African students arrive in Turkey's Van to help quake victims
A group of African university students arrived Monday in Turkey's eastern province of Van to help the victims of a recent massive earthquake, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
The African students, studying in Turkish universities, arrived in Ercis town of Van, bringing humanitarian aid to the quake victims, according to the report.
The students were quoted as saying that they were representing nearly 2,000 African students who were studying in Turkey's largest city of Istanbul. The students visited quake victims staying in tents, handing out meat and other aid.
Van was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale on Oct. 23, claiming the lives of 601 people, while 4,152 others were wounded and 188 were pulled alive out of the debris.
Editor: Zhang Xiang
English.news.cn 2011-11-07 18:51:42 FeedbackPrintRSS
ANKARA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua)
Monday, November 7, 2011
Greeks await new unity gov't, early elections possible in Feb.
Greeks await new unity gov't, early elections possible in Feb.
Greeks awaited on Monday the announcement of the new unity government that will continue efforts to save the country from default, as outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou and main opposition conservative New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras are due to hold fresh consultations to finalize its composition.
Late on Sunday night, under heavy pressure from international lenders and within the country, with the mediation of the President of the Greek Republic Karolos Papoulias, the two reached an agreement to form a coalition government.
The new government will hold early general elections in a few months, following the implementation of the vital October 26 EU agreement over the release of further bailout loans to the debt-ridden country. Without it, Greece could go bankrupt by the end of the year.
Under Sunday's deal, Papandreou will resign. As the two sides continue negotiations on the choice of his successor and members of the new cabinet, according to media reports citing sources from the two parties, the elections could be called most probably on February 19.
Current Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos who was due to represent Greece in a euro zone Finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, is amongst the candidates for the top post or a Vice Presidency in the new team, according to Greek media reports.
The favourite candidate was Lucas Papademos, current financial advisor to Papandreou and former European Central Bank Vice President.
Other potential heads of the coalition government included Stavros Dimas, current New Democracy Vice President and former European Commissioner for the Environment and European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros.
The political uncertainty in Greece that added to the acute debt crisis since last week alarmed Greek people, European partners and the international community, since a Greek default could hit global economy.
The political crisis erupted when Papandreou made a surprise call for a referendum on the EU aid pact, triggering fears of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Sunday's agreement was met with reserved optimism by politicians, analysts, media commentators and ordinary Greeks in Athens that the new unity cabinet will take all the needed steps in coming months to avert a financial meltdown.
Editor: Zhang Xiang
English.news.cn 2011-11-07 18:48:22 FeedbackPrintRSS
ATHENS, Nov. 7 (Xinhua)
Greeks awaited on Monday the announcement of the new unity government that will continue efforts to save the country from default, as outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou and main opposition conservative New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras are due to hold fresh consultations to finalize its composition.
Late on Sunday night, under heavy pressure from international lenders and within the country, with the mediation of the President of the Greek Republic Karolos Papoulias, the two reached an agreement to form a coalition government.
The new government will hold early general elections in a few months, following the implementation of the vital October 26 EU agreement over the release of further bailout loans to the debt-ridden country. Without it, Greece could go bankrupt by the end of the year.
Under Sunday's deal, Papandreou will resign. As the two sides continue negotiations on the choice of his successor and members of the new cabinet, according to media reports citing sources from the two parties, the elections could be called most probably on February 19.
Current Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos who was due to represent Greece in a euro zone Finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, is amongst the candidates for the top post or a Vice Presidency in the new team, according to Greek media reports.
The favourite candidate was Lucas Papademos, current financial advisor to Papandreou and former European Central Bank Vice President.
Other potential heads of the coalition government included Stavros Dimas, current New Democracy Vice President and former European Commissioner for the Environment and European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros.
The political uncertainty in Greece that added to the acute debt crisis since last week alarmed Greek people, European partners and the international community, since a Greek default could hit global economy.
The political crisis erupted when Papandreou made a surprise call for a referendum on the EU aid pact, triggering fears of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.
Sunday's agreement was met with reserved optimism by politicians, analysts, media commentators and ordinary Greeks in Athens that the new unity cabinet will take all the needed steps in coming months to avert a financial meltdown.
Editor: Zhang Xiang
English.news.cn 2011-11-07 18:48:22 FeedbackPrintRSS
ATHENS, Nov. 7 (Xinhua)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Residents evacuated again as eruption coninues off Spanish island
Residents evacuated again as eruption coninues off Spanish island
The residents of La Restinga village on the south coast of the Spanish island of El Hierro were evacuated for the second time in less than a month due to threat from the eruption of the volcano off the island, according to Spanish media reports on Sunday.
The decision to evacuate the 600 residents of the village was made late Saturday after a meeting of over 250 inhabitants and the administrative chief of El Pinar, the area where the village is situated.
The volcano began erupting for a second time on last Monday, while the seismic activity off El Hierro has saw a marked increase with several tremors registering over 4 on the Richter Scale.
With the eruption continuing off the south coast, the island has been placed on a state of 'pre-alert.'
A military unit has already been dispatched to the area with enough tents to provide accommodation for up to 2,000 people, while merchant marine and civil aviation are also standing by in case a possible evacuation of the island's 10,000 inhabitants.
Editor: Lu Hui
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 19:36:13 FeedbackPrintRSS
MADRID, Nov. 6 (Xinhua)
The residents of La Restinga village on the south coast of the Spanish island of El Hierro were evacuated for the second time in less than a month due to threat from the eruption of the volcano off the island, according to Spanish media reports on Sunday.
The decision to evacuate the 600 residents of the village was made late Saturday after a meeting of over 250 inhabitants and the administrative chief of El Pinar, the area where the village is situated.
The volcano began erupting for a second time on last Monday, while the seismic activity off El Hierro has saw a marked increase with several tremors registering over 4 on the Richter Scale.
With the eruption continuing off the south coast, the island has been placed on a state of 'pre-alert.'
A military unit has already been dispatched to the area with enough tents to provide accommodation for up to 2,000 people, while merchant marine and civil aviation are also standing by in case a possible evacuation of the island's 10,000 inhabitants.
Editor: Lu Hui
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 19:36:13 FeedbackPrintRSS
MADRID, Nov. 6 (Xinhua)
Spain to hold election debate Monday
Spain to hold election debate Monday
A televised debate between the two main candidates in Spain's general election on Nov. 20 will be held on Monday.
The debate between Socialist (PSOE) candidate Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba and the opposition Popular Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy will be broadcast on Spanish national TV stations RTVE and Antenna 3, as well as on several regional and satellite stations.
