Greek finance minister eyes 2014 recovery for economy
Greece's finance minister believes that the worst is over for his country.
"There is definitely a glimmer of hope; light at the end of the tunnel," Yannis Stournaras said.
As reforms were rushed through and a massive austerity package passed late last year, Greece secured a huge slice of bailout money from its international creditors.
"The probability of Greece leaving the euro - Grexit - is now very small", he told the BBC.
"We have managed to turn the economy around. From the markets, there's much more optimism. Deposits are coming back to banks, the government is paying its arrears to the private sector and there is a change in how Europe sees us. So all the leading indicators are positive. We are two-thirds of the way towards our target. So people can have hope."
But few here do. Unemployment is now Europe's highest at 26.8%. Homelessness and poverty have soared. And the recession, the worst of any country in modern history, is in its sixth straight year.
However, the finance minister said that he thinks the bad times are coming to an end.
"Towards the last quarter of 2013, we are going to have recovery," he said.
He is adamant that growth will come next year, even if the economy contracts in 2013 by an estimated 4.5%.
"I feel sure, 100% certain that this will be the last year of Greece's recession."
Debt write-off
Greece has the unenviable task of reducing its debt down to a sustainable level.
It currently stands at around 180% of GDP this year, the target is 124% of GDP by 2020, but the IMF has recently said Athens won't achieve it without another helping hand. So is Mr Stournaras, I asked, pushing for debt forgiveness from EU countries?
"I would welcome a reduction of the level of debt - but there are many ways to achieve that", he said, diplomatically, "but it should happen in a way that minimises the loss to other parties."
But while Greece is tired of austerity, northern Europe is tired of bailing out Greece.
German taxpayers feel they have shouldered the burden and so any further debt restructuring may be delayed by domestic European politics, at least until the Bundestag elections in September. But Mr Stournaras was confident that it will come.
And what of more crippling spending cuts?
"If we implement this year's reform programme, there will be no more austerity packages", the Finance Minister told me, "No more cuts to wages, benefits and pensions."
It's a promise Greeks have heard before, and many here don't believe it'll be kept.
As a stark reminder of how angry the Greek people have felt about austerity measures they have had forced upon them, there is a bullet hole in one of the minister's windows.
The gun was shot from the ground during one of the most violent anti-austerity protests in recent months. A clear target up to the hated Ministry of Finance.
Yannis Stournaras has decided to keep the glass in its half-shattered state, as a monument to what he hopes was the lowest point in Greece's financial crisis.
But the minister had critical words about the austerity-driven approach forced on his country.
"Greece was forced to cut too far, too fast", he explained. "In hindsight, we should have placed more emphasis on structural reform and privatisations at the start. But we can't go back. There's no point crying over spilt milk. The eurozone was not prepared for the crisis."
A criticism often levelled at the much-despised political class here is that it is utterly divorced from the pain caused by austerity but the minister said that he understands very well.
"From my friends, my mother, my family, people I talk to. But I'm convinced there was no other way. Without this bailout money, Greece would be outside the eurozone. And that would spell disaster."
Grexit to Brexit
Many began 2012 predicting "Grexit" and yet we are starting 2013 with talk of "Brexit" - Britain's potential departure from the European Union, following Prime Minister David Cameron's speech last week.
"It would be a grave mistake for Britain to leave the EU", said the minister.
"Britain belongs to Europe politically, financially and from a cultural point of view."
So would Greece accept Britain renegotiating the terms of its EU membership?
"No", he said, "that would open a Pandora's Box. Everybody would like to do the same. So that would spell the end of the European Union."
Six months after taking the job, Yannis Stournaras seemed relaxed and positive. Vast challenges remain, social unrest is flaring once again and there will be enormous resistance once the spending cuts start to bite.
But he's convinced this exhausted country will make it.
"Now that Greece has turned a corner, I'm actually enjoying the job" he smiled, looking out towards parliament through a bullet-scarred window.
--BBC
Google expands North Korea map coverage
Google has published mapping information on North Korea, a country that has so far been mostly blank on the popular website Google Maps.
The data was compiled on Google's Map Maker tool which allows ordinary people to contribute information mainly using satellite images or local knowledge.
Map data is not widely available for the reclusive nation.
Launched in 2008, Map Maker data has been migrated to Google Maps for many countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
"This effort has been active in Map Maker for a few years and today the new map of North Korea is ready and now available on Google Maps," said Jayanth Mysore, senior product manager at Google Map Maker.
