Portugal bail-out: High-level talks to set terms

Top IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank officials are to begin talks shortly with Portugal to set the terms of its proposed bail-out.

Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos leads Portugal's team

They are to meet Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos in the capital Lisbon after a fact-finding mission last week.
The 80bn euro ($115bn; £70bn) bail-out is due to be completed by mid-May.
Portugal's people are braced for more austerity as the price of the deal, a BBC correspondent reports.
Some economists see the IMF taking a softer line on the interest rate and duration of the loan than EU officials, who are under pressure from voters in member states that are putting up the money, the BBC's Alison Roberts reports from Lisbon.
Just last week, the IMF forecast that Portugal's GDP would shrink this year and next.
While the main opposition party is backing the caretaker government's bail-out bid, many Portuguese are vocal in their opposition, our correspondent says.
German negotiators Two Germans are leading the EU delegations - Juergen Kroeger for the European Commission and Rasmus Rueffer for the European Central Bank - while the IMF team is led by a Dane, Poul Thomsen.
Support for the bail-out from Germany, the richest eurozone state, is crucial.
EU finance ministers have identified three main areas for austerity measures in the country - fiscal adjustment, competitiveness and financial sector solvency.
They have also called for an ambitious privatisation plan.
Portugal's problems have been different from those of Greece and the Irish Republic, the other eurozone countries that have needed bailing out.
Weak economic growth and low productivity have meant that the country has struggled to raise enough money through taxation to pay for government spending.
When the banking crisis came, Portugal found itself dealing with the same rising costs of debt that other countries had to deal with, and finally had to concede that it could not raise the money it needed through financial markets.
The Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, had a much more severe banking crisis, largely as a result of a property bubble that burst.
Greece went on a debt-fuelled spending spree while failing to sort out the public finances to fund it.

BBC

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Clashes Reported in Several Libyan Cities

Libyan rebel fighters load a truck with ammunition on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, Libya, Saturday, April 16, 2011.

Fighting is being reported in at least three Libyan cities Saturday, including the besieged port of Misrata, where living conditions continue to deteriorate. Human rights groups are also accusing Gadhafi loyalists of using cluster bombs in the city.

Desperate residents of the besieged rebel-held city of Misrata express their grief and anguish as the battle for the city continues unabated. Witnesses report shelling and rocket attacks by pro-Gadhafi forces around Misrata port where hundreds of civilians have been hunkering down.

Al Jazeera TV showed images of buildings around the port ablaze, with fire coming out their windows, after an intense rocket barrage. Witnesses say large portions of the city have been abandoned due to the intense shelling and hundreds of families are living in cramped conditions, without running water and electricity.

The group, Human Rights Watch,  is also accusing pro-Gadhafi forces of using dangerous cluster bombs, banned by most countries, in Misrata. Human Rights Watch spokesperson Emma Daley says an observer from the group witnessed Gadhafi forces using what she thinks were cluster bombs.

"We actually witnessed what we believe were three cluster munitions strikes a couple of nights ago over a populated neighborhood of Misrata. And, we interviewed a couple of witnesses who believe that they saw cluster munition attacks on earlier occasions. And finally, our researchers in Misrata found physical evidence. They found sub-munitions from cluster munitions that they were able to identify as a Spanish weapon manufactured in 2007," he said.

Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, however, denies that Gadhafi forces are using cluster bombs, insisting that it would be foolish to do so, since the evidence would be obvious. "We challenge them to prove this. To use these bombs, you know, the evidence will remain for days and weeks and we know the international community is coming en masse [to] our country soon. So, we can't do this. We can't do anything that would incriminate us, even if we were criminals," he said.

Ashraf Mohammed, an Egyptian man who worked in Misrata and was recently evacuated by sea to the rebel-held city of Benghazi, describes conditions in the city before he left. He said that more than 80 missiles fell on Misrata port, in the 24 hours before he was evacuated from the city. He notes that even more shells fell on the rest of the city, and three Egyptian workers were killed in the attacks.

Mohamed Abu Tunyan, a worker from Bangladesh, explains that the shelling and the lack of food and water made living conditions dire for himself and hundreds of other Bangladeshis. He said he and about 1,500 other Bangladeshi workers were hiding in the Masna steel factory in Misrata for about 15 days. He complains that the shelling on the port area, along with the lack of food and water made living conditions extremely difficult.

