US employment up by 162,000 in July
The US economy added 162,000 new jobs in July, according to the US Labor Department.
The figure - which measures the number of jobs outside the US farming sector - was below economists' expectations of more than 180,000 and the government also cut its previous estimates for hiring in May and June.
Nonetheless, the new jobs helped the unemployment rate to fall to 7.4%.
That was down from 7.6% and is the lowest jobless rate in four years.
The news adds to the picture of a slowly growing US economy and may make its central bank more likely to end its monetary stimulus programme.
The Federal Reserve is currently buying $85bn a month in bonds which helps to keep borrowing costs low.
However, there is much speculation as to when the Fed will start to rein in this stimulus programme.
Its chairman, Ben Bernanke, has said that it might start cutting down the rate of bond buying by the end of the year and stop altogether by the middle of 2014, depending on the strength of the economy.
Earlier this week, figures showed that the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected annualised pace of 1.7% in the second quarter of the year.
That was up from the growth rate for the first three months of 2013, which was revised lower to 1.1% from 1.8%.
EMANCIPATION DAY MESSAGE BY PREMIER
My fellow Turks and Caicos Islanders, today we observe August 1st as commemoration of the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1834. I pause to first recognize the sacrifices and efforts of those who have gone before us in the struggle for emancipation, these heroes included our own forefathers and champions for the right to freedom across the region. The historic acts of many were the catalysts for the change that led to the victory of the abolition of slavery.
Today as we celebrate here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, we must give God thanks for his small mercies and ask for his deliverance as for us Turks and Caicos Islanders as our “full freedom” is still yet to come. Like our forefathers recognized, the act of emancipation though a significant and important achievement, true or full freedom was not then, and as we have come to learn, is still not fully within our grasp. August 1st merely marks or commemorates the commencement of a period of change, the enactment of legislation and the birth of a new movement. True liberation will only really come when there are changes in attitudes, beliefs and practices across barriers of race, nationality and socio-economic class. As our forefathers fought against the whips and chains, so too must we recognize that our battles still remain to be fought against political subjugation, economic suppression and racial discrimination. So cry out we must continue to do, as the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed”.
I celebrate this emancipation day with mixed emotions, as even though we have won many battles, we as an Afro-Caribbean people have not yet won the war for full liberation and I ask the question, is our celebration premature? Many of us Turks and Caicos Islanders and our Caribbean brothers and sisters will forever be scarred by the whips of the colonial slave era, as the far reaching effects of oppression have gravely affected every aspect of our existence even in this 21st century. Where our former masters were compensated for losses of human property, we received nothing hence our foundations for economic instability and our continued dependence on former empires in one way or another. The fight for literacy, education, justice and socioeconomic parity continues to be an uphill struggle across the region and where our sister territories speak of scars of Colonialism, some of us are still bleeding from wounds more recently inflicted. The CARICOM position on Reparation as a means of easing the pain and erasing the burden and the recent book by Professor Sir Hilary McD. Beckles, “Britain’s Black Debt” speak to our claims as a region for recompense.
Many acclaimed historians, psychologists, musicians, politicians and social activists have attributed the fact that many Caribbean people and Caribbean nations are yet to achieve their maximum potential as a direct result of the damage dealt by slavery. It is essential that we as a people recognize that the power for change lies within us and that the truth is that we must first become the change that we seek by overcoming personal challenges of self-hatred as a race and as a people. We must seek to destroy on a personal level, feelings of envy and jealousy for our own brothers and sisters and to instead together build each other up. If we are to prosper and be dominant as a nation and as a region we must not allow our own lack of self-regard to be the specter of slavery that this generation falls prey to. In the words of the great Bob Marley “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”.
My Turks and Caicos Islanders, as a people we must first understand the true meaning of liberation; we must next continue the fight to determine the destiny of our nation and the destiny of our people. Jose Marti said “The first duty of a man is to think for himself”, and until that time comes when we are the ones to make our own decisions in our best interests we will not be free! Another great philosopher said, ”It is better to die on one’s feet than to live on ones knees” so until that time comes when we are no longer told that we cannot survive unless we are still a dependent territory, we will not be free! Until we believe in ourselves as people and a nation and until we believe that Almighty God will guide and protect us all as a new nation we cannot be truly free!
Let us liberate our minds, our spirits and our nation as we move each other forward into the promise of our future. I leave you with these words to reflect upon today and charge you to be reminded of the true meaning of this day, as it speaks to how much still remains for us to accomplish as a people as we aspire to reach our goal of true freedom.
