Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Tornado outbreak kills at least 16 - Chicago Tribune Posted: 28 Apr 2014 08:22 AM PDT LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas— Rescue workers searched for survivors on Monday in the rubble left by a wave of tornadoes that ripped through the south-central United States a day earlier, killing at least 16 people in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Iowa. Arkansas was the hardest hit, with at least 10 people dead in central Faulkner County and four more across the state, for the first reported fatalities of this year's U.S. tornado season, authorities said. Strong winds wrenched houses off their foundations and flipped cars on top of the rubble in the small town of Vilonia in Faulkner County. One person was killed in neighboring Oklahoma and another in Iowa, state authorities said. A tornado hit the east side of Mayflower, Arkansas, on Sunday evening, killing at least one person, tearing up trees and bringing down power lines, making it difficult for the emergency services to find stricken areas in the dark, officials said. The Arkansas National Guard was deployed to help out. At least one other person was killed in a tornado in the town of Quapaw, in the northeast corner of neighboring Oklahoma, according to Ottawa County Sheriff's Department spokesman Derek Derwin. That twister was spotted in the town 200 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, according to the weather service. Another fatality was reported on a farm in northeastern Keokuk County in Iowa by the local sheriff's office last night, said John Benson, a spokesperson for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management. A tornado in Baxter Springs, Kan., that touched down on Sunday evening destroyed as many as 70 homes and 25 businesses and injured 34 people, of whom nine were hospitalized, state and county officials said. One person was reported dead but it was unclear if the death was storm-related, said the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office. Overnight tornado watches and warnings were announced in several parts of Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. Reuters

Putin's oil tsar emerged from shadows to wield vast power - Reuters Posted: 28 Apr 2014 08:53 AM PDT Rosneft President and Chairman of the Managing Board Igor Sechin speaks during the IHS CERAWeek energy conference in Houston March 6, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Richard Carson (Reuters) - When Vladimir Putin brought Igor Sechin out of the shadows and into the Kremlin 14 years ago, Russian newspapers said they had no photographs of him and alluded to his behind-the-scenes influence by calling him Darth Vadar. A man with no energy industry background, Sechin has served for two years as boss of Rosneft (ROSN.MM), a state-controlled company that under Putin swallowed up Russian oil assets to become the biggest publicly listed oil producer in the world. A close lieutenant of Putin's for more than two decades, Sechin is the most important figure among a list of Russians whose U.S. assets were frozen on Monday as part of sanctions intended to push Moscow to stop supporting a pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine. His biography has gaps - he was posted to Africa in the 1980s, officially as an interpreter for a Soviet trade body. But he is widely reported to have served, like Putin himself, as a spy during the dying days of the Soviet Union, which he has never denied. That shared international cloak-and-dagger background has helped make him one of Putin's most trusted aides and arguably the second most powerful man in Russia, despite having no official role in government since 2012. He played a central role in Putin's drive to reimpose the state's authority over Russia's most valuable asset, its energy industry, which had been carved up and sold off to oligarchs in rigged privatization auctions in the 1990s. Sechin, 53, joined Putin in the Kremlin from the outset, quickly earning a reputation as a leader of the "siloviki" - a conservative faction of former members of the security services close to Putin who controlled the levers of power. With reports growing in recent weeks that Sechin might be on a sanctions list, he has shrugged off the likely impact, saying last month they merely would unite people around Putin. "As for the country's loyal elite, sanctions have always led to the consolidation and concentration of forces against pressure from outside," Prime news agency quoted him as saying. The comment is a sign of Sechin's loyalty to Putin, the single asset that has made him most useful to the president. "He is very faithful. He has his own notion of honor, which is to stay loyal till the bitter end," said Yevgeny Muravich, who studied languages, including Portuguese, with Sechin at Leningrad State University, and worked with him in Mozambique. COLD WAR, HOT FRONT Sechin's languages were useful when posted to southern Africa in the 1980s, at a time when guerrilla wars in Portuguese-speaking Angola and Mozambique were two of the hot frontlines of the Cold War. He says he was serving in the military at the time. Rosneft declined to comment on Sechin's past jobs. Repeated requests for an interview were left unanswered. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Sechin, like Putin, returned home to a Russian Federation suddenly shorn of its empire. The two men worked together in the St Petersburg mayor's office in the 1990s where Putin began the rise that brought him to the Kremlin at the start of the new millennium. When Putin took over as president from an ailing Boris Yeltsin, he brought Sechin to the Kremlin as deputy chief of staff, where he became known as a "grey cardinal" with power beyond his official title. With most of the Russian oil industry then in the hands of oligarchs, Putin used Rosneft, a state-controlled firm that produced just 250,000 barrels of oil a day in 1998, to reassert the state's role. Putin named Sechin Rosneft chairman in 2004. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oligarch who fell out with Putin and was jailed for more than a decade, says it was Sechin who masterminded the breakup of his Yukos oil firm, mostly sold into state hands after Khodorkovsky's 2003 arrest. After relentlessly extending its reach, Rosneft now produces 4.2 million barrels per day - 40 percent of Russia's output and nearly 5 percent of the world's. That is nearly double the output of Exxon Mobil, the biggest Western major. When Putin took a break from the presidency and served as prime minister for a term from 2008-2012, Sechin served as deputy premier. When Putin returned to the Kremlin, he put Sechin in charge of Rosneft again, this time as CEO. Under Sechin, Rosneft acquired BP's (BP.L) half share in a Russian joint venture last year in a huge deal that left Britain's largest company with a 20 percent stake in Rosneft. TAKING AND GENERATING ORDERS By concentrating so much of the Russian oil industry in one state-controlled firm under the supervision of a personally loyal lieutenant, Putin reversed the chaos of the Yeltsin era, when Russia's oil fields were divided among oligarchs. Former employees at Rosneft say Sechin is a demanding boss. "He rules with an iron fist, he keeps all figures in his head. He has a great memory and a fantastic ability to work long hours," one former employee said. Sechin strictly follows Putin's instructions but also appears to influence the president. Industry sources say that in 2005 Sechin blocked plans that Putin had blessed for Rosneft to merge with Gazprom (GAZP.MM) because he did not like the way control of the behemoth would be shared. "He follows orders from above (Putin), but sometimes he generates these orders," said a top Russian executive who asked not to be named. Putin and Sechin have also used Rosneft's giant portfolio of undeveloped assets to win international influence. While serving as deputy prime minister, Sechin struck exploration deals with Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Norway's Statoil (STL.OL) and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI). Those partnerships seek to develop Rosneft's vast offshore reserves and help it acquire know-how in extracting hard-to-recover oil. Industry sources say Sechin cleared the way by convincing Putin to back a new tax regime that encourages firms to invest. An industry insider told Reuters that Sechin's ultimate goal was to turn the company into a global major, similar to BP (BP.L) and Shell (RDSa.L). Its purchase of Morgan Stanley's oil trading business is a part of that drive. (Additional reporting by Katya Golubkova, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Peter Graff)

