The storms keep on coming —and the latest, expected to impact one-third of the US population, is being described as “potentially life-threatening” by the National Weather Service and “potentially historic” by the Weather Channel . It will begin today and last through Wednesday, reaching from the Colorado Rockies to the New…
Continue reading …President Obama’s entrepreneurship campaign is getting a helping hand from the tech industry. AOL co-founder Steve Case will lead the “Startup America Partnership,” a drive to increase investments in startups and small businesses, Bloomberg reports. The initiative already has the backing of a number of tech giants: Intel says it…
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• Egypt’s troubles have already hit economic growth, say experts • BG Group halts drilling and pulls out non-Egyptian staff Several major European companies began to suspend operations in Egypt today as City experts warned that the country’s economic growth has already been damaged by the protests against President Hosni Mubarak . Gas producer BG Group suspended drilling in the country, nearly a week after crowds hit the streets of Cairo. The decision was taken over the weekend, and the company is now withdrawing “non-essential, non-Egyptian” staff from the country. The FTSE 100-listed company is continuing to run its production facilities in Egypt, and monitoring the situation. “We have taken a safety and security decision,” said BG spokesman Neil Burrows, adding that senior management are remaining in the country. French building materials company Lafarge has also halted production at its six cement productions sites in Egypt. The company operates six quarries and three gypsum production sites, as well as more than 60 other plants. Lafarge has also recalled 30 of its Cairo-based expatriate workers, out of a total of 70 expats. Activity at Egypt’s ports also declined today. AP Moller-Maersk, the world’s largest container ship and supply vessel operator, confirmed today that it has suspended its port terminal operations in Egypt, and closed its shipping offices. DP World, the Dubai-based ports operator, also halted operations in Egypt as a “precautionary measures”. “The security of our people remains paramount and we are doing whatever necessary to ensure the safety of all our people,” DP World said in a statement. In banking, Barclays said that it has closed its Egyptian branch network “following advice from the central bank in Egypt”. GDP to suffer Earlier today, rating agency Moody’s cut its rating on Egypt by one notch to Ba2, the second-highest ‘speculative’ or ‘junk’ rating. It warned that Egypt’s public finances could suffer if authorities respond to the crisis by raising wages or increasing subsidies on food and fuel. Credit Suisse believes that the Egyptian economy has already been hurt by the crisis. Analyst Jacqueline Madu said that the biggest immediate danger was a run on Egypt’s banks, once the authorities allow them to open again. “The central bank is unlikely to allow the banks to open, in our view, until some measure of calm is restored by the security forces. Once the situation calms down and the banks reopen, however, we would expect the central bank to provide enough [Egyptian] pound-liquidity to prevent a crisis. However, in so doing, we think the central bank will have to tread a fine line in order not to exacerbate the depreciation pressure on the pound,” Madu said. With tourism unlikely to recover soon, Credit Suisse believes Egypt’s deficit will rise to 8.7% of GDP this year, up from 8.1% last year. This would push Egypt’s national debt up to 76% of GDP. “We expect that fiscal deficit and debt ratios will all deteriorate as growth slows and spending picks up due to the costs of re-building and maintaining security,” said Madu. The country is the world’s biggest importer of wheat and runs a large trade deficit. It is reliant on foreign exchange earnings from tourism, and taxes on ships travelling though the Suez Canal. Egypt BG Financial crisis Global recession Barclays Protest Middle East Graeme Wearden guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …As protests continue to rage across Egypt, Chinese authorities have blocked Internet searches for the country’s name in its microblogging services. Big portals like Sohu.com and Sina.com have been offering the Twitter-like services, but a search for “Egypt” on Sina.com returns this message: “According to relevant laws,…
Continue reading …Whether you’re a Steelers fan or a Packers fan, try not to get too excited about the Super Bowl—or you could end up … dead. Scientists found that a Super Bowl loss is associated with a spike in heart-related deaths, while a win is associated with a decrease in…
Continue reading …Julian Assange says he doesn’t dislike the US; instead, WikiLeaks is motivated by the same values as the Founding Fathers. “Our founding values are those of the US revolution,” he told 60 Minutes last night. “They are those of people like Jefferson and Madison.” Indeed, the website doesn’t “go after…
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Searches for Chinese characters for Egypt on popular websites return messages saying results are not being shown due to local regulations The Chinese authorities are censoring references to the protests in Egypt as some internet users draw comparisons with China, it emerged today. Searches for the Chinese characters for Egypt on the popular Sina microblog service returned a message saying results were not being shown due to local regulations. But tactics such as employing the English word or characters sounding the same as the Chinese name – also “ai ji”, but this time meaning “sad and worried” – allowed internet users to discuss the situation. Some people said they had also been able to post messages containing the characters for Egypt, although it was not clear how long they stayed up. Although Beijing’s grip on power remains strong, the authorities are deeply aware of social tensions and are anxious to avoid mass unrest. There has been carefully controlled coverage of Egypt in the mainstream media, with newspapers and major news portals running short pieces from the Xinhua state news agency. They are often told to use only Xinhua articles on sensitive subjects. Reports have focused on the economic impact of the protests and the risks of instability, rather than their causes. But the official Global Times newspaper ran a commentary on its English site arguing that the so-called colour revolutions “will not bring about real democracy”. It