May god bless us and may God bless these our Turks and Caicos Islands.
Dr. The Hon. Rufus W. Ewing
Premier
Dell shares jump 5.5% as board agrees to new buyout offer
Dell's shares have risen 5.5% after the firm's board accepted a new buyout offer from founder Michael Dell.
The latest proposal add a one-off payment of 13 cents a share to last week's $13.75 a share offer.
Mr Dell, together with investment firm Silver Lake, is trying to buy back the computer giant he founded in 1984.
Shareholders had been due to vote on Friday on the offer, but the addition of the dividend means a new proposal has to be drafted and put to them.
They will now vote at a special meeting on 12 September.
Resistance
Mr Dell, who owns 16% of the company he founded while still at college, wants to reorganise the business which has been moving away from making computers and into providing technology services.
But shareholders have been resisting, led by billionaire Carl Icahn, who has argued that Mr Dell has undervalued the company.
Mr Icahn has an 8.7% stake in the company and is trying to take control of the company along with Southeastern Asset Management.
On Thursday, he began a legal challenge to Mr Dell's plans.
The bid, excluding the one-off payment, values the company at $24.5bn (£16bn).
--BBC
US regulators demand clamp down on Apple e-book contracts
US regulators have called for Apple to be forced to cancel certain e-book contracts with major publishers.
They added Apple should be hit with a five-year ban on entering distribution contracts deemed anti-competitive.
The move follows a court ruling in July that Apple conspired with five firms to fix the price of e-books.
The court found Apple had encouraged publishers to set the price of their e-books, rather than allowing retailers to decide the price.
Prosecutors said this was aimed at Amazon - a rival e-book retailer that charged lower prices than Apple was able to offer.
As a result, Amazon's typical price of $9.99 for a best-seller rose to $12.99 or $14.99 after the launch of the iPad, they said.
Following the court ruling Apple said it would appeal against and fight "false allegations".
The Department of Justice and 33 State Attorneys General submitted their 'remedy' to the court ahead of a hearing on 9 August.
"The court found that Apple's illegal conduct deprived consumers of the benefits of e-book price competition and forced them to pay substantially higher prices," said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.
"Under the department's proposed order, Apple's illegal conduct will cease and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future."
The regulators also called for Apple to offer links to other e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble for two years, so consumers who bought e-books on their iPads and iPhones could compare Apple's prices with those of its competitors.
They said this would "reset competition to the conditions that existed before the conspiracy".
The publishers who had such contracts with Apple were Hachette Book Group (USA), HarperCollins Publishers L.L.C., Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Simon & Schuster.
Penguin settled its case for $75m (£49m). Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster created a $69m fund for refunds to consumers, while Macmillan settled for $26m.
Johnson & Johnson fined in China monopoly case
The healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson has become the latest foreign company to be accused of misconduct in China.
A ruling by a Shanghai court ordered the US company to pay $85,000 (£56,000) to a local distributor for violating anti-monopoly laws.
Two subsidiaries of the company were accused of setting a minimum price for the sale of surgical instruments.
Multinationals have faced increased scrutiny from the Chinese authorities.
Last month, two foreign milk suppliers announced price cuts after the government launched an investigation into possible price-fixing.
Four Chinese executives from the pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline have also been detained after being accused of paying bribes.
The Chinese authorities are sensitive to consumer prices as the cost of living continues to surge.
Some business analysts say that foreign companies are being targeted to shore up the market share for their Chinese competitors.
The Shanghai court overturned a judgment by a lower court that cleared the Johnson & Johnson subsidiaries.
The judge said the ruling was intended to protect consumers and the public interest.
He said the $85,000 damages were intended to compensate the distributor, Rainbow Medical, for lost sales.
It was denied access to further products by the suppliers after being told it was selling medical equipment too cheaply.
Rainbow Medical brought the case to court with a demand for $2.2m compensation.
It expressed disappointment at the size of the award.
US in worldwide travel alert after 'al-Qaeda threat'
The US state department has issued a global travel alert because of an unspecified al-Qaeda threat.
In a statement, the department said the potential for an attack was particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa.
It comes shortly after the US announced nearly two dozen embassies and consulates would be shut on Sunday.
The alert expires on 31 August 2013, the department said. It recommended US citizens travelling abroad be vigilant.
"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organisations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the statement said.
The alert warned of "the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure".
Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed that the British embassy in Yemen is to be closed on Sunday and Monday as "a precautionary measure".
US President Barack Obama has ordered that "all appropriate steps" be taken to protect Americans in response to a threat of an al-Qaeda attack, AFP news agency quoted a White House official as saying.