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Racial remarks attributed to Donald Sterling face widespread rebuke - Los Angeles Times Posted: 27 Apr 2014 09:20 AM PDT A Los Angeles councilman says he won't attend Clippers games as long as Donald Sterling is owner after a recording was made public that purports to show the NBA team's owner making racist statements. Councilman Curren Price, whose South L.A. district includes Staples Center, called the remarks "a disgrace" and said he would join Magic Johnson in refusing to attend any Clippers games while Sterling remains the owner. "It is incredibly disappointing to see someone who is leading a nationally recognized brand express this kind of ignorance and hatred," he said. From President Obama to L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, the criticism of the recorded comments was swift. "When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk," Obama said during a news conference in Malaysia. Garcetti said through a spokesman Saturday that he condemns the "statements and sentiments" attributed to Sterling.  "These statements are offensive and despicable and have no place in Los Angeles. I urge the NBA to act swiftly. L.A. fans deserve and demand better," Garcetti said in a statement. Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who represents a portion of South Los Angeles, went further, saying the council should take a formal position denouncing the remarks and demanding action from the NBA. The NBA said it is conducting an investigation. RELATED: Snoop Dogg, Chuck D blast Sterling over remarks Late Friday, TMZ posted an audio recording it said captures Sterling making racist statements in the course of an argument. The Times has not confirmed the authenticity of the tape. The Clippers released a statement released a statement in which President Andy Roeser says that the team does not know if the man recorded is Sterling but that the comments do not reflect Sterling's "views, beliefs or feelings." A person identified by TMZ as Sterling can be heard in the recording, said to be made this month, telling a female friend, identified as V. Stiviano, that he was upset she posted a picture on her Instagram account of herself next to Lakers legend Magic Johnson. "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people," the man in the recording says, later adding: "I'm just saying, in your … Instagrams, you don't have to have yourself with, walking with black people." "Don't put him on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me," he says. "And don't bring him to my games." The NBA released a statement saying it was conducting a "full investigation" into the recording. "The remarks heard on the recording are disturbing and offensive," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in the statement, "but at this time we have no further information." TMZ did not say how it obtained the recording. The Los Angeles chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People had been scheduled to give Sterling the group's lifetime achievement award at its May 15 banquet. At that event, the NAACP chapter also planned to give its first "person of the year" awards to Garcetti and the Rev. Al Sharpton, according to the organization's website. Parks compared the situation to remarks about black, Jewish and Japanese people made by Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott in the 1990s. "Statements like this happen way too routinely to view an apology as sufficient," said Parks, whose district includes a significant number of African American residents. "The league needs to take action, much as they did in the Marge Schott situation in Cincinnati, where they went through multiple suspensions because of her derogatory and racist remarks, and then eventually forced her to sell her franchise." Council President Herb Wesson wasn't prepared to say how the City Council should respond, saying the NBA should be allowed to complete its investigation. "In the event that this is his voice, and those are his words, disciplinary action should take place," he said. "A player gets fined if he says something that's inappropriate, and I think you should hold the owners to the same standard." ALSO: Drought covers 100% of California for first time in 15 years Sword-swinging man shot by officers in South L.A., police say School bus driver may not have hit brakes before crash, CHP says

