MgonjahMedias.

Tangazo La nafasi za kazi kwa wenye Vigezo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:42:00 +0000

POWER SYSTEM MANAGER

Qualification: Advanced Diploma in Electrical Engineering or

equivalent

Apply: Power Generation

Services Ltd

Box 11609, Dar es Salaam

Details: Daily News

November 04, 2011

Deadline: November 30, 2011

DIRECTOR OF COMPLIANCE

Qualification: Holder of Master’s degree in the field of Law from any recognized University

Apply: Director General Fair

Competition Commission

Box 7883 , Dar es Salaam

Details: Daily News

November 04, 2011

Deadline: November 30, 2011

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

Qualification: Holder of Master’s degree in the field of Management, Finance,Business Administration or Law from any recognized University

Apply: Director General Fair

Competition Commission

Box 7883 , Dar es Salaam

Details: Daily News

November 04, 2011

Deadline: November 30, 2011

IT MANAGER

Qualification: Bachelor of Computer Science /Bachelor of Coputer Engineering or Equivalent

Apply: Head Office, IMMMA house

Box 72484 , Dar es Salaam

Details: Daily News

November 02, 2011

Deadline: November 30, 2011

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION INTERN

Qualification: Bachelor degree in accounting ,
Finance or Business Administration
Apply:http://www.engerhealth.org
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

ASSISTANT ACCOUNTANT GRADE I DUTY STATION DAR ES SALAAM
Qualification: FForm VI with intermediate
qualification at the level of ADA, B.Com with module D or equivalent
Apply:Director General , T Tea board of Tanzania Box 2663 , Dar es Salaam Details:
Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

SENIOR SUPPLIES OFFICER GRADE II DUTY STATION DAR ES SALAAM
Qualification: Holder of Degree in Materials Management and Supplies or Advanced Diploma in Materials Management and Supplies or Procurement and Supply/Logistics recognized by National Board of Materials Management
Apply:Director General , Tea board of Tanzania Box 2663 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

ZONAL TEA INSPECTORS 2 POSTS DUTY STATIONS IRINGA AND TANGA
Qualification: Holder of Bsc.Degree in either Agriculture,Food Processing or Process Engineering from a recognized institution or its equivalent
Apply:Director General , Tea board of Tanzania Box 2663 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

PROFESOR
Qualification: Possession of Form IV or VI Certificate with credit in Biology plus a training cource in dissection / n /embalming
Apply:The Provost Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College Box 2240 , Moshi
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

LABORATORY ASSISTANTS
Qualification: Certificate in Health Laboratory Sciences or in Medical Laboratory Technology from a recognized institution
Apply:The Provost Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College Box 2240 , Moshi
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

LABORATORY TECHNICIANS
Qualification: Diploma in Health Laboratory Sciences or Medical Laboratory Technology from a recognized institution Apply:The Provost Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College Box 2240 , Moshi
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

PERSONAL SECRETAR ETARY ARY ETAR
Qualification: Diploma in Secretarial Studies conducted by the Tanzania Public service college
Apply:The Provost Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College Box 2240 , Moshi
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

OFFICE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT
Qualification: Advanced Dip[loma or degree in Secretarial Studies
Apply:The Provost Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College Box 2240 , Moshi
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

SENIOR PROCUREMENT & SUPPLIES OFFICER
Qualification: Master degree in Materials Management,Procurement and Supply Management, CSP,CPSP,CIPS or equivalent Apply:The Provost Kilimanjaro Christian Medical College Box 2240 , Moshi
Details: Daily News Nov 16, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

ATIVE OFFICER 2 POSTS A ADMINISTRATIVE
Qualification: Holder of a first degree in Human Resources Management Business Administration or Public Administration Socialogy or equivalent
Apply:The Deputy Vice Chancellor,Planing Finance and Administra sity of Health sit tion,Muhimbili University and Allied Sciences Box 65001 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News Nov 10, 2011
Deadline: November 26, 2011

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
Qualification: Holder of a Bachelors degree in Health Administration , Business Administration or Public Administration or Health systems Management
Apply:The Deputy Vice Chancellor,Planing Finance and Administration,Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences Box 65001 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News Nov 10, 2011
Deadline: November 26, 2011

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SUPERINTENDENT
Qualification: Degree in in Science or Engineering
Apply: recruitment@barrick.com Details: Daily News Nov 08, 2011
Deadline: November 25, 2011

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Qualification: Master's degree in Business /Public Administration /Management ( MBA/MPA/MAM)
Apply: Manpower Services (T) LTD, Management Training and Recruitment Consultant Box 9341 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Mwananchi Nov 09, 2011
Deadline: December 08, 2011

TUTORIAL ASSISTANTS PHTS 9-12 ( 2 POSITIONS )
Qualification: Holders of a Bachelors degree from a recognized higher learning institution
Apply: Chairperson Appointments Committee,Centre for Foreign Relations Box 2824 , Dar es Salaam Details: Mwananchi Nov 09, 2011
Deadline: December 02, 2011

ASSISTANT LECTURERS PHTS 13-14 ( 5 POSITIONS )
Qualification: Holders of a Masters degree from a recognized higher learning institution
Apply: Chairperson Appointments Committee,Centre for Foreign Relations Box 2824 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Mwananchi Nov 09, 2011
Deadline: December 02, 2011

SENIOR LECTURES PHTS 18-19 ( 3 POSITIONS )
Qualification: Holders of a PhD from a recognized higher learning institution plus Masters and Bachelors degree
Apply: Chairperson Appointments Committee,Centre for Foreign Relations Box 2824 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Mwananchi Nov 09, 2011
Deadline: December 02, 2011

GRANTS COORDINATOR
Qualification: Master's degree in project Management or equivalent
Apply: HResource@wwfesarp.org
Details: Mwananchi Nov 09, 2011
Deadline: November 23, 2011

POWER SYSTEM MANAGER
Qualification: Advanced Diploma in Electrical Engineering or equivalent
Apply: Power Generation Services Ltd Box 11609, Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News Nov 04, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

DIRECTOR OF COMPLIANCE
Qualification: Holder of Master's degree in the field of Law from any recognized University
Apply: Director General Fair Competition Commission Box 7883 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News Nov 04, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Qualification: Holder of Master's degree in the field of Management, Finance,Business Administration or Law from any recognized University
Apply: Director General Fair Competition Commission Box 7883 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News Nov 04, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

IT MANAGER
Qualification: Bachelor of Computer Science /Bachelor of Coputer Engineering or Equivalent
Apply: Head Office, IMMMA house Box 72484 , Dar es Salaam
Details: Daily News November 02, 2011
Deadline: November 30, 2011

Chanzo cha habari hii ni mwananchi
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Nchi za Marekani na Uchina Zachangamkia Kiswahili

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:37:00 +0000

UKISIKILIZA watu kutoka nje ya Tanzania wanavyozungumzia nafasi ya Kiswahili kwenye ulingo wa kimataifa, utakubaliana moja kwa moja na usemi kuwa nabii hakubaliki kwao.

Wakati kukiwa na idadi kubwa ya raia wa kigeni wanaokuja nchini kujifunza lugha ya Kiswahili, bado Watanzania hawaithamini lugha yao kiasi kwamba mpaka sasa hawajaona umuhimu wa kuitumia lugha hiyo kufundishia katika madaraja yote ya elimu.
Baadhi ya wanafunzi kutoka mabara ya Asia na Amerika wanaosoma Kiswahili katika Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, wanaeleza sababu zilizowasukuma kuja kusoma Kiswahili na nafasi ya lugha hiyo kimataifa.Wanafunzi wa mwaka wa tatu kutoka Chuo Kikuu cha Lugha za Kigeni cha Tianjin cha nchini China, wanasema wamechagua kusoma Kiswahili kwa sababu wanajua kwa siku za usoni kitakuja kuwa moja ya lugha kubwa duniani.

Wanafunzi hao wanasema kwa kipindi cha miaka miwili walikuwa wakijifunza lugha hiyo kupitia walimu kutoka Zanzibar na China.Wang Panlolei ambaye baada ya kufika nchini, mwalimu wake alimpa jina la Aisha kutokana na kushindwa kutaja jina lake la asili, anasema ameamua kujifunza Kiswahili kwa sababu Tanzania ni moja ya nchi zinazoendelea kama ilivyo China.

“Nilipotakiwa kuchagua lugha nitakayosoma, niliingia kwenye mtandao ndiyo nikaona Kiswahili, Nikaona ni lugha inayozungumzwa na watu wa Afrika Mashariki na nilipenda utamaduni wa watu hawa. Kutokana na hali hiyo nikaamua kusoma Kiswahili,” anasema na kuongeza:
“Nilikuwa nafuatilia sana habari za Kiswahili kwenye mtandao na katika kutafuta habari, niliona mpaka gazeti la Mwananchi na wakati mwingine nikawa nalitumia kupata habari za Kiswahili.”

Anaeleza kuwa mbali na gazeti hili, pia hutumia Redio za BBC na Kiswahili China Radio International kujifunza lugha ya Kiswahili.Hata hivyo anasema kuwa Kiswahili alichojifunza kwa miaka miwili nchini China ni tofauti na kile wanachokitumia Watanzania hasa katika mazungumzo.

“Kule sisi tunajifunza sana sarufi na pia hatupati nafasi kubwa ya kuzungumza Kiswahili…, ukisoma kwenye kitabu unaambiwa ukitaka kumsalimia mtu unamwambia ‘hujambo’, lakini ukija huku watu wanasalimiana ‘mambo, ’” anasema mwanafunzi huyo.Kuhusu nafasi ya Kiswahili kimataifa, anasema hakuna ubishi kuwa Kiswahili ndiyo lugha ya Kiafrika.

“Kiswahili ni lugha ya kipekee, ina nafasi sana ya kuwa lugha kubwa kama zilivyo nyingine duniani, lakini bado inatakiwa kipewe nafasi kubwa kama kufundishia shule za sekondari, vyuoni na pia kitangazwe zaidi,” anaeleza.
Naye Wu Zhen Huan ama Bakari kama anavyojulikana kwa walimu wake, anasema aliijua lugha ya Kiswahili kupitia mtandao baada ya kuvutiwa na utamaduni wa watu wake.

“Lugha ni sehemu kubwa ya utamaduni wa mtu, kwa hiyo najua mpaka nikihitimu shahada yangu ya Kiswahili nitakuwa nimeijua sehemu kubwa ya utamaduni wa Watanzania,” anasema.

Anasema ili kuendeleza utamaduni wa Kitanzania, Serikali haina budi kuongeza juhudi za kuitangaza lugha ya Kiswahili na kuitumia kama lugha ya kufundishia katika elimu kama ilivyo China.

Kwa upande wake, Ye Tianfa au Suleiman anasema ni Watanzania wenyewe watakao weza kukiinua Kiswahili kwa kukipenda na kukithamini.Pia Yu Shaoshuai ama Hamisi, anasema aliamua kujifunza Kiswahili baada ya kushindwa kuelewana na wafanyabiashara wengi kutoka Afrika Mashariki wanaokwenda kununua bidhaa katika mji wa Yiwu mji ambao ndiko anakotoka.

“Nikimaliza shahada yangu ya Kiswahili, nitafanya biashara vizuri kwa sababu nitakuwa sisumbuliwi tena na lugha hii,” anasema Shaoshuai.Naye Zhu Chanjiao anayeitwa pia kwa jina la Lulu, anasema sababu kubwa ya kujifunza Kiswahili ni kutokana na kiu yake ya kueneza utamaduni wa Kichina katika nchi za Afrika Mashariki.

“Nikimaliza chuo najua nitakuwa na nafasi nzuri ya kueneza utamaduni wetu wa China Afrika Mashariki kwa sababu lugha itakuwa hainisumbui,” anabainisha.

Wanafunzi hao wanaosoma kwa ufadhili wa pamoja wa Serikali za China na Tanzania, watatumia muda wa miezi nane kujifunza Kiswahili kabla ya kurejea kwao kumaliza masomo yao.

Mwanafunzi mwingine, Chris Vavdo kutoka Marekani, anasema japo kwa sasa Kiswahili hakina nafasi katika kimataifa kikilinganishwa na lugha kama Kiingereza, au Kifaransa, anatoa rai kwa Watanzania kuanza kukipandisha chati kwa kuitumia kama lugha kuu katika elimu.
Kwa mujibu wa Taasisi ya Taaluma ya Kiswahili ya chuo hicho(Tataki), idadi kubwa ya wanafunzi kutoka nje ya nchi wanaosoma Kiswahili kwenye taasisi hiyo, wanatoka nchi za China na Marekani.

Tataki inasema ushirikiano wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam na vyuo vingine vya nje, ni moja ya sababu inayoongeza idadi ya wanafunzi wanaosoma Kiswahili katika taasisi hiyo.

Waziri wa Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi, Dk Shukuru Kawambwa anasema sera ya elimu inayoendelea kuandaliwa, italeta mabadiliko mbalimbali katika elimu ikiwamo kukipa hadhi Kiswahili

Akifafanua anasema katika mabadiliko hayo, lugha ya kufundishia katika madaraja ya sekondari na msingi itakuwa Kiswahili na Kiingereza tofauti na sasa ambapo kwa upande wa sekondari lugha inayotumika ni Kiingereza pekee.
Kwa mujibu wa Dk Kawambwa, shule za awali zitatumia Kiswahili huku vyuo vya ualimu vikitumia Kiswahili na Kiingereza. “Shule nyingine zitatumia Kiingereza na nyingine zitaruhusiwa kutumia Kiswahili kwa upande wa sekondari,” anasema
Na Mwananchi
Posted By MgonjahMedias Team Edited by AmanyMei-Xing Zachariéliz
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UIngereza Yailipa Tanzania Mabilion ya Shiling kwa kashfa ya Rada

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:29:00 +0000

Bank kuu ya Tanzania BOT yapokea pesa za mabilion ya rada ktoka Uingereza.Serekali yashauriwa kuwaburuza wahusika wa Kashfa hiyo mahakamani.
Na Mwananchi
BAADA ya vuta nikuvute ya muda mrefu kuhusu kurejeshwa fedha za ziada zilizotumika katika ununuzi wa rada, hatimaye Serikali ya Uingereza imeingiza Sh29.5 bilioni kwenye akaunti ya Benki Kuu ya Tanzania (BoT), tawi la Uingereza kama marejesho ya fedha hizo.Uamuzi huo wa Uingereza kurejesha fedha hizo, unakwenda sambamba na ombi lake la kutaka watuhumiwa wote wa hapa nchini waliohusika na ununuzi wa rada hiyo mtumba kutoka Kampuni ya BAE Systems, washitakiwe Tanzania au Uingereza baada ya kubainika dosari kwenye ununuzi huo ambao kama ungefanyika kihalali ungehitaji Pauni 10.5 milioni, kununua rada mpya.

Akizungumza na gazeti katika mahojiano maalumu jijini Dar es Salaam jana, Waziri wa Fedha, Mustapha Mkulo, alisema fedha hizo tayari zimekabidhiwa kwa tawi hilo la BoT nchini Uingereza ili ziweze kurejeshwa nchini.

Waziri Mkulo alisema kutokana na masharti waliyopewa, Serikali imekusudia kupeleka fedha hizo Wizara ya Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi, ili ziweze kutatua matatizo mbalimbali yanayoikabili sekta ya elimu nchini.

‘’Tulikaa na kujadili namna ya matumizi ya fedha hizo kutokana na masharti tuliyopewa, jambo ambalo limesababisha tuamue kuziwasilisha Wizara ya Elimu ili kutatua changamoto zilizopo,’’ alisema Waziri Mkulo.

Aliongeza kwamba kutokana na hali hiyo, Wizara ya Elimu tayari imewasilisha mchanganuo wa matatizo yaliyopo na kiasi cha fedha zinazohitajika ili ziweze kupitishwa kwa matumizi.

Kwa mujibu wa Mkulo, kinachosubiriwa sasa ni kikao cha majadiliano kati ya wizara yake, Wizara ya Elimu, Wizara ya Mambo ya Nje Ushirikiano wa Kimataifa na Ubalozi wa Uingereza ili kuweza kupanga namna bora ya matumizi ya fedha hizo.

Alisema kutokana na hali hiyo, wanaamini matatizo mengi yanayoikabili Wizara ya Elimu yatapunguzwa kwa fedha hizo. Mengine yanayoweza kupatiwa ufumbuzi ni pamoja malalamiko ya madai ya walimu, uhaba wa vitendea kazi na mahitaji mengine ya wizara hiyo.

"Tulikaa na kujadili changamoto zinazoikabili sekta ya elimu, jambo ambalo limetufanya tuipitishe katika matumizi ya fedha hizi, kutokana na hali hiyo tunasubiri kibali cha Ubalozi wa Uingereza ili tuweze kuzichukua na kuzitumia kama ilivyokusudiwa,’’ alisisitiza Waziri Mkulo.

Siri zaidi

Wakati Uingereza ikitaka watuhumiwa hao wafikishwe mahakamani, kashfa nyingine imeikumba Serikali ya Tanzania ikituhumiwa kwamba ina mkakati maalumu kuzuia watuhumiwa wa ufisadi wa rada kufikishwa mahakamani.

Taarifa za mtandao wa Wikileaks ambao umekuwa ukifichua siri za kidiplomasia na ufisadi duniani, umeibua tuhuma hizo mpya kwa Serikali na kwamba hicho ndicho kikwazo cha watuhumiwa husika kutofikishwa mahakamani.

Taarifa ya mtandao huo iliyosambazwa hivi karibuni, imeeleza kuwa mpango huo ndiyo ulioathiri jitihada za aliyekuwa Waziri wa Maendeleo ya Kimataifa (DFID) Clare Shot aliyepinga BAE Systems kuizia Tanzania rada hiyo kuukuu kwa bei ghali wakati ni nchi masikini inayotegemea misaada ya wahisani.

Kwa mujibu wa mtandao huo, juhudi za Shot zilijumuisha kuinyima Tanzania misaada inayofikia Pauni 35 milioni kutokana na kununua rada hiyo kwa bei ya kuruka.

