China trade data adds to recovery hopes
China's exports and imports rose in October, the latest in a series of figures indicating a recovery.
Exports, a key driver of its growth, rose 5.6% from a year earlier, while imports jumped 7.6%.
This follows data released this month which showed that manufacturing activity in China grew at its fastest pace in 18 months in October.
The numbers come ahead of key meetings of China's Communist Party, with economic reforms set to be discussed.
Known as the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee, the meeting will run from 9 to 12 November, and top leaders are expected to discuss reforming key areas such as the financial sector and state-owned enterprises.
China's economy, the world's second biggest, has shown signs of a pick-up after seeing its growth rate slow in first half of the year.
Its economy grew 7.8% in the July-to-September quarter from a year earlier, up from the 7.5% expansion recorded in the previous three months.
Some analysts said the pick-up had been helped by a recovery in demand from key export markets such as the US.
"Combined with the better export data in Korea and Taiwan, China's export numbers suggest some - although not yet decisive - improvement in global demand momentum," said Louis Kuijs, an economist with Royal Bank of Scotland.
Over the past few months Beijing has also announced stimulus measures aimed at helping exporters and boosting domestic demand.
These include tax breaks for small businesses, reduced fees for exporters and the opening up of railway construction.
Analysts said that domestic consumption in China was likely to pick up in coming months and help boost its overall growth.
Philippine Typhoon Survivors Search for Food & Water
Survivors of a typhoon that slammed the central Philippines on Friday have become increasingly desperate, looting shops and aid convoys in search of food and water.
Authorities said they believe more than 10,000 people were killed on the central islands of Leyte and Samar, where Haiyan became one of the strongest cyclones on record to make landfall anywhere in the world. Many drowned when tsunami-like waves swept through island communities.
After going without food for three days, some residents of Leyte's capital, Tacloban, resorted to ransacking the remains of stores and homes in the devastated city of 200,000 people. Looters also raided delivery vans carrying humanitarian aid. But, other residents lined up peacefully as Philippine soldiers handed out supplies.
Corpses were scattered through debris filled streets and authorities struggled to retrieve them.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino flew into Tacloban on Sunday. He said his government's priority is to deliver relief and medical assistance to survivors, and restore power and communications in isolated areas.
Officials on Samar island said at least 300 people were confirmed dead, with another 2,000 missing.
Iran Won't Give Up Nuclear Rights so says Iran President
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country will not give up what it considers its nuclear rights, including uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, in any deal with international negotiators.
Mr. Rouhani spoke to the Iranian parliament - a bastion of conservative hardliners - after his foreign minister and other officials reported progress but no agreement in talks with six world powers that ended in Geneva early Sunday. The negotiations are scheduled to resume next week.
The talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany are aimed at persuading Iran to suspend work that could allow it to build nuclear weapons. In exchange, the U.N. would ease some of its sanctions against Iran.
France said it was concerned that a proposed deal would do too little to curb Iran's uranium enrichment or to stop the development of a nuclear reactor capable of producing plutonium.
Israel, which calls Iran's nuclear drive a mortal threat, warned against any deal that would leave some of Iran's nuclear fuel-making capacity intact, while giving Tehran respite from sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told NBC television Sunday that in the negotiations the United States is "not blind, and I don't think we're stupid." He said the U.S. administration is determined that any deal with Iran "would be a good deal" that will "provide the guarantees that Israel and the rest of the world demand."
Maldives Runoff Election Postponed
The Supreme Court in the Maldives has ordered the postponementof Sunday's planned runoff presidential election, one day after former president Mohamed Nasheed won the first round.
The court made its ruling after a defeated candidate petitioned the court to delay the runoff for his own party's political reasons. The court set the new date as November 16.
Mr. Nasheed, who was forced to resign at gunpoint in 2012, accused the court Sunday of delaying the runoff as part of a ploy to prevent him from returning to power. He also repeated his demand that the current president step down and have the speaker of parliament head a caretaker government to oversee the runoff.