Pope Francis makes history with dual canonization of Pope John XXIII, Pope ... - Fox News Posted: 27 Apr 2014 09:20 AM PDT VATICAN CITY –  Pope Francis declared Popes John XXIII and John Paul II saints before some 800,000 people on Sunday in an unprecedented ceremony made even more historic by the presence of emeritus Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square. Never before have a reigning pope and a retired pope celebrated Mass together in public, much less at an event honoring two of their most famous predecessors. Benedict's presence was a reflection of the balancing act that Francis envisioned when he decided to canonize John and John Paul together, showing the unity of the Catholic Church by honoring popes beloved by conservatives and progressives alike. Francis made that point clear in his homily, praising both new saints for their work associated with the Second Vatican Council, the groundbreaking meetings that brought the 2,000-year-old institution into modern times. John convened the council in 1962 while John Paul helped ensure its more conservative implementation and interpretation. "John XXIII and John Paul II cooperated with the Holy Spirit in renewing and updating the church in keeping with her pristine features, those features which the saints have given her throughout the centuries," Francis said. He praised John for having allowed himself to be led by God to call the council, and he hailed John Paul's focus on the family -- an issue Francis has taken up himself. "They were priests, bishops and popes of the 20th century," Francis said. "They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them." It was Benedict who put John Paul on the fast-track for possible sainthood just weeks after he died in 2005, responding to the chants of "Santo Subito!" or "Sainthood Now!" that erupted during his funeral Mass. His canonization is now the fastest in modern times. Francis then tweaked the Vatican's own saint-making rules, deciding that John could be made a saint alongside him without the necessary second miracle usually required for canonization. Francis took a deep breath and paused for a moment before reciting the saint-making formula in Latin at the start of the ceremony, as if moved by the history he was about to make in canonizing two popes at once. He said that after deliberating, consulting and praying for divine assistance "we declare and define that Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II be saints and we enroll them among the saints, decreeing that they are to be venerated as such by the whole church." Applause broke out from a crowd that stretched from St. Peter's to the Tiber River and beyond. "This is such a historic moment," marveled the Rev. Victor Perez, who brought a group from the John Paul High School in Houston, Texas and waited for nearly 12 hours to get near St. Peter's. "John Paul was so impactful on the church.  He completed the work of Vatican II.  Today honors the last 50 years of what God has done in the church." In John Paul's native Poland, bells rang out as soon as Francis pronounced the two men saints. "He changed Poland and he changed us with his teaching and with his visits here," an emotional Maria Jurek said as she watched the proceedings on giant TV screens at a sanctuary dedicated to John Paul in Krakow. In the Philippines, where John Paul in 1995 drew the largest ever crowd for a papal Mass at 4 million, Filipinos watched the canonization on TV and joined local celebrations, including a suburban Manila parade of children dressed like the pope. Yet the atmosphere in St. Peter's seemed somber and subdued -- perhaps due to the chilly gray skies and cumulative lack of sleep of many of the pilgrims who camped out on the streets near the Vatican or stayed up praying at the all-night vigils organized in churches around town. It was a far different scene than the rollicking party atmosphere of John Paul's May 2011 beatification, when bands of young people sang, danced and cheered before, during and after the Mass. Spirits did pick up after the service when Francis drove through the crowds in his open-topped car all the way down to the Tiber River, giving many people their first -- and only -- close-up glimpse of him. The Vatican estimated that 800,000 people watched the Mass in Rome, with about 500,000 in the square and nearby streets and the rest watching on TV screens that had been set up in piazzas around town. By the time the ceremony began, Via della Conciliazione, the main boulevard leading from the square, nearby streets and the bridges across the Tiber were packed. Polish pilgrims carrying the red and white flags of John Paul's beloved homeland had been among the first to push into the square well before sunrise, as the human chains of neon-vested civil protection workers trying to maintain order finally gave up and let them in. "Four popes in one ceremony is a fantastic thing to see and to be at, because it is history being written in our sight," marveled one of the visiting Poles, Dawid Halfar. Benedict had promised to remain "hidden from the world" after resigning last year, but Francis has coaxed him out of retirement and urged him to take part in the public life of the church. During the Mass, Benedict sat off to the side of the altar with other cardinals, though he was clearly in a place of honor. He received the Italian president and a steady stream of cardinals, as well as Francis himself who embraced Benedict at the beginning and end of the service. Benedict had arrived in the square on his own to cheers and applause, wearing the same white vestments and white bishops' miter as other cardinals. The only difference was he had a white skullcap on rather than red. In a dress rehearsal of sorts, Benedict attended the February ceremony in which Francis installed 19 new cardinals. But celebrating Mass together with Francis was something else entirely, a first for the institution and a reflection of Francis' desire to show the continuity in the papacy, despite different personalities, priorities and politics. Pope John XIII, who reigned from 1958-1963, is a hero to liberal Catholics for having convened Vatican II, which allowing Mass to be celebrated in local languages rather than Latin and encouraged greater dialogue with people of other faiths, particularly Jews. During his quarter-century papacy from 1978-2005, John Paul II helped topple communism through his support of Poland's Solidarity movement. His globe-trotting papacy and launch of the wildly popular World Youth Days invigorated a new generation of Catholics, while his defense of core church teaching heartened conservatives after the turbulent 1960s. "John Paul was our pope," said Therese Andjoua, a 49-year-old nurse who traveled from Libreville, Gabon, with some 300 other pilgrims to attend. She sported a traditional African dress bearing the images of the two new saints. "In 1982 he came to Gabon and when he arrived he kissed the ground and told us to `Get up, go forward and be not afraid,"' she recalled as she rested against a pallet of water bottles. "When we heard he was going to be canonized, we got up." Kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers from more than 90 countries attended. Some 20 Jewish leaders from the U.S., Israel, Italy, Francis' native Argentina and Poland were also taking part, in a clear sign of their appreciation for the great strides made in Catholic-Jewish relations under John, John Paul -- and their successors celebrating their sainthood.