concluded: “When it comes to political systems, the western model is only one of a few options. It takes time and effort to apply democracy to different countries, and to do so without the turmoil of revolution.” The Chinese edition today pointed to US interests in Egypt, declaring that the west was trying to decide which direction the country will take . Officially, Beijing has urged a return to order in Egypt, with the foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, saying in a statement: “China is paying very close attention to developments in Egypt. “Egypt is a friend of China, and we hope Egypt will return to social stability and normal order as soon as possible.” But some internet users embraced the protests. One message on the popular Baidu.com message board read: “We must clearly support this revolution.” Another asked: “Will Mubarak become [late Chinese leader] Deng Xiaoping?” That was apparently a reference to the brutal military crackdown on the pro-reform protests that began in Tiananmen Square in 1989, which resulted in hundreds, possibly thousands, of deaths. On the Sina microblog, several users drew parallels with their own situation. “So much tax every year, visiting the hospital once would cost a fortune – this reminds me of Egypt,” one wrote. “[Am] watching TV. One woman said: ‘The Egyptians don’t have the most basic rights. They can’t vote, they don’t have freedom of expression, some of them can’t even work. The poor are extremely poor and the rich are extremely rich, and the government has been ignoring the gap for 30 years.’ OK … very thought-provoking …” noted another. A third wrote: “No matter how wealthy the society seems, there is one thing that’s missing, just like the Egyptians – they are missing the exact same thing, too. The evil will eventually perish and we will have the thing which has been missing in our hearts.” Others questioned why news programmes were not devoting more time to the subject. Egypt Middle East China Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The State Department is serious about wanting US citizens out of Egypt —so it’s planning enough chartered flights to evacuate all of them. Charters are flying from Cairo and will likely land in Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, but spotty Internet connections are making it difficult for Americans to get information…
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Report suggests Tel Aviv want US and EU to curb criticism of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak Israel’s concern at the popular unrest in Egypt is not just about the internal affairs of a near neighbour, but the strategic issue of its 30-year peace treaty with the largest Arab country, once its bitter enemy. The prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, reportedly ordered his cabinet to refrain from commenting publicly on the unfolding drama, saying only that the treaty must be maintained. But as Haaretz reported today, the government is seeking to convince the US and EU to curb their criticism of Hosni Mubarak to preserve stability in the region, even as Washington and its allies signal their wish for an “orderly transition” which the incumbent almost certainly cannot ignore. If democracy is the issue on the streets of Cairo, stability is Israel’s paramount interest. Upholding the treaty and its military provisions is the key question, but that is closely linked to Egypt’s internal politics and a likely future role for the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups if the system opens up. Mubarak, who commanded the Egyptian air force during the 1967 defeat by Israel, inherited the treaty when its architect, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated by jihadis in 1981. Always viewed from Israel as a “cold peace”, it nevertheless neutralised the country’s largest Arab enemy after four wars between 1948 and 1973 and providing security on its long southern border, in exchange for returning the Sinai peninsula and destroying settlements. It has survived since, despite the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the Palestinian intifadas of 1987 and 2000 and the war in Gaza in 2008-09. Egypt played a key role in support of the PLO’s Yasser Arafat and has continued to back Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Authority and Fatah movement in its struggle against the Islamists of Hamas, trying but failing to bring about reconciliation between the two. Egypt’s peace dividend has been generous financial and military support from the US, which still sees it as the lynchpin of its regional strategy. Israel has close but discreet links with Egyptian intelligence, overseen by Mubarak’s newly-appointed vice-president, General Omar Suleiman. Israeli analysts, strategists and former intelligence chiefs are all deeply concerned about the implications of the turmoil. The nightmare scenario would be abrogation of the peace treaty under pressure from an Egyptian public that has always been hostile to it, though the US would likely work hard to prevent that. “The collapse of the old regime in Cairo, if it takes place, will have a massive effect, mainly negative, on Israel’s position in the region,” commented the Haaretz military expert Amos Harel. “In the long run, it could put the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan in danger, the largest strategic assets after the support of the US.” In the Israeli media there are signs of a blame game beginning over the question of “who lost Egypt”, with fingers pointing at the country’s much-vaunted intelligence community. Meir Dagan, until recently head of the Mossad secret service, was quoted in a US document released by WikiLeaks as saying that the Cairo regime was stable. Aviv Kochavi, the new head of military intelligence, made a similar prognosis only last week. The precedent the Israelis fear is the overthrow of the shah by the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, an earlier political earthquake that changed the Middle East forever. Israel Middle East Egypt US foreign policy United States European Union Ian Black guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …The Screen Actors Guild Awards are “awards season’s most self-congratulatory show,” writes Fug Girl Jessica Morgan, but that didn’t stop her from live-blogging the red carpet on the Fug Girls’ website . Baby bumps were definitely very trendy, as were plunging necklines . Click through some of the highlights (and lowlights) in…
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