The debate is to take place in the headquarters of the Spanish Television Academia in Madrid but there will be no studio audience.
About 650 journalists from different countries have been given accreditation to cover the debate, which is seen by many as a key moment of the campaign.
Rubalcaba trails Rajoy by around 15 points in the polls. With the PP apparently heading for an overall majority, the PSOE candidate needs to give a convincing performance in order to claw back some ground.
The debate, which starts at 22:00 local time (GMT 2100), is to be divided into three sections: economy, social issues and other themes including foreign policy.
Key topics will be the country's economy and the nearly 5 million unemployed, while its relationship with the European Union (EU) and the announcement of Basque separatist group ETA that it is abandoning violence forever will also be high on the agenda.
The time for the question and answer session will be strictly controlled and it has been agreed that Rajoy will field the first question and Rubalcaba will close the debate.
Editor: Lu Hui
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 19:23:13 FeedbackPrintRSS
MADRID, Nov. 6 (Xinhua)
A televised debate between the two main candidates in Spain's general election on Nov. 20 will be held on Monday.
The debate between Socialist (PSOE) candidate Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba and the opposition Popular Party (PP) leader Mariano Rajoy will be broadcast on Spanish national TV stations RTVE and Antenna 3, as well as on several regional and satellite stations.
The debate is to take place in the headquarters of the Spanish Television Academia in Madrid but there will be no studio audience.
About 650 journalists from different countries have been given accreditation to cover the debate, which is seen by many as a key moment of the campaign.
Rubalcaba trails Rajoy by around 15 points in the polls. With the PP apparently heading for an overall majority, the PSOE candidate needs to give a convincing performance in order to claw back some ground.
The debate, which starts at 22:00 local time (GMT 2100), is to be divided into three sections: economy, social issues and other themes including foreign policy.
Key topics will be the country's economy and the nearly 5 million unemployed, while its relationship with the European Union (EU) and the announcement of Basque separatist group ETA that it is abandoning violence forever will also be high on the agenda.
The time for the question and answer session will be strictly controlled and it has been agreed that Rajoy will field the first question and Rubalcaba will close the debate.
Editor: Lu Hui
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 19:23:13 FeedbackPrintRSS
MADRID, Nov. 6 (Xinhua)
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) facilitates regional peace, development
SCO facilitates regional peace, development
After the 11th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana in June, the Russian city of St. Petersburg is gearing up for the upcoming 10th Meeting of Prime Ministers of the Member States of the SCO planned for Monday.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the meeting.
Prime ministers of other SCO member states, as well as representatives from SCO's observer states of Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India will also attend the meeting.
The SCO, which groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has been steadily promoted since its establishment in Shanghai in 2001.
Over the past decade, the SCO has been developing in the areas of security, economy and culture and has seen fruitful results in enhancing mutual trust and cooperation among member states.
Security cooperation among SCO member states is valued as one of the wheels of the organization, as it has been working upon establishment to get rid of menaces that may undermine regional peace and stability. Those include the rampant spread of "the three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism as well as other threats like drug- and arms-trafficking across the region.
During the past 10 years, SCO members have maintained close contact and mutual support on those issues, as they inked declarations to combat the menaces and established mechanisms for regular meetings on regional security and stability.
SCO members have also staged successive joint drills to enhance the interoperability of their militaries and law enforcement agencies and deter potential troublemakers.
Meanwhile, the SCO's regional anti-terror structure, the only other permanent organ besides the secretariat, was established in 2004 to combat the "three evil forces" as well as drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.
Besides security cooperation, economic cooperation is another top priority for SCO member states.
According to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping, the SCO, whose members cover 60 percent of the Eurasian landmass, has achieved deepened economic cooperation, identifying cooperative potential in the areas of finance, transportation, energy, agriculture and technology.
As a sign of the vitality in the SCO's growing economic cooperation, China's trade with other SCO members has shot up from 12.1 billion U.S. dollars to some 90 billion dollars during the past 10 years, recording a faster increase than China's overall foreign trade, Cheng said.
The growing trade ties dovetail with the SCO's ambitious integration endeavors to realize the free flow of goods, capital, services and technology by 2020.
Meanwhile, SCO members have also established the Business Council and the Interbank Association, two non-government organizations, to better promote and finance cooperation projects.
With regard to culture exchanges, people-to-people contacts have been more frequent among SCO member states and their relations have been strengthened.
Cheng said that cooperation in public health, culture, education and emergency relief has been vigorously carried out within the organization, which is considered as the axle-tree between the SCO's two wheels of security and economic cooperation.
Diverse art festivals, youth festivals, exhibitions and forums have been carried out under the SCO framework, which have been consolidating the traditional friendship and win-win partnership within SCO member countries.
According to Cheng, complicated and profound changes in the international and regional situation, as well as a possible downturn in the global economy, will create challenges for the development of SCO member states and also create higher demands for the SCO.
Li Hui, the Chinese ambassador to Russia, echoed Cheng in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the 10th meeting of prime ministers of the SCO member states. Li said that China is willing to further coordinate and cooperate with other SCO member states to cope with the challenges.
Li raised three proposals: to persistently enhance political mutual trust in order to strengthen SCO's capacity to deal with new challenges; to consolidate security cooperation to protect SCO member states from menaces; to further promote pragmatic cooperation in various fields, especially in the economic and trade field; to expand people-to-people contacts and culture exchanges.
At the upcoming gathering, Cheng said, leaders will review the organization's development and cooperation over the past year, thoroughly analyze the current international and regional situations and make working plans for the SCO's next phase of development.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the SCO's establishment. The SCO's Astana summit in June celebrated the 10th anniversary by summing up its achievements and outlining its future direction.
Editor: Zhang Xiang
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 09:33:16 FeedbackPrintRSS
MOSCOW, Nov. 6 (Xinhua)
After the 11th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana in June, the Russian city of St. Petersburg is gearing up for the upcoming 10th Meeting of Prime Ministers of the Member States of the SCO planned for Monday.
According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will attend the meeting.
Prime ministers of other SCO member states, as well as representatives from SCO's observer states of Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India will also attend the meeting.
The SCO, which groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has been steadily promoted since its establishment in Shanghai in 2001.
Over the past decade, the SCO has been developing in the areas of security, economy and culture and has seen fruitful results in enhancing mutual trust and cooperation among member states.