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

School Stabbing Suspect Is Under Psych Evaluation - ABC News Posted: 26 Apr 2014 09:36 AM PDT A teenager charged with stabbing a fellow high school student to death on the day of their junior prom is being held in a hospital under psychiatric evaluation and will likely remain there for two weeks, one of his attorneys said Saturday. The 16-year-old suspect, who was charged as a juvenile offender, will not appear at an arraignment scheduled for Monday in New Haven, attorney Richard Meehan said. The teenager is accused of fatally stabbing 16-year-old Maren Sanchez in the hallway of Jonathan Law High School in Milford. The attack occurred Friday morning, hours before the school's junior prom, and authorities were investigating whether Sanchez was stabbed after turning down the suspect's invitation to the dance. Maren Sanchez, seen in this undated handout photo obtained via WABC, was stabbed at school in Milford, Conn. on April 25, 2014. The victim's cousin, Edward Kovac, said Friday in a statement on behalf of the family that they are shocked and devastated. He said Sanchez was "a bright light full of hopes and dreams with her future at her fingertips." Meehan said the suspect's family is also reeling from the attack. "His family is devastated not only for him, but the youngster who was killed. It's a terrible situation all the way around," Meehan said. The suspect could be charged as an adult, but he would need to appear in court for that to happen. State's Attorney Kevin Lawlor said several factors go into that decision, including the seriousness of the charges. The commitment of the suspect can last for up to 15 days, according to Meehan. He said doctors typically order such involuntary commitments in cases where a suspect is considered a danger to himself. Meehan said the defense expects to waive a detention hearing Monday in juvenile court. Sanchez, a member of the National Honor Society who was active in drama and other school activities, had been focused on prom in the days before she was killed. She had posted on Facebook a photograph of herself wearing a blue prom dress and was looking forward to attending with a new boyfriend. The dance has been postponed indefinitely and students instead gathered Friday night for a candlelight vigil, with counselors on hand for anyone who needed them. At school Thursday, Sanchez and a friend talked excitedly about their plans for the upcoming dance. "We were just laughing, talking about what we were going to do when we got there, how many pictures we were going to take," said the friend, Imani Langston. That night, she was helping to paint the set for a high school production of "Little Shop of Horrors" when she asked to be excused to have her nails done, drama adviser Michael Mele said. "So here is this girl with her freshly painted prom nails, painting the set, and just having a great time with her classmates talking about plans for the prom and plans for after prom and going on a double date with another one of the drama kids and her new boyfriend," Mele said. ———— Associated Press writer Pat Eaton-Robb contributed to this report.