Heavy fighting was also reported Saturday around the eastern city of Ajdabiya. Rebel forces have reportedly taken some new ground from Gadhafi loyalists on the road to the oil port of Brega. The fighting comes amid a recent flurry of diplomatic activity, and conferences in Berlin, Cairo, and Doha, Qatar.

VOA

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Posted in: Afica,Politics

US man courts beauty queen, chops arm: VN dad

A man who recently had his arm chopped by a gang in Ho Chi Minh City said a Vietnamese-American did it after he failed to court his beautiful daughter when she found out his dirty secret.

Former university's beauty queen Nguyen Khanh and her father

Tran Van Tai, 53 of Ho Chi Minh City’s district 11 had his arm nearly severed in an attack on April 8. His whole family has been threatened with death.
Tai told police he was going home when four men on two motorbikes came over, took out a long knife and hacked his left arm.
Tai failed to see their faces or motorbike plate numbers as the attack happened too fast. His arm was nearly severed.
Tai said he suspected the attackers were hired by his daughter’s former boyfriend, a Vietnamese-American computer technician.
US suitor cheated, beat beauty queen
According to initial information, he could be an American passport holder with the name Nguyen S. [name withheld], 37 years old.
S. who is living in the US met Tai’s daughter Tran Ngoc Nguyen Khanh after she won the second prize at the Sakura Beauty Contest in 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City.
Khanh is a beautiful girl who once won first prize at her university's beauty contest while attending Hong Bang University in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Tai, S. became more dominating and often called his daughter from the US, telling her not to talk with handsome men.
S. even allegedly forbade Khanh to continue with her education for fear she could be courted.
But after a trip to the US, Khanh discovered that S. is married with children.
When Khanh wanted to end the relationship, S. beat her.
Tai told police his daughter had to be hospitalized after the beating.
S. then flew to Vietnam with a group of thugs and told Khanh to continue to be his girlfriend otherwise her family would be hurt, Tai said.
According to Phap Luat HCMC newspaper, relatives said Khanh started to undergo great stress and dared not go out. She started to lose weight.
Attack at restaurant
During the recent Tet [lunar new year] last February, Tai went to confront S. when he was in Vietnam for the holiday.
Tai begged S. to spare his daughter but S. demanded to talk about the issue only when Khanh is the US.
S. then threatened to post ‘sensitive’ photos of Khanh on the Internet and emailed Khanh’s family many threatening messages.
On February 19, four men with tattoos and knives came to Tai’s house in Da Lat but later went away.
The next day, the four visited Tai’s eatery. Tai was running a small restaurant in the tourism city of Da Lat in the central highlands.
One thug broke a shop window, causing all customers to flee.
According to Tai, S. telephoned Tai right after to say he is behind the attack.
Tai then informed police, quit the restaurant business and moved to Ho Chi Minh City with his family.
But it seems S. did not quit.
Police are investigating.

tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

10 Koreans injured, 1 dead in Vietnam accident

A Hyundai tourist bus hit a mountain in Uong Bi, Quang Ninh northern province at around 12:30 p.m. (local time) on April 15, killing 1 Vietnamese and leaving 10 South Korean tourists slightly injured.
The injured tourists were taken to nearby hospitals shortly after the accident. They have been discharged and returned to Hanoi the same day.
According to lieutenant colonel Trinh Tien Manh, deputy head of Uong Bi public security department, driver Nguyen Thanh Binh, 49, hailing from Hanoi was driving a 35-seat bus with 13 South Korean tourists and one Vietnamese tour-guide on board heading to Yen Tu cultural – historical site in Uong Bi city.
The driver suddenly lost control due to the car’s broken brake and smashed into a motorbike on the opposite direction before slamming into a mountain, killing motorist Tran Anh Tuan on the spot.
The bus then overturned, leaving 10 South Korean tourists injured.
Manh said the bus is still within the warranty period.
The driver is being detained for further investigation.