"Pamoja na shinikizo hilo, juhudi za Shot zilishindwa kabisa kuzuia ununuzi wa rada hiyo ambayo thamani yake ilikuwa Pauni 28 milioni kutoka kwa kampuni ya BAE Systems ya Uingereza," ulisema mtandao huo na kuendelea:

"Suala hilo si jipya. Gazeti la The Guardian la Uingereza liliwahi kutoa ripoti ya uchunguzi wake kuhusu uuzwaji wa rada hiyo ambao ulimsababishia pia Waziri Mkuu wa Uingereza wakati huo, kisha Tony Blair akiwa Waziri Mkuu wa nchi aliamuru kikosi chake cha Kuchunguza Makosa Makubwa (SFO), kuingilia kati na kuchunguza namna BAE ilivyohusika."

Ilichobaini Wikileaks ni kwamba, viongozi wa Serikali ya Tanzania walikuwa wakifanya juhudi za kuficha kasoro zote zilizokuwa katika mpango wa ununuzi wa rada hiyo.

Hata kwa upande wake, mtu mahususi aliyetakiwa kushughulikia kashfa hiyo kwa kufanya uchunguzi ambaye ni Mkurugenzi Mkuu wa Taasisi ya Kuzuia na Kupambana na Rushwa ( Takukuru), Dk Edward Hoseah alinukuliwa akimweleza Ofisa wa Ubalozi wa Marekani nchini kwamba, aliwahi kutishiwa kuuawa mara kadhaa na kukumbushwa kwa ujumbe wa maneno kila siku.

BAE Systems ni kampuni kubwa ya uuzaji wa vifaa vya ulinzi ambayo iwapo ingefungiwa kufanya biashara yake, kungekuwa na athari kubwa kwa Uingereza.

Suala la uchunguzi wa aina yoyote ambao ungemweka matatani Rais wa zamani, Benjamin Mkapa na washirika wake wa karibu (kwa mujibu wa Wikileaks), lilikuwa ni gumu kuweza kufanyika.

Ulisema baada ya kumalizika kwa kipindi cha ukimya bila kushughulikiwa kwa kashfa hiyo, suala la kutafuta ufumbuzi lilionekana kuwa muhimu kwa nchi zote mbili, lakini kasoro kubwa ni pale kila aliyehusika katika kashfa hiyo ya BAE nchini Uingereza na Tanzania, kukwepa kuchunguzwa.

Hata hivyo, Blair alifanya kila linalowezekana kuhakikisha kwamba SFO wanafanya uchunguzi na kwamba, ikiwezekana BAE ifungiwe kufanya kazi katika nchi za Umoja wa Ulaya.

Kwa upande wake, Tanzania ilikuwa ikilaumiwa kwa kufanya juhudi za kutetea ununuzi huo na hata kumtisha Mkurugenzi wa Takukuru kumtaka aachane na suala hilo.

Dk Hosseah
Mtandao wa Wikileaks ulidai kuwa Dk Hoseah, ameshindwa kuwafikisha mahakamani vigogo waliohusika na kashfa ya rada kwa sababu anahofia usalama wake.
Mbali na hofu hiyo, mtandao huo ulieleza kuwa Dk Hoseah alipewa maelekezo maalumu na Rais Kikwete, kutoshughulikia kesi za rushwa zinazowahusu vigogo katika Serikali yake na hasa marais waliomtangulia.

The Guardian lilitoa taarifa hiyo likiunukuu mtandao wa habari wa WikiLeaks uliojizolea umaarufu duniani kwa kutoa habari za kiuchunguzi hasa baada ya mwasisi wake, Julian Paul Assange, kutiwa matatani.

Akijibu hoja hizo mwaka jana, Dk Hoseah alisema ni kawaida kwake kukutana na mabalozi wa nchi mbalimbali kila mwaka na kujadiliana nao mambo mengi kuhusu Tanzania, lakini hakumbuki kuzungumza naye mambo hayo.

Alisema mabalozi ni wadau wakubwa katika bajeti ya Tanzania na hivyo huwa wanakutana kila mwaka kujadili mambo mbalimbali kuhusu kusaidia bajeti ya Serikali.

“Mimi huwa nakutana na mabalozi wa nchi mbalimbali kwa sababu wao ni wadau katika mradi wa ‘Government Budget Support’ (Mpango wa Kusaidia Bajeti ya Serikali), hivyo hilo sio tatizo,” alisema Dk Hoseah

“Msimamo wangu ni kwamba mapambao dhidi ya ufisadi ni endelevu hadi hapo tutakapofanikiwa kumaliza tatizo hili,” alisema Dk Hosea na kukiri:

“Vitisho vipo vingi tu, kutoka kwa watu wanaotuhumiwa, lakini si hata ninyi waandishi mnamwagiwa ‘tindikali’ katika mapambano yenu, hivyo hivyo hata mimi napata vitisho.”

Lakini alisisitiza kuwa pamoja na vitisho hivyo, hawezi kurudi nyuma katika mapambano ya rushwa na ufisadi.

“I’m a Tanzanian, I will die in Tanzania, it is my country’ (mimi ni Mtanzania, nitafia Tanzania, ni nchi yangu), siwezi kuhama nchi kwa vitisho vya watu wachache wanaotuhumiwa kwa ufisadi na rushwa,” alisisitiza Dk Hoseah.

Kuhusu Rais Kikwete kukwamisha mapambano ya ufisadi kama alivyonukuliwa na gazeti hilo la The Guardian, Dk Hoseah alipiga chenga kulijibu akisema:

“Ili umpeleke mtu mahakamani si lazima umtuhumu na kumfanyia uchunguzi? Lakini pia lazima tujenge utamaduni wa kuwaheshimu viongozi wetu.”

Siku hiyo, Takukuru ilituma taarifa iliyoeleza kuwa Dk Hoseah alishangazwa na Ofisa wa Ubalozi wa Marekani kumnukuu vibaya huku akisema hajui ana lengo gani.

Katika taarifa hiyo, Dk Hoseah alikiri kukutana na ofisa huyo wa Ubalozi wa Marekani ofisini kwake Julai mwaka 2007, lakini akasema ripoti ya mazungumzo yao aliyoipeleka nchini kwake imechakachuliwa.

“Kwa mfano haikutokea katika mazungumzo yetu kusema kwamba Rais Jakaya Kikwete hakutaka kuruhusu sheria kuchukua mkondo wake, kuwashitaki vigogo wote wanaotuhumiwa kwa ufisadi kama ilivyodaiwa na Ubalozi wa Marekani,” ilisema taarifa hiyo iliyotolewa na Idara ya Uhusiano ya Takukuru.

Bunge la Uingereza
Taarifa ya mtandao huo ilikuja siku moja tangu Bunge la Uingereza liitake Serikali ya Tanzania kuwafikisha mahakamani watu wote walioshiriki mchakato wa ununuzi wa rada na kuingiza nchi katika hasara ya mabilioni ya fedha.

Kupitia Kamati yake ya Maendeleo ya Kimataifa, Bunge hilo lilisema lingependa kuona watu wote walioshiriki kwenye mchakato wa ununuzi wa rada hiyo, wakifikishwa mahakamani kujibu tuhuma za ufisadi.

Taarifa ya kamati hiyo iliyonukuliwa na Shirika la Habari la Uingereza (BBC), ilieleza kuwa wajumbe wake ambao ni wabunge kutoka vyama mbalimbali, watatoa ushirikiano wa dhati kwa Tanzania iwapo itaamua kuwashtaki watuhumiwa hao nchini Tanzania au Uingereza.

Wito huo wa wabunge wa Uingereza umekuja wakati tayari Kampuni ya BAE System, iliyoiuzia Tanzania rada hiyo, ikikubali kuwa kulikuwa na kasoro katika mchakato wa ununuzi wa rada hiyo, hivyo kuirudishia Tanzania Dola za Marekani 46 milioni kama fidia.

Shukrani kwa Mwananchi
Posted By Mgonjahmedias Team
Edited by Jacquelin Jackson
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Lowassa apingwa kuchunguza Meremeta

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:02:00 +0000

Lowassa apingwa kuchunguza Meremeta

BAADA ya Bunge kuikabidhi Kamati ya Bunge ya Mambo ya Nje, Ulinzi na Usalama inayoongozwa na Mbunge wa Monduli (CCM), Edward Lowassa, jukumu la kuchunguza ufisadi wa zaidi ya Sh205.9 bilioni unaodaiwa kufanywa kupitia Kampuni ya Meremeta, wasomi na wanasiasa nchini wamepinga uamuzi huo wakidai kuwa ukweli utapindishwa.
Spika wa Bunge, Anne Makinda aliamua kuwa Kamati hiyo ya Bunge ifanye uchunguzi huo kwa kuwa ndiyo inayohusika na suala hilo la Meremeta.
Wakizungumza kwa nyakati tofauti na Mwananchi Jumapili jana, wasomi na wanasiasa hao walidai kwamba, tatizo sio suala hilo kupelekwa katika kamati hiyo, bali ni mwenyekiti wa kamati hiyo ambaye walisema hawaamini kama atafanya kazi hiyo vizuri.
Mhadhiri wa Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Dk Sengondo Mvungi alisema, “Inakuwaje mtu anatuhumiwa kwa mambo mbalimbali halafu kamati yake inapewa jukumu la kuchunguza suala hilo zito?”
Mvungi ambaye kitaaluma ni mwanasheria alisema kuwa, ni vyema kiongozi akiwa na tuhuma za kifisadi achunguzwe kwanza kabla ya kupewa majukumu.
“Hapa ndio utaona jinsi Serikali ya Tanzania inavyougua ugonjwa wa saratani ni lazima ife…, jambo hili katika taaluma ya sheria na katiba tunaliita kuwa ni ‘ishara ya dola inayokufa’,” alisema Mvungi.
Aliongeza: “Siku hizi si ajabu kuona jaji anahongwa na Takukuru… Ni wazi kuwa Serikali inayumba”.
Alisisitiza kwamba, ndani ya kamati hiyo atakayejiona hawezi kufanya kazi hiyo kwa kuwa ana maslahi binafsi na Meremeta aachie ngazi mapema ili kuondoa maswali kutoka kwa wananchi, kinyume chake uchunguzi wa kamati hiyo hautakuwa na faida yoyote.
Mwenyekiti wa Chadema, Freeman Mbowe, alisema, “Jambo linaloibuliwa na kundi jingine na kuhitaji ufumbuzi si vyema likasimamiwa na kundi linalolalamikiwa”.
Mbowe ambaye pia ni Kiongozi wa Kambi Rasmi ya Upinzani Bungeni alisema kwa kiasi kikubwa sakata la Meremeta liliibuliwa na wabunge wa upinzani, lakini anashangaa kuona suala hilo linapi pelekwa katika kundi ambalo linaweza kuwa lilihusika.
“Simhukumu Lowassa kuwa ni fisadi…, lakini wakati Serikali inaingia mkataba na kampuni hii yeye alikuwa katika Baraza la Mawaziri, sasa suala hili kurejeshwa tena kwake ni sawa?” alihoji Mbowe.
Mbowe alisema kuwa huu ni wakati wa Bunge kutambua kuwa si lazima kila Kamati iongozwe na wabunge wa CCM na kusisitiza kuwa ni vyema ikaundwa Kamati itakayoongozwa na upinzani ili kuchunguza Meremeta.
Mwenyekiti wa Chama cha NCCR-Mageuzi, James Mbatia, alisema si lazima ufisadi wa Meremeta ukachunguzwa na Kamati ya Bunge.
“Takukuru si wapo wanaweza kufanya kazi hii…, hili ni jambo nyeti ambalo linatakiwa kuchunguzwa na watu wenye taaluma kama Takukuru, Mwanasheria Mkuu wa Serikali na Mkuu wa Jeshi la Polisi,” alisema Mbatia.
Mbatia alidai kuwa ndani ya CCM hakuna wa kumfunga mwenzake kengele. Alidai kuwa chama hicho kimekithiri kwa ufisadi na kwamba walio salama ni wachache.
“Hakika uamuzi huu utazidi kuwachanganya Watanzania, inakuwaje mtu anatuhumiwa kwa mambo fulani halafu anachaguliwa kuwa Mwenyekiti Kamati ya Bunge, halafu kamati yake inapewa jukumu hili?” Alihoji Mbatia
Mwenyekiti wa Chama cha Democratic (DP), Mchungaji Christopher Mtikila, alidai kuwa kamati hiyo haiwezi kuja na majibu ya kuwaridhisha Watanzania.
“Ni usanii mtupu, hata vyombo vingine vya Serikali haviwezi kulichunguza jambo hili kwa kuwa kwa muda mrefu vimekuwa vibaraka wa mafisadi, labda vivunjwe na kuundwa upya,” alidai Mtikila
Mhadhiri wa Chuo Kikuu Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Dk Benson Bana, alisema ingawa uamuzi huo wa Bunge utazua maswali mengi kwa wananchi, sheria za Tanzania zinaeleza wazi kuwa mtuhumiwa sio mkosaji.
“Mbona Lowassa anakwenda kanisani na kuchangisha mamilioni ya fedha watu hawasemi lolote?” Alihoji Bana na kuongeza:
“Watanzania wasimhukumu mtu kwa hisia, sidhani kama hata hiyo kamati yake ina watu wasafi…, Lowassa kisheria na kisiasa yuko safi ila kihisia si safi, tunatakiwa kufanyia kazi hali halisi si hisia,”.
Hata hivyo, alisema pamoja na Bunge kupeleka suala hilo kwa kamati inayoongozwa na Lowassa, Serikali pia inaweza kuunda tume yake ya kuchunguza ufisadi huo.
Mhadhiri mwingine wa chuo hicho, Bashiru Ally alisema kuwa unyeti wa Kamati ya Bunge ya Mambo ya Nje, Ulinzi na Usalama unaweza kufanya majibu ya uchunguzi huo yakawa wazi au kuwa siri.
“Wanaweza kusema kuna mambo hawawezi kuyasema kwa ajili ya usalama wa nchi, ila binafsi nilidhani suala hili lingepelekwa Kamati ya Nishati na Madini au ile ya Mashirika ya Umma, sijui Spika wa Bunge katumia vigezo gani kulipeleka suala hili katika kamati hii,” alihoji Bashiru.
chanzo cha habari hii ni mwananchi
Imeandikwa na MgonjahMedias

TANZANIA YAELEKEA KUSIKO SHWARI

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 15:04:00 +0000

Wa Tanzania wanaoishi USA waandaa maandamano kumpinga “Baba Ridhiwani”, Hii ni sehemu ya maandalizi hayo kama yalivyoandikwa na ELIAKIM MALLYA.
Kutokana na kuchoka na hali ngumu inayoendelea hapa Tanzania, ndugu zatu wanaoishi USA wameandaa maandamano ambayo yatakuwa ya amani kupinga utawala mbovu wa “Baba Ridhiwani” hasa baada ya kushindwa kuwachukulia hatua masfidi hapa nchi.

Tunaandaa maandamano ya amani jijini Washington DC Rais Kikwete “Baba Ridhiwani” atakapowasili kwenye kikao cha DICOTA 2011. Tayari watu 150 wamekubali kushiriki kwenye maandamano hayo. Tunataka watu wengi zaidi kujitokeza. Hii ni kumshinikiza huyu fisadi papa na mzururaji kushugulikia matatizo yanayowakabili wananchi wa kawaida. Maandamano yetu yatahitimishwa na kupokelewa na viongozikutoka United States Department. Tayari tumetuma maombi kupinga misaada marekani inayopa Tanzania, kwani hayasaidii Jamii bali Kikwete na genge lake la majambazi

Wote mnakaribishwa karibishwa. Maandamano ya Amani yanaruhusiwa marekani ilimradi mtu hajavunja sheria nchini. Ukiwa na makaratasi yako, njoo tulikomboe taifa letu. Ukombozi wa TANZANIA upo mikononi mwetu. Mabango yanachapishwa tarehe 24, Tunaomba mawazo tofauti kuhusu ujumbe tutakaobeba kwenye mabango yetu. Tumechoka na Kikwete, dawa nikuanza maandamano.Tupo tayari kufa sasa. Tunisia iliokolewa na watu tu kama sisi, tukifa bahati mbaya vizazi vijavyo vitafaidi. Tafadhali sambaza ujumbe. Tutatoa tamko rasmi ya maandalizi tarehe 20 mwenzi huu Ukitaka kushiriki tuma barua pepe EliakimMallya@yahoo.com

Raia wa kawaida anayo haki ya kumfanya Kikwete Anyimwe VISA. Kwa Kupinga Ujio wa Kikwete, au yeye kunyimwa VISA tumeni emails nyingi iwezekanavyo kwenda East African Affairs Bureau. Email Adress wiegertjr@state.gov
Posted by MgonjahMedias Team
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HOW TO GET SCHOLARSHIP ?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 May 2011 19:56:00 +0000

Do you need a scholarship ?

Getting scholarship is the dreams of students, but somehow it never been done easily. An effort need to be done to find and following the selection process. In fact, there many scholarships offer by many institutions from merit to partial/full scholarship. What should be understood, scholarship doesn’t usually get handed to you (may be for some lucky people). So, what should be done is a good preparation and planning to make your chance winning scholarship better. We would like to suggest you some tricks for your preparation as following:

1.Starting the preparation earlier giving better chance. Don’t wait until the scholarship information coming to you. Prepare yourself as earlier as possible, starting now.

2.Language certificate: Depend on the country that you plan to study, the requirement of language will be different. For the people from not English speaking country of don’t live in English speaking country for certain time (for study or work), globally need English knowledge as the first language with TOEFL certificate with score approximately 550. So, please take the test to fill this requirement as soon as possible. Otherwise, you cannot apply any scholarship.

3.Ask your former Professor/Supervisor to write you a recommendation letter. The recommendation letter contains your performance (in class, or study related), talents, and prize (if any).

4.Write a well motivation letter/Essay. This is one of the key qualifying you. It shows how high your performance. Please write a well essay and ask someone (your former supervisor or Professor) to read your essay and giving a comment.

5.Do not expect your application to be successful if you only send it to one place. Send them as many as possible. Apply up to 10 or 15 scholarships, and later you will get at least 1-3 good news. This is how it works!

6.Find the matched scholarship to you. That means, you need to find scholarships information from many sources and don’t think about wasting the time. That is your investing for the future.

For having a starting point, just check the following links.