"The president is being updated on a potential threat occurring in or emanating from the Arabian Peninsula," the official added.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, said that congressional leaders had been briefed about the alert.
"There is some understanding of the seriousness of the threat," she told reporters.
Republican lawmaker Jason Chaffetz said he understood there was "a very real worldwide threat".
Dutch Ruppersberger, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said the threat was not prompted by "the regular chit chat" gleaned from would-be militants online or elsewhere.
"The most important thing we have to do is protect American lives," he told the Associated Press news agency.
An unnamed senior US official told NBC the threat may be related to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ends next week.
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In the Muslim world, Sunday is a work day. In other parts of the world US diplomatic offices are shut on Sunday.
"It is possible we may have additional days of closing as well," a senior state department official told the BBC.
Source-BBC
Tunisian Military Launches Air Strikes on Mountain-Based Militants
Tunisian forces launched air strikes and sent in troops Friday to surround suspected Islamist militants in the mountains near the Algerian border.
The military carried out the operation in the Chaambi area after fighting broke out Thursday. This is the same area where militants attacked and killed eight Tunisian solders earlier this week.
A military spokesman says it is targeting as many as 20 terrorist suspects.
Tunisia was the first Arab nation to overthrow an unpopular authoritarian government in the so-called "Arab Spring" in 2011.
But political turmoil and violence continues, including last week's assassination of opposition politician Mohamed Brahmi. The government blames al-Qaida-linked extremists for the killing.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
US Diplomat Says China Becoming More Repressive
A senior U.S. diplomat says human rights in China are deteriorating, accusing Beijing of harassing activists' families and repressing ethnic and religious minorities.
Uzra Zeya, acting U.S. assistant secretary of state, said Friday that talks this week with Chinese officials on human rights fell short of U.S. expectations.
Zeya led a U.S. delegation at a two-day U.S.-China Human Rights Dialogue meeting in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming. Afterward, she told reporters that China is increasingly harassing and targeting family members and associates of activists.
She also said Beijing's policies in ethnic regions of Tibet and Muslim Uighur regions have become more repressive.
For its part, China -- which largely defines human rights in terms of improving living conditions for its 1.3 billion people -- has repeatedly rejected such U.S. criticisms.
In April, China accused the United States of violating human rights with U.S. military operations abroad. Beijing also accused the U.S. government of failing to protect its own citizens from gun violence.
The Chinese accusations were part of a report released in response to an annual U.S. critique of global human rights that was issued several days earlier.
Tense Standoff at Protests in Cairo
Tens of thousands of supporters of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi marched through Cairo Friday to demand his reinstatement, even as the interim government threatens to break up their protest camps.
State TV reports Egyptian police are planning to block access to one of the camps in northern Cairo. Witnesses say Muslim Brotherhood supporters have set up sandbags and brick walls to stop police.
One Islamist leader told the crowd that Morsi supporters are ready to "shed their blood" to bring him back and protect Egypt's national security.
Interim Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei tells The Washington Post newspaper that Egyptian leaders want to avoid bloodshed, saying being harsh is no solution. He says the government wants talks with the Muslim Brotherhood.
But ElBaradei says Egypt is a country with a lot of anger and irrational feelings and that things have to cool down before there can be any dialogue.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has sent Deputy Secretary William Burns to Cairo. Kerry says Egypt needs to get back to what he calls a "new normal." He says the government must allow peaceful protests, but the demonstrators have a responsibility not to stop progress.
Nearly 200 people, mostly supporters of Mr. Morsi, have been killed since the Egyptian military toppled him on July 3. Morsi supporters demand his return to the presidency and the restoration of the Islamist-drafted constitution.
The country's interim government plans to hold a referendum within five months to ratify amendments to the constitution. Parliamentary elections would take place early next year, followed by a new presidential election.
US to Close Embassies August 4
The United States will close a number of its embassies and consulates around the world on Sunday for security reasons.
The chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, told CNN Friday an al-Qaida-linked terror threat prompted the State Department to close embassies in Middle East and Central Asian nations, including Egypt and Israel.
The State Department has not specified the type of threat the missions face but said the embassies and consulates instructed to close are ones normally open on Sundays. That would include embassies in the Muslim world, where the work week generally is from Sunday to Thursday.
Spokeswoman Marie Harf called the move a precautionary measure.
"The Department has been apprised of information that out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting our installations that indicates we should institute these precautionary steps. The department, when conditions warrant, takes steps like this to balance our continued operations with security and safety."
Officials said the closures could be extended after an evaluation.