Security cooperation among SCO member states is valued as one of the wheels of the organization, as it has been working upon establishment to get rid of menaces that may undermine regional peace and stability. Those include the rampant spread of "the three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism as well as other threats like drug- and arms-trafficking across the region.
During the past 10 years, SCO members have maintained close contact and mutual support on those issues, as they inked declarations to combat the menaces and established mechanisms for regular meetings on regional security and stability.
SCO members have also staged successive joint drills to enhance the interoperability of their militaries and law enforcement agencies and deter potential troublemakers.
Meanwhile, the SCO's regional anti-terror structure, the only other permanent organ besides the secretariat, was established in 2004 to combat the "three evil forces" as well as drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.
Besides security cooperation, economic cooperation is another top priority for SCO member states.
According to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping, the SCO, whose members cover 60 percent of the Eurasian landmass, has achieved deepened economic cooperation, identifying cooperative potential in the areas of finance, transportation, energy, agriculture and technology.
As a sign of the vitality in the SCO's growing economic cooperation, China's trade with other SCO members has shot up from 12.1 billion U.S. dollars to some 90 billion dollars during the past 10 years, recording a faster increase than China's overall foreign trade, Cheng said.
The growing trade ties dovetail with the SCO's ambitious integration endeavors to realize the free flow of goods, capital, services and technology by 2020.
Meanwhile, SCO members have also established the Business Council and the Interbank Association, two non-government organizations, to better promote and finance cooperation projects.
With regard to culture exchanges, people-to-people contacts have been more frequent among SCO member states and their relations have been strengthened.
Cheng said that cooperation in public health, culture, education and emergency relief has been vigorously carried out within the organization, which is considered as the axle-tree between the SCO's two wheels of security and economic cooperation.
Diverse art festivals, youth festivals, exhibitions and forums have been carried out under the SCO framework, which have been consolidating the traditional friendship and win-win partnership within SCO member countries.
According to Cheng, complicated and profound changes in the international and regional situation, as well as a possible downturn in the global economy, will create challenges for the development of SCO member states and also create higher demands for the SCO.
Li Hui, the Chinese ambassador to Russia, echoed Cheng in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the 10th meeting of prime ministers of the SCO member states. Li said that China is willing to further coordinate and cooperate with other SCO member states to cope with the challenges.
Li raised three proposals: to persistently enhance political mutual trust in order to strengthen SCO's capacity to deal with new challenges; to consolidate security cooperation to protect SCO member states from menaces; to further promote pragmatic cooperation in various fields, especially in the economic and trade field; to expand people-to-people contacts and culture exchanges.
At the upcoming gathering, Cheng said, leaders will review the organization's development and cooperation over the past year, thoroughly analyze the current international and regional situations and make working plans for the SCO's next phase of development.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the SCO's establishment. The SCO's Astana summit in June celebrated the 10th anniversary by summing up its achievements and outlining its future direction.
Editor: Zhang Xiang
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 09:33:16 FeedbackPrintRSS
MOSCOW, Nov. 6 (Xinhua)
Solution to eurozone debt crisis entails decade long: Merkel
Solution to eurozone debt crisis entails decade long: Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the settlement of the current eurozone's debt crisis will take at least a decade to complete.
"The debts have been accumulated over a decade," Merkel said in her weekly video podcast, adding that "it will certainly last for a decade until we are left feeling better."
In response to how to contain the debt crisis and forestall the possible massive economic recession, Merkel stressed it will be helpful to have a decision for all member nations inside the eurozone to brake their debts escalation.
However, she pointed out there lies "a very difficult road" ahead, saying "we also need to go step by step."
Merkel said all member states within the eurozone have to work hard to fulfil their "homework," and it was important to bring back all the matters to order.
Merkel also defended the state aid to rescue the crisis-ravaged banks. "If we would not have helped the banks, which would have meant that the real economy would have collapsed even more, and more jobs would have been in danger," she said while believing that the banks would deal with the hardship in their own capacities.
Further joint rescue actions from Germany and France would put the independence of the Bundesbank, the German central bank, under jeopardy, as it is demanded to shore up the gold and currency reserves of the bank once again by more than 15 billion euros (about 20 billion U.S. dollars).
It is out of the concern that the firepower of the 440-billion-euro rescue fund EFSF will not be enough, in case the larger eurozone's member states might falter in the chain reactions during the crisis.
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 06:32:44 FeedbackPrintRSS
BERLIN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that the settlement of the current eurozone's debt crisis will take at least a decade to complete.
"The debts have been accumulated over a decade," Merkel said in her weekly video podcast, adding that "it will certainly last for a decade until we are left feeling better."
In response to how to contain the debt crisis and forestall the possible massive economic recession, Merkel stressed it will be helpful to have a decision for all member nations inside the eurozone to brake their debts escalation.
However, she pointed out there lies "a very difficult road" ahead, saying "we also need to go step by step."
Merkel said all member states within the eurozone have to work hard to fulfil their "homework," and it was important to bring back all the matters to order.
Merkel also defended the state aid to rescue the crisis-ravaged banks. "If we would not have helped the banks, which would have meant that the real economy would have collapsed even more, and more jobs would have been in danger," she said while believing that the banks would deal with the hardship in their own capacities.
Further joint rescue actions from Germany and France would put the independence of the Bundesbank, the German central bank, under jeopardy, as it is demanded to shore up the gold and currency reserves of the bank once again by more than 15 billion euros (about 20 billion U.S. dollars).
It is out of the concern that the firepower of the 440-billion-euro rescue fund EFSF will not be enough, in case the larger eurozone's member states might falter in the chain reactions during the crisis.
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 06:32:44 FeedbackPrintRSS
BERLIN, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Slovenian Prime Minister says to stick to Germany on single-currency
Slovenian PM says to stick to Germany on single-currency
Slovenia would stick to Germany to remain in a group that shares a single currency, Slovenian Press Agency quoted outgoing Prime Minister Borut Pahor as reporting on Saturday.
"We need to stay in a single-currency group with Germany at any cost. This is my motto for the next term," said Pahor, who planned to run for premiership again next month.
Pahor, 48, failed to pass confidence vote in parliament in mid-September, while Slovenia is due to hold general elections on Dec. 4.
Pahor vowed to be a "true and reliable partner" to the countries in the "Franco-German train." He pledged to strengthen cooperation with Germany in dealing with the euro crisis when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ljubljana in late August.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 02:22:27 FeedbackPrintRSS
LJUBLJANA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Slovenia would stick to Germany to remain in a group that shares a single currency, Slovenian Press Agency quoted outgoing Prime Minister Borut Pahor as reporting on Saturday.