Click here for information about bachelor scholarship

Click here for information about masters scholarship

Click here for information about phd scholarship

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WAYS OF SHOWING LOVE & CARE TO YOUR LOVER

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Many couples have been facing the problems concerning their relationships as a resust of not knowing the proper ways of treating their partners especially the ways of showing love, do you know?

Firstly, let us know the meaning of love, what does the term love means ?

Love is a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness, we can also say that love is a feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair ; the emotion of sex and romance.

How to show your lover, wife or husbund that you realy care and love ? some partners are taking marriage or relationship as just a simple thing but in order to prolong your love to the some body you love, you need to do some steps of things which are very easy, have a look on these things to do.

*You need to know that love is the act of will and not a feeling expressed by experience. What does this means ? it means that you must deny yourself and find to meet all the things that your partner needs, and not make your own things, this will make your partner feel proudy of you and adore you all the time.

*Find out the beautiful words and language prefered by your lover. « romantic language » in order that your partner to feel that she or he is loved, you need to seek some good and romantic words to tell her or him, also some beautiful and loving actions you must do to her or him, some one feel happy when she or he receives gifts and some lovely touches and words from the one she or he love, always the true love is not based up on your prefference, but your partner’s.

*Speak your love. Clear communication will let your partner know how much you love them. Speaking from your experience is a way of sharing yourself so that your partner can hear it. You might say, "My heart expands when you walk into the room" or "I think about you throughout my day, and each time I do, I smile." Say whatever is true. Remember that actions often speak louder than words; don't just say something, do something.

*Show your love through your actions, such as drawing a bath, giving a massage, singing songs to your partner. Choose an action that you know your partner will appreciate. Remember, denying yourself never means doing things begrudgingly. If you communicate the desire not to do something loving, you may as well not be doing it.

*Spend most of your time being present with your partner. (This is often the least used, but the most powerful form of loving.) Turn off the phone, the TV, computer, and the radio and sit together allowing yourselves to experience each other. Being present with your husband or wife obviously provides the opportunity to serve him or her, so be available to love your spouse.

*Seek the truth. Telling your partner the truth is a loving thing to do because it shows trust and respect. The truth doesn't have to be positive to be meaningful. It just needs to be true. Show your spouse unconditional love, but not unconditional acceptance. Don't be caught up into the cultural notion that to love is to never seek to help someone better himself or herself. Use gracious words to point out your spouse's weaknesses and offer constructive suggestions on how to improve these things. Always be willing to accept correction from your spouse too.

Always you must put in you mind that

*If you want to have a healthy relationship, discover more ways to express your love. Use warmth, kindness, compassion, humour, presence, truthfulness, sharing, and sexiness. Open up your senses for fun and your communication strategies for success by using principles of reciprocity, compassion, and equanimity. Always be courteous, fair, and truthful, and the interaction with your partner will flourish.

*To have staying power and build a healthy relationship, stay present to your connection to your loved one. Be creative and discover love together.

*Remember that service and love are inherently connected, whatever you know your partner needs, that is what you should be doing to him or her. The moments you start insisting on your own ways or doing whatever you want, you stop showing love to your spouse.

*Remember to take your partner at different places out for dinner, vacation, movies and others, all these will help to strengthern your love.

ALL THESE ARE TO ALL IN MARRIAGE OR ALL PREPARING FOR MARRIAGE AND NOT OTHERWISE.

Written by Jacqueline Jackson Managing Director of MgonjahMedias

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Thanks to wiki how

HOW TO GET A LOVELY PARTNER.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 May 2011 23:28:00 +0000

Always you need to know that to find a lover and to maintain him or her around you; are two different things, always the men and women are asking themselves that what ways will they use so as to catch the most one they appreciate in their life. It is true for them to do that because the step of finding the one that will spend all the rest of your life with is not easy. We have some few advices for them to employ so as they can succeed on this as follows.

· *Be happy for yourself. You need to love yourself and be happy with yourself because if you are not happy with the way you are; don’t expect that there will be some one to be happy and be interested with you. That is the first to work with, so starting from today; if you are looking for somebody to marry, start doing the exercise of loving yourself first.

* Be fun. This sounds basic, but it's a critical factor in any relationship. Have a sense of humor. Don’t be uptight or negative. Always try to make yourself happily, by doing that you will be attractive to all people and hence you will get the one you want.

· *Be natural. For all the glamour advertisements out there especially for the women, the fake boobs, hair dyes, and all the rest, a man really appreciates something that is genuine. Be natural and don't pose. You want him to get to know the real you because it is the real you he's going to have to live with when you're married.

· *Be sexy. While sexuality isn't the only thing in a relationship, it is important. Show that you're interested in him/her romantically. Try not to be too prudish and withdrawn. Allow that aspect of the relationship to be free, fun, and lively. People who want to marry aren't looking for just a roommate.

· *Keep dating fun, as it should be. If dating goes well, and your interactions are positive, he/she'll want you to be closer to you. If he/she builds experience with you and sees you as a person he/she wants to be with forever, he/she will get more serious about his/her future and work, start considering more distant goals such as buying a home, and begin to discuss the future more and more. Only once he/she has made a decision about you and feels prepared and mature enough to propose will he/she do so.

· *Know your role. An important part of any relationship is making both partners aware that they have a crucial and indispensable role to play. Make sure that you and your lover have a similar view of the relationship. If you're looking for someone to have kids with and she/he's looking for a casual relationship, it's not going to work out

· *Communicate. From the start of the relationship and all through the marriage, the key to keeping the relationship together is communication. Tell him/her what you feel, both positive and negative

· *Practice humility. A humble person is not someone who downplays herself; it is a person who controls her ego and shows a genuine interest in others.You mightn’t know the effects of this habit but i twill make some body you love more to follow you through your humility actions.

· *Always appreciate the works of people especialy the one you feel. Also, tell him or her that so, even if she or he's already prideful. Then, put your support to her or him when he /she is at his best, and avoid nagging or berating him/she when he/she is at his worst.

· *Show confidence. Be sure of yourself, and ready to tackle whatever is before you. Many people love confidence of their partners. How can a man not feel privileged when he earns the esteem of a woman who values herself so highly? the same as woman.

· *Date. It may not be obvious, but you actually have to go out on dates with a somebody and commit to a relationship before he will propose. The term "date" in modern culture is vague and sometimes redefined as something more than it is. Simply converse with a some one and get to know more about each others' lives.

· *If you feel the need to have a serious talk, reconsider the approach. Instead of coming at him/her with a serious tone (which will bring up his innate fear of pressure for commitment), be upbeat and positive. "I really love spending time with you. I really feel happy around you. But I just want to double check and see if we're on the same page. While I know it is too soon for us to worry about it, I do want to get married in the future and want to make sure I'm dating someone who has the same values as me. As we get to know each other better and better, are you beginning to see me as someone you could possibly see that happening with?
ALWAYS DO THESE WHEN YOU WANT TO MARRY SOME ONE AND PLAYING WITH.

Written by Jacqueline Jackson Managing Director of MgonjahMedias

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MAINTAINANCE OF HEALTHIER, LONG AND STRONG RELATIONSHIP.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 May 2011 21:45:00 +0000

This is the guide to you on how to have, to maintain and building a strong, and lovely relationship between you and your love. Many partners love each other more and more during the starting point of their relationship, but soon after few moments they start to reduce the volume of love among themselves, have ever asked yourself why this? Many researches done by Psychologist revealed that situation as among the strong problem of relationships. Be with us by reading this magazine and know how to maintain and create strong relations with the one you really love.

Do the followings for your success.

· Choose the one to love as your partner wisely. I mean that you need to handle somebody similar to you in terms of temper, hobbies, testes and goals of life though you must have a little variation because all people differs, if you not that there is a great variation between you and your lover, its better to seek for another one because it will lead to misunderstandings and harsh conflicts in that relation. So the first thing to do is to ensure that the one you have fits you at least in most of your interests.

· Always be honest about everything. Even in the smallest matter. Being honest is the most important thing in a relationship. Secrets or dishonesty is like poisonous venom from a deadly snake that will bite you both... when it comes crawling out and it will

· Never say lies to your partner. Imagine what you would feel if the one you love cheat you. Would you really want your love to feel that way? Could you ruin every month/year you've spent together? Could you his or her heart? Keep in mind, that cheating could do permanent damage to your partners self confidence and could ruin their love life completely forever. You will never be trusted again, no matter how you excuse yourself. Is sex really worth ruining your relationship? If you don't feel happy with your partner, break up first.

· Be open and agreeable as much as you can. Avoid the act of doing some affair in a private place or situation while your in a relationship and at the same time your partner is un aware with that affair, that may be non-commitment and not building trust; privacy is okay but only if you can do it without becoming suspicious or ambiguous.

· Save the needs of your partner firstly. Put forward the needs of your lover and then yours or make some mutual ballance between yourself in the way that there is no anyone who benefit than the other but all are staying happy.

· Keep the birthday and other occasions in your memory. All these will become useful letter on and your partner will feel as a queen or King whe you remind her or him at the specific time.

· If you want to make them happy, do something you know they like, or something they always wanted to do but never could. Doing something together is the best choice. You will make happy your partner and always she or he will feel to close to you.

Spend as much time together as you can, but avoid fusion or confusion of your individual goals with the other person's goals! You will fuse family goals such as for having children together, but not you core needs and beliefs.· Neither person should lose reasonable and longstanding individual ambitions or goals. The behaviour of being together always make youself to familiarise and hence small faults will be avoided because all knows what they should do for their lover.

· Don't despise or be cruel about any bad habit your partner has. Don't force him or her to do or not do anything. If it is too unacceptable to you then you should decide what is right or wrong for yourself. If they need or ask for your help--with changing their bad habit--then you should be as supportive as you can without becoming an enabler.

Always you must put in your mind that, don’t have a relationship based on the following issues.

*Financial or material interest, Such as being a provider, servant or a sex object. Those are plainly disgusting.

*Friends or relatives needs or wants. Those other people should never be more important than your partner--and probably not even nearly as important except in a rare (and extreme) emergency.

*Opinions or ideals of others. Never let anyone tell you how you "should handle" your relationship. No one knows the two of you more than you and your partner. They can only see the outside, and they do have different ideas about what is a good relationship.

Also

*If a relationship is getting dull or boring, get busy... in hobbies that you can do at the same place and time--common interests--or find one complex hobby involving your differing skills and interests together. Go to places together that you both like, or talk about what you and they want to do taking turns accompanying the other.

*Never be afraid of saying "Sorry..." It is never too late to apologize or to make it right. Never demand it though! It is not true that you never have to say you're sorry if you love one another. It's almost the opposite of that. Words can matter as much as anything to open and receptive couples.

*Don't play "Not until you do what I want!" Just keep on communicating in a friendly way, nicely--without meanness, nagging or trying to force the other to agree. Try saying and doing your part, you may want to wait for a short while--allow a little extra time to let the dust settle--and it'll work out as you both nurture your relationship together.
ALL THESE ARE FOR THE MARRIED ONES ONLY AND NOT OTHERWISE

Written by jacqueline Jackson Managing Director of MgonjahMedias

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Osama bin Laden dead: officials US president expected to announce that al-Qaeda leader has died and that US is in possession of the body.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 May 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Osama bin Laden dead: officials
US president expected to announce that al-Qaeda leader has died and that US is in possession of the body.
Officials would not confirm whether he had been killed in Afghanistan or Pakistan, and said that the death of the al-Qaeda leader was more of a "symbolic victory", as he was no longer directly connected to the group's field operations, Azimy reported.

It is a major accomplishment for Obama and his national security team. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, had repeatedly vowed to bring to justice the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, but never did before leaving office in early 2009.

US officials said that after searching in vain for the al Qaeda leader since he disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2001, the Saudi-born fighter is dead and his body recovered.

Having the body may help convince any doubters that bin Laden is really dead.

He had been the subject of a search since he eluded US soldiers and Afghan militia forces in a large-scale assault on the Tora Bora mountains in 2001. The trail quickly went cold after he disappeared and many intelligence officials believed he had been hiding in Pakistan.

While in hiding, bin Laden had taunted the West and advocated his views in videotapes spirited from his hideaway.

Besides September 11, Washington has also linked bin Laden to a string of attacks -- including the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the warship USS Cole in Yemen.

The Libyan ambassador to the UK has been expelled following attacks on British embassy premises in Tripoli.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 May 2011 02:11:00 +0000

Inside Britain's burnt out embassy in Tripoli
Continue reading the main story
Libya Crisis
Backfiring tactics?
Tripoli witness: Dying for fuel
The Gaddafi story
Gaddafi's bolt-hole
The Libyan ambassador to the UK has been expelled following attacks on British embassy premises in Tripoli.

Foreign missions in Libya's capital have been targeted by crowds angry at reports that a Nato air strike had killed a son of Col Muammar Gaddafi.

A BBC team there said the UK embassy building had been completely burnt out.

The foreign secretary said the Gaddafi regime had failed in its duty to protect it and that Omar Jelban had been given 24 hours to leave the UK.

Meanwhile, the United Nations announced it was withdrawing all its international staff from Tripoli after some of its facilities in the city were also attacked by angry crowds.

In Misrata, the last remaining rebel-held city in western Libya, forces loyal to the Libyan government were shelling the port area on Sunday night. Heavy shelling had occurred in other parts of the city earlier in the day, with some reports saying 12 people had been killed.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague strongly attacked the Gaddafi regime for allowing the British embassy to be attacked.

"The Vienna Convention requires the Gaddafi regime to protect diplomatic missions in Tripoli," he said.

"By failing to do so that regime has once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations. I take the failure to protect such premises very seriously indeed."
Omar Jelban, who met the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2010, has been given 24 hours to leave

The UK currently has no diplomats in the Libyan capital.

Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said official lines of communication with Col Gaddafi's government would remain open, as other Libyan officials would stay in its UK embassy after the ambassador's departure.
No-fly zone

Reporting after visiting the British embassy in Tripoli, the BBC's Christian Fraser said: "The fires are still burning in the downstairs rooms, there are people climbing through the building, they were throwing things from the upstairs windows while I was there.

"There was also a war memorial that was lying by a car that had been burnt out by the side of the garden."

The US, French and Italian embassies in the Libyan capital were also attacked.

Our correspondent said that while the mob violence could have been spontaneous, because Libya is a police state, "questions will have to be asked why police and soldiers melted into the background".

The UK has taken a lead role in the Nato-led military action against Libyan government forces since the UN Security Council voted on 17 March to use all means necessary - short of foreign occupation - to protect civilians in the country.
A UN official here on a humanitarian mission confirmed that overnight the offices of the UN had been ransacked.

As the reported death of Saif al-Arab Gaddafi spread around the city, there were angry demonstrations, seemingly more spontaneous than those we have witnessed so far.

UN officials say they have expressed their concerns to the Libyan government who have since apologised, blaming an angry mob for the damage.

The UN lost seven of its staff recently in the storming of a UN compound in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan. It seems they are not about to take risks here and, according to this official, they are now withdrawing all their international staff.

UK action has taken the form of attacks by RAF Typhoon and Tornado jets, and missiles fired from Royal Navy submarines.

The RAF is also continuing to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya.

In addition, the UK has sent British military advisers to the rebels.
'Absolutely clear'

Col Gaddafi's son Saif al-Arab is reported to have died at his villa in the Bab al-Aziziya compound.

He had a lower profile than most of his brothers, particularly Saif al-Islam, who studied at the London School of Economics and has issued several public statements since the uprising began.

Saif al-Arab had only recently returned to Libya after studying in Germany.

A spokesman for the regime said the Libyan leader himself was in the villa at the time but was unharmed. However, he added that three of Col Gaddafi's grandchildren had also been killed in the attack.

Nato said it had hit a "known command-and-control building" in the area, adding it did not "target individuals".

Prime Minister David Cameron earlier defended Nato's operations in Libya.

"The targeting policy of Nato and the alliance is absolutely clear," he told the BBC.

"It is in line with UN resolution 1973, and it is about preventing a loss of civilian life by targeting Gaddafi's war-making machine."

Mr Cameron did not comment on whether British aircraft were involved in the attack that reportedly killed Col Gaddafi's son.

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said Labour supported action in Libya within the UN mandate.