tuoitenews

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

Teen ethnic girl rescued from sex trade

Soldiers at Lao Cai border gate in the northern mountainous province have rescued a 14-year-old ethnic girl from two human traffickers.
The victim only known as Men resides in Moc Chau District, Son La Northern Province.
According to police, Men went to Hanoi by bus in early March to visit her boyfriend, who was studying here.
However, she didn’t get in touch with her boyfriend and even did not have a penny to buy a return ticket when she arrived at the bus station. An assistant driver nearby promised to find her a well-paid job.
She said the man lured her into a brothel in Hanoi’s outskirts where she was forced to have sex with lots of men including two regular customers Bui Van Thang, 20, and Trinh Xuan Truong, 22.
Three weeks later, Thang and Truong invited her to sell clothes at Lao Cai border area.
However, the two men didn’t offer her a good job as promised. Instead, they conspired to sell her to a brothel in China. They were arrested in early April when they tried to bring her across the border.
Thang admitted he had relationship with some sex slave traders in China through his sister, who is working as a sex worker in China.
Since early year, Lao Cai border’s authorities have busted 9 human trafficking cases, rescuing many victims.

tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

Australian police bust heroin ring from Vietnam

Australian Associated Press reported the Australian police had taken down a drug ring using couriers to traffic heroin from Vietnam into Australia.
The police arrested eight people in raids in Victoria and New South Wales today and seized a "substantial" amount of cash, Jewelry and property.
Five of them were captured in Melbourne and the other three in suburban Sydney following thorough searches of 20 local properties.
The eight-month investigation, Operation Rattlesnake-Joinery, which involved local and federal Australian police and Vietnamese authorities, centered on an alleged drug syndicate ferrying heroin by couriers into the two states from Vietnam.
The Australian Federal Police had previously charged five internal couriers connected to the operation.

tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

Real cherry branches made it to Hanoi festival

200 real Japanese cherry branches arrived in Hanoi Friday in a Vietnam Airlines flight to get ready for the annual Cherry Blossom festival opening at Giang Vo Exhibition Center Saturday.
They have been preserved in a cold room and grafted together to make two big trees by Japanese experts and volunteers, said Yoshio Murakami of the Japan Foundation which has been the organizer of the festival for four years.
Last year, as the festival was held in May, when the cherry blossom season in Japanese had passed, the organizers had to make do with artificial flowers.
70 dancers from four Yoshakoi and Nakin teams also arrived in Hanoi on the same day to get prepared for their performances in the festive event.
Origami experts and chefs from Japan have been all set, which adds a new touch to this year’s festival.
As part of the activities, visitors will fold 1,000 paper cranes as prayers for victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. A fund raising event for the victims will also be held.
300 students from Japanese language centers around Hanoi have signed up to volunteer, Murakami said, alongside the Giang Vo center’s professional security guards, which will ensure that the chaos in 2008 when fest-goers jostled to pluck blossoms will not repeat.
This year’s festival, which is the 4th of its kind to be organized by the Japan foundation, is called Genki, the Japanese word for energy.

tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Experimental Society,Society,Vietnam

Bank arm registers $143 mln loss, CEO arrested

The Ministry of Public Security Saturday arrested Vu Quoc Hao, former general director of state-owned Agribank’s Financial Leasing Company II (ALC II) after the State Audit of Vietnam found $143.4 million in loss at the company.
The police also arrested Ton Quang Viet, former deputy head of the Leasing Department at ALC II, and Dang Van Hai, chairman of the Board of Members and general director of Quang Vinh Construction and Trading Co., Ltd.
All were charged with “abusing power while on duty.”
The police also searched the residences and offices of the three men.
Earlier, the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam had decided to prosecute them for their involvements in the loss of about VND3,000 billion ($143.4 million) at ALC II in 2009.
The state audit also found ALC II was exposed to a potential loss of another VND4,600 billion ($220 million) in their leasing activities.
ALC II, an independent accounting unit under the management of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development known as Agribank, provides financial leasing services to businesses that need capital for equipment and technology renovation.
ALC II is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City and has branches in various southern provinces and cities.
To date, it has provided 1,200 leasing projects worth over VND1,200 billion (US$57.4 million) to 650 domestic and foreign companies.

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Posted in: Business,Vietnam

Lethal US spring storms move east to Carolinas

Three days of severe spring storms have left 22 people dead in the US south, with the Carolinas the latest states to take a battering as they move east.

