shareholder agreement between Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) and Air Jamaica was signed on Thursday. The agreement gives legal access to CAL to all routes operated by Air Jamaica.
The agreement was signed by the Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Finance Winston Dookeran and Jamaican Finance Minister Audley Shaw in Port of Spain. Present for the ceremony were Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Minister of Works and Transport Jack Warner.
Persad-Bissessar said, "I know that Caribbean Airlines does have the vision for one Caribbean airline, and this is a step in that right direction.”
Dookeran said the merger will make way for the expansion of CAL, which will have a positive impact on revenue. Shaw said there was a capital base of some $500 million in the merger.
On the question of job losses as a result of the merger, Shaw said there was no cause for alarm on the Air Jamaica side as they would have already taken place in the first few months of turning over to CAL. He added the new management was committed to ensuring there were adequate resources.
Alarming statistics
An estimated 37.4 million people with diabetes live in the region. The PanAmerican Health Organisation projects that by 2025 this number will rise to 64 million, of which more than 40 million will live in Latin American and the Caribbean.”
These alarming statistics were given by president of the Diabetes Association of Barbados (DAB), Noreen Merritt, as she quoted information provided by the Barbados Diabetes Foundation. She was speaking at a church service yesterday to mark the 35th anniversary of the DAB at St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Bay Street.
In light of this the Association is now more dedicated than ever to raising the awareness of the health risks associated with unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyles.
“The International Diabetes Foundation states that there are more than 300 million people worldwide living with diabetes, and within a generation that number is expected to reach half a billion,” stated the DAB president. She then continued to show that in 2002 it was reported that there is a 17.5 per cent prevalence of diabetes amongst the Afro-Barbadian population and confirmed that alarming statistics viewed just last week showed a 14.5 per cent prevalence in Barbados.
In an attempt to help control the spread of this chronic disease, mitigating its impact of members of society, the country and the economy by extension, “these statistics have resulted in widespread focus and attention on decreasing the prevalence of diabetes in Barbados and the Caribbean region,” said Merritt.
The Diabetes Association of Barbados is more committed to increasing the awareness of the disease and motivating persons to self-manage their symptoms. Self-management is one of the main ways by which the disease can be better managed and controlled.
The Association will continue to engage in community outreach educating the population, targeting children and adolescents in schools and adults island wide because it is their belief that “the educated patient and family/caregivers are the best partners in the difficult process of managing and controlling diabetes”.
Airport employees threaten shutdown
Even as the Estate Police Association prepares to take their negotiations with the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (AATT) to the Industrial Court, other employees are threatening to proceed with their own industrial action and shut down the Piarco and ANR Robinson International Airports.
A statement released on Saturday said the workers were “tired and fed-up of the misuse of the processes”, citing Finance Minister Winston Dookeran and Chief Personnel Officer Stephanie Lewis’ refusal to settle the job evaluation implementation for Public Services Association (PSA) workers of the AATT and the TT Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) for this decision.
The release added that even after disbanding the Public Sector Negotiating Committee, Government was still refusing to honour the process which started since 2006.
The statement said workers were tired of being paid salaries 30 percent lower than their counterparts at other state-run organisations.
The workers said despite warnings by PSA leader Watson Duke that anyone who took action he did not sanction “would be punished,” stated they would be willing to risk his wrath as they continued to question his allegiance.
The release said the workers felt the 50 percent fuel subsidy Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) continued to receive from Government would be better spent by ensuring the employees received adequate remuneration.
“The workers believe in light of all these issues, a shut down of the facilities will be the only way to gain the Government’s respect and attention on their issues,” the release said.
IMF may block aid payments to Greece, Juncker warns
The chairman of the eurozone finance ministers has warned that the IMF may not release the next payment in Greece's bail-out package.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said IMF rules may stop it paying because Greece cannot guarantee its solvency for the next 12 months.
His comments will put more pressure on Greece to reduce its deficit.
The Greek Prime Minister is holding talks with opposition parties on Friday to gain support for austerity measures.
George Papandreou's government began a programme of privatisations on Thursday, but Mr Juncker has said the privatisation plan needs to be more ambitious.
Missed targets
A 12bn euro ($17bn; £10bn) payment is due to be made to Greece on 29 June, 3.3bn euros of which should come from the IMF. It is the fifth tranche of the 110bn euro loan package from the EU and IMF.
Mr Juncker said the IMF was assuming that if it decided not to make the payment the EU would step in and make it instead, although he said that countries such as Germany, Finland and the Netherlands may oppose that.
Under the terms of the bail-out, Greece was supposed to go to the financial markets to borrow 24bn euros in 2012.
However, as Greece has missed its deficit reduction targets, the chances of it being able to borrow money commercially next year are very small.
The IMF would like the EU to agree to make up the shortfall if necessary through a second bail-out package, but that could be unpopular among northern European taxpayers.
An IMF spokeswoman confirmed that the Fund would be unable to lend more money to Greece unless it was sure that next year's financing gap would be filled.
"We never lend when we don't have an assurance that there will be no gap," said Caroline Atkinson at a briefing in Washington.
"That is how we maintain the safety of our members' money."
But a spokesman for Mr Juncker later said that if the EU and IMF inspectors currently in Athens could be convinced by new Greek austerity measures, there would be no problem with the next tranche of loans.
Yuan at record high versus dollar after Treasury report
China's yuan has hit a record high against the US dollar after the US Treasury department said the Chinese currency was undervalued but not manipulated.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) fixed the yuan's mid-point at 6.4856 against the US dollar on Monday.
China has been accused by the US and other developed economies of keeping the value of its currency artificially low to boost its exports.
China is the world's biggest exporter.
The US and other major economies have said that China's policy of keeping the value of its currency low gives an unfair advantage to its manufacturers.
There have also been concerns that China's currency policies have also been responsible in part for big trade imbalances with its trading partners.
Currency manipulator
There had been repeated calls in the US to label China a currency manipulator, given Beijing's currency policies and reluctance to let the yuan trade freely.
China however has maintained that while it is willing to allow the yuan to appreciate, its pace has to be gradual.
It said that a sudden rise in the yuan will not only be detrimental to its export sector but will also have a negative impact on the overall economy.
In its report released on Friday, the US Treasury Department said that although China's currency was undervalued, the country was not a currency manipulator.
Analysts say that the report came as no surprise.
"While the US China Business Council (USCBC) has advocated repeatedly that China should allow its exchange rate to better reflect market forces, designating China as a 'manipulator' would achieve nothing," said Erin Ennis of USCBC.
Barclays 'considering buying regional Spanish bank'
Barclays is considering buying one of Spain's regional savings banks, it has been reported.
It comes after the Spanish government said Barclays' boss Bob Diamond had met Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in Madrid last week.
The Sunday Times said Mr Diamond was seeking a guarantee that Barclays would not be responsible for any historic debts.
Barclays said it would not comment as the discussions were private.
The Spanish government said the talks focused on the financial markets and the global and European economies.
Spain has a number of regional banks, called cajas. Many are struggling with high bad debt levels after the collapse of Spain's property sector.
Reports have not named which of the regional banks Barclays is said to be looking at.