"Ministers must be clear that there has been no decision to target individuals, which would be beyond the terms of resolution 1973, in order to allay the country's inevitable concerns about changes to military tactics and increased scope of UK military action," he added

Kigamboni - New Dar City Center

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:47:00 +0000

BARAZA JIPYA LA MAWAZIRI WA JAMHURI YA MUUNGANO WA TANZANIA

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 22:47:00 +0000

RAIS WA JAMHURI YA MUUNGANO WA TANZANIA MH.JAKAYA KIKWETE AKITANGAZA BARAZA LA MAWAZIRI IKULU JIJNI DAR ES SALAAM Hili ni baraza jipya la mawaziri lililotangazwa na mh.JK Mrisho tarehe 24.November 2010, 1:58 pm ikulu jijini Dar es salaam,baraza hilo ambalo limekuwa na mabadiliko kadha wa kadha ambapo mh.raisi amebadilisha maadhi ya mawaziri na manaibu mawaziri katika serekali ya jamhuri ya muungano wa Tanzania kama inavyoonekana hapo chini,katika mabadiliko haya mh.raisi amepangua na kupalangiza mawaziri kikubwa zaidi ameongeza majukumu katiaka baadhi ya wizara na kupunguza majukumu katika baadhi ya mawaziri,

Hili ni baraza jipya la jamhuri ya muungano wa Tanzania na watanzania wengi wa naamini kuwa gurudumu lao la maendeleo litakuwa na speed kubwa ilikuhakikisha kuwa kuna kuwa na maendeleo ya kijamii,kiuchumi halikadhalika na Nyanja zingine katika nchi kwa ujumla

1. Ofisi ya Rais (Utawala Bora) Mathias Chikawe

2. Ofisi ya Rais – Mahusiano na Uratibu: Stephen Wassira

3.Ofisi ya Rais – Menejimenti ya Utumishi wa Umma Hawa Ghasia

4. Ofisi ya Makamu wa Rais – ( Muungano): Samia Suluhu

5. . Ofisi ya Makamu wa Rais – (Mazingira) Dr. Terezya Luoga Hovisa

6. Ofisi ya Waziri Mkuu (Sera, Uratibu na Bunge): William Lukuvi

7. Uwekezaji na Uwezeshaji Dr. Mary Nagu

8. Ofisi ya Waziri Mkuu, Tawala za Mikoa na Serikali za Mitaa (TAMISEMI) George Huruma Mkuchika

Naibu: Aggrey Mwanri

Naibu: Kassim Majaliwa

9. Wizara ya Fedha Mustapha Mkulo

Naibu: Gregory Teu

Naibu: Pereira Ame Silima

10. Wizara ya Mambo ya Ndani ya Nchi Shamsi Vuai Nahodha

Naibu: Balozi Khamis Suedi Kagasheki

11. Wizara ya Katiba na Sheria Celina Kombani

12. Wizara ya Mambo ya Nje na Ushirikiano wa Kimataifa Bernard K. Membe Naibu: Mahadhi Juma Mahadhi

13 . Wizara ya Ulinzi na Jeshi la Kujenga Taifa Dr. Hussein Ali Hassan Mwinyi

14. Wizara ya Maendeleo ya Mifugo na Uvuvi Dr. Mathayo David Mathayo

Naibu: Benedict Ole Nangoro

15. Wizara ya Mawasiliano, Sayansi na Teknolojia Prof. Makame Mnyaa Mbarawa

Naibu: Charles Kitwanga

16. Wizara ya Ardhi, Nyumba na Maendeleo ya Makazi Prof. Anna Tibaijuka Naibu: Goodluck Ole Madeye

17. Wizara ya Maliasili na Utalii Ezekiel Maige

18. Wizara ya Nishati na Madini William Mganga Ngeleja 1. Adam Kigoma Malima

19. Wizara ya Ujenzi Dr. John Pombe Magufuli

Naibu: Dr. Harrison Mwakyembe

20. Wizara ya Uchukuzi Omari Nundu

Naibu: Athumani Mfutakamba

21. Wizara ya Viwanda na Biashara Dr. Cyril Chami

Naibu: Lazaro Nyalandu

22. Wizara ya Elimu na Mafunzo ya Ufundi Dr. Shukuru Kawambwa

Naibu: Philipo Mulugo

23. Wizara ya Afya na Ustawi wa Jamii Dr. Haji Hussein Mpanda

Naibu: Dr. Lucy Nkya

24. Wizara ya Kazi na Ajira Gaudensia Kabaka Makongoro Mahanga

25. Wizara ya Maendeleo ya Jamii, Jinsia na Watoto Sophia Simba

Naibu: Umi Ali Mwalimu

26. Wizara ya Habari, Vijana na Michezo Emmanuel John Nchimbi

Naibu:Dr. Fenella Mukangara

27. Wizara ya Ushirikiano wa Afrika Mashariki Samuel John Sitta

Naibu Dr. Abdallah Juma Abdallah

28. Wizara ya Kilimo, Chakula na Ushirika Prof. Jumanne Maghembe

Naibu: Christopher Chiza

29. Wizara ya Maji: Prof. Mark James Mwandosya

Naibu: Eng. Gerson Lwinge

Ngugu wasomaji wa blog hii ya jamii,hiyo ni list ya mawaziri ambao sisi kama wa Tanzania tunaamini kuwa baraza hili litaleta mabadiliko makubwa katika nchi yetu ya Tanzania na kuhakikisha kuwa kama kuna nchi tano au mbili katika Afrika basi Tanzania iwe ni mojawapo kati ya hizo,nasema hayo kwa sababu gani?,katika nchi ya Tanzania kuna kila aina ya malighafi ambayo ni muhimu kwa maendeleo,mfano;katika nchi zinazoongoza kwa uchimbaji wa dhahabu Tanzania ni nchi mojawapo kati ya hizo,ukiangalia upande wa madini ya thamani ya dimond,Tanzania nayo ni nchi inayotisha katika utoaji wa madini hayo,lakini pia Tanzania ni nchi ya kwanza na ni nchi inayoongoza kwa uzalishaji wa madini ya thamani ya Tanzanite yanayopatikana katikamji wa Arusha nchini Tanzania

Tanzania ni nchi pia inayomiliki mafuta katika ukanda wa bahari ya hindi kuanzia dar es salaam mpaka Zanzibar lakini pia kuna gesi asili inayopatikana katika maeneo hayohayo yenye mafuta kwa sababu sehemu yoyote yenye mafuta basin na gesi inapatikana hapo,hizo ni baadhi ya malghafi chache ambazo ambazo zinapatika na katika nchi hii nzuri na yenyekuvutia ya Tanzania.

Sasa ni mafikirio yetu sisi kama watanzania kuwa baraza hilo la mawaziri lililotangazwa na mh jk litakuwa likituweka mbele watanzania kwa kuhakikisha kuwa malighafi hizi zinatumiwa ipaswavyo bila kuharibiwa au kutapanywa na mafisadi kama ilivyokuwa klatika kipindi kilichopita na vingine vyote,tunaamini kuwa baraza hili la mawaziri litahakikisha kuwa watanzania wote wanakuwa salama kwa kuimarisha ulinzi wan chi ndani na nje kwa maana ya kuimarisha majeshi yote ya ulinzi na usalama kama vile jwtz polivce Tanzania na mengine pia.

Lakini serekali nzuri ni ile ambayo inahakikisha kuixwa kunakuwa namaendeleo endelevu kwananchi wake wote kwa kufanya mambo kama vile kuhakikisha kuwa kunakuwa na huduma zote za ja mii kwa wananchi wote,lakini pia kujaribu kutoa mikopo kwa wananchi tena kwa masharti nafuu ili kuweza kuongeza uzalishaji ndani ya nchi,pamoja na njia mbadala nyinginezo serekali hii tunayoiamini inaweza kutuletea maendeleo katika Tanzania yetu

HOW DO WE FALL ASLEEP AND WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE SLEEP? ~ MgonjahMedia International

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:48:00 +0000

HOW DO WE FALL ASLEEP AND WHAT HAPPENS TO US WHEN WE SLEEP? ~ MgonjahMedia International

God is Good all the time "Just abide on him" he never fall

Violence in Ivory Coast spirals

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:13:00 +0000

Violence in Ivory Coast spirals

The protests in the Arab world are pushing the crisis in Ivory Coast out of the international focus. But the turmoil there is escalating. Thousands are on the run and the UN Security Council is warning of a civil war.

African Union representatives are meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday to try to end the increasingly bloody dispute over the Ivory Coast presidency. But violence is continuing in the western African country.
According to media reports, at least four more people were killed on Tuesday at a protest in the economic capital Abidjan demanding Laurent Gbagbo quit. The former president continues to refuse to step down and cede power to the internationally recognized president of Ivory Coast, President Alassane Ouattara, who won last November's elections.
The deaths in Abidjan occurred at a march protesting the killing of six unarmed women during a similar event last week. On Thursday, hundreds of women in colorful clothing had taken to the streets in the pro-Ouattara slum of Abobo to show their support for their president. But the demonstration was brutally struck down by soldiers loyal to Gbagbo.
"Our women just wanted to demonstrate peacefully," one eyewitness said. "Of course, they weren't armed. And then all of sudden, these armed vehicles appeared and Gbagbo's people started shooting all over the place."
Despite a video published by news agency AP clearly showing tanks of the pro-Gbagbo army quickly leaving the scene of the crime, the former president denies that his people were responsible for last week's massacre. Rather, he blames the UN peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast for "infiltrating" the country with "terrorists." They are responsible for these women's deaths, he claimed.
Facilitating humanitarian aid
The United Nations refugee agency has appealed to the rival groups to support efforts to deliver urgently needed humanitarian aid to those affected by the post-election turmoil and avoid putting civilians at risk.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Gbagbo, left, refuses to hand over power to Ouattara
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that the unrest in the West African country has displaced between 200,000 and 300,000 people in Abidjan. Another 70,000 inhabitants of the country's western region have fled their homes and crossed over into neighboring Liberia as a result of violence.
Hamadoun Touré, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping mission, said the situation was very dangerous for humanitarian aid workers who are trying to help with the dead and injured.
"That's why we've been calling for a truce in Abobo, so that humanitarian workers can get in, take the bodies, maybe even have a burial or find a morgue for them," Touré said.
In Abobo, Gbagbo's soldiers are fighting against pro-Ouattara insurgents, who call themselves the "invisible commandos." Gbagbo's feared Young Patriots militia group - many armed with AK-47s, machetes and knives - have set up roadblocks. Every day, there are dead and injured, most of them civilians. Hawa, who heads an NGO and does not want to disclose her last name for security reasons, said the people will not back down, though.
"Gbago, leave, the women yelled at that protest. But we've been demanding that for far too long," Hawa said. "I don't know what the international community is actually still waiting for. Should there be more dead, more atrocities? Day in, day out, it's the same horrible picture. And because nothing is happening, we're going to continue marching!"
More fighting expected
Apparently, both sides are currently rearming with outside help to be ready when the real fighting begins. Gbagbo doesn't appear to be running out of money, despite the ban on cocoa exports and despite international sanctions.
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Thousands are fleeing the region
On the other side, the pro-Ouattara rebels in the north, the Forces Nouvelles or New Forces, are getting ready to fight. They have already captured areas in the western part of the country. It is already evident now what a civil war would mean for the country, said Ouanmourou Koné from the University of Bouaké, the rebel stronghold in the north. He said there is no water or electricity in the city.
"It's incredible what world we are living in," he said. "It is desperation. There is no life in Bouaké now. I don't understand how they want us to live here. It's terrible. That's why I say politicians are not human beings. Those politicians should all go to hell! That's what they deserve."
It could be the beginning of the civil war that international observers have warned of for months already. It was over three months ago that Ivory Coast wanted to elect a new president and end the more than 10-year political chaos in the country. But the crisis is escalating further.
It seems that the power struggle that has been smoldering between Gbagbo and Ouattara for months now has in fact reached the point where it could revert to war at any moment. Ouattara is still holed up in a hotel in Abidjan with his closest advisors. An endless coming and going of mediators from the African Union, meanwhile, are trying to force Gbagbo to resign - in vain. He sends them all home empty-handed. Meanwhile, the entire world has its eyes on Libya while the bloodshed continues - in Abobo and soon maybe in the rest of Ivory Coast.

France and Italy share strong ties with Libya's Gadhafi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:38:00 +0000

France and Italy share strong ties with Libya's Gadhafi

Italy and France are nervously eyeing developments in Libya

France and Italy have condemned Libya's violent repression of anti-regime protests, but both European nations have a lot at stake when it comes to the oil-rich country. DW takes a look at relations between the nations.

As the Libyan regime comes under pressure, so too do the country's northern partners. Both the French and Italian governments share lucrative economic ties with Libya.

The two European Union members have come out against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's use of force to crush protests, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy calling for an "immediate halt" to the violence.

Yet questions remain in both countries as to how unrest - and a potential toppling of Gadhafi's regime - could affect national interests.

'Reparations' for immigrant control

Rome's relations with Tripoli are primarily influenced by Italy's dependence Libya to stem illegal immigration from Africa. The two countries' coast guards cooperate in detaining undocumented migrants in the Mediterranean and sending them back to their countries of origin.

Berlusconi signed a friendship treaty with Gadhafi in 2008

Libya's role in keeping out unwanted migrants is worth as much as $5 billion (3.7 billion euros) to Italy, which the latter pledged to invest in Libya's infrastructure over the next 25 years as "reparations" for its bloody 1911-43 colonial rule.

The funds had been earmarked to construct, among other things, a coastline highway in the North African country.

The Italo-Libyan anti-immigration practices agreed to by Gadhafi and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in their 2008 friendship treaty, violate the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. Yet so far only rights groups have raised protest.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano has defended Gadhafi's questionable human rights record, saying he had heard Gadhafi "speak with great moderation and a sense of duty when it comes to the most difficult problems facing the African continent."

Italo-Libyan economic ties

Libya's friendship has also brought security to Italy's energy supply, and Italian energy group ENI has a large presence in the oil-rich nation.

Likewise, Gadhafi played a role in the Italian economy since the 1970s. Today, Libya has investments in Italian aircraft manufacturer Finmeccanica and Italy's second-largest bank, Unicredit.

Deceased Italian industrialist Giovanni Agnelli once defended selling shares of automaker Fiat to Gadhafi, claiming that having oil-rich nations invest in the West would deter them from raising oil prices to the West's detriment.

Italy is paying reparations in return for Libya keeping out illegal immigrants

A tent in Paris

In December 2007, a massive bedouin-style tent in central Paris became the symbol of France's conciliatory attitudes toward Libya.

Gadhafi ordered the tent be pitched in front of the Hotel Marigny, where important foreign guests to France are housed. He used it to receive guests during his stay, which he extended from three days to six.

French Secretary of State for Human Rights Rama Yade was outraged by Gadhafi's visit, saying France was "not a doormat for a leader - terrorist or no terrorist - on which to wipe his feet of the blood of his crimes."

Yet, by the time Gadhafi returned home, France had landed 10 billion euros in deals, including an atomic energy plant for Libya, a desalination plant, and 21 Airbus planes.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon defended France's interest, making reference to five Bulgarian nurses released from Libyan custody a half a year earlier, after receiving death sentences on charges they spreading HIV to children.

"France is receiving Col. Gadhafi, because Col. Gadhafi liberated the Bulgarian nurses. And because Col. Gadhafi is campaigning for the reintegration of his country into the international community," he said, warning, "All those who want to lecture us should carefully weigh their words."

France's business deals with Libya are worth billions

The nurses were released under French pressure a day after Sarkozy and Gadhafi met in Tripoli to forge plans for the Franco-Libyan deals that were later signed in Paris.

France began cultivating its relationship with Libya in 2003, under Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac. Chirac flew to Libya shortly after the United Nations lifted sanctions against the country.

During that visit with Gadhafi, Chirac demanded 170 million euros in reparations from Libya for the 1989 bombing of a French DC-10 jet, in which 170 were killed, including 53 French citizens.

Oil prices spike in response to Libyan unrest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:33:00 +0000

Oil prices spike in response to Libyan unrest

Gadhafi's son said civil war would "burn" Libya's oil wealth

Libya produces a sizeable chunk of the world's oil, and is Europe's third largest supplier. Oil prices jumped on Tuesday in response to the violence, and pressure is mounting on OPEC to free up more supplies.

The key oil benchmark prices in Europe and the US jumped to two-and-a-half-year highs on Tuesday, as the markets respond shakily to the escalating violence in Libya.

Brent Crude from the North Sea briefly hit $108.57 (79.44 euros) in morning trade, before dropping during the course of the day. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate's prices for future deliveries in April soared by almost seven dollars to $94.49 at one point in Tuesday trading. Most prices for imported oil on the European and US markets are based on these so-called benchmark indicators.

"It's like one of those Australian bushfires - once it takes hold, it's very difficult to put out," Michael Hewson, an analyst for CMC Markets said. "Until the situation in the Middle East settles down, you are going to have very wild price swings."

Libya is a major African oil producer and a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), exporting most of its oil to European countries like Italy, Germany, Spain and France.

German company Wintershall has reduced production in Libya and evacuated some staff

"I think [OPEC] should get involved soon, because we need some signals for the market," energy analyst for the German Institute for Economic Research, Claudia Kemfert, told Deutsche Welle. "Right now, if Libya was to stop oil production, we would lose 2 percent of the global oil supply."

Kemfert said that, while this figure may not be particularly high, OPEC would be well advised to increase production capacities in other member states, so as to calm the market's concerns over further unrest in the region hitting oil supplies elsewhere.

OPEC: we're watching, and we're ready

OPEC representative and United Arab Emirates energy minister Mohammad bin Dhaen al-Hamli said on Tuesday that the market was reacting to the violence in the Middle East, not to fundamentals, saying there was no need to free up extra oil supplies at present, despite the unrest in Libya.

The countries in OPEC "are watching the situation and [are] ready to act when necessary," Hamli said, adding that he was concerned about the Libyan situation in particular "because it is a member of OPEC and a major oil producer." The UAE minister made no reference to the moment when OPEC might deem it necessary to intervene.

OPEC says oil prices should stabilize without increasing supplies

The US Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman, who was attending the same producer-consumer meeting in Saudia Arabia as Hamli on Tuesday, also called for action from OPEC.

"All oil producers need to respond," Poneman said. "Expect all of them to respond." And he added that rising crude prices could jeopardize economic recovery.

OPEC's spare capacity of up to 6 million barrels of oil easily covers Libya's daily production of roughly 1.6 million barrels, and most analysts are attributing the surge in market prices to concerns that the unrest might spread to bigger oil-producers in the region like Algeria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

German oil supply safe, but trade with Libya in jeopardy

Oil accounts for almost 99 percent of Libyan exports to Germany; the wheat, olives, tomatoes, salt and chalk that the country also sells are of little interest to the German market. Libya is one of the top five oil importers, but its contribution is dwarfed by the German market's two main sources, Russia and the North Sea.

"There is no direct danger to the German oil supply because of the political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa," a spokeswoman for the Association of the German Petroleum Industry said on Tuesday.

Oil and natural gas supplies to Italy, Libya's largest customer, have been hit hard

Nevertheless, oil companies working in Libya are concerned about their short-term future there. European oil and gas firms like Shell, ENI, and German group Wintershall (an offshoot of the BASF chemical giant) started evacuating staff and scaling down production as a precautionary measure.

German imports to Libya, though of lesser value than the oil brought in, have been increasing in recent years, thanks to several major state contracts. Machine tools, often connected to the oil industry, accounted for much of the surge in trade between 2008 and 2009, when import figures doubled.

Gadhafi's tight control over Libyan affairs helps explain such statistical anomalies, according to Friedrich Wagner, the Africa representative for the German Engineering Federation (VDMA).

"Obviously, our trade with Libya is heavily dependent on state contracts. The Libyan economy is a government-run economy, and it's dependent on investment decisions made by the government," Wagner said.

If the current unrest in Libya persists, such trade could soon come to a halt, at least temporarily. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Tuesday raised the specter of sanctions against Moammar Gadhafi's regime if it continued to violently suppress opposition protests, saying financial penalties would be "unavoidable" unless the government in Tripoli changed its ways.