Catholics Flock to Vatican for Historic Papal Canonization - TIME Posted: 26 Apr 2014 06:37 AM PDT [unable to retrieve full-text content] Getty Images Catholics Flock to Vatican for Historic Papal Canonization TIME More than one million Catholics were expected to flock to Rome Saturday for the historic double canonization of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII on Sunday. The city of Rome has been repairing roads and preparing the city for the large influx of pilgrims ... Facts and figures about canonisationgulfnews.com Pope John XXIII profileTelegraph.co.uk Holiday atmosphere as Rome gears up for papal canonisationReuters India Getty Images -Ahram Online all 2,363 news articles »

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

Russia Unexpectedly Raises Main Rate as S&P Lowers Rating - Bloomberg Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:11 AM PDT Russia's central bank sprung a surprise by raising its benchmark interest rate after Standard & Poor's downgraded the world's biggest energy exporter for the first time in six years as capital outflows threaten growth. The central bank, whose scheduled decisions have been correctly predicted by the majority of economists every month since September 2012, increased the one-week auction rate to 7.5 percent from 7 percent today, according to a website statement. Hours earlier, S&P cut the nation's sovereign rating to one level above junk, the lowest investment grade on par with Morocco and Uruguay which Russia last had in 2005. The central bank, which raised borrowing costs once in the months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., increased rates for a second time this year as fallout from the Ukrainian crisis sent investors fleeing Russian assets. The standoff over Ukraine risks stoking "additional significant outflows," endangering the economy, S&P said. "We believe the central bank's decision is a response to the cut of Russia's sovereign rating by S&P and a reiteration of its negative outlook," Natalia Orlova, chief economist at Alfa Bank in Moscow, said by e-mail. "We believe the policy rate decision represents the central bank's guidance for negative newsflow in the nearest future." The surprise increase failed to prop up the Russian currency. The ruble, the second-worst performer among 24 emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg, depreciated 0.7 percent to 36.0360 per dollar as of 7:03 p.m. in Moscow. It's trading at 42.2642 against the central bank's target basket, compared with a record-low 43.0570 reached on March 14. Temporary Increase The monetary authority, which has been under the stewardship of Chairman Elvira Nabiullina since June, kept its key rate at 7 percent at their last meeting on March 14. The central bank made what it called a temporary increase from 5.5 percent the previous week after President Vladimir Putin secured lawmakers' approval to send troops into Ukraine. "Negative market implications from the S&P's action outscore positive implications from the Russian central bank's decision, especially if we consider this news in the context of negative geopolitical developments today," Alexander Morozov, a Moscow-based economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, said by e-mail. President Barack Obama discussed a possible expansion of sanctions with European leaders today after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia is running out of time to ease tensions in Ukraine. Asset Selloff The escalating crisis is pushing the Russian economy to the brink of recession with inflation above the central bank's target for a 19th month and the ruble trading near a record low. The tensions have sparked a selloff in Russian assets as the U.S. and the European Union imposed sanctions against officials and threatened to broaden the penalties. "The central bank's ability to support economic growth amid escalation in Ukraine is rather poor," Vladimir Osakovskiy, chief economist for Russia at Bank of America Corp., said by phone. "That's why it is focusing on ruble's support." The yield on government debt due February 2027 jumped 24 basis points to 9.6 percent, taking this week's climb to 60 basis points. Russia's credit risk rose to the highest in more than two years and the Micex stock index slid 1.6 percent, capping the worst week since the five days to March 14. Economy, Outflows Gross domestic product may expand less than 0.5 percent this year or not grow at all, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. GDP grew 1.3 percent in 2013, the slowest pace in four years. Capital outflows surged to $50.6 billion in the first quarter from $27.5 billion a year earlier. That compares with $63 billion in all of 2013. "The Russian central bank has yet again demonstrated a textbook approach to monetary policy," Tatiana Orlova, a senior economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London, said in e-mailed comments. "Inflation is way above target, and the central bank cites this as the main reason for the hike. We expect this move to bring only a temporary relief to the ruble market. The rate hike is powerless to stem capital outflows which are fueled by the high geopolitical risks." All but one of 23 analysts in a Bloomberg survey had forecast no change by the central bank, with one predicting an increase to 8 percent. Policy makers said in the statement that "the probability of inflation exceeding the 5 percent target at the end of 2014 has increased substantially." The economic growth will continue to slow this year, the central bank said. Inflation Spike Inflation accelerated to an estimated 7.2 percent as of April 21, according to the statement. The regulator said that today's decision is seeking to contain price growth at no more than 6 percent by year-end, adding that it doesn't plan to cut the key rate in the "coming months." S&P said it may lower the rating further "if tighter sanctions were to be imposed on Russia and further significantly weaken the country's net external position." Investors routinely ignore ratings companies' decisions. In almost half the instances, yields on government bonds fall when a rating action by Moody's and rival Standard & Poor's suggests they should climb, or they increase even as a change signals a decline, according to data compiled by Bloomberg on 314 upgrades, downgrades and outlook changes going back as far as the 1970s. When S&P downgraded the U.S. government in August 2011, bonds rose and pushed Treasury yields down to records. Sanctions Impact Putin said yesterday that sanctions aren't having a "critical" impact on the country. He called on Ukraine to halt an offensive against pro-Russian separatists after troops entered the eastern city of Slovyansk, killing five rebels. Using the army against civilians would "have consequences for the people who make such decisions," Putin told reporters in St. Petersburg. Consumer-price growth accelerated to 6.9 percent in March from year earlier after reaching 6.2 percent in February. Inflation may be 5 percent to 6 percent in 2014, central bank Chairman Elvira Nabiullina said March 27, compared with the regulator's 5 percent target this year. It missed its target range of 5 percent to 6 percent in 2013. Inflation may peak in May or June at 7.5 percent, Maxim Oreshkin, head of the Finance Ministry's strategic planning department, told reporters April 21. Speaking during an annual televised call-in show last week, Putin said he hoped the central bank could keep inflation at 6 percent to 6.5 percent. Prices vaulted past issues in housing and utilities to become the biggest problem for Russians, according to a poll published April 14 by the state-run All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion. "The central bank somewhat overestimates that inflation will be at 6 percent by the end of the year and that the current dynamics could hurt inflation expectations," Oleg Kouzmin, chief Russian economist at Renaissance Capital and a former monetary policy adviser at Russia's central bank, said by phone today. "Today's decision is obviously negative for the markets." To contact the reporters on this story: Anna Andrianova in Moscow at aandrianova@bloomberg.net; Olga Tanas in Moscow at otanas@bloomberg.net; Ksenia Galouchko in Moscow at kgalouchko1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net Paul Abelsky