"We need to stay in a single-currency group with Germany at any cost. This is my motto for the next term," said Pahor, who planned to run for premiership again next month.
Pahor, 48, failed to pass confidence vote in parliament in mid-September, while Slovenia is due to hold general elections on Dec. 4.
Pahor vowed to be a "true and reliable partner" to the countries in the "Franco-German train." He pledged to strengthen cooperation with Germany in dealing with the euro crisis when German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ljubljana in late August.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-06 02:22:27 FeedbackPrintRSS
LJUBLJANA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Greek main opposition leader rejects Papandreou's coalition proposal
Greek main opposition leader rejects Papandreou's coalition proposal
Greek main opposition leader Antonis Samaras rejected on Saturday afternoon Prime Minister George Papandreou's proposal for a national unity government, reiterating his demand for Papandreou's resignation and immediate holding of general elections.
In a televised speech, Samaras accused Papandreou that he planned "to tie everybody to his personal choices" instead of stepping aside.
In a clear message to Greece's European partners, Samaras stressed that his New Democracy party fully accepts the Oct. 26 European Union (EU) new bailout agreement, the targets to overcome the debt crisis and fully supports structural reforms.
But the party does not agree with certain financial policies and austerity measures "that have failed in the past and need to be reconsidered."
Earlier on Saturday Papandreou visited President Karolos Papoulias and informed his intention to launch a bid to form a national unity coalition to implement the Oct. 26 EU pact to tackle the Greek debt crisis.
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 23:01:07 FeedbackPrintRSS
ATHENS, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Greek main opposition leader Antonis Samaras rejected on Saturday afternoon Prime Minister George Papandreou's proposal for a national unity government, reiterating his demand for Papandreou's resignation and immediate holding of general elections.
In a televised speech, Samaras accused Papandreou that he planned "to tie everybody to his personal choices" instead of stepping aside.
In a clear message to Greece's European partners, Samaras stressed that his New Democracy party fully accepts the Oct. 26 European Union (EU) new bailout agreement, the targets to overcome the debt crisis and fully supports structural reforms.
But the party does not agree with certain financial policies and austerity measures "that have failed in the past and need to be reconsidered."
Earlier on Saturday Papandreou visited President Karolos Papoulias and informed his intention to launch a bid to form a national unity coalition to implement the Oct. 26 EU pact to tackle the Greek debt crisis.
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 23:01:07 FeedbackPrintRSS
ATHENS, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Cyprus takes measures to shield banks from Greek crisis
Cyprus takes measures to shield banks from Greek crisis
Cyprus has taken measures to cooperate with the Central Bank for shielding the island's banking system against possible Greek economic fallout, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry's statement came after Moody's rating agency downgraded Cyprus's government bonds ratings by two notches to Baa3 from Baa1 on Friday.
The rating agency has also downgraded Cyprus's short-term rating to Prime-3 from Prime-2 and placed it on review for further possible downgrade.
The ministry cited two bills pending in parliament providing for the creation of a Financial Stability Fund and empowering the government to intervene in bank recapitalization in case of a bank being unable to cope on its own.
The European Banking Authority had estimated that the Cypriot banks exposed to Greek sovereign debt will require a capital buffer worth of 3.6 billion euros (4.9 billion U.S. dollars), in order to increase their core tier 1 ratio to 9 percent.
Cyprus's two largest lenders, the Cyprus Bank and the Marfin Popular Bank, have announced that they could recapitalize by their own means.
The Finance Ministry statement renewed a call to political parties "to approve the 2012 state budget along with the proposed fiscal measures as a necessary step towards fiscal consolidation."
In putting the Cypriot sovereign credit to just one notch above non investment speculative grade and keeping a watch for further downgrade, Moody's said its move was driven by the high likelihood that the Cypriot banking system will require state support in 2012 as a result of the large expected write-downs on its exposures to Greek government bonds.
"This state support will have a significant negative impact on the government's debt metrics," Moody's said.
Moody's announcement came shortly after the Cypriot opposition parties pushed through parliament a non-binding resolution calling on President Demetris Christofias to resign over a massive munition blast in July.
In October, Standard and Poor's rating agency downgraded Cyprus from BBB+ to BBB, citing the Cypriot banking system's exposure to Greek debt.
Editor: Wang Guanqun
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 17:28:45 FeedbackPrintRSS
NICOSIA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Cyprus has taken measures to cooperate with the Central Bank for shielding the island's banking system against possible Greek economic fallout, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday.
The ministry's statement came after Moody's rating agency downgraded Cyprus's government bonds ratings by two notches to Baa3 from Baa1 on Friday.
The rating agency has also downgraded Cyprus's short-term rating to Prime-3 from Prime-2 and placed it on review for further possible downgrade.
The ministry cited two bills pending in parliament providing for the creation of a Financial Stability Fund and empowering the government to intervene in bank recapitalization in case of a bank being unable to cope on its own.
The European Banking Authority had estimated that the Cypriot banks exposed to Greek sovereign debt will require a capital buffer worth of 3.6 billion euros (4.9 billion U.S. dollars), in order to increase their core tier 1 ratio to 9 percent.
Cyprus's two largest lenders, the Cyprus Bank and the Marfin Popular Bank, have announced that they could recapitalize by their own means.
The Finance Ministry statement renewed a call to political parties "to approve the 2012 state budget along with the proposed fiscal measures as a necessary step towards fiscal consolidation."
In putting the Cypriot sovereign credit to just one notch above non investment speculative grade and keeping a watch for further downgrade, Moody's said its move was driven by the high likelihood that the Cypriot banking system will require state support in 2012 as a result of the large expected write-downs on its exposures to Greek government bonds.
"This state support will have a significant negative impact on the government's debt metrics," Moody's said.
Moody's announcement came shortly after the Cypriot opposition parties pushed through parliament a non-binding resolution calling on President Demetris Christofias to resign over a massive munition blast in July.
In October, Standard and Poor's rating agency downgraded Cyprus from BBB+ to BBB, citing the Cypriot banking system's exposure to Greek debt.
Editor: Wang Guanqun
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 17:28:45 FeedbackPrintRSS
NICOSIA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Another tremor hits Spanish island El Hierro
Another tremor hits Spanish island El Hierro
A new earthquake of 4.4 magnitude on the Richter scale shook the Spanish island of El Hierro late on Friday night, the latest of a series of tremors felt on the most westerly of the Canary Islands since seismic activity began active in July.