World powers send mixed messages on military action against Gadhafi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:30:00 +0000

World powers send mixed messages on military action against Gadhafi

Rebels have faced renewed attacks from Gadhafi loyalists

Amid fresh raids on rebel strongholds, Britain and France are ready to push for a no-fly zone if attacks by Gadhafi's troops against his own people continue. But Germany opposes any foreign military intervention.

The French and British foreign ministers told Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday they would press for the imposition of a no-fly zone if attacks against his country's citizens continued.

Rebels, who control large swathes of the country, have called for foreign air strikes against what they said were foreign mercenaries fighting for Gadhafi.

The Anglo-French warning came after talks in Paris between French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and his British counterpart, William Hague. Britain and France want Gadhafi to stand down and were working on "bold and ambitious" proposals to put to a European Union leaders' meeting on Libya next week, the two ministers told reporters.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said his country is considering plans for a military no-fly zone. France's Juppe said such an option could and should be considered but only if it was endorsed by a UN Security Council decision.

Westerwelle said military intervention in Libya would be 'counterproductive'"France, for its part, does not think that in the current circumstances military intervention, NATO forces, would be welcomed in the south of the Mediterranean and could be counterproductive," Juppe said.

"That said, given the threats from Colonel Gadhafi, we have to be in a position to react and that is why we agreed to plans for a no-fly zone over Libya," he added.

Berlin rejects foreign military intervention

Meanwhile, Germany is against any foreign military intervention in Libya, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said on Thursday.

"We do not participate, and we do not share a discussion of military intervention, because we think this would be very counterproductive," Westerwelle said at a meeting of central European foreign ministers in Slovakia.

"We want to see the (Gadhafi) family isolated," he added, without further explanation.

Westerwelle said the situation was not ripe to decide on imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. "We are at the moment not in the situation to decide this .... we have many thousands of foreign citizens and we want to fly them out, this is the first point," he told reporters. He added it was crucial that any such decision is discussed in the United Nations.

Rebels patrol the area around Brega in tanks

Obama weighs options

In the United States, President Barack Obama publicly called on Gadhafi to stand down. He said he had asked his military and diplomatic advisers to examine "a full range of options" including a no-fly zone.

"We will continue to send a clear message: The violence must stop. Moammar Gadhafi has lost the legitimacy to lead and he must leave," Obama said.

Obama offered US aircraft to help move Egyptians stranded at the Libyan border with Tunisia and to aid refugees fleeing Libya. French and British aircraft have already been taking part in an international airlift and more airplanes and ships are due from other EU nations.

ICC investigates Gadhafi

In The Hague, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Thursday it will investigate Gadhafi, his sons and members of their inner circle for crimes committed by their security forces.

Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said no one had the authority to massacre civilians after a bloody crackdown on demonstrators against Gadhafi's rule in which possibly thousands have died.

He said the court had identified several people at the top of the command chain who could be investigated. "They are Moammar Gadhafi, his inner circle, including some of his sons, who had this de facto authority. There are also some people with formal authority who should pay attention to crimes committed by their people."

The ICC is to investigate Gadhafi for crimes against humanityThe United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Gadhafi and his family last Saturday, and referred Libya's crackdown on demonstrators to the court.

Gadhafi has vowed to stay in Libya and fight to the death since protests against his 41-year rule began in mid February, inspired by the popular uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt that ousted longstanding authoritarian rulers.

On the ground, in Libya's east, witnesses said a warplane for a second day bombed the oil terminal town Brega, 800 km (500 miles) east of Tripoli.

But events appeared to turn against Gadhafi, as rebels spearheading the unprecedented popular revolt pushed their frontline against government loyalists west of Brega, where they had repulsed an attack a day earlier.

The opposition fighters said troops loyal to Gadhafi had been driven back to Ras Lanuf, home to another major oil terminal and 600 km (375 miles) east of Tripoli.

Analysts remain skeptical about plans for a no-fly zone

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:13:00 +0000

Analysts remain skeptical about plans for a no-fly zone

Analysts say imposing a no-fly zone would entail a huge military operation

As world powers consider imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, analysts say the measure, though part of NATO's range of capabilities, is controversial and fraught with risk.

Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya's deputy United Nations ambassador, was one of the first to denounce leader Moammar Gadhafi and call for a no-fly zone over Libya. In an emotional speech, he spoke of the beginning of a genocide in his country which could only be halted through military intervention by the international community. But just how realistic is that option?

Carlo Massala, political analyst at the German army or Bundeswehr university in Munich pointed to a 2005 UN General Assembly meeting that committed itself to protect civilian lives.

"The international community has a responsibility to protect people in every place where a massacre is being committed against a civilian population with genocide-like tendencies," Massala said, citing the 2005 resolution.

NATO members divided

But experts remain divided over whether the atrocities being committed in Libya amount to genocide. Besides, some say, the international community has so far been extremely hesitant in acting on its commitment to protect lives.

Will a no-fly zone be able to effectively halt the fighting in Libya?

"Compared to what happened in Darfur a few years ago, Libya is still – though it sounds cynical – relatively harmless," Massala said. "And still, we didn't intervene in Darfur. Nations usually only intervene when they want to protect their own interests and not because of a higher obligation under international law to intervene."

The imposition of a no-fly zone or any far-reaching military intervention would require a clear mandate from the UN Security Council. Last week, the world body agreed on sanctions against Libya. But it remains doubtful whether it will show the same unity when it comes to a military intervention in Libya, even in the form of a no-fly zone.

China or Russia are likely to use their veto power to shoot down such a move. And then the West would be forced to act without a UN mandate.

‘A complex affair'

But doubts are also emerging among members of NATO, which alone has the military means, about imposing a no-fly zone over Libya.

Turkey remains firmly opposed to such a move whereas France and Germany are still hesitant. Henning Riecke, security policy expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations is equally skeptical:

"A no-fly zone is such a complex affair that it's unlikely to be set up soon," Riecke said. "NATO would be capable of imposing such a no-fly zone. But the question is how long should it stay, how large an operation it will entail and what exactly the UN mandate will include."

A no-fly zone is certainly part of a revamped NATO's range of military capabilities. With its "NATO Response Force", the security body now has a mobile force which can be deployed even outside Europe within a week, with up to 14,000 troops.

But any Libya operation carries special geopolitical risks. The desert nation is about five times the size of Germany. To monitor its vast territory from the air would require between 100 and 150 flights a day. Even NATO would be not be capable of sustaining that over a long period of time.

Analysts also doubt whether the imposition of a no-fly zone would be effective in ending the bloodshed in Libya.

"I think that no-fly zones would have no direct effect on the battles between Gadhafi's troops and rebel forces," Riecke said. "That means you would set the ball rolling on a very complex operation with very limited consequences for the actual fighting in the country."

Mixed record on no-fly zones

The international community does have some experience with no-fly zones. In 1991, it imposed one over northern Iraq to protect the Kurdish population from Saddam Hussein's air force. And in the mid-1990s, a no-fly zone was imposed due to a UN mandate in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But even in that case, it didn't suffice to prevent the massacre of more than eight thousand civilians in Srebrenica.

A humanitarian crisis is unfolding on Libya's borders

Analysts believe that in the present case in Libya, ground troops would be eventually required to effectively stop the murderous campaign by Gadhafi's militias against the country's opposition.

Many believe that the most likely military intervention will be in the form of a humanitarian relief operation for the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled to Libya's borders. For example, using cargo planes to transport tents, food and medicines to the refugee camps.

The fear now is that Libya's neighbors, Algeria and Egypt, will be prompted to send their own troops into the country to cope with the swelling tide of refugees.

Bahrain protesters refuse dialogue unless government resigns

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:09:00 +0000

Bahrain protesters refuse dialogue unless government resigns

Protesters want the government to resign

In Bahrain, protests are going into the third week. Demonstrators want political and economic reforms, urging the king to improve living conditions for the minority Shiites who feel disadvantaged.

Thousands of people took to the streets again in Bahrain's capital Manama Tuesday to protest against the rule of King Hamad bin Issa el Khalifa. "We are brothers, Sunnis and Shiites," they chanted, making it the third week of protests in the kingdom with roughly one million inhabitants.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's rule represses the Shiite majority, say the protesters

The majority of demonstrators are Shiites who feel repressed by the Sunni king and Sunni ruling elite. They claim they are shut out of good jobs, decent healthcare and housing.

Civil disobedience

Protesters on Pearl Square in central Manama also called for the start of a civil disobedience campaign to increase pressure on the ruling elite to implement swift democratic reforms in the Gulf Arab state. The protests also started to spread into other parts of the city.

"The purpose of civil disobedience is to put huge pressure on the regime," said one protester, addressing the crowd on Pearl Square, "and forcing it to follow through with the demands of the protesters."

Since the start of the protests, there has been no formal dialogue between the government and the Muslim Shiite opposition.

The king has pardoned political prisoners, reshuffled the cabinet, increased housing allowances and appointed the crown prince to lead a national dialogue with the opposition.

No dialogue

But the opposition has rejected the king's offer for dialogue, with protesters on Tuesday waving banners that read "No dialogue - the people want the fall of the regime."

Several hundred people have been wounded since protests began over two weeks ago

Seven people have been killed and hundreds wounded since protests began in Bahrain more than two weeks ago. Members of the Shiite Wefaq bloc quit parliament on Thursday over protester deaths at nearby Pearl Square, where demonstrators have since camped out to increase the pressure on the rulers.

But parliament has little power and the cabinet is appointed by the king. Most ministers are from the royal family. "There's one family ruling the country, in sports, politics and economics, everything is controlled by the royal family," said Ali Ibrahim, a protester. "The government needs to be elected," he said.

Tens of thousands of pro-government supporters have also taken to the streets in recent days, saying that reforms launched by Bahrain's king 10 years ago have resulted in a situation of freedom and democracy which is unique in the Gulf Arab region.

UN Security Council unanimously passes sanctions against Gadhafi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 06:04:00 +0000

UN Security Council unanimously passes sanctions against Gadhafi

Much of eastern Libya is no longer controlled by Gadhafi

The UN Security Council has adopted measures against Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya over its attempts to crush a popular uprising. The sanctions were passed in New York by a unanimous vote.

The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution against Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi late Saturday in a bid to halt his bloody crackdown on opposition protesters.

The resolution, unanimously adopted by all 15 nations on the Council, calls for an arms embargo, assets freeze and a travel ban on Gadhafi, four of his sons and a daughter. It also demands Gadhafi be referred to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity.

"Today the Council has sent out a clear and strong message," Germany's ambassador to the UN, Peter Wittig, said in his address to the Council after the vote. "The international community will not tolerate the gross and systematic violation of human rights by the Libyan regime."

Wittig added that the "unanimous referral of the situation in Libya to the International Criminal Court demonstrates our resolve not to allow impunity."

Wittig told the Council Gadhafi had to be brought to justice

"This is a clear warning to those who perpetrate systematic attacks against the civilian population that they will be held accountable," he said.

A thousand dead

The UN estimates more than 1,000 people have died in the 10-day-old revolt.

But Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that sanctions would do more harm to Libya’s people than to Colonel Gadhafi.

"We call on the international community to act with conscience, justice, laws and universal humane values — not out of oil concerns," Erdogan said.

Germany, Britain want tough sanctions

In a telephone conversation earlier Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed on the need for urgent United Nations sanctions, the German government's deputy spokesman, Christoph Steegmans, said in a statement.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle told Sunday newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that "a ruling family that wages such brutal war against its own people is finished."

"The dictator cannot stay," Westerwelle said.

On Friday, US President Barack Obama signed an executive order freezing the assets of Gaddafi, members of his family and senior officials. The president said he was also seizing Libyan state property in the US, to prevent it being misappropriated by Tripoli.

Caretaker government

As the UN moved to sanction Gadhafi's regime, a forming caretaker government in the liberated, second city of Benghazi received growing support from Libya's diplomats.

Libya's former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel Jalil said he was assembling a new government to lead the country for three months to prepare for elections.

Libya's deputy UN ambassador said his delegation supported the caretaker government "in principle."

"We are seeking more information about it, but yes, I think we support it," he said.

Protesters want Gadhafi to step down

Foreigners being evacuated

Meanwhile, in the wake of continued violence, thousands of foreign nationals continue to be evacuated from Libya by air, sea and land.

On Saturday, two British military transport aircraft picked up about 150 foreign nationals in the desert south of Benghazi, and flew them to the Mediterranean island of Malta.

Much of Libya, especially the east, is now controlled by anti-Gadhafi forces but the Libyan leader remains in control of the capital Tripoli.

Thousands of people, mostly economic migrants, have fled north Africa, headed for Europe in search of a better life.

In response to the exodus of migrants, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Saturday that it was in Germany's interest to invest in development projects to help establish stability and democracy there and thus prevent migration.

"We want to live in a world in which there are more and more democratic and stable structures, and people do not feel the need to leave their own countries and apply for asylum here, for example," Merkel said in her weekly video podcast.

Emotional speech

In an emotional address on Friday, the Libyan ambassador to the UN, Mohammed Shalgham urged the UN Security Council to act against the "atrocities," comparing Gadhafi to Khmer Rouge despot Pol Pot, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

"I tell my brother Gadhafi - leave the Libyans alone," he said. "Please, the United Nations, save Libya. Let there be no bloodshed, no killing of innocents. We want a decisive, rapid and courageous resolution from you," Shalgham, a former childhood friend of Gadhafi, said.

Foreign nationals are being evacuated from Libya

Gadhafi's strongest European ally, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said in Rome on Saturday that he no longer appeared to be in control of Libya.

"It seems that effectively Gadhafi no longer controls the situation in Libya... If we can all come to an agreement, we can end this bloodbath and support the Libyan people," Berlusconi said.

The war against terrorisim and the USA foreign police

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:43:00 +0000

Sept.11 in the usa

Area size of USA:

9,522,055 sq km (3,676,486 sq mi), including 204,083 sq km of inland water and 156,049 sq km of the Great Lakes that lie within U.S. boundaries but excluding 109,362 sq km of coastal water
Population
( est.): 305,146,000
Capital:
Washington, D.C.
Head of state and government:
President Barack Obama

USA war on terrorisim
Five years after leading the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, the U.S. negotiated with the new Iraqi democratic government for an eventual end to allied combat operations. The agreement capped a year of declining violence and increased government control in Iraq and represented a dramatic turnaround for U.S. policy, which had seemed destined for a humiliating defeat only two years earlier. It also cleared the way for redeployment of U.S. troops elsewhere, particularly into resurgent terrorist areas of Afghanistan. Outgoing president George W. Bush hailed the Iraqi developments as a major step forward for democracy and credited the 2007 U.S. military surge, but his year-end visit to Iraq ironically was marred by dramatic political protest.

Under U.S. pressure the Iraqi parliament took several steps to accommodate Iraq's Sunni minority and achieve ethnic reconciliation. In March the Shiʿite-dominated government deployed 30,000 Iraqi troops, accompanied by U.S. air support, into Basra in a successful thrust to depose the Mahdi Army, a radical Shiʿite militia that had long controlled the port city. Iraqi troops later entered and occupied Sadr City, a renegade Shiʿite section of Baghdad, without significant resistance.

As violence ebbed markedly during the year, the Iraqi government took over increasing responsibility for its domestic security. In September Anbar province, once the cradle of the Sunni insurgency against the central government, was turned over to full Iraqi control. The following month Iraq assumed responsibility for some 100,000 (mostly Sunni) fighters; these Awakening Council forces had previously been paid and supervised by the U.S. military.

At year's end Iraq and the U.S. signed a status-of-forces agreement that called for the removal of allied troops from Iraqi cities by mid-2009 and complete withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by the end of 2011. The agreement also gave Iraqi civilian authorities criminal jurisdiction over off-duty U.S. troops who committed infractions while away from their bases. Incoming U.S. president Barack Obama had campaigned for earlier withdrawal of U.S. forces within 16 months—or by May 2010. Obama later signaled, however, that he would listen to military advice and remain flexible on his timetable.

By year's end allied forces were withdrawing from Iraq, and the U.S. military presence was diminishing toward presurge levels of 135,000. According to the Associated Press, U.S. troop deaths in 2008 stood at 314, down from more than 900 in 2007. (A total of 4,221 U.S. soldiers had died in the conflict since it began in 2003.) Some Middle East experts suggested that the security improvements were largely the result of internal Iraqi political reconciliation. In a final visit to Baghdad on December 14, however, President Bush declared that his administration's policies deserved credit and called the surge “one of the greatest successes in the history of the United States military.” At a press conference that same day with Iraqi Pres. Nuri al-Maliki, in a highly publicized incident, an Iraqi journalist threw two shoes at Bush as a sign of disrespect. Bush ducked the shoes; the journalist was temporarily jailed; and critics noted that such political protest would have been inconceivable in Saddam's Iraq.

The military progress in Iraq was offset by renewed violence in Afghanistan as Sunni-dominated militant groups, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda, penetrated and challenged NATO forces in more than half of the country. In tacit recognition of the threat, U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus, architect of the Iraq surge strategy, was elevated in October to head the U.S. Central Command, effectively taking control of allied military strategy in the war on terrorism, including the aggression in Afghanistan.

As Afghan terrorist violence increased during the year, several NATO countries augmented troop deployments. At year's end the U.S. had about 32,000 of 62,000 NATO combat troops in Afghanistan, including an additional 1,000 sent by President Bush in November as part of what he termed a “quiet surge.” U.S. forces were concentrated in the east, on the dangerous border with Pakistan; the U.S. pursued an active counterinsurgency program on both sides of the border that involved the use of unmanned drone airplanes equipped with missiles.

The Bush administration's legal strategy toward suspected terrorists suffered setbacks during 2008. In June the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, in a 5–4 decision, that even enemy combatants held outside the U.S.—at the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba—had a right to a review of their cases in U.S. civilian courts. The ruling declared unconstitutional parts of two laws approved by Congress after 9/11 that were designed to allow indefinite detention of suspects and their eventual trial by military commissions. It further complicated dozens of pending combatant cases that were already burdened with charges of torture, withholding of evidence, and violations of international law by the U.S. military.