Immigration push threatens to divide Republicans - Fox News Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:19 AM PDT Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., center, accompanied by fellow GOP lawmakers, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 25, 2014, following a GOP caucus lunch.AP In the heat of an election year, the prospect of immigration legislation threatens to strike a divide into the Republican Party on Capitol Hill.  House Speaker John Boehner is sending new signals that he's preparing to aggressively push for an immigration bill, even if it causes the rank-and-file headaches. But on the other side of the Hill, top Senate Republicans are picking a different fight -- going after the Obama administration over reported efforts to ease deportations.  In a letter sent Thursday to President Obama and signed by 22 Senate Republicans, they accused the administration of "an astonishing disregard for the Constitution." The reported deportation changes, they charged, would be a "near complete abandonment of basic immigration enforcement."  The same day, Boehner was putting out a very different message in his home district in Ohio.  During a talk to a local Rotary Club, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported, he mocked fellow Republicans for their resistance to an immigration bill.  "Here's the attitude. Ohhhh. Don't make me do this. Ohhhh. This is too hard," Boehner said, according to the paper, pretending to whine as he talked.  He added: "We get elected to make choices."  This comes after he reportedly told a fundraiser crowd that he's "hell-bent on getting this done this year."  Just a couple months ago, immigration seemed like a stalled debate for 2014. Boehner had backed off, citing concerns in the GOP rank-and-file about the administration's own allegedly lax enforcement policies.  Despite Boehner's renewed interest, those concerns have mounted since then.  The Department of Homeland Security is undergoing a review of its deportation policies under pressure from immigrant advocates. But Republicans have pointed out that those policies already spare millions from the threat of being removed. Statistics show that most of the 370,000 removals carried out in fiscal 2013 were people who had been caught crossing the border or convicted of a crime.  The potential push to further rein in deportations prompted the letter Thursday from Senate Republicans -- including Boehner's counterpart, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.  "Clearly, the urgent task facing your administration is to improve immigration enforcement, not to look for new ways to weaken it," they wrote.  In a statement, Homeland Security spokesman Peter Boogaard didn't respond to the senators' complaints but said, "The secretary has undergone a very rigorous and inclusive process to best inform the review."  Many activists want sweeping action by Obama to give legal certainty and work permits to millions more immigrants, like he did for those who arrived illegally as children and attended school or served in the military.  The Associated Press contributed to this report. FOX NEWS FIRST NEWSLETTER Daily must-read stories from the biggest name in politics