"As a result, the world can access maps of North Korea that offer much more information and detail than before."
The move comes after a private humanitarian visit to North Korea by Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.
Scant information
In the case of North Korea, satellite images, not local knowledge, were the main source of data. North Koreans cannot access Google.
Goole said a large number of South Koreans contributed information to create usable maps for the North.
"While many people around the globe are fascinated with North Korea, these maps are especially important for the citizens of South Korea who have ancestral connections or still have family living there," said Mr Mysore.
However, at least one contributor is from Australia, and doesn't speak Korean.
"I wanted to go to North Korea and because it was not yet mapped I decided to start mapping so I could at least see how easy it would be to travel within the country," Sebastiaan van Oyen who works as a risk manager for a financial trading firm in Sydney told the BBC.
Mr van Oyen explained that he used satellite images to get his data saying they "are good enough to cover the whole country, although the quality and date of the data varies".
"For a basic map you will be fine, but it will take time to get reliable street level navigation."
However, he said that the the biggest obstacle towards creating a more detailed map was to get enough local knowledge to name all the features.
"Keep in the back of your mind that there are restricted areas and not much (readily available) local knowledge outside of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)."
--BBC
Yahoo sees rise in quarterly revenues under new boss
Yahoo has reported fourth quarter revenues of $1.35bn (£860m) in the fourth quarter, up nearly 2% on the same time a year before.
A one-off accounting charge meant fourth-quarter net income was $272.3m, down by 8% compared to $295.6m in the same period 12 months earlier.
In after-the-bell trading in New York shares in the company gained 4.5%.
About 700 million web surfers visit its website every month, ranking it among the top in the global industry.
However, it shed more than 1,000 jobs during 2012, and has long been divided over whether it should focus on media content or on tools and technologies.
Chief executive Marissa Mayer was brought in last July from Google to turn the company round, and the latest financial figures are the first full quarter's under her leadership.
Ms Mayer has been focusing on building better mobile and social networking services.
She said that during the quarter Yahoo made progress "by growing our executive team, signing key partnerships including those with NBC Sports and CBS Television and launching terrific mobile experiences for Yahoo Mail and Flickr".
Japan eases restrictions on US beef imports
Japan has opened the door for increased imports of beef from the US, as it eased restrictions that have been in place for almost a decade.
It will now allow the import of beef from cattle up to 30 months old.
Japan banned US beef imports in 2003 after the outbreak of mad cow disease. It restarted imports in 2006, but only from cattle less than 20 months of age.
US officials said the move was likely to boost US beef exports to Japan by "hundreds of millions" of dollars.
Ron Kirk, the US trade representative said the decision by Japan was "great news for American ranchers and beef companies".
Japan has also eased restrictions on beef imports from Canada, France and the Netherlands.
The new rules will take effect from 1 FebruaryBefore the ban in 2003, Japan was one of the biggest markets for US beef exports.
However, the ban resulted in other beef exporting countries such as Australia increasing their presence in Japan.
Since the lifting of the ban in 2006, US firms have been trying to regain their share of the Japanese market.
They have achieved some success and US exports to Japan have been rising. However, shipments are yet to reach the levels seen before 2003.
"This move is an important step forward in paving the way toward greater export opportunities to one of our largest export markets," said J D Alexander, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
However, some analysts were sceptical about whether the easing of restrictions would have an immediate impact on US beef exports.
"Australia is not just going to give up the market share they've gained," said Lee Schulz, a livestock economist at Iowa State University.
Burma gets Asian Development Bank and World Bank loans
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank have approved fresh loans for Burma to aid the social and economic development of the country.
The ADB granted $512m (£325m), while the World Bank approved a $440m credit.
The loans were made possible after Burma cleared overdue arrears to the two banks with the aid of Japan.
Burma, also known as Myanmar, has been implementing economic and political reforms, resulting in various sanctions against it being lifted.
"Myanmar has come a long way in its economic transformation, undertaking unprecedented reforms to improve people's lives, especially the poor and vulnerable," said Annette Dixon, country director for Myanmar at the World Bank.
"Much work remains to be done. We are committed to helping the government accelerate poverty reduction and build shared prosperity.
"The Bank's engagement, together with the ADB, the Government of Japan and other partners, will help attract investment, spur growth and create jobs," Ms Dixon added.