Two war crimes trials were concluded during the year, the first in the U.S. since World War II. Salim Hamdan, a former driver for Osama bin Laden, was convicted in August on reduced charges of having provided “material support for terrorism.” He received a modest sentence of five and a half years and was released at year's end. A second defendant, Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, a Yemeni accused of having produced propaganda for al-Qaeda, including videos, was convicted by a military commission at Guantánamo Bay in October and given a life sentence. Neither Bahlul nor his attorney participated in his defense.

In U.S. civilian courts, federal prosecutors won convictions in two antiterrorism criminal cases. In November, after a previous trial ended in a hung jury, the Holy Land Foundation and five former organizers were found guilty in Dallas of having funneled $12 million to the terrorist group Hamas. One observer alleged that the Muslim foundation's practice of supplying cash payments to Palestinian terrorists' families was the moral equivalent of car bombing. In December five foreign-born Muslims were convicted in New Jersey on charges that included having planned to kill U.S. soldiers at Ft. Dix. Defense attorneys claimed that the men were only talking and had planned no real violence, but prosecutors said that the convictions proved the effectiveness of the U.S. post-9/11 strategy of infiltrating violence-prone groups.

USA Foreign Policy.

U.S. relations with a resurgent and energy-rich Russia deteriorated further in 2008. Effects of heightened tensions could be seen worldwide as the two countries sparred over missile defense, Latin America, Iraq, Iran, and Russia's invasion of a province of Georgia. In one example, Russia almost single-handedly blocked U.S. efforts to ratchet up UN sanction pressure on Iran over its refusal to allow nuclear inspections. By year's end some commentators were saying that U.S.-Russia relations were at their lowest ebb since the end of the Cold War nearly two decades earlier.

In April, under U.S. prodding, NATO agreed that it would eventually accept Georgia, Russia's southern neighbour, as a member—even though Russia opposed NATO's eastward expansion and viewed it as a security threat. Four months later, Russian troops invaded two rebellious Georgian provinces, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and recognized them as independent states. NATO stepped up its military presence in the region, with U.S. warships delivering relief efforts to Georgia via the Black Sea. In what was widely viewed as a response, Russia dispatched a military flotilla to Venezuela in November in a show of support for Pres. Hugo Chávez, a critic of the U.S., and at year's end Moscow also staged a rare Russian navy visit to Cuba.

With Chávez and Cuba's Raúl Castro in the lead, Latin American leaders formed a South American union (Unasur) and took other steps aimed at reducing U.S. influence in the region. A group of 33 countries staged a summit meeting in Brazil in December, pledging internal cooperation and welcoming Cuba after having failed to invite U.S. representatives.

Efforts to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation suffered setbacks during the year. No progress was made in stopping nuclear development in either Iran or North Korea or in numerous Middle Eastern countries that were nervous about a potential threat from Iran; a number of Middle Eastern countries had initiated steps toward starting their own nuclear programs. Iran, continuing to insist that its nuclear development was solely for civilian energy purposes, persisted in stonewalling international watchdogs, even while Russia supplied Iran with uranium for enrichment and processing that could be diverted to weapons purposes. At midyear, in Geneva, U.S. authorities engaged in direct talks with Iranian nuclear negotiators for the first time and also joined major powers in offering yet another package of incentives for Iranian abandonment of its nuclear ambitions. Iran continued to obfuscate, however, and Congress tightened U.S. economic sanctions on Iran in September.

After agreeing in 2005 to scrap its nuclear weapons program in return for normalized world relations, North Korea accepted promised food and fuel assistance from the U.S. and allies. As a show of good faith, Pres. George W. Bush removed Pyongyang from an international blacklist as a state sponsor of terrorism. In December five countries met to persuade North Korea to accept a verification regime written by its ally, China. The talks collapsed, however, when the North Koreans refused to sign the agreement, with analysts speculating that they were waiting for more favourable terms from the new U.S. administration. Prior to the breakdown, the U.S., Russia, China, and South Korea had already delivered 500,000 tons of fuel oil promised to North Korea for its cooperation.

The U.S. continued to push for rapprochement between India and Pakistan, both to facilitate critical support for antiterrorism efforts and to counter growing Chinese influence in Asia. In October the U.S. signed an agreement to supply technological aid for India's nuclear program, even though India had tested nuclear weapons and refused to sign the Non-proliferation Treaty. In November, after Pakistan-based terrorists staged a bloody raid on Mumbai (Bombay), U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the subcontinent to pressure both countries to continue normalizing relations. (See Special Report.)

The records of major disasters happened in the world history

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Aviation

January 23, Poland. A Spanish-built CASA transport plane carrying members of the Polish air force home from a conference on flight safety in Warsaw crashes near the town of Miroslawiec; all 20 aboard are killed.

February 21, Venezuela. A Santa Barbara Airlines ATR 42-300 turboprop crashes into a mountainside in Sierra La Culata National Park shortly after takeoff from Mérida; all 46 aboard are killed.

April 3, Suriname. A Blue Wings Airlines Antonov An-28 airliner crashes on its approach to the airport in Benzdorp; all 19 aboard lose their lives.

April 15, Democratic Republic of the Congo. An airliner taking off from the airport in Goma crashes into a busy market neighbourhood and bursts into flames; more than 40 people, most of them on the ground, are killed.

April 28, Black Sea. A Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter plummets into the Black Sea after its tail hits an offshore drilling platform; 19 of the 20 aboard die in the crash.

May 2, The Sudan. A Beechcraft 1900 airplane crashes near Rumbek, killing at least 23 people, including the southern Sudan's minister of defense, Dominic Dim.

May 29, Panama. A helicopter carrying Chilean police officials from Colón to Panama City, where they had been attending a meeting of Latin American antiterrorism leaders, crashes on top of a building; at least 15 people, including the head of Chile's national police force and at least 4 people on the ground, are killed.

June 10, Khartoum, The Sudan. A Sudanese airliner bursts into flames after landing; at least 30 of the 214 people aboard are incinerated.

August 20, Spain. An MD-82 airliner operated by the low-cost carrier Spanair and bound for the Canary Islands goes off the end of the runway at Madrid Barajas International Airport on takeoff and bursts into flames; at least 154 of those aboard perish.

August 24, Kyrgyzstan. A passenger jet bound for Iran crashes shortly after takeoff from Manas International Airport in Bishkek, killing at least 64 passengers; 22 survive.

September 1, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A small plane crashes into a mountainside during a thunderstorm; all 17 aboard, most of them aid workers, are feared dead.

September 14, Russia. While traveling from Moscow to Perm, a Boeing 737 passenger jet operated by an Aeroflot subsidiary crashes when preparing to land; all 88 aboard die.

October 8, Nepal. A Yeti Airlines Twin Otter airplane attempting to land at tiny Lukla Airport in the Himalayan Mountains catches its wheels on a security fence and crashes; 18 of the 19 people aboard, including 12 Germans and 2 Australians, are killed.

Fires and Explosions

January 7, Inch'on, S.Kor. Fire breaks out at a newly built cold storage facility; some 40 people are believed to have lost their lives.

January 31, Istanbul. An explosion, likely caused by fireworks ignited by an earlier fire, destroys a building; at least 22 people die in the blast.

March 15, Near Tirana, Alb. A series of strong explosions at a munitions depot kills 26 people and injures more than 300.

March 26, Xinjiang province, China. As authorities attempt to destroy illegal fireworks outside the city of Turpan, an unplanned explosion occurs; 22 people are reported killed.

April 7, Uganda. A fire in a dormitory for a girls' elementary school outside Kampala kills 19 schoolgirls and 2 adults; the cause is unclear, and reports indicate that the doors may have been locked from the outside.

April 26, Casablanca, Mor. A four-story mattress factory goes up in flames; at least 55 people succumb.

May 15, Nigeria. A fuel pipeline in a village near Lagos is ruptured by road construction equipment, causing much of the area to be engulfed in flames; some 100 people are killed.

August 1, Balcilar, Tur. A gas explosion causes the collapse of a three-story girls' dormitory; at least 17 students are crushed to death.

August 26, Guangxi autonomous region, China. A series of explosions in the Guangxi Guangwei Chemical Co. factory that last for seven hours leave at least 20 workers dead in Yizhou.

August 28, Limani, Cameroon. After an oil tanker overturns, residents rush to salvage the leaking gasoline, but a spark from a passing bus causes an explosion and fire; dozens of people, including passengers on the bus, are incinerated.

September 20, Guangdong province, China. In Shenzhen ignited fireworks cause a fire in a nightclub that leaves at least 43 people dead.

October 23, Rajasthan state, India. A powerful explosion demolishes an illegal fireworks factory in the village of Deeg; at least 26 people lose their lives.

December 24, Yevpatoria, Ukraine. An explosion destroys an apartment building, and at least 19 people are killed; it is thought that oxygen tanks stored in the basement may have been the cause.

Marine

February 21, Near Itacoatiara, Braz. The Almirante Monteiro, a ferry, collides with a barge in the Amazon River and sinks to the bottom; some 20 people are feared lost.

February 28, Near Dhaka, Bangladesh. A ferry collides with another vessel in the Buriganga River; at least 39 passengers are killed.

March 3, Bay of Bengal. A wooden trawler carrying would-be migrants to Malaysia from Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma) is found drifting by the Sri Lankan navy; 20 of the more than 90 passengers have died of starvation and dehydration.

March 6, Albania. A boat that is used to carry customers to and from a restaurant on Lake Farka near Tirana sinks; 16 people, most of whom had attended a birthday party at the restaurant, are drowned.

March 22, Off Hong Kong's Lantao Island. A Ukrainian tugboat collides with a Chinese freighter and sinks; 18 crew members are feared lost.

April 1, Nigeria. In Kano state, a dugout canoe carrying a wedding party capsizes; at least 40 people, including the bride, drown.

April 20, Off the Bahamas. Rescue workers find the bodies of 20 drowned Haitians in the sea as well as three survivors; the vessel that had been carrying them is not found.

May 4, Brazil. The wooden ferry Comandante Sales, carrying a group of some 80 partygoers, capsizes and sinks in the Solimões River; at least 41 people drown.

May 12, Bangladesh. A ferry on the Ghorautra River goes down quickly in bad weather; at least 44 people die.

May 19, Democratic Republic of the Congo. An overloaded passenger boat sinks in a storm on Lake Tanganyika; dozens of people are lost.

June 7, Libya. A boat carrying would-be migrants to Italy capsizes shortly after departing from Zuwarah; at least 40 people are drowned, with a further 100 missing.

June 21, Philippines. The MV Princess of Stars, a large ferry, capsizes and sinks in a typhoon off the island of Sibuyan; some 800 people perish. July 22, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A motorboat carrying passengers from Mobayi Bongo to the Central African Republic sinks in the Ubangi River; at least 47 people drown, with a further 100 missing.

August 27, South of Malta. An overloaded boat that left Zuwarah, Libya, carrying would-be migrants from The Sudan and Eritrea takes on water and sinks; 71 people are feared lost.

August 29, Bihar state, India. An Indian army boat rescuing victims of the flooding disaster that caused the Kosi River to change course capsizes; some 20 flood victims and soldiers drown.

November 3, Yemen. The international group Doctors Without Borders reports that 60 bodies have washed up onto the shores over the past two days; the dead had put out from Boosaaso, Som., in boats, and some had been forced overboard by smugglers, while one boat capsized.

November 4, Philippines. An inter-island ferry bound for Sorsogon goes down in bad weather; at least 40 people perish.

November 8, Sea of Japan. A Russian nuclear submarine undergoing testing suffers an accident with its fire-extinguishing system that fills two compartments with Freon gas, asphyxiating at least 20 workers.

December 14, Philippines. An overloaded ferry just entering the mouth of the Cagayan River capsizes; at least 23 passengers drown, with 33 others missing.

Mining and Construction

January 11, Kazakhstan. An ArcelorMittal-owned coal mine suffers a gas explosion; at least 30 miners are killed.

January 16, Morocco. An apartment building under construction in Kenitra collapses, killing at least 16 workers.

January 21, Shanxi province, China. As miners attempt to reopen a shaft in a closed mine, an explosion takes place that kills at least 20 people.

August 9, Boussoukoula, Burkina Faso. At an illegal gold mine, rain causes a mine collapse and mud slide in which at least 34 workers are buried, with dozens more reported missing.

September 20, Hegang, Heilongjiang province, China. A coal mine fire leaves 19 miners dead and 12 missing.

September 21, Henan province, China. A gas explosion in a coal mine kills at least 37 miners; 9 are missing.

November 7, Pétionville, Haiti. A third floor is being added to a church-run school when the building collapses, crushing to death at least 91 schoolchildren and teachers.

November 15, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. A section of a subway tunnel that is being constructed collapses; at least 21 people are killed.

December 27, Hunan province, China. A construction crane collapses in downtown Changsha, killing at least 17 workers.

Natural

January 9, Iran. Authorities in Iran say that a disastrous blizzard in the Tehran area has resulted in the deaths of at least 28 people; Tehran declares a two-day national holiday so that people will stay home.

January 17, Afghanistan. Officials report that an unusually hard winter has left at least 200 people dead; huge numbers of livestock have also perished.

January 28, China. The government issues a severe weather warning for eastern and central China, areas that have already received record-setting amounts of snow, causing a transportation crisis and leaving at least 24 people dead.

February 3, Africa. A series of earthquakes takes place in the Great Lakes region, killing some 40 people (34 in Rwanda and 6 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and injuring more than 400.

February 5, U.S. A fierce outbreak of tornadoes leaves a path of destruction in several southern states, particularly in Tennessee, where at least 30 people are killed, and Arkansas, which suffers a death toll of at least 13; a further 7 people are reported killed in Kentucky and 4 in Alabama.

February 8, Indian-administered Kashmir. Heavy snowfall in the region triggers avalanches that result in the deaths of at least 20 people.

February 10, China. Officials say that power and transportation are beginning to be restored in some areas where the worst winter storms in 50 years have led to at least 60 deaths.

February 12, Northern Bolivia. Pres. Evo Morales declares a national disaster because of flooding following heavy rains that has left at least 60 people dead.

February 16, Afghanistan. Authorities say the harshest winter in 30 years has left 926 people dead so far, 462 of them in Herat province, and hundreds of thousands of cattle have also succumbed.

February 17, Madagascar. A particularly ferocious storm, Cyclone Ivan, makes landfall on the east coast, all but destroying the village of Ambodihazinina, leaving more than 80 people dead, and devastating the ripening rice crops.

February 21, Eastern Philippines. After two weeks of torrential rains, at least 20 people have died in flooding and landslides, tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and great damage has been caused to infrastructure and to rice fields.

April 7, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Humanitarian officials report to the UN that torrential rains in the Kasaï-Occidental and Bandundu provinces have left at least 15 people dead and hundreds homeless.

May 2–3, Myanmar (Burma). Cyclone Nargis, an extraordinarily strong tropical cyclone that formed in the Bay of Bengal and quickly strengthened to a category 4 storm, makes landfall in Myanmar (Burma) and throughout the night churns up the densely populated rice-growing region of the Irrawaddy River delta, cutting a wide path of destruction augmented by a 4-m (12-ft) storm surge that obliterates coastal villages; some 138,000 people perish.

May 10, United States. A violent storm system spawns tornadoes that lay waste to portions of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Georgia, leaving more than 23 people dead, at least 15 of them in Missouri and most of those near Racine.

May 12, Sichuan province, China. A magnitude-7.9 earthquake devastates the area; at the epicentre, in Wenchuan, some 80% of the structures are flattened. At least 69,000 people lose their lives, 18,000 more are missing, and hundreds of thousands are made homeless.

May 14, Uttar Pradesh state, India. A violent storm leaves at least 128 people dead and all but destroys the important mango crop.

June 17, Southern China. The death toll from flooding caused by incessant heavy rains rises to 171; more than a million people have been evacuated.

June 20, India. Authorities say that the death toll from flooding resulting from heavy rain in eastern and northeastern areas of the country has risen past 50; thousands of villages are reportedly submerged.

June 21, Philippines. Typhoon Fengshen smashes into the Philippines; at least 498 residents perish.

July 27, Ukraine and Romania. Officials report that five days of heavy storms have left a total of 13 people dead in Ukraine and 5 others dead in Romania; some 8,000 people in the region have been evacuated.

August 10, Southern India. Officials report that monsoon rains caused the deaths of at least 59 people, not including the 40 people who are swept away when a truck in which they are riding fails to negotiate a flooded bridge in Andhra Pradesh state.

August 18, Southeast Asia. It is reported that over the past week, record flooding has caused devastation throughout much of the region, with thousands of residents forced from their homes and at least 160 people dead in Vietnam alone.

August 18, Bihar state, India. As a result of heavy rains that cause the breach of a dam in Nepal, the Kosi River breaks its embankments and changes course to flow in an old channel some 120 km (75 mi) east, inundating villages in Nepal and Bangladesh as well as in India; a minimum of two million people are left homeless and at least 90 dead.

August 26, Hispaniola. Hurricane Gustav makes landfall in Haiti and the Dominican Republic; at least 84 people are killed, and thousands of homes are ruined.

August 30, Sichuan province, China. A magnitude-5.7 earthquake with its epicentre some 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Panzhihua causes houses to collapse in several villages and leads to the deaths of at least 28 people.

September 6, Egypt. The Muqattam cliffs outside Cairo begin to collapse, loosing hundreds of pounds of rocks and boulders that crush a shantytown in the shadow of the cliffs; dozens of people are killed.

September 6, Haiti. After a week of flooding caused by Tropical Storm Hanna, at least 529 people have perished, most of them in Gonaïves.

September 8, Haiti. Hurricane Ike sweeps through Haiti, leaving at least 58 people dead.

September 13, Texas. Hurricane Ike spreads heavy flooding throughout Galveston and Orange and causes extensive damage in Houston; some 51 people in the region succumb, 20 of them in Texas.

September 22, India. The death toll from three days of heavy monsoon rains is reported to have reached 119.

September 28, Vietnam. Authorities report that Typhoon Hagupit has caused flooding that has left at least 41 people dead; the storm had earlier killed some 8 people in the Philippines and 17 people in China.

October 2, Algeria. Torrential rains cause a flash flood in a normally dry river in the Sahara; the town of Ghardaia is inundated, with some 600 homes destroyed and at least 33 people killed.

October 3, Haiti. The civil protection agency reports that the total death toll in the country from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike and Tropical Storms Hanna and Fay in August and September is 793.