The tremor caused 11 houses in the village of Las Puntas to be evacuated as a result of damage. The local government has again decided to close the road tunnel of Los Roquillos which connects both sides of the island to avoid any possible danger to vehicles.
The tremor, which had its epicentre off the coast of the island and 22 km below the surface, is the second 4.4 magnitude quake in a week that has also witnessed shocks of 3.9 and 4.0. Meanwhile the island suffered 19 separate tremors in just nine hours on Thursday.
The underwater volcano off the south coast of El Hierro began its second eruption in less than a month on Monday and that eruption has been accompanied by an increase in seismic activity, which has seen tremors of increasing strength registered around the island.
The island was placed on a state of 'pre-alert' early on Friday due to the increased seismic activity. Civil protection and emergency units are ready to act, while the Spanish Interior Ministry is ready to take necessary measures if needed.
A military unit has already been dispatched to the area with enough tents to provide accommodation for up to 2,000 people, while merchant marine and civil aviation are also standing by in case a possible evacuation of the island's 10,000 inhabitants.
Editor: Tang Danlu
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 19:01:23 FeedbackPrintRSS
MADRID, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
A new earthquake of 4.4 magnitude on the Richter scale shook the Spanish island of El Hierro late on Friday night, the latest of a series of tremors felt on the most westerly of the Canary Islands since seismic activity began active in July.
The tremor caused 11 houses in the village of Las Puntas to be evacuated as a result of damage. The local government has again decided to close the road tunnel of Los Roquillos which connects both sides of the island to avoid any possible danger to vehicles.
The tremor, which had its epicentre off the coast of the island and 22 km below the surface, is the second 4.4 magnitude quake in a week that has also witnessed shocks of 3.9 and 4.0. Meanwhile the island suffered 19 separate tremors in just nine hours on Thursday.
The underwater volcano off the south coast of El Hierro began its second eruption in less than a month on Monday and that eruption has been accompanied by an increase in seismic activity, which has seen tremors of increasing strength registered around the island.
The island was placed on a state of 'pre-alert' early on Friday due to the increased seismic activity. Civil protection and emergency units are ready to act, while the Spanish Interior Ministry is ready to take necessary measures if needed.
A military unit has already been dispatched to the area with enough tents to provide accommodation for up to 2,000 people, while merchant marine and civil aviation are also standing by in case a possible evacuation of the island's 10,000 inhabitants.
Editor: Tang Danlu
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 19:01:23 FeedbackPrintRSS
MADRID, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
The outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) rebel killed in clash in SE Turkey
PKK rebel killed in clash in SE Turkey
One member of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) was killed in a clash with the Turkish security forces in southeastern Turkey, said an official statement reaching here Saturday.
The clash between the Turkish security forces and the PKK militants took place late Friday in Eruh town of Siirt province and one village guard was wounded in the clash, said the statement issued by Siirt governor's office.
The wounded village guard was taken to Siirt Military Hospital by helicopter for medical treatment, said the statement.
It added that the Turkish security forces had launched a large-scale operation in fight against the PKK rebels in the region.
The PKK has recently intensified attacks on Turkish troops, police and civilians. Turkish officials vowed to reciprocate with absolute determination.
Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK during the past over two decades.
Editor: Xiong Tong
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 15:38:56 FeedbackPrintRSS
ANKARA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
One member of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) was killed in a clash with the Turkish security forces in southeastern Turkey, said an official statement reaching here Saturday.
The clash between the Turkish security forces and the PKK militants took place late Friday in Eruh town of Siirt province and one village guard was wounded in the clash, said the statement issued by Siirt governor's office.
The wounded village guard was taken to Siirt Military Hospital by helicopter for medical treatment, said the statement.
It added that the Turkish security forces had launched a large-scale operation in fight against the PKK rebels in the region.
The PKK has recently intensified attacks on Turkish troops, police and civilians. Turkish officials vowed to reciprocate with absolute determination.
Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK during the past over two decades.
Editor: Xiong Tong
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 15:38:56 FeedbackPrintRSS
ANKARA, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Europe-focused G20 summit needs more concrete global actions
Europe-focused G20 summit needs more concrete global actions
The seaside city of Cannes, decorated with sweet hyacinths and candy statute, might be written into history in the way it held a summit of 20 major economies that, unprecedented but not unexpectedly, focused mainly on Europe.
Top leaders of the G20 wrapped up the two-day summit on Friday afternoon with a bunch of common commitments that fell short of concrete measures except for those tackling the eurozone’s debt crisis.
"There’s nothing objectionable in the summit’s communiqué if one takes it at face value, but it is even vaguer than communiqués generally are," noted Daniel Kaufmann, senior fellow with the U.S. think tank Brookings Institution.
EUROPE, EUROPE, AND EUROPE
G20 leaders agreed to strengthen the resources of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help distressed European countries and also hailed Italy’s commitment to put its austerity scheme under the IMF and European Commission’s monitoring, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at the conclusion of the summit.
The summit, which happened to be under the French presidency, had been long expected to be dominated by the worsening debt crisis in Europe, while the Greek referendum drama only elevated the sense of urgency among G20 leaders and thus officially eclipsed the global platform designed for global economic cooperation.
Due to the shock referendum plan thrown out by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, Sarkozy and other summit participants, mainly eurozone leaders, had gone through rounds of emergency meetings and crisis talks before the Greek popular vote was eventually out of the question.
On the first day of the summit, hundreds of international correspondents gathering in the press center also felt the frustration when a scheduled press conference by EU top officials Van Rompuy and Barroso had been pending for almost two hours before its cancellation.
And the moment the Greek issue was taken care of, Italy immediately climbed to the top of the summit’s attention. Mr. Berlusconi managed to calm down other G20 leaders with his cooperative commitment that had been written into the final communiqué of the summit.
"The atmosphere today has nothing to do with last week," Sarkozy said in an apparent big relief referring to the Greek drama that had made headlines everywhere and caused market panic.
While questioned by a BBC reporter if other economies were trying to change the government in Greece and Italy, Sarkozy gave a definite no, defensively saying "you come from the island and you can’t understand the subtleties of the European construction."
DEALS ON GLOBAL ISSUES
Apart from the roller-coaster progress concerning Europe, G20 leaders probably looked beyond the debt crisis at the last moment of the summit as they agreed to a global action plan for growth and jobs in the final communiqué.
It says that advanced economies commit to adopt policies to build confidence and support growth, while countries with large account surpluses commit to reforms to increase domestic demand, coupled with greater exchange rate flexibility.