'Tipping point'
Burma, one of the poorest countries in Asia, has been hurt by decades of international isolation in wake of the sanctions imposed against itHowever, it has huge growth potential, not least because its rich in resources such as natural gas reserves.
At the same time, it has a big agricultural potential as well as the availability of low-cost labour.
The World Bank expects Burma's economy to expand by 6.3% in the financial year 2012-13, up from 5.5% in the previous 12 months.
However, many analysts have said that for the country to be able to translate that potential into actual growth it needs increased investment in key sectors.
Stephen Groff, vice president of ADB said the bank's loan will help Burma lay the foundation for sustainable growth "which will ultimately lead to major investments in road, energy, irrigation and education projects, as well as investments in other sectors".
"This is a historic tipping point for Myanmar," he said.
The bank added that its aid will also help the country "develop a strategy to make banking services more widely available".
The ADB's loan to Burma is the first such credit it has approved in almost 30 years.
Last year, the World Bank started lending to Burma after a gap of 25 years.
Further aid
In a further boost to Burma, the Paris Club of creditor nations has agreed cancel almost half of its debts to member countriesIt has also agreed to reschedule the payment of the remaining loan over a period of 15 years.
According to a press release on the state-run New Light of Myanmar, Norway, which is a member of the club, has cancelled all of its claims amounting to $534m.
Meanwhile, another member Japan has committed to a cancellation of its arrears worth over $3bn.
The release said that the overall agreement with the club "results in a very favourable debt relief of nearly $6bn or over 60% of total debt immediately in effect."
"Meanwhile, other bilateral donors are expected to follow suit and more debt cancellation is coming on the way in the next six months," it added.
The Paris Club is an informal group of creditors that helps countries, especially poor nations, restructure or reduce their debt.
According to its website, it has 19 permanent members including the US, UK and Australia.
Australia battles floods in two states
Australia is battling flooding in two states, as rescue teams worked to evacuate people from inundated areas.
In Queensland, more than 1,000 people were plucked to safety in the city of Bundaberg as the Burnett River burst its banks, flooding 2,000 homes.
In New South Wales, there are concerns that the Clarence River, at a record high, could flood the city of Grafton.
Tropical Cyclone Oswald, which triggered the flooding, is now heading out to sea south of Sydney.
Four people are now known to have died in the severe weather, after a toddler who was hit by a falling tree in Brisbane died on Monday.
It comes two years after severe flooding in southern Queensland, including in state capital Brisbane, that left 35 people dead and tens of thousands of homes floodedIn Bundaberg, the Burnett River was at 9.475m and rising slowly, the Bureau of Meteorology said in a statement, with a peak up to 9.6m expected later in the day - more than 1.5m above the December 2010 flood level.
"Those flood levels will be one of the highest levels recorded for the whole of the Bundaberg and Burnett region," said Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey.
"We are asking people, the main priorities at the moment on the ground is life and we really do implore people to go to the highest points, listen to the emergency service workers and their directions."
Some 7,500 people are reported to have been displaced across the city, with more than 1,500 in evacuation centres.
Helicopter teams have picked up more than 1,000 people stranded by flood waters amid fears houses could be washed away.
Two air force transport planes are evacuating patients from the local hospital and Prime Minister Julia Gillard said 100 military personnel were being sent to help out.
In Brisbane, low-lying parts of the central business district were flooded but the impact on residential areas was less than expected, ABC News said.
In New South Wales, parts of which saw torrential rain on Monday as the cyclone moved south, 2,500 people were told to evacuate in the city of Grafton, where levees were threatened by rising water.
"We are in a dangerous situation that requires a timely response and I think the best thing to do is to evacuate," said local Mayor Richie Williamson.
French-led troops secure hold on Timbuktu
French-led troops are consolidating their position in the historic Malian city of Timbuktu after seizing it from Islamist extremists.
French military commanders say soldiers are patrolling the streets looking to flush out any remaining militants.
Once Timbuktu is secured, troops are expected to focus on the last rebel stronghold, Kidal.
Meanwhile, an international donors' conference is due to open in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
The African Union, which has just ended a summit in the city, hopes the conference will raise funds for a multinational force to fight the rebels.
The cost of the military operation has been estimated at up to $1bn (£635bn)Also on Tuesday, a conference in Brussels is due to decide on troops for an EU military training mission for Mali. The UK has already said it will contribute to the mission.
Earlier on Monday, about 1,000 French soldiers - including paratroopers - and 200 Malian troops seized Timbuktu airport and entered the city without a shot being fired.