October 5, Kyrgyzstan. A magnitude-6.6 earthquake strikes, killing at least 72 people and flattening the village of Nura.

October 25, Yemen. After two days of heavy rain from a tropical storm, massive flooding along the Wadi Hadramawt leaves at least 180 people dead and some 20,000 people displaced.

October 29, Balochistan province, Pakistan. A shallow magnitude-6.4 earthquake strikes, killing at least 215 people and leaving some 15,000 homeless at the beginning of winter.

November 7, Vietnam. Authorities report that unseasonal flooding in recent weeks has left at least 82 people dead and led to an outbreak of dengue fever.

November 24, Southern Brazil. Officials report that flooding and landslides have left at least 59 people dead and displaced some 43,000 others; by December 1 the death toll has risen to a minimum of 116.

Railroad

April 28, Shandong province, China. Outside the city of Zibo, a high-speed passenger train traveling from Beijing to Qingdao derails and hits another passenger train en route from Yantai to Xuzhou; at least 70 people are killed.

July 16, Northern Egypt. A truck rear-ends a car waiting at a railroad crossing, pushing three vehicles onto the tracks, where they are crushed by a train; at least 40 people are killed.

August 1, Andhra Pradesh state, India. Five of the 13 cars of the Secunderabad-Kakinada Gautami Express train become engulfed in flames; at least 30 passengers expire.

September 12, Los Angeles. A commuter train crashes head-on into a freight train, killing at least 25 people, when the engineer fails to stop at a red signal; it is thought that he may have been distracted by text messaging on his cell phone.

Traffic

January 12, Port Harcourt, Nigeria. A fuel tanker truck blows a tire and overturns; the fuel spills and ignites, incinerating at least 30 people.

January 20, India. Near the town of Nashik, an overloaded bus carrying pilgrims from a visit to Hindu shrines fails to negotiate a hairpin turn and plunges over a mountainside; at least 37 of the passengers are killed.

January 26, Near Jerash, Jordan. A passenger bus traveling from Irbid to Al-ʿAqabah collides with a water truck, and both vehicles fall off the road into the valley below; at least 20 people are killed.

January 29, China. In Guizhou province, which is among those suffering prolonged severe winter storms, a bus goes off an ice-coated road; at least 25 passengers perish.

February 7, Egypt. Some 100 km (60 mi) south of Cairo, a bus collides with a minibus in heavy fog, and some six more vehicles crash into them; at least 29 people are killed in the pileup.

February 29, Southern Guatemala. A greatly overloaded bus crashes while taking a dangerous corner near Jutiapa; at least 45 passengers perish.

March 25, Western Honduras. A passenger bus goes off a highway in the mountains and rolls down a hillside; at least 26 of those aboard are killed.

April 16, Gujarat state, India. In Vadodara a state bus carrying schoolchildren goes off a bridge and falls some 18 m (60 ft) into a canal of the Narmada River; at least 44 children and 3 adults perish.

April 23, Rajasthan state, India. Northwest of Jodhpur, late at night, a truck and a crowded van collide; at least 24 of the van passengers lose their lives.

May 27, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. A bus goes over a cliff and falls some 80 m (260 ft), landing upside-down in the river below; at least 30 people die.

May 29, Southern India. A truck carrying at least 70 people to a wedding falls off a bridge after the driver swerves to avoid electrical wires on the road; at least 39 of the passengers perish.

July 8, Southern Bolivia. A truck carrying some 60 people as well as goods goes off a mountain road, plunging 200 m (650 ft) into a ravine; at least 47 people, among them 12 children, die.

August 2, Bihar state, India. A truck loaded with food grain sacks and people goes off a road into a nearly dry culvert below; at least 40 people die, most of them crushed to death.

August 8, Near Sherman, Texas. An illegally operated chartered bus carrying Vietnamese Roman Catholics to a religious gathering in Carthage, Mo., goes over a guardrail in a crash, killing 17 passengers.

August 15, Dominican Republic. On the highway between La Romana and Higüey, a passenger bus attempting to go around a parked vehicle hits another passenger bus head-on; at least 20 people are killed.

September 8, Eastern Turkey. A bus carrying Iranian tourists in Agri province goes off the road and crashes; at least 16 passengers die.

October 10, Eastern Thailand. On an overnight trip to the coast from a technology university in Khon Kaen province, a bus carrying students crashes into a hillside; at least 22 people are killed, and 50 are badly hurt.

November 4, Near Hannover, Ger. A tour bus carrying elderly passengers home after a day trip to a farm catches fire, possibly because a passenger smoked a cigarette in the bus's restroom; at least 20 people die.

November 15, Near Boromo, Burkina Faso. A collision occurs between a passenger bus carrying workers to Côte d'Ivoire and a commercial truck loaded with sugar, and both vehicles burst into flames, trapping the bus passengers; at least 66 of them perish.

December 16, Israel. A bus transporting Russian tour guides to the resort town of Elat from a nearby airport goes off the road and rolls down a mountain slope; at least 24 of the passengers are killed.

December 27, Tangail, Bangladesh. A truck leaves the road in thick fog and goes into a ditch; at least 24 of the passengers, most of whom were heading home from Dhaka to vote in legislative elections, die.

Miscellaneous

March 29, Luanda, Angola. Dozens of people are crushed to death when a seven-story building housing the headquarters of the police criminal investigation department collapses; the structure had been deteriorating and recently had a large electrical generator installed on its roof.

April 9, Southern Thailand. In a truck carrying illegal Myanmarese (Burmese) migrant workers, 54 of the 121 crammed inside suffocate.

May 20, India. It is reported that at least 110 people in the Bengaluru (Bangalore) area have died in the past few days after drinking illicit alcohol; by May 22 the death toll has risen to 180.

August 3, Himachal Pradesh state, India. Near the Naina Devi temple, fears of a landslide lead to a stampede in which more than 150 pilgrims, most of them women and children, lose their lives.

September 15, Pasuruan, Indon. A Ramadan tradition in which wealthy families give money to the poor results in tragedy when pushing in a crowd awaiting such handouts causes at least 23 people to be crushed to death.

September 30, Jodhpur, Rajasthan state, India. On the first day of a nine-day festival devoted to the Hindu goddess Durga, a stampede possibly caused by pilgrims slipping on coconut milk offerings causes at least 224 people to be trampled to death.

October 1, Tabora, Tanz. At an event in a disco hall to celebrate ʿId al-Fitr, overcrowding among the young people attending engenders panic, and 19 children are crushed in the ensuing stampede.

The us election of 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 13:21:00 +0000

President-elect Barack Obama waves to the crowd at a massive election night rally in Chicago's …
In a national election laden with historical significance, Barack Hussein Obama captured a decisive majority in the 2008 balloting to become the 44th president of the United States; he was scheduled to be sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2009. Obama, a 47-year-old Democratic U.S. senator from Illinois, won the electoral college vote 365–173 over Republican John McCain, a 72-year-old U.S. senator from Arizona. Obama prevailed 52.9–45.7% in the popular vote nationwide on November 4.

Though it seemed that every U.S. election had been hailed as historic, Obama's triumph was exceptional. He became the first African American elected as U.S. president and the first person of colour to head a country with a white-majority population. McCain, in a graceful concession speech, noted the pride that many Americans felt in that development following the long United States record of slavery, segregation, and discrimination. The country, McCain said, is now “a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time.”

Obama's youth and charisma, and his relative political inexperience, provoked comparisons to U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy. Obama was elected as the country approached crisis, and this prompted allusions to former presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and even Abraham Lincoln. With an unpopular sitting president and the Republican establishment in disarray, Democrats were overwhelming favourites to win the presidency in 2008. After an exhaustive campaign, Obama ultimately made his case by demonstrating an unflappable eloquence that wore away doubts and prompted critics to say that he transcended both racial and partisan politics.

As the party nomination campaigns got under way in early 2007, neither Obama nor McCain was favoured. Obama, especially, was well behind New York Sen. Hillary Clinton; he had first come to national attention only in 2004, in a well-received speech at the Democratic National Convention. Public opinion polls showed that weariness with the U.S. intervention in Iraq was the top issue, but opinion was sharply divided over what should be done. Obama called for a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops, while McCain had long pushed for an escalation in hopes of a decisive military victory. Both approaches appealed to influential elements of their respective party bases.

A U.S. troop “surge” in Iraq approved by Pres. George W. Bush initially produced higher U.S. casualties in early 2007, and many Democrats declared the move a Vietnam-style failure. McCain's campaign nearly collapsed in July when he came close to running out of funds and laid off half of his campaign staff. By late fall, however, it was obvious that the surge was succeeding, and McCain began mounting a notable resurgence. His main opponents—former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney—failed to catch fire, and a late bid by former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson fell short. By early 2008 McCain was the clear Republican front-runner. The Republican contest was officially over in early March, but McCain was favoured to win the nomination when he defeated Huckabee in a competitive South Carolina primary on January 19.

Obama had a far-more-difficult road. Although he attracted enthusiastic crowds and solid fund-raising totals from the start, he plodded through innumerable 2007 candidate joint appearances without distinguishing himself. Clinton's campaign successfully portrayed her as the inevitable nominee, with a substantial early lead in establishment support, fund-raising, and public opinion polls. Clinton also had serious problems, however. Many Democrats feared that she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, were polarizing figures and that she could not win a general election; in addition, her campaign staff fought internally and failed to produce a winning strategic plan.

Obama, by contrast, combined an uplifting speaking style with a smoothly functioning campaign that became known as “no-drama Obama.” While Clinton went for knockout victories in early deciding Democratic states, Obama played a longer game, seeking delegates by the ones and twos all over the country. His campaign tapped thousands of small contributors through the Internet and then approached them repeatedly for more funding. To counter Clinton's inside experience, Obama underscored his status as an outsider, promising “hope and change” and encouraging rally supporters to proclaim, “Yes we can.”

At the first real test of strength, in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, 2008, Obama's organization helped turn out more than 250,000 Iowan caucus goers—double the previous record turnout—and scored a decisive victory. Polls in New Hampshire, the site of the next primary event, showed Obama edging ahead, and it seemed likely that the nomination might be unexpectedly decided in January. Clinton scored a narrow New Hampshire victory, however, and as other candidates began dropping out, Obama and Clinton began a long ground war through the winter and spring.

Obama suffered several setbacks. The underperforming Clinton campaign produced a television ad, “Red Phone 3 AM.” that skillfully exploited widespread voter doubts about Obama's readiness to handle an international crisis. Some critics began accenting his middle name, implying that he was Muslim, and hinting that he had benefited from racial preferences. Obama eventually became enmeshed by ties to a series of Illinois allies, including former 1960s radical William Ayers, political fixer Tony Rezko, and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's longtime family pastor. Over several weeks, copies of Wright's fiery sermons, laced with black nationalism, and his aggressive press statements put Obama on the defensive. A tape surfaced showing Wright blasting U.S. foreign policy after 9/11—“God damn America”—and Obama defensively claimed he was unaware of many of Wright's views.

Obama confronted the matter head-on, delivering on March 18 a well-received speech on race in U.S. politics at the National Constitution Center museum in Philadelphia. He declared that America had long suffered from excessive attention to racial differences; the choice now was to remain there, preoccupied by a distraction, or alternatively to move on to resolving real American problems. While his remarks were criticized as self-serving, the speech quickly diffused his Wright association problems, and Obama was bolstered by handling his most difficult issue with sober aplomb.

The Obama campaign pounced when Clinton told several audiences about being “under fire” while arriving in 1996 at an airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A tape of the event showed a schoolgirl handing her flowers but no gunfire. For his part, Obama was taped telling a wealthy San Francisco fund-raising audience that frustrated working-class Americans tended to “get bitter, they cling to guns or religion.”

After an extended period of wooing convention superdelegates—usually elected and party officials—Obama finally won sufficient backing to claim the Democratic nomination on June 3, the final day of the primary season. Clinton conceded four long days later. Clinton had won most big primary states—including New York, California, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, and Massachusetts—and captured more popular primary votes. Obama prevailed, however, with a tortoise-and-hare strategy and his superior organization. He was especially strong in caucus states, where depth of loyalty was tested, and among superdelegates concerned about electability in the general election.

As they prepared to name their vice presidential running mates, both McCain and Obama needed to shore up important segments of their support. McCain, still too moderate for many conservative GOP voters, needed an infusion of party enthusiasm. Obama had been faulted for a lack of foreign policy experience; he made a belated first-ever trip Afghanistan in late July.

Though supporters of Clinton made a major push on her behalf for the vice presidential spot, Obama eventually selected as his running mate Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Biden, a 36-year Senate veteran, had earlier dropped his own bid for the nomination, but he was a proven commodity unlikely to produce negative surprises. The choice was readily accepted by the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where Obama gave a highly publicized acceptance speech at Invesco Field before some 75,000 party faithful.

For his part, McCain threw a bombshell into the equation by choosing as his vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin, the largely unknown two-year governor of Alaska. Palin arrived on the national stage as a photogenic fresh face, with populist and reformer credentials and solid support from social conservatives. Almost single-handedly, Palin energized the GOP base and electrified what had promised to be a lacklustre Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., in early September. When McCain began touring the country with Palin, his crowds grew notably larger and more enthusiastic. The polling “bounce” from Palin was so large that in early September public opinion polls put McCain ahead of Obama by a small margin.

While Biden had been carefully examined over the years and any shortcomings identified and discounted, Palin was largely unknown to the skeptical national press. She had been selected quickly and had little time to become immersed in federal issues, especially foreign affairs, and this caused critics to question her readiness to assume the presidency. Palin's initial national press interviews had shaky moments, and the news that the Republican National Committee had purchased for her $150,000 in clothing and accessories largely offset her initial boost to the McCain ticket.

Obama made a key decision at midyear. During the primary, under prompting by McCain, Obama stated that he would accept public funding for the general election under a law that capped campaign expenditures. As his fund-raising success exceeded all previous records, however, Obama reversed field, declined federal funds, and eventually collected some $745 million in contributions—double the total of any previous presidential candidate. McCain raised about $320 million, including the $84 million in public financing allotted to each candidate. That disparity allowed Obama to dominate the final months in both media and organization efforts across the country. McCain's camp protested that Obama's reversal on public financing received only modest criticism from news organizations and reflected media bias favouring the Democrat. Obama, again playing it safe and exploiting his financial advantage, later declined McCain's invitation to stage a series of 10 town-hall-style debates across the country.

Relevant election issues shifted over the campaign. With Iraq becoming more secure by the day, public concern over the costly war on terrorism eased, ironically moving a potentially potent McCain issue to the back burner. In the meantime, Obama toned down his early liberal issue positions, balancing his Iraq withdrawal stance by advocating more U.S. troops for the Afghanistan front. He also exploited a growing uncertainty over the economy by calling for a middle-class tax cut (he promised that 95% of working Americans would see a reduced tax bill) and universal health care for all Americans—to be achieved without a government takeover of the system.

With McCain running as a moderate and Obama tacking toward the centre in the general election, issue distinctions between the candidates were minimized. For example, by mid-2008 voters were more concerned with rising energy prices (gasoline topped $4 per gallon) than with any terrorist threat. On one key hot-button energy issue, however, both McCain and Obama were in agreement—they opposed oil and natural-gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

On September 15 the election took a decisive turn when the Lehman Brothers investment banking house collapsed into bankruptcy. As the contagion spread to brokerage and even insurance firms, public confidence in both the economy and government oversight plummeted, causing serious damage to McCain, a free-market advocate, and lending credibility to Obama's mantra for change. McCain's tenuous polling lead disappeared.

As Congress debated the economic situation in late September, McCain dramatically suspended his campaign, returned to Washington, and demanded a White House meeting on the crisis. The same day Lehman failed, he claimed that the “fundamentals of our economy are strong,” but a few days later he compared Wall Street to a casino and promised to fire the nation's top securities regulator. He also threatened for a time to boycott the first scheduled debate, which was set to take place on September 26, claiming that action on the economy deserved priority. For his part, Obama joined the White House discussion but took a low-key approach and refused to call off the debate. When McCain could not persuade congressional Republicans to back an initial federal intervention idea, both his leadership and his judgment came under fire.

Obama's coolness in the face of the financial meltdown and McCain's erratic reaction likely sealed the election, eroding remaining doubts about Obama's relative ability to handle a crisis. As Time magazine recounted the episode later, “The assumption all year was that if the Furies delivered turmoil to the doorstep of this election, the country would retreat to the safe choice and not risk a rookie. It was Obama's triumph that the financial crisis that might have buried him actually raised him up, let voters judge his judgment in real time, the 3 AM phone call that came night after night.”

The three presidential debates were largely uneventful. McCain, seeking to counter opinion that he was too old, debated in an animated and forceful manner, but Obama, who typically avoided as much back-and-forth as possible, appeared calm and presidential by contrast. In mid-October a man hoping to buy a plumbing business challenged Obama during an unscripted campaign visit to an Ohio neighbourhood; the man claimed that small business would be hurt by Obama's plan to increase taxes on upper-income earners. Obama replied that “when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody.”

The incident provided a final ray of hope for the McCain camp. Republicans implied that Obama's comments endorsed socialism, and at the final debate on October 15, McCain made repeated references to “Joe the Plumber” and the harm Obama's policies might inflict on a fragile economy. Cracks appeared in Joe's life story, however, and the Obama camp claimed that Joe might actually receive a tax cut under their overall plan. As a result, the final barrier to Obama's election faded away.

On election day, voter turnout topped 131 million, or 61.6% of eligible voters, the highest total percentage since 1968. Exit polls showed blacks, Hispanics, and young people voting in notably greater numbers. Obama carried 28 states (including 9 won in 2004 by President Bush), virtually sweeping the Northeast, the Midwest, and the West Coast and even making serious inroads into the Deep South and Mountain West areas that had been recent Republican redoubts. Democrats also made decisive gains in congressional elections, gaining a net 21 House seats (for a 257–178 advantage) and picking up at least 7 Senate seats, or a 58–41 majority. A possible eighth Democratic gain, in Minnesota, was still under dispute at year's end.