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

---

The question no one wants to ask: What if Flight 370 is never found? - CNN Posted: 24 Apr 2014 01:40 AM PDT STORY HIGHLIGHTS Amelia Earhart and Bermuda triangle are other lingering mysteries It will be difficult for families to get closure if no bodies are found Billions in insurance claims will likely be paid out Technology and policies will change as a result of MH370 (CNN) -- More than a month and a half into the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the murmurs are growing louder. What if the Boeing 777 that disappeared over the southern Indian Ocean is never found? It was a dismissible thought at first. After all, how could a jetliner carrying 239 passengers and crew simply disappear without a trace? But so much time is passing with no debris, no oil slick and no bodies. An autonomous underwater vehicle is brought back aboard the Australian ship Ocean Shield after a search mission for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean on Saturday, April 19. Searchers are combing thousands of square miles of the ocean for signs of Flight 370, which disappeared March 8. The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 HIDE CAPTION << < 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 > >> What if? 1. It will go down as one of the world's most enduring mysteries The disappearance of Flight 370 would rank right up there with Amelia Earhart. This story has intrigued folks for generations. The swashbuckling aviatrix and pioneering woman embarked on the first around-the-world flight at the Equator in June 1937. After completing about two-thirds of the flight, she and navigator Frederick Noonan disappeared. A search never found any trace of her, Noonan or their plane. Some believe they ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea -- similar to one theory of what happened to the Malaysia Airlines plane. Then there's the Bermuda triangle. Many ships, planes and people have disappeared in this section of the Atlantic Ocean -- a "triangle" marked by the points of Bermuda, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico. U.S. officials cite hurricanes, sudden storms, the powerful Gulf Stream and shallow Caribbean waters as reasonable explanations for the lost vessels. But so far, there's been no explanation for Flight 370's disappearance. Of course, not all mysteries last forever. It took two years for search parties to recover the black box from Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, 2009, en route to Paris from Rio with 228 people aboard. Sometimes even when you know just about where something is, it's hard to find. There was no GPS and sea charts in 1912 when the RMS Titanic went down on its maiden voyage in the North Atlantic. It wasn't until 1985 that the British luxury liner was found. Seventy-three years is a long time to wait, but some answers take time. 2. Families never get the closure a tragedy deserves If you want to see agony, look into the faces of the relatives of the 153 Chinese nationals who flew aboard the ill-fated flight. They're guests of Malaysia Airlines in a Beijing hotel while the search continues. They don't expect miracles, but they do want information. "As time goes on we know that the odds of my son and the other relatives on the plane having survived becomes smaller and smaller," a grey-haired man named Wen said recently, scarcely keeping his composure. A Malaysian diplomat listened intently. "To know that somebody is alive, you need to see them. To know that somebody is dead, you need to see the body. That's all I ask of you," Wen concluded, sobbing uncontrollably into a microphone. It's been a roller coaster of emotions for the families. A dearth of information from Malaysia officials and repeated delays has provoked outright anger. "Live up to commitments! No more delays! No more lies!" fist -waving family members said. Heartbreak compounded by disappointment will do that. Grieving also gets tougher when there's no body to bury. How do you let go if you can't say goodbye? Yet, hope still burns in the heart of Prahlad Shirsath, whose wife was on the plane. "I can not let go of that idea, because still we have hope. And deeply I am really convinced in my heart ... that she will come back," he said. "She has to come back, because so far we have not found any reason to lose that hope." 3. False sightings will raise and dash hopes Every few months or years, someone will come up with a new theory about how the plane disappeared -- or someone will spot what they think is debris. The fleeting moments of hope will give way to fresh anguish. Madeleine McCann's parents know this all too well. The 3-year-old vanished in June 2007 while on a family vacation in the Portuguese resort town of Praia da Luz. Her disappearance prompted headlines worldwide -- and remains a mystery 7 years later. There have been unconfirmed sightings of McCann ever since she was abducted. They bring with them varying degrees of promise. But Madeleine remains missing. "In the beginning, it all consumes you. Everything in your life takes second place, goes on the back burner," Dave Holloway, the father of Natalee Holloway, told CNN last year. The Alabama teen went missing on a trip to Aruba in 2005, and her body's never been found. The Holloway case captivated the country, and even now from time to time, a new lead in the case will make headlines. "I feel for those families who are totally clueless," Halloway said. "At least we know who is responsible for our daughter's disappearance. They have no idea. At least we know." 4. There will be big insurance payouts There's no tally yet on just how much Malaysia Airlines will owe the relatives of the flight's victims, but it'll be a substantial figure. Some attorneys, citing their past work on plane crashes, say the total for each passenger could vary from $400,000 to $10 million. The industry norm for insurance that airliners carry on their planes totals between $2 billion and $2.5 billion per aircraft, according to aviation attorney Dan Rose of Kreindler & Kreindler. That breaks down to about $10 million per passenger. There were 239 people on flight. The numbers can add up quickly. Under an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention, the airline must pay relatives of each deceased passenger an initial sum of around $150,000 to $175,000, but that's just a starting point. Relatives of victims can also sue for further damages. The plane's manufacturer, Boeing, could be another target of lawsuits. But until the jetliner is recovered, families won't have much of a case. It's like trying to prove a murder without a body. 5. There will be changes in policy Every disaster brings changes in policy. But when you don't even know the cause, where do you begin? U.S. regulators have already approved a new 90-day standard for pingers attached to flight recorders, so search teams have a better chance of finding them under difficult circumstances. The two-year hunt to find Air France Flight 447 was the impetus, not MH370. Locator beacons that transmit for 90 days should greatly increase the odds of finding a lost jetliner even in deep water. Flight 370 had 30-day batteries in its beacons. They were about out of juice by the time aquatic listening devices picked up their signals for a short time. Another 60 days would have helped their cause. By 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration will require all new planes to come with the 90-day capability. All older planes must have it by 2020, the FAA says. Malaysia has sent its preliminary report on Flight 370 to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.N. body for global aviation. But it hasn't released it publicly. "It just adds fuel to the fire -- which is like a furnace now -- of disbelief, particularly in China, as to what is going on," said Geoffrey Thomas, managing director of AirlineRatings.com. There are so many questions. Are there better ways to track commercial aircraft? Can planes be followed better by using satellites to track their movements with transmitters that can't be shut down? Every phone has GPS. Can't we keep closer tabs on aircraft worth hundreds of millions of dollars? The U.N. aviation agency did tell CNN about a safety recommendation in the report: Malaysia said the aviation world needs to look at real-time tracking of commercial aircraft. It's the same recommendation that was made after the Air France disaster. But "nothing seems to have happened," CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest. For now, though, the focus of determined search crews and anguished families remain on finding the Malaysian jetliner that disappeared without a trace. READ: MH370 search: Object found on Australian coast wasn't from missing plane READ: Malaysia submits first report on MH370 -- but won't publicize it READ: Sad, angry MH370 relatives in agonizing limbo CNN's Michael Martinez and Gergory Wallace contributed to this report 0 Comments » SHARE THIS Print Email More sharing