However, Rym Ayadi, a senior researcher with the Brussels-based think tank Center for European Policy Studies, said he remained skeptical about the summit’s role in improving the global economic situation.
"There’s no common solution to solve the macroeconomic unbalance without deteriorating the situation of other countries," he said.
G20 leaders also agreed to set up a task force to specialize on youth employment issues and fight cross-border tax evasion, among other guideline consensus towards reforming international monetary system and financial sector as well as promoting agriculture, improving energy markets and avoiding protectionism.
The summit reflected the limits of what can be expected from the G20 in terms of getting the international economy back on track, as observed by Michele Chang, professor of political economy with the Brugge-based College of Europe.
"While cooperation and communication are critical in managing a crisis, when it comes to restarting growth the bulk of the work is done at the national level," she said.
Chang’s view was highly echoed by Donald Brean, professor of finance and economics with the University of Toronto, who labeled this summit’s communiqué as “uncharacteristically brief and remarkably bland.”
"The fragile global recovery requires each nation to do its duty to enhance growth and to counter volatility although differences in nation’s circumstances call for different policy tactics," he said.
A few other observers still tend to look at the bright side of the summit, as Yves Tiberghien, associate professor of political science at the University of British Columbia said, "It will probably boost credibility of global governance with respect to financial markets," said. Enditem
(Oussama El Baroudi contributed to the story. Write to the author: miaoxiaojuan@xinhua.org)
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 08:50:43 FeedbackPrintRSS
by Xinhua writer Miao Xiaojuan
CANNES, France, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)
The seaside city of Cannes, decorated with sweet hyacinths and candy statute, might be written into history in the way it held a summit of 20 major economies that, unprecedented but not unexpectedly, focused mainly on Europe.
Top leaders of the G20 wrapped up the two-day summit on Friday afternoon with a bunch of common commitments that fell short of concrete measures except for those tackling the eurozone’s debt crisis.
"There’s nothing objectionable in the summit’s communiqué if one takes it at face value, but it is even vaguer than communiqués generally are," noted Daniel Kaufmann, senior fellow with the U.S. think tank Brookings Institution.
EUROPE, EUROPE, AND EUROPE
G20 leaders agreed to strengthen the resources of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help distressed European countries and also hailed Italy’s commitment to put its austerity scheme under the IMF and European Commission’s monitoring, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said at the conclusion of the summit.
The summit, which happened to be under the French presidency, had been long expected to be dominated by the worsening debt crisis in Europe, while the Greek referendum drama only elevated the sense of urgency among G20 leaders and thus officially eclipsed the global platform designed for global economic cooperation.
Due to the shock referendum plan thrown out by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, Sarkozy and other summit participants, mainly eurozone leaders, had gone through rounds of emergency meetings and crisis talks before the Greek popular vote was eventually out of the question.
On the first day of the summit, hundreds of international correspondents gathering in the press center also felt the frustration when a scheduled press conference by EU top officials Van Rompuy and Barroso had been pending for almost two hours before its cancellation.
And the moment the Greek issue was taken care of, Italy immediately climbed to the top of the summit’s attention. Mr. Berlusconi managed to calm down other G20 leaders with his cooperative commitment that had been written into the final communiqué of the summit.
"The atmosphere today has nothing to do with last week," Sarkozy said in an apparent big relief referring to the Greek drama that had made headlines everywhere and caused market panic.
While questioned by a BBC reporter if other economies were trying to change the government in Greece and Italy, Sarkozy gave a definite no, defensively saying "you come from the island and you can’t understand the subtleties of the European construction."
DEALS ON GLOBAL ISSUES
Apart from the roller-coaster progress concerning Europe, G20 leaders probably looked beyond the debt crisis at the last moment of the summit as they agreed to a global action plan for growth and jobs in the final communiqué.
It says that advanced economies commit to adopt policies to build confidence and support growth, while countries with large account surpluses commit to reforms to increase domestic demand, coupled with greater exchange rate flexibility.
However, Rym Ayadi, a senior researcher with the Brussels-based think tank Center for European Policy Studies, said he remained skeptical about the summit’s role in improving the global economic situation.
"There’s no common solution to solve the macroeconomic unbalance without deteriorating the situation of other countries," he said.
G20 leaders also agreed to set up a task force to specialize on youth employment issues and fight cross-border tax evasion, among other guideline consensus towards reforming international monetary system and financial sector as well as promoting agriculture, improving energy markets and avoiding protectionism.
The summit reflected the limits of what can be expected from the G20 in terms of getting the international economy back on track, as observed by Michele Chang, professor of political economy with the Brugge-based College of Europe.
"While cooperation and communication are critical in managing a crisis, when it comes to restarting growth the bulk of the work is done at the national level," she said.
Chang’s view was highly echoed by Donald Brean, professor of finance and economics with the University of Toronto, who labeled this summit’s communiqué as “uncharacteristically brief and remarkably bland.”
"The fragile global recovery requires each nation to do its duty to enhance growth and to counter volatility although differences in nation’s circumstances call for different policy tactics," he said.
A few other observers still tend to look at the bright side of the summit, as Yves Tiberghien, associate professor of political science at the University of British Columbia said, "It will probably boost credibility of global governance with respect to financial markets," said. Enditem
(Oussama El Baroudi contributed to the story. Write to the author: miaoxiaojuan@xinhua.org)
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 08:50:43 FeedbackPrintRSS
by Xinhua writer Miao Xiaojuan
CANNES, France, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)
Greek gov't wins confidence vote, opposition gives mixed reactions
Greek gov't wins confidence vote, opposition gives mixed reactions
The Greek government survived a confidence vote at the parliament on Saturday, diminishing the possibility of calling early general elections in the debt-laden Southern European country.
Emerging from the ballot, Prime Minister George Papandreou pledged to start negotiations for forming a national unity coalition later in the day. But the talks would be difficult as opposition parties responded to the outcome of the vote with mixed reactions.
Main opposition leader Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy (ND) party insisted on his call for creating an interim government with a limited term that will lead Greece to snap elections by year end.
However, two other right-wing parties left open the window of possible cooperation with Papandreou. They expressed doubt though whether a national unity cabinet without the support of ND could push through in the parliament in coming weeks the necessary draft bills and the Oct. 26 EU deal on further vital aid to Greece to avert a default that could rock the eurozone.
Addressing the parliament shortly before Saturday's vote, Papandreou said he will visit Greek President Karolos Papoulias later in the day to officially start talks for forming a new government that will safeguard the deal, implying that he was ready to step aside.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos clarified that the national unity government should last at least until February and then Greece could go to national elections.