In the third try since September to elect a new president in the Indian Ocean islands, Mr. Nasheed won 47 percent of the vote Saturday. Abdulla Yameen, the half-brother of former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, won 30 percent with another candidate earning the remaining votes. No candidate got the necessary majority of votes to avoid a runoff.
The delay risks sending the country into a constitutional crisis because the next president is due to be inaugurated on Monday, November 11.
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10,000 Feared Dead in Philippines
Local officials in the Philippines say the death toll in a central province that took the brunt of Typhoon Haiyan could reach as high as 10,000.
Police and provincial officials provided the estimate Sunday after assessing damage in Leyte province where they say the destruction was overwhelming. The regional police chief said most of the deaths resulted from drowning and collapsed buildings.
President Benigno Aquino toured some hart-hit areas Sunday. He said the government's priority is to deliver relief and medical assistance to victims, and restore power and communications in isolated areas.
Philippine Interior Secretary Mar Roxas says it is difficult to describe the extent of damage in Leyte's capital, Tacloban.
"The devastation is - I do not have the words for it. It is really horrific. It is a great human tragedy. There is no power. There is no light."
The Associated Press says Tacloban's city administrator (Tecson Lim) told reporters as many as 400 bodies have been recovered.
Meanwhile, officials in Samar province say at least 300 people are known to have been killed on that island, with another 2,000 missing.
The death toll from some locations in the central Philippines is not yet known as communications have been knocked out by the powerful storm and land access is blocked by fallen trees and massive amounts of debris.
The typhoon roared into the Philippines Friday as one of the most powerful storms on record with winds of 300 kilometers an hour.
It is now in open water churning towards Vietnam where forecasters expect it to make landfall late Sunday or Monday.
Vietnamese authorities have evacuated several hundred thousand people from coastal areas where the storm's outer bands are already causing high winds and rough seas.
U.N. emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos said a U.N. disaster and assessment team has been deployed to Tacloban.
Separately, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon offered his condolences to the Philippines, saying he was deeply saddened by the "extensive loss of life."
The U.S. is assisting with relief efforts. In a Saturday statement, the Defense Department said the U.S. Pacific Command had been directed to assist in search and rescue operations, and aircraft support.
Also, a U.S. relief team has been deployed to the region. The U.S. Agency for International Development says the team will conduct damage assessments, track conditions and "advise on additional needs."
Typhoon Haiyan weakened after crossing the Philippines but regained some strength as it began moving westward in the South China Sea.
Iranian Nuclear Talks End With No Deal, More Talks Scheduled
Nuclear talks between Iran and major world powers ended early Sunday in Geneva with no deal, but Iran says it is not disappointed.
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters the three days of marathon talks were good and gave all sides something to build on. He says he hopes there can be a deal when the talks resume November 20.
Later Sunday in Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will not give up what he called its right of uranium enrichment. He told the conservative-dominated parliament that a "red line" that cannot be crossed is Iran's ability to enrich uranium on Iranian soil.
Early Sunday in Geneva, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told a news conference there is no question that all sides are closer to a deal now than when the talks began. He said diplomacy must be exhausted, but warned that such a window will not stay open indefinitely.
European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said there was concrete progress but that differences remain. She gave no details.
The talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany are aimed at persuading Iran to suspend work that could allow it to build nuclear weapons. In exchange, the U.N. would ease some of its crippling sanctions against Iran.
The United States and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear bomb. Iran insists its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful civilian uses.
No one is saying how close the sides are to a deal, but a Western diplomat is accusing France of complicating the talks.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris is not satisfied with Iran's position and will not be part of what he called a "fool's deal."
He demands that Iran suspend work on its plutonium-producing reactor in the western city of Arak.
HOUSE SPEAKERS RETURNS TO THE COUNTRY
The Hon. Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Robert Hall, Deputy Speaker Josephine Connolly and Clerk, Tracey Parker attended the 16th Biennial Conference of Presiding Officers and Clerks of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Caribbean and Atlantic Regions held in Georgetown, Guyana 26th-31st October, 2013.