This home was flattened by a tornado in Fayetteville, North Carolina

Four deaths were reported in North Carolina. A tornado destroyed a church near Bonneau, in South Carolina, though six people caught inside were unharmed.
The entire Washington DC metropolitan area has been put under tornado watch.
While tornadoes formed in the south, much of the damage there was attributed to high winds.
The warning by the US National Weather Service for the Washington area also applies to counties in both Virginia and Maryland.
Trees and power lines have been felled by the storms which have torn roofs off houses and scattered tractor-trailers across roads.

Alabama and Arkansas each reported seven deaths, with two in Oklahoma, one in Mississippi and one in storm-related wildfires in Texas.
Details were not immediately available of the deaths in North Carolina.
A mechanic at a tyre shop in the state capital, Raleigh, said he had taken shelter in his truck while co-workers squeezed into an interior room when the storm hit.
"It was one hell of a storm," Bryan Jackson told Reuters news agency.
"I started to see the roof vibrate and then the roof separated and it was gone."
The area south of Raleigh city centre was littered with snapped telephone poles, downed wires, broken glass and roofing debris.

BBC

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Posted in: Society

Ivory Coast: Gbagbo party urges 'end to war'

The party of deposed Ivory Coast leader Laurent Gbagbo, the Ivorian Popular Front, has appealed for an end to fighting by armed groups.

Heavily armed pro-Ouattara soldiers have been patrolling Abidjan

Party leader Pascal Affi N'Guessan said the "war" had to end in order to allow Ivory Coast a chance to rebuild.
Forces loyal to Alassane Ouattara, who won November's presidential election, captured Mr Gbagbo this week.
Shooting erupted on Saturday morning outside the main city, Abidjan, between Gbagbo and Ouattara supporters.
Pro-Gbagbo fighters had sought refuge in the sprawling Yopougon neighbourhood and pro-Ouattara fighters were trying to disarm them, local residents said.
Fears of reprisals among Gbagbo supporters have been stoked by reports of atrocities committed in the days before pro-Ouattara forces advanced on Abidjan.
At least 1,500 people have been killed in violence since the election while a further million have been forced from their homes in the west African state, which was once seen as a model of development for Africa.
'Chaotic situation'

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Pascal Affi N'Guessan: "We hope to finish this quickly so the country can return to normal"

"In many places, some of our compatriots are still fighting," said Mr Affi N'Guessan, reading out a statement to the nation, at the Abidjan hotel used as President Ouattara's headquarters.
"The FPI [Ivorian Popular Front] is devastated by the chaotic situation and presents its sympathies to the families of all those who have died."
Standing alongside former Foreign Minister Alcide Djedje, he called for a halt to "the escalation of violence".
"In the name of peace, let us end the war," he said. "Let us put an end to all forms of belligerence and confrontation. We must give our country the chance for restoration and reconstruction."
International journalists initially were prevented from hearing the FPI leader's declaration by a pro-Ouattara military officer, an Associated Press news agency correspondent reports.
Only Mr Ouattara's Ivorian Radio and Television, known by its French acronym RTI, was first allowed to film the declaration.
However, after journalists telephoned ministers in Mr Ouattara's cabinet complaining, they were allowed to record separately Mr Affi N'Guessan's statement.
Gbagbo under guard Mr Affi N'Guessan is a former prime minister in the Gbagbo government and was seen as a hardliner, so his appeal reflects an acceptance that the struggle for power has been lost, and a feeling that Ivorians now need to get on with restoring normal life, the BBC's John James reports from Abidjan.
The call coincided with the release this weekend of around 70 prisoners held by the Ouattara government - mainly members of Laurent Gbagbo's family and household staff who were arrested when the presidential residence was stormed.
The Ouattara government has told civil servants to return to work from Monday morning, though most have not received their salaries for several months and the banks remain closed.
Many moderate members of Mr Gbagbo's government have now pledged allegiance to President Ouattara, whose victory was recognised by the UN.
The former president is believed to be living under UN protection in a town in northern Ivory Coast, where Mr Ouattara has his power base.
Mr Ouattara has said he wants his predecessor tried by both national and international courts for alleged crimes.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has said it is conducting a preliminary examination into crimes perpetrated by all sides in the conflict.

BBC

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Posted in: Afica,Politics