Obama's success was based on a large number of factors: his personal charisma and eloquence, his well-organized and sure-footed campaign, voter weariness with a Republican White House, a struggling national economy, and his overwhelming advantage in fund-raising. Despite his best efforts, McCain could not separate himself from the status quo. In the end the American people were ready for change from politics as usual, and Obama had demonstrated that he was best able to provide it.

Do you know the global economic crises that threatened the world in 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 12:38:00 +0000

In 2008 the world economy faced its most dangerous crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. The contagion, which began in 2007 when sky-high home prices in the United States finally turned decisively downward, spread quickly, first to the entire U.S. financial sector and then to financial markets overseas. The casualties in the United States included a) the entire investment banking industry, b) the biggest insurance company, c) the two enterprises chartered by the government to facilitate mortgage lending, d) the largest mortgage lender, e) the largest savings and loan, and f) two of the largest commercial banks. The carnage was not limited to the financial sector, however, as companies that normally rely on credit suffered heavily. The American auto industry, which pleaded for a federal bailout, found itself at the edge of an abyss. Still more ominously, banks, trusting no one to pay them back, simply stopped making the loans that most businesses need to regulate their cash flows and without which they cannot do business. Share prices plunged throughout the world—the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S. lost 33.8% of its value in 2008—and by the end of the year, a deep recession had enveloped most of the globe. In December the National Bureau of Economic Research, the private group recognized as the official arbiter of such things, determined that a recession had begun in the United States in December 2007, which made this already the third longest recession in the U.S. since World War II.

Each in its own way, economies abroad marched to the American drummer. By the end of the year, Germany, Japan, and China were locked in recession, as were many smaller countries. Many in Europe paid the price for having dabbled in American real estate securities. Japan and China largely avoided that pitfall, but their export-oriented manufacturers suffered as recessions in their major markets—the U.S. and Europe—cut deep into demand for their products. Less-developed countries likewise lost markets abroad, and their foreign investment, on which they had depended for growth capital, withered. With none of the biggest economies prospering, there was no obvious engine to pull the world out of its recession, and both government and private economists predicted a rough recovery.

Origins.

How did a crisis in the American housing market threaten to drag down the entire global economy? It began with mortgage dealers who issued mortgages with terms unfavourable to borrowers, who were often families that did not qualify for ordinary home loans. Some of these so-called subprime mortgages carried low “teaser” interest rates in the early years that ballooned to double-digit rates in later years. Some included prepayment penalties that made it prohibitively expensive to refinance. These features were easy to miss for first-time home buyers, many of them unsophisticated in such matters, who were beguiled by the prospect that, no matter what their income or their ability to make a down payment, they could own a home.

Mortgage lenders did not merely hold the loans, content to receive a monthly check from the mortgage holder. Frequently they sold these loans to a bank or to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, two government-chartered institutions created to buy up mortgages and provide mortgage lenders with more money to lend. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might then sell the mortgages to investment banks that would bundle them with hundreds or thousands of others into a “mortgage-backed security” that would provide an income stream comprising the sum of all of the monthly mortgage payments. Then the security would be sliced into perhaps 1,000 smaller pieces that would be sold to investors, often misidentified as low-risk investments.

The insurance industry got into the game by trading in “credit default swaps”—in effect, insurance policies stipulating that, in return for a fee, the insurers would assume any losses caused by mortgage-holder defaults. What began as insurance, however, turned quickly into speculation as financial institutions bought or sold credit default swaps on assets that they did not own. As early as 2003, Warren Buffett, the renowned American investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, called them “financial weapons of mass destruction.” About $900 billion in credit was insured by these derivatives in 2001, but the total soared to an astounding $62 trillion by the beginning of 2008.

As long as housing prices kept rising, everyone profited. Mortgage holders with inadequate sources of regular income could borrow against their rising home equity. The agencies that rank securities according to their safety (which are paid by the issuers of those securities, not by the buyers) generally rated mortgage-backed securities relatively safe—they were not. When the housing bubble burst, more and more mortgage holders defaulted on their loans. At the end of September, about 3% of home loans were in the foreclosure process, an increase of 76% in just a year. Another 7% of homeowners with a mortgage were at least one month past due on their payments, up from 5.6% a year earlier. By 2008 the mild slump in housing prices that had begun in 2006 had become a free fall in some places. What ensued was a crisis in confidence: a classic case of what happens in a market economy when the players—from giant companies to individual investors—do not trust one another or the institutions that they have built.

The Crisis Unfolds.

The first major institution to go under was Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest American mortgage lender. Bank of America agreed in January 2008 to terms for completing its purchase of the California-based Countrywide. With large shares of Countrywide's mortgages delinquent, Bank of America was able to buy it for $4 billion on top of the $2 billion stake that it had acquired the previous August—a fraction of Countrywide's recent market value.

The next victim, in March, was the Wall Street investment house Bear Stearns, which had a thick portfolio of mortgage-based securities. As the value of those securities plummeted, Bear was rescued from bankruptcy by JPMorgan Chase, which agreed to buy it for a bargain-basement price of $10 per share (about $1.2 billion), and the Federal Reserve (Fed), which agreed to absorb up to $30 billion of Bear's declining assets.

If the Fed's involvement in the bailout of Bear Stearns left any doubt that even a conservative Republican government—such as that of U.S. Pres. George W. Bush—could find it necessary to insert itself into private enterprise, the rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September laid that uncertainty to rest. The two private mortgage companies, which historically enjoyed a slight edge in the marketplace by virtue of their congressional charters, held or guaranteed about half of the country's mortgages. With the rush of defaults of subprime mortgages, Fannie and Freddie suffered the same losses as other mortgage companies, only worse. The U.S. Department of the Treasury, unwilling to abide the turmoil that the failure of Fannie and Freddie would entail, seized control of them on September 7, replaced their CEOs, and promised each up to $100 billion in capital if necessary to balance their books.

The month's upheavals were not over. With Bear Stearns disposed of, the markets bid down share prices of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, two other investment banks with exposure to mortgage-backed securities. Neither could withstand the heat. Under pressure from the Treasury, Merrill Lynch, whose “bullish on America” slogan had made it the popular embodiment of Wall Street, agreed on September 14 to sell itself to Bank of America for $50 billion, half of its market value within the past year. Lehman Brothers, however, could not find a buyer, and the government refused a Bear Stearns-style subsidy. Lehman declared bankruptcy the day after Merrill's sale.

Next on the markets' hit list was American International Group (AIG), the country's biggest insurer, which faced huge losses on credit default swaps. With AIG unable to secure credit through normal channels, the Fed provided an $85 billion loan on September 16. When that amount proved insufficient, the Treasury came through with $38 billion more. In return, the U.S. government received a 79.9% equity interest in AIG.

Five days later saw the end for the big independent investment banks. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were the only two left standing, and their big investors, worried that they might be the markets' next targets, began moving their billions to safer havens. Rather than proclaim their innocence all the way to bankruptcy court, the two investment banks chose to transform themselves into ordinary bank holding companies. That put them under the respected regulatory umbrella of the Fed and gave them access to the Fed's various kinds of credit for the institutions that it regulates.

On September 25, climaxing a frenetic month, federal regulators seized the country's largest savings and loan, Seattle-based Washington Mutual (WaMu), and brokered its sale to JPMorgan Chase for $1.9 billion. JPMorgan also agreed to absorb at least $31 billion in WaMu's losses. Finally, in October, the Fed gave regulatory approval to the purchase of Wachovia Corp., a giant North Carolina-based bank that was crippled by the subprime-mortgage fiasco, by California-based Wells Fargo. Other banks also foundered, including some of the largest. In November the Treasury shored up Citigroup by guaranteeing $250 billion of its risky assets and pumping $20 billion directly into the bank.

There were competing theories on how so many pillars of finance in the U.S. crumbled so quickly. One held the issuers of subprime mortgages ultimately responsible for the debacle. According to this view, when mortgage-backed securities were flying high, mortgage companies were eager to lend to anyone, regardless of the borrower's financial condition. The firms that profited from this—from small mortgage companies to giant investment banks—deluded themselves that this could go on forever. Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University, New York City, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during former president Bill Clinton's administration, summed up the situation this way: “There was a party going on, and no one wanted to be a party pooper.”

Some claimed that deregulation played a major role. In the late 1990s, Congress demolished the barriers between commercial and investment banking, a change that encouraged risky investments with borrowed money. Deregulation also ruled out most federal oversight of “derivatives”—credit default swaps and other financial instruments that derive their value from underlying securities. Congress also rejected proposals to curb “predatory loans” to home buyers at unfavourable terms to the borrowers.

Deregulators scoffed at the notion that more federal regulation would have alleviated the crisis. Phil Gramm, the former senator who championed much of the deregulatory legislation, blamed “predatory borrowers” who shopped for a mortgage when they were in no position to buy a house. Gramm and other opponents of regulation traced the troubles to the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, an antiredlining law that directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make sure that the mortgages that they bought included some from poor neighbourhoods. That, Gramm and his allies argued, was a license for mortgage companies to lend to unqualified borrowers.

As alarming as the blizzard of buyouts, bailouts, and collapses might have been, it was not the most ominous consequence of the financial crisis. That occurred in the credit markets, where hundreds of billions of dollars a day are lent for periods as short as overnight by those who have the capital to those who need it. The banks that did much of the lending concluded from the chaos taking place in September that no borrower could be trusted. As a result, lending all but froze. Without loans, businesses could not grow. Without loans, some businesses could not even pay for day-to-day operations.

Then came a development that underscored the enormity of the crisis. The Reserve Primary Fund, one of the U.S.'s major money-market funds, announced on September 16 that it would “break the buck.” Money-market funds constitute an important link in the financial chain because they use their deposits to make many of the short-term loans that large corporations need. Although money-market funds carry no federal deposit insurance, they are widely regarded as being just as safe as bank deposits, and they attract both large and small investors because they earn rates of return superior to those offered by the safest of all investments, U.S. Treasury securities. So it came as a jolt when Reserve Primary, which had gotten into trouble with its loans to Lehman Brothers, proclaimed that it would be unable to pay its investors any more than 97 cents on the dollar. The announcement triggered a stampede out of money-market funds, with small investors joining big ones. Demand for Treasury securities was so great that the interest rate on a three-month Treasury bill was bid down practically to zero. In a September 18 meeting with members of Congress, Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was heard to remark that if someone did not do something fast, by the next week there might not be an economy to rescue.

If government policy makers had taken any lesson from the Great Depression, it was that tight money, high taxes, and government spending restraint could aggravate the crisis. The Treasury and the Fed seemed to compete for the honour of biggest economic booster. The Fed's usual tool—reducing short-term interest rates—did not unlock the credit markets. By year's end its target for the federal funds rate, which banks charge one another for overnight loans, was about as low as it could get: a range of 0–0.25%. So the Fed dusted off other ways of injecting money into the economy, through loans, loan guarantees, and purchases of government securities. By December the Fed had pumped more than $1 trillion into the economy and signaled its intention to do much more.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson asked Congress to establish a $700 billion fund to keep the economy from seizing up permanently. Paulson initially intended to use the new authority to buy mortgage-based securities from the institutions that held them, thus freeing their balance sheets of toxic investments. This approach drew a torrent of criticism: How could anyone determine what the securities were worth (if anything)? Why bail out the large institutions but not the homeowners who were duped into taking out punitive mortgages? How would the plan encourage banks to resume lending? The House of Representatives voted his plan down once before accepting a slightly revised version.

After the plan's enactment, Paulson, acknowledging that his approach would not encourage sufficient new bank lending, did a U-turn. The Treasury would instead invest most of the newly authorized bailout fund directly into the banks that held the toxic securities (thus giving the government an ownership stake in private banks). This, Paulson and others argued, would enable the banks to resume lending. By the end of 2008, the government owned stock in 206 banks. The Treasury's new stance appeared to open access to the bailout money to anyone suffering from the frozen credit markets. This was the basis for the auto manufacturers' plea for a piece of the pie.

Still, all that money did little, at least at first, to stimulate private bank lending. Everyone with money to lend turned to the safest haven of all—Treasury securities. So popular were short-term Treasuries that investors in December bought $30 billion worth of four-week Treasury bills that paid no interest at all, and, very briefly, the market interest rate on three-month Treasuries was negative.

The Bush administration did little with tax and spending policy to combat the recession. Sen. Barack Obama, who was elected in November to succeed President Bush as of Jan. 20, 2009, prepared a package of about $1 trillion in tax cuts and spending programs to stimulate economic activity.

International Repercussions.

Although the financial crisis wore a distinct “Made in the U.S.A.” label, it did not stop at the water's edge. The U.K. government provided $88 billion to buy banks completely or partially and promised to guarantee $438 billion in bank loans. The government began buying up to $64 billion worth of shares in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB Group after brokering Lloyds' purchase of the troubled HBOS bank group. The U.K. government's hefty stake in the country's banking system raised the spectre of an active role in the boardrooms. Barclays, telling the government “thanks but no thanks,” instead accepted $11.7 billion from wealthy investors in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Variations played out all through Europe. The governments of the three Benelux countries—Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg—initially bought a 49% share in Fortis NV within their respective countries for $16.6 billion, though Belgium later sold most of its shares and The Netherlands nationalized the bank's Dutch holdings. Germany's federal government rescued a series of state-owned banks and approved a $10.9 billion recapitalization of Commerzbank. In the banking centre of Switzerland, the government took a 9% ownership stake in UBS. Credit Suisse declined an offer of government aid and, going the way of Barclays, raised funds instead from the government of Qatar and private investors.

The most spectacular troubles broke out in the far corners of Europe. In Greece street riots in December reflected, among other things, anger with economic stagnation. Iceland found itself essentially bankrupt, with Hungary and Latvia moving in the same direction. Iceland's three largest banks, privatized in the early 1990s, had grown too large for their own good, with assets worth 10 times the entire country's annual economic output. When the global crisis reached Iceland in October, the three banks collapsed under their own weight. The national government managed to take over their domestic branches, but it could not afford their foreign ones.

As in the U.S., the financial crisis spilled into Europe's overall economy. Germany's economic output, the largest in Europe, contracted at annual rates of 0.4% in the second quarter and 0.5% in the third quarter. Output in the 15 euro zone countries shrank by 0.2% in each of the second and third quarters, marking the first recession since the euro's debut in 1999.

In an atmosphere that bordered on panic, governments throughout Europe adopted policies aimed at keeping the recession short and shallow. On monetary policy, the central banks of Europe coordinated their interest-rate reductions. On December 4 the European Central Bank, the steward of monetary policy for the euro zone, engineered simultaneous rate cuts with the Bank of England and Sweden's Riksbank. A week later the Swiss National Bank cut its benchmark rate to a range of 0–1%. On fiscal policy, European governments for the most part scrambled to approve public-spending programs designed to pump money into the economy. The EU drew up a list of $258 billion worth of public spending that it hoped would be adopted by its 27 member countries. The French government said that it would spend $33 billion over the next two years. Most other countries followed suit, though Germany hung back as Chancellor Angela Merkel argued for fiscal restraint.

Asia's major economies were swept up by the financial crisis, even though most of them suffered only indirect blows. Japan's and China's export-oriented industries suffered from consumer retrenchment in the U.S. and Europe. Compounding the damage, exporters could not find loans in the West to finance their sales. Japan hit the skids in the second quarter of 2008 with a 3.7% contraction at an annual rate, followed by 0.5% in the third quarter. Its all-important exports plunged 27% in November from 12 months earlier. The government announced a $250 billion package of fiscal stimulus in December on top of $50 billion earlier in the year. Unlike so many others, China's economy continued to grow but not at the double-digit rates of recent years. Exports were actually lower in November than in the same month a year earlier, quite a change from October's 19% increase. The government prepared a two-year $586 billion economic stimulus plan, and the central bank repeatedly cut interest rates.

The U.S., Europe, and Asia had this in common—car makers were at the head of the line of industries pleading for help. The U.S. Senate turned down $14 billion in emergency loans; the car companies got into this mess, senators argued, and it was up to them to get out of it. President Bush, rather than risk the demise of General Motors (GM) and Chrysler, tapped the $700 billion financial sector bailout fund to provide $17 billion in loans—enough to keep the two companies afloat until safely after the Obama administration took over in early 2009. In addition, the Treasury invested in a $5 billion equity position with GMAC, GM's financing company, and loaned it another $1 billion. In Europe, Audi, BMW, Daimler, GM, Peugeot, and Renault announced production cuts, but European government officials were reluctant to aid a particular industry for fear that others would soon be on their doorstep. Even in China, car sales growth turned negative. As elsewhere, the industry held out its tin cup, but the government left it empty.

The pressures of the financial crisis seemed to be forging more new alliances. Officials from Washington to Beijing coordinated interest rate cuts and fiscal stimulus packages. Top officials from China, Japan, and South Korea—longtime adversaries—met in China and promised a cooperative response to the crisis. Top-level representatives of the Group of 20 (G-20)—a combination of the world's richest countries and some of its fastest-growing—met in Washington in November to lay the groundwork for global collaboration. The G-20's deliberations were necessarily tentative in light of the U.S. presidential transition in progress.

By year's end, all of the world's major economies were in recession or struggling to stay out of one. In the final four months of 2008, the U.S. lost nearly two million jobs. The unemployment rate shot up to 7.2% in December from its recent low of 4.4% in March 2007, and it was almost certain to continue rising into 2009. Economic output shrank by 0.5% in the third quarter, and announced layoffs and severe cutbacks in consumer spending suggested that the fourth quarter saw a sharper contraction. It was doubtful that the worldwide economic picture would grow brighter anytime soon. Forecast after forecast showed lethargic global economic growth for at least 2009. “Virtually no country, developing or industrial, has escaped the impact of the widening crisis,” the World Bank reported in a typical year-end assessment. It forecast an increase in global economic output of just 0.9% in 2009, the most tepid growth rate since records became available in 1970.

Measured by its impact on global economic output, the recession that had engulfed the world by the end of 2008 figured to be sharper than any other since the Great Depression. The two periods of hard times had little else in common, however; the Depression started in the manufacturing sector, while the current crisis had its origins in the financial sector. Perhaps a more apt comparison could be found in the Panic of 1873. Then, as in 2008, a real estate boom (in Paris, Berlin, and Vienna, rather than in the U.S.) went sour, loosing a cascade of misfortune. The ensuing collapse lasted four years.