All 152 ruling socialist PASOK party lawmakers eventually supported the government in the ballot, despite an open rebellion by cabinet ministers that erupted on Thursday over the prime minister's shock announcement to call a referendum on the EU aid package.
The referendum plan alarmed Eurozone members who fear a possible Greek default or exit from the currency bloc could further wreck the bloc's already-troubled economy. The prime minister was forced to scrap the plan under heavy pressure on Thursday.
In Athens, ordinary citizens expressed anxiety despite the outcome of the confidence vote.
"The country's problems will not be solved overnight. We need unity to address the challenge. When our leaders fight over power while default is so close, we can only feel anger and depression," Maria Armeniakou, a middle-aged office secretary, told Xinhua outside the parliament.
Editor: Tang Danlu
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 07:57:16
The Greek government survived a confidence vote at the parliament on Saturday, diminishing the possibility of calling early general elections in the debt-laden Southern European country.
Emerging from the ballot, Prime Minister George Papandreou pledged to start negotiations for forming a national unity coalition later in the day. But the talks would be difficult as opposition parties responded to the outcome of the vote with mixed reactions.
Main opposition leader Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy (ND) party insisted on his call for creating an interim government with a limited term that will lead Greece to snap elections by year end.
However, two other right-wing parties left open the window of possible cooperation with Papandreou. They expressed doubt though whether a national unity cabinet without the support of ND could push through in the parliament in coming weeks the necessary draft bills and the Oct. 26 EU deal on further vital aid to Greece to avert a default that could rock the eurozone.
Addressing the parliament shortly before Saturday's vote, Papandreou said he will visit Greek President Karolos Papoulias later in the day to officially start talks for forming a new government that will safeguard the deal, implying that he was ready to step aside.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos clarified that the national unity government should last at least until February and then Greece could go to national elections.
All 152 ruling socialist PASOK party lawmakers eventually supported the government in the ballot, despite an open rebellion by cabinet ministers that erupted on Thursday over the prime minister's shock announcement to call a referendum on the EU aid package.
The referendum plan alarmed Eurozone members who fear a possible Greek default or exit from the currency bloc could further wreck the bloc's already-troubled economy. The prime minister was forced to scrap the plan under heavy pressure on Thursday.
In Athens, ordinary citizens expressed anxiety despite the outcome of the confidence vote.
"The country's problems will not be solved overnight. We need unity to address the challenge. When our leaders fight over power while default is so close, we can only feel anger and depression," Maria Armeniakou, a middle-aged office secretary, told Xinhua outside the parliament.
Editor: Tang Danlu
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 07:57:16
Greek Prime Minister pledges national unity gov't talks to start Saturday requesting confidence vote
Greek PM pledges national unity gov't talks to start Saturday requesting confidence vote
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou pledged on Friday midnight to start talks for the creation of a national unity government on Saturday, saying that he is willing to discuss even the possibility for another person to lead the new cabinet in his place.
Addressing the Greek assembly shortly before a crucial confidence vote, the Greek prime minister asked for a positive vote as a "mandate to achieve wide consensus to avert power gap in the country or snap general elections," claiming that the prospect would be disastrous for Greece as the country faces the danger of default.
Papandreou said that he will visit President Karolos Papoulias on Saturday to begin talks with all political parties for the formation of a new national unity government.
Stressing that "remaining in power was not a goal in itself" for him, he said that the top priority of the new government must be the implementation of the Oct. 26 European Union (EU) agreement on a new package to tackle the Greek debt crisis.
Rejecting calls for immediate national elections by opposition parties and some ruling party deputies, he underlined that they could be held after the completion of all necessary procedures to safeguard the implementation of the aid package deal and the interests of the country.
Main opposition conservative party leader Antonis Samaras rejected Papandreou's proposal, insisting on the need for snap elections. In his statement he accused the prime minister of ambiguous language.
"There is only solution, by-partisan support to the agreement. Its ratification by the parliament is a national duty," he said, arguing it would ease the debt burden and allow needed reforms to exit the crisis.
"We can hold elections, once we have fulfilled our commitments," Papandreou stressed, defending his initial idea of holding a referendum on the agreement that sent shockwaves internationally over fears of a possible negative outcome, a Greek default that could destabilize the eurozone.
In a message to foreign leaders who criticized him this week for the surprise announcement, he said that he meant to go back to the roots of ancient Greek direct democracy.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 06:48:12 FeedbackPrintRSS
ATHENS, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou pledged on Friday midnight to start talks for the creation of a national unity government on Saturday, saying that he is willing to discuss even the possibility for another person to lead the new cabinet in his place.
Addressing the Greek assembly shortly before a crucial confidence vote, the Greek prime minister asked for a positive vote as a "mandate to achieve wide consensus to avert power gap in the country or snap general elections," claiming that the prospect would be disastrous for Greece as the country faces the danger of default.
Papandreou said that he will visit President Karolos Papoulias on Saturday to begin talks with all political parties for the formation of a new national unity government.
Stressing that "remaining in power was not a goal in itself" for him, he said that the top priority of the new government must be the implementation of the Oct. 26 European Union (EU) agreement on a new package to tackle the Greek debt crisis.
Rejecting calls for immediate national elections by opposition parties and some ruling party deputies, he underlined that they could be held after the completion of all necessary procedures to safeguard the implementation of the aid package deal and the interests of the country.
Main opposition conservative party leader Antonis Samaras rejected Papandreou's proposal, insisting on the need for snap elections. In his statement he accused the prime minister of ambiguous language.
"There is only solution, by-partisan support to the agreement. Its ratification by the parliament is a national duty," he said, arguing it would ease the debt burden and allow needed reforms to exit the crisis.
"We can hold elections, once we have fulfilled our commitments," Papandreou stressed, defending his initial idea of holding a referendum on the agreement that sent shockwaves internationally over fears of a possible negative outcome, a Greek default that could destabilize the eurozone.
In a message to foreign leaders who criticized him this week for the surprise announcement, he said that he meant to go back to the roots of ancient Greek direct democracy.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 06:48:12 FeedbackPrintRSS
ATHENS, Nov. 5 (Xinhua)
Economic growth in Slovakia to slow down to 1.7 percent in 2012
Economic growth in Slovakia to slow down to 1.7 percent in 2012
Slovakia's economy will decelerate and growth will be 1.7 percent in 2012, according to an updated forecast of the Finance Ministry released on Friday.