Col Thierry Burkhard, chief military spokesman in Paris, said that although French troops spearheaded the offensive, Malian forces were on the streets of the city.
"There was an operation on Timbuktu last night that allowed us to control access to the town," he said on Monday.
"It's up to Malian forces to retake the town."
As they withdrew into the desert, the Islamist fighters set fire to several buildings including a library containing priceless manuscripts, some dating back to the 13th Century.
The Ahmed Baba institute held about 30,000 manuscripts and includes documents about centuries of life in the city, Mali and neighbouring countries.
The recovery of Timbuktu followed the swift capture by French and Malian forces of Gao on Saturday, another major northern population centre occupied by militant groups.
Islamists took advantage of a coup last year to seize the vast north of Mali and impose strict Sharia law on its inhabitants.
France - the former colonial power in Mali - launched a military operation earlier this month after militants looked to be threatening the south.
Meanwhile, reports from Kidal - home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali - suggest that the group may have already lost control there.The secular Tuareg rebel group MNLA said it had taken charge. The Agence France-Presse news agency quoted a spokesman of an Ansar Dine breakaway faction as saying that it was jointly "ensuring security" with the MNLA.
The BBC's Thomas Fessy in Timbuktu says that once Kidal is taken, the first phase of the French operation will be over.
The second phase will be to track down the militants to their desert hideouts, he adds.
Mali dominated an African Union summit which ended on Monday in Addis Ababa, with the bloc deciding to contribute $50m (£32m) to the multinational force.
An AU official said 60 to 70 donors had been invited to the international donors' conference, which has been organised at short notice.
Our correspondent says there is some unease in Africa that the continent appears unable to pay for its own peacekeeping operations.
Addressing the AU summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Malian government should look beyond the current conflict if it wanted peace in the country.
"I'm urging the Malian authorities to engage in inclusive dialogue, to have a political process going on and to have national reconciliations through dialogue, so that they can have constitutional order restored, they can have a political solution, economic stability insured," he said.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to abdicate for son
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands has announced she is abdicating in favour of her son, Prince Willem-Alexander.
In a pre-recorded address broadcast on TV, she said she would formally stand down on 30 April.
The queen, who is approaching her 75th birthday, said she had been thinking about this moment for several years and that now was "the moment to lay down my crown".
Queen Beatrix has been head of state since 1980, when her mother abdicated.
In the short televised statement, the queen said it was time for the throne to be held by "a new generation", adding that her son was ready to be king.
Prince Willem-Alexander, 45, is married to Maxima Zorreguieta, a former investment banker from Argentina, and has three young children.
He is a trained pilot and an expert in water management.
He will become the Netherlands' first king since Willem III, who died in 1890.
Speaking on television immediately after the abdication announcement, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte paid tribute to the queen"Since her coronation... she has applied herself heart and soul for Dutch society," he said.
Abdication 'tradition'
Queen Beatrix is the sixth monarch from the House of Orange-Nassau, which has ruled the Netherlands since the early 19th Century.
Correspondents say she is extremely popular with most Dutch people, but her abdication was widely expected and will not provoke a constitutional crisis.
Under Dutch law, the monarch has few powers and the role is considered ceremonial.
In recent decades it has become the tradition for the monarch to abdicate.
Queen Beatrix's mother Juliana resigned the throne in 1980 on her 70th birthday, and her grandmother Wilhelmina abdicated in 1948 at the age of 68.
Queen Beatrix will be 75 on Thursday.
She has remained active in recent years, but her reign has also seen traumatic events.
In 2009 a would-be attacker killed eight people when he drove his car into crowds watching the queen and other members of the royal family in a national holiday parade.
In March last year her second son, Prince Friso, was struck by an avalanche in Austria and remains in a coma.
Egypt protests continue despite overnight curfew
Protests and violence have continued into the night in Egypt as thousands defied overnight curfews imposed by President Mohammed Morsi.
Marches took place in the cities of Port Said, Ismailia and Suez after dark, despite the curfews and a temporary state of emergency.
Dozens of people have been killed in five days of violent protests.
Meanwhile Mr Morsi's call for national dialogue has been rejected by his political opponents.
He had urged opposition leaders to attend a meeting on Sunday evening in an effort to calm the situation, but only Islamists already aligned with the president turned up.