Mr. Hall addressed the Conference and felt that it was very informative and invigorating sharing information and interacting with some brilliant individuals on the island.
Deputy Speaker Connolly said she came back with fresh ideas. Mrs. Connolly said ‘The conference was quite enlightening and now I am even more energized to do my job to the best of her ability.’ She also hinted at the need for us to do something’s differently.
Clerk to the House Tracey Parker said that the experience was informative and felt delighted to be a part of such a great gathering and shared her best practices with other Speakers and Clerks
The Members eagerly await the next conference of C.P.A to share and exchange ideas.
Speaker Hall addressed the Conference and felt that it was very informative and invigorating sharing information and interacting with some brilliant individuals.
Deputy Speaker Connolly said she came back with fresh ideas. The conference was quite enlightening and now she is even more energized to do her job to the best of her ability. She also hinted at the need for us to do something’s differently.
The Members eagerly await the next conference of C.P.A to share and exchange ideas.
Chris Gayle for Sunfoil Dolphins
West Indies opening batsman Chris Gayle will return to Sunfoil Dolphins for the Ram Slam T20 competition in South Africa 2013-2014.
Gayle is back in the squad for the new season after reportedly signing for the 2011-12 season but leaving with an injury and without playing a single match.
"I am really excited to have joined the Sunfoil Dolphins for their 2014 Ram Slam T20 campaign," said Gayle.
"I feel there's some unfinished business for me as I didn't get to play for them back in 2012 due to injury".
The Jamaican cricketer is regarded as the most feared batsman in the T20 format, smashing more hundreds and sixes than any other batsman.
He becomes the second overseas professional to join Sunfoil Dolphins after Graham Onions.
The Women’s Football League starts in November
The Women’s Football League (“WFL”) launched Speed Soccer for the first time in Turks & Caicos Islands on Sunday, November 3, 2013 at the TCIFA Football Academy, where five teams were introduced to the sport and had an opportunity to play several games. Speed Soccer is a five aside game where each team is allowed a maximum of ten players. Games consists of two halves of ten minutes each, with a two minute interval at half time.
Candace Hanchell, President of the WFL explained that Speed Soccer has been introduced to encourage all females regardless of their age, fitness level or football experience to become involved in what is considered the greatest sport. The Speed Soccer League has seen the return of several past players and also many new players.
The league’s first official game will be held Sunday, November 10th, 2013 at the TCIFA football academy at 3:00p.m. There will be seven teams competing for the championship title of the first Women’s Speed Soccer League. Spectators will witness the following teams compete for this prestige title: CIBC Cats, Earthbenders AFC, Revolution FC, The Blow Pops, U12 Trailblazers FC, Trailblazers FC and Palmiss.
The general public is invited to attend all games which will run from November 10th to December 8th, 2013 when the final games will be played and awards and prizes presented. There will also be various opportunities for spectators to win prizes over the upcoming weeks by way of participating in fun activities.
Global Warming Gases at Highest Level Ever
The World Meteorological Organization reports the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere reached a record high in 2012. This accelerating trend will have devastating consequences on climate change, the U.N. agency says, unless the world's nations do more to to rein in emissions.
WMO reports the warming effect on the Earth’s climate has risen by nearly one-third since 1990. This is mainly due to atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide.
The agency’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin notes that fossil fuel-related emissions, mainly from carbon dioxide, account for 80 percent of the increase in warming. It says CO2 (the English chemical formula for carbon dioxide) concentrations in the atmosphere grew more rapidly last year than the average growth rate over the past decade.
WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud says the increase of carbon dioxide is mostly due to human activity - industry, energy production, land use and deforestation, among other factors.
In its recent report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed that atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane and nitrous oxide are breaking all records, and are now higher than they have been for more than 800,000 years.
WMO Secretary-General Jarraud says this is causing the climate to change in many worrisome ways.