Israel to suspend talks over Palestinian unity deal - BBC News Posted: 24 Apr 2014 09:27 AM PDT 24 April 2014 Last updated at 17:38 Prime Minister Netanyahu said that "whoever chooses Hamas does not want peace" Israel has suspended its peace talks with the Palestinians in response to a unity deal between Hamas and Fatah. The decision came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a six-hour meeting of Israel's security cabinet. The Palestinian factions announced the reconciliation deal on Wednesday, saying they would attempt to form a unity government in the coming weeks. Mr Netanyahu told the BBC the Palestinian leader must abandon the deal if he wanted peace with Israel. Mahmoud Abbas has "taken a giant leap backwards", the Israeli leader told BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen. The direct negotiations were already close to collapse after both sides took what the US called "unhelpful steps" earlier this month. Since then, Washington has been trying to persuade the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to agree to extend the talks beyond Tuesday, the deadline for a final agreement set when they resumed last July. 'Additional measures' The two Palestinian factions have been at odds since Hamas, which won parliamentary elections in 2006, ousted forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah in the Gaza Strip during clashes in 2007 and set up a rival government. In a statement released after Thursday's security cabinet meeting, Mr Netanyahu said his government would "not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas, a terror organisation that calls for the destruction of Israel". He said the deal was "a direct continuation of the Palestinian refusal to advance the negotiations". Palestinians in Gaza City celebrated the announcement of the unity deal on Wednesday evening President Abbas had "formed an alliance with an organisation whose charter calls for Muslims to fight the Jews and kill them", he added. "Those who choose the terrorism of Hamas do not want peace." In the statement, Mr Netanyahu said Israel would take "a number of additional measures" in response to the Palestinians' "unilateral moves", but provided no details. Israel has already said it will deduct debt payments from tax revenues collected on behalf of the PA - which governs parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control - and limit its access to deposits in Israeli banks. That move came after Mr Abbas submitted applications to join 15 UN treaties and conventions because Israel was refusing to release a fourth group of 26 long-term Palestinian prisoners. Earlier, a senior US official said the White House would be forced to reconsider its assistance to the Palestinians if Hamas and Fatah formed a unity government, seven years after their violent split. "Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to non-violence, recognition of the state of Israel, and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations between the parties," the official told the Reuters news agency. The US, along with Israel and the EU, considers Hamas a terrorist group. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, right, said the deal was welcome news for all Palestinians Palestinian officials said reconciliation was an internal matter and that uniting the Palestinians would reinforce peace. In a statement, President Abbas said there was "no incompatibility between reconciliation and the talks" and that they were committed to peace on the basis of a two-state solution. The factions said they planned to form an interim unity government - headed by Mr Abbas - within five weeks and to hold parliamentary elections within six months. "This is the good news we tell our people," Ismail Haniya, prime minister of the Hamas-led government in Gaza, said. "The era of division is over."

You are subscribed to email updates from Top Stories - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

Kredit: www.nst.com.my