The ministry has slashed its estimate from September by nearly two percentage points as a loss in budget income of some 480 million euros is now expected. Specific numbers will be known next week when the ministry releases a new prognosis concerning tax revenues.
"Turmoil on financial markets and the resulting uncertainty is worsening the economic outlook of the eurozone, including Germany," according to the ministry's Financial Policy Institute (IFP).
Since Germany is Slovakia's largest trading partner, the IFP analysts say the ramifications for Slovakia are obvious.
Any negative developments in foreign demand for Slovak products will translate into a slowdown in the growth of exports, investments and employment. However, the launch of new production in the carmaker and electronic industries will partly offset the slowdown.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 05:23:51 FeedbackPrintRSS
BRATISLAVA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)
Slovakia's economy will decelerate and growth will be 1.7 percent in 2012, according to an updated forecast of the Finance Ministry released on Friday.
The ministry has slashed its estimate from September by nearly two percentage points as a loss in budget income of some 480 million euros is now expected. Specific numbers will be known next week when the ministry releases a new prognosis concerning tax revenues.
"Turmoil on financial markets and the resulting uncertainty is worsening the economic outlook of the eurozone, including Germany," according to the ministry's Financial Policy Institute (IFP).
Since Germany is Slovakia's largest trading partner, the IFP analysts say the ramifications for Slovakia are obvious.
Any negative developments in foreign demand for Slovak products will translate into a slowdown in the growth of exports, investments and employment. However, the launch of new production in the carmaker and electronic industries will partly offset the slowdown.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 05:23:51 FeedbackPrintRSS
BRATISLAVA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)
Cyprus parliament demands resignation of president
Cyprus parliament demands resignation of president
The Cyprus parliament on Friday demanded the resignation of President Demetris Christofias over a deadly explosion of confiscated Iranian military explosives and munitions in July.
Opposition parties forced through parliament a resolution by a majority of 33 votes to 18, calling Christofias to assume institutional and personal responsibilities attributed to him by an inquiry commission that investigated the circumstances of the explosion.
The resolution is non-binding on the president under the presidential system of Cyprus, but it will further compound his political isolation, leaving only his left-wing AKEL party to rely upon for support.
Speaker after speaker from opposition parties blasted Christofias during a seven-hour debate. They accused him of going back on his pledge to respect any findings of the inquiry commission he had appointed to investigate the issue and lay the blame on those responsible.
The inquiry commission said Christofias was to blame for the blast because of his failure to direct his ministers to take measures for the safe keeping of the explosives.
The explosives were confiscated in February 2009 from a Russian-owned ship sailing from Iran to Syria in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The July 11 explosion of 500 tons of powder stored in a naval base killed 13 people and wrecked the island's main power station, pushing economic growth down to nil.
Christofias has already dismissed demands for his resignation, saying that political responsibility had already been undertaken by his resigned foreign and defense ministers.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 05:10:16 FeedbackPrintRSS
NICOSIA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)
The Cyprus parliament on Friday demanded the resignation of President Demetris Christofias over a deadly explosion of confiscated Iranian military explosives and munitions in July.
Opposition parties forced through parliament a resolution by a majority of 33 votes to 18, calling Christofias to assume institutional and personal responsibilities attributed to him by an inquiry commission that investigated the circumstances of the explosion.
The resolution is non-binding on the president under the presidential system of Cyprus, but it will further compound his political isolation, leaving only his left-wing AKEL party to rely upon for support.
Speaker after speaker from opposition parties blasted Christofias during a seven-hour debate. They accused him of going back on his pledge to respect any findings of the inquiry commission he had appointed to investigate the issue and lay the blame on those responsible.
The inquiry commission said Christofias was to blame for the blast because of his failure to direct his ministers to take measures for the safe keeping of the explosives.
The explosives were confiscated in February 2009 from a Russian-owned ship sailing from Iran to Syria in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
The July 11 explosion of 500 tons of powder stored in a naval base killed 13 people and wrecked the island's main power station, pushing economic growth down to nil.
Christofias has already dismissed demands for his resignation, saying that political responsibility had already been undertaken by his resigned foreign and defense ministers.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 05:10:16 FeedbackPrintRSS
NICOSIA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)
Visegrad FMs hope eurozone stability
Visegrad FMs hope eurozone stability
Foreign ministers of Visegrad Group, namely the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland, said here Friday they want stability in the eurozone.
They made the remarks during Visegrad Group foreign ministers' meeting held in Prague on the situation in the euro area, the Balkans and other issues.
Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, chairman of the meeting, said stability and settlement of the debt problems of Greece and other countries is in line with the interest of Visegrad countries.
While the Visegrad countries, only Slovakia use the euro, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary rely on the development of the euro area, Schwarzenberg told a press conference following the meeting.
Schwarzenberg said the ministers agreed that, whether or not members of the euro area, the four countries are closely related with the fate of the eurozone and its development.
Therefore, the four countries hope the eurozone to achieve stability as soon as possible, said Schwarzenberg, adding that further expansion of the European Union (EU) is still the Visegrad countries' priority.
The four foreign ministers said they support the entire Balkans to join the EU.
In February 1991, leaders of Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia held a meeting at the Visegrad Castle in Hungary to enhance cooperation of the three countries and agreed to the establishment of the regional cooperation organization.
The three countries attended the meeting was called Visegrad Group. In January 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent respectively and thus Visegrad Group member states expand to four.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 05:10:04
Foreign ministers of Visegrad Group, namely the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland, said here Friday they want stability in the eurozone.
They made the remarks during Visegrad Group foreign ministers' meeting held in Prague on the situation in the euro area, the Balkans and other issues.
Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, chairman of the meeting, said stability and settlement of the debt problems of Greece and other countries is in line with the interest of Visegrad countries.
While the Visegrad countries, only Slovakia use the euro, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary rely on the development of the euro area, Schwarzenberg told a press conference following the meeting.
Schwarzenberg said the ministers agreed that, whether or not members of the euro area, the four countries are closely related with the fate of the eurozone and its development.
Therefore, the four countries hope the eurozone to achieve stability as soon as possible, said Schwarzenberg, adding that further expansion of the European Union (EU) is still the Visegrad countries' priority.
The four foreign ministers said they support the entire Balkans to join the EU.
In February 1991, leaders of Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia held a meeting at the Visegrad Castle in Hungary to enhance cooperation of the three countries and agreed to the establishment of the regional cooperation organization.
The three countries attended the meeting was called Visegrad Group. In January 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent respectively and thus Visegrad Group member states expand to four.
Editor: yan
English.news.cn 2011-11-05 05:10:04
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