The latest protests in the cities along the Suez canal were sparked by death sentences handed down by a Port Said court on 21 local football fans involved in deadly riots at a football match in the city almost a year ago.
Elsewhere Egyptians more broadly opposed to Mr Morsi's authority have taken to the streets in the wake of the Egyptian revolution's second anniversaryMore deaths on Monday mean that between 50 and 60 people are now believed to have been killed in violent clashes with security forces since Thursday.
Earlier, state news agency Mena reported six deaths in Port Said during daylight hours on Monday, when funerals were held for three people killed on Sunday.
After nightfall, groups attacked police stations, and one man was killed according to medical sources.
Security men and soldiers were also injured, Egyptian authorities said, but troops in tanks and armoured vehicles in Suez and Port Said did not appear to be intervening to uphold the curfew.
'Excessive force'
In Suez, people defied the curfew to march towards the headquarters of the provincial government.
In Cairo, where no curfew has yet been imposed, violence continued on Monday with one man killed by gunfire near Tahrir Square.
Clashes between protesters and police appeared to centre around the Qasr el-Nil bridge that leads onto the square.
State TV said a total of 590 people had been injured in violence across Egypt on Monday alone, with most of them in Port Said.In response to the growing violence on the streets, Egypt's cabinet approved a draft law allowing the army to participate in policing and have the power of arrest. The bill was later passed by the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament.
The text of the bill says the army will "support the police in maintaining order and protecting vital installations until the end of parliamentary elections and whenever the National Defence Council [headed by Mr Morsi] requests it".
Meanwhile the human rights group Amnesty International condemned the use of violence by Egyptian security forces dealing with protests citing "disturbing eyewitness accounts of excessive force... including instances of lethal force".
'Form, not content'
Mr Morsi's call for dialogue appeared to fall on deaf ears, both in the streets and among political opponents.
Mohamed ElBaradei, a leading member of the opposition National Salvation Front, told journalists that before it would attend any national dialogue, the president would have to appoint a national unity government and take steps to amend the disputed constitution.
"The dialogue to which the president invited us is to do with form and not content," Mr ElBaradei said.
"We support any dialogue if it has a clear agenda that can shepherd the nation to the shores of safety."
Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, speaking at the same news conference, said: "We aspire to a dialogue, but there are no guarantees that this dialogue will be a success... while blood is being spilled."
Mr Morsi invited representatives from 11 political forces - Islamists, liberals and leftists - to come to the presidential palace for talks on Monday evening, but only Islamists attended.
Argo wins top Screen Actors Guild award
Ben Affleck's Iran hostage drama Argo has won the top honour for overall cast performance at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.
Jennifer Lawrence took the best actress award for her role in Silver Linings Playbook, while Daniel Day-Lewis was named best actor for Lincoln.
Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Hathaway won the supporting actor awards for Lincoln and Les Miserables respectively.
ITV's Downton Abbey also picked up a prize for best TV drama series cast.
Argo beat Les Miserables, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook to win the top award."This has nothing to do with me," said Affleck, who both directed and starred in Argo.
"It has to do with the incredible people who were in this movie."
The prize came a day after Argo won the top honour at the Producers Guild Awards, the winner of whose best film prize often goes on to win best picture at the Oscars.
Affleck's film tells the fact-based story of how US diplomats stranded in Tehran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution were spirited out of the country.
As he accepted his award for best actor on Sunday, Day-Lewis remarked that "it was an actor that murdered Abraham Lincoln".
"Somehow it is only so fitting that every now and then an actor tries to bring him back to life again," he went on.
In the television categories Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey were named best comedy actor and actress for 30 Rock, giving Baldwin his seventh consecutive SAG win.
The prize for best ensemble comedy series cast went to Modern Family.
The TV drama acting prizes were given to Bryan Cranston for Breaking Bad and Claire Danes for Homeland.
Julianne Moore's turn as former Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin in Game Change earned her the award for best actress in a movie or miniseries, with Kevin Costner receiving the equivalent best actor honour for Hatfields & McCoys.
Veteran actor Dick Van Dyke, star of Mary Poppins and Diagnosis Murder, was presented with the guild's life achievement award.
After waiting on stage for a prolonged standing ovation to end, the 87-year-old said: "That does an old man a lot of good."
Other winners at the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday included Disney's Wreck-It Ralph, which won the animation category, and Searching for Sugar Man, which took the documentary prize.
Homeland also won the award for best television drama series, while Modern Family was named best comedy series for a third consecutive year.