Argentine farmers halt grain sales

Strike over export curbs rekindles a dispute that helped drive global grains prices to record highs three years ago. Last Modified: 17 Jan 2011 06:53 GMT k

Soybean group Acsoja has estimated that production would fall by 13 per cent as a result of water shortages [EPA] Argentine farmers have halted sales of wheat, corn and soy in a strike over export curbs, rekindling a dispute that helped drive global grains prices to record highs three years ago. The seven-day protest by growers, which started on Monday, could fuel supply concerns just as dry weather linked to the weather phenomena La Nina worsens the outlook for soy and corn production. Farmers in Argentina, one of the world's biggest food suppliers, have been at odds with the government for years over export curbs aimed at taming inflation and guaranteeing affordable supplies of everyday staples. They say the system of wheat and corn export quotas lets millers and exporters pay farmers low prices, and have urged the government to scrap the caps. "These distortive, interventionist measures have been repeated for several harvests in recent years," Hugo Biolcati, leader of the Argentine Rural Society, said when the country's four farming groups announced the strike last week. The protest is bad news for Christina Fernandez, the president, nine months from the October election in which she is widely expected to seek re-election. The wave of farmer strikes that began in March 2008 over a tax hike on soy exports battered her popularity, hit Argentine asset prices and disrupted grains shipments at the height of the soy harvest. However, the impact of this week's protest on grains prices will likely be muted because soy and corn harvesting has yet to begin. La Nina effect Government officials condemned the farmers for calling another strike, even warning of possible flour shortages, although Julian Dominguez, the agriculture minister, acknowledged wheat farmers' problems. The government is taking steps to ensure mills and exporters paid fixed local wheat prices to farmers and punish those that did not. Dominguez advocated an even stronger state role in the country's multibillion-dollar grains trade during a weekend newspaper interview. La Nina La Nina is a weather phenomena causing abnormal cooling of the central and eastern Pacific. Generally, La Nina will mean that parts of the world that normally experience dry weather will be drier and parts with wet weather will be wetter. La Nina translates from Spanish as "The Little Girl" and is meteorologically the opposite of the El Nino. La Ninas occur on average every three to five years and will typically last for up to 12 months. "What the grains trade needs in Argentina is the presence of the state in the market - going back to the model of the Federal Grains Agency or National Grains Board, a body made up of the grains exchanges, the state, the co-operatives, that can ensure the market works for farmers," he was quoted as telling Tiempo Argentino newspaper. Low rainfalls began worrying the agriculture industry in December in response to La Nina diminishing rain over Argentina. Weather fluctuations have helped lift corn and soy prices close to their record highs of 2008 in recent weeks. Soaring prices are good news for farmers, but the parched soils are worrying farmers across Argentina's famous Pampa plains. Argentina is the world's leading exporter of soyoil and soymeal and the third-largest global supplier of soybeans. It is also a major wheat supplier and the second-largest corn provider. Soy exports brought in $12.98bn in 2009, accounting for 23 per cent of total export earnings. But this year, soybean group Acsoja has estimated that production would fall by 13 per cent as a result of water shortages. La Nina, which affects weather patterns across the Asia-Pacific region and in particular the amount of rainfall, is threatening to expand drought in the Americas while bringing more devastating rains to Australia, according to the US Climate Prediction Centre. La Nina-inspired rainfall has pushed Australia into recording its third wettest year on record in 2010 while causing drought in grain-growing areas of the southern US as well as in Brazil and Argentina.

Source: Agencies

China questions dollar dominance

While proposing new bilateral co-operation, Hu Jintao resists US arguments to strengthen the Chinese currency. Last Modified: 17 Jan 2011 11:46 GMT

The US is accusing China of undervaluing its currency to get an unfair trade advantage [EPA] The Chinese president has resisted US arguments about why China should let its currency strengthen, saying the dollar-based international currency system is a "product of the past". However, Hu Jintao admitted that it would take a long time to make China's yuan (RMB) a world currency. "China has made important contribution to the world economy in terms of total economic output and trade, and the RMB has played a role in the world economic development," he told two US newspaper in a written interview ahead of his visit to th US next week. "But making the RMB an international currency will be a fairly long process." Critics say China intentionally undervalues the its yuan to make its exports cheaper and gain a trade advantage, contributing to the huge US trade deficit. Hu suggested that arguments that allowing the yan to appreciate would curb inflation are too simplistic, and said China is fighting inflation with a range of policies including interest-rate increases. 'Moderate inflation' While inflation in China hit a 28-month high in November, Hu told the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post that prices were "on the whole moderate and controllable." "We have the confidence, conditions and ability to stabilise the overall price level," he said. US legislators are among the biggest critics of China's exchange rate policy. Three Democratic senators - Charles Schumer, Debbie Stabenow, and Bob Casey - said on Sunday that they would propose legislation to try and fix the problem. The legislation would impose stiff new penalties on countries that the treasury department designated as currency manipulators. The treasury has not labelled any country a currency manipulator since July 1994 when it cited China. On other issues, Hu struck an upbeat tone about ties with the US. "We should abandon the zero-sum Cold War mentality," he said and "respect each other's choice of development path." The president suggested co-operation with the US in areas like new energy sources, clean energy, infrastructure development, aviation and space. "Both sides should keep to the right direction in the development of our relations, increase exchanges, enhance mutual trust, seek common ground while reserving differences, properly manage differences and sensitive issues and jointly promote the long-term, sound and steady development of China-US relations." Optimism on Koreas He also expressed optimism about the outlook for resolving tensions on the Korean peninsula, an area of concern to both Washington and Beijing, saying he sees signs of decreasing tensions between the North and the South. "Thanks to joint efforts by China and other parties, there have been signs of relaxation," Hu said. He was convinced "an appropriate solution to the Korean nuclear issue" could be found, a reference to North Korea's nuclear arms programme. The Chinese leader, who is expected to step down as president and general secretary of China's Communist Party in 2012, arrives on Wednesday in Washington for his first and last state visit. Eswar Prasad, a Brookings Institution economist and former International Monetary Fund, said Hu's generally conciliatory tone augured well ahead of his Washington meetings with Barack Obama, the US president, and other officials. "Hu makes it clear that China intends to move forward on opening its markets, freeing up its exchange rate and restructuring its political system, but at its own pace and with little heed to external pressures for more rapid or broader reforms," he said.

Source: Agencies

Many killed in Pakistan bus blast

Officials report that at least 17 people dead after explosion in the country's northwest. Last Modified: 17 Jan 2011 09:38 GMT

A blast in a northwest Pakistani town has killed 17 people aboard a bus, officials say. The explosion, which happened on Monday morning near the town of Kohat, also injured 11 other passengers. Police said that the minibus had been planted with about 10km of explosives. "The report of the bomb disposal squad shows that explosive materials fitted with a timer were placed near the gas cylinders which caused the explosion," Abdul Rashid, district police chief, told AFP from the scene. "The death toll has risen to 17 and five bodies still remain unidentified, as they have have been burnt very badly," he added. The mangled and burned-out wreckage of the minibus and another passenger vehicle were left at the scene. Rashid said most of the passengers in the minibus had been killed, along with two people travelling in a pick-up truck nearby when the blast occurred. Bus carnage Senior police official Masood Khan Afridi confirmed that the blast was caused by high-intensity explosives. "We are looking for the owner of the vehicle, as the driver was killed in the blast," he said. Local television footage showed the twisted carcass of the bus laying beside the road with little left except its wheels and undercarriage. Another bus nearby was flipped over on its side with its windows blown out and blood splattered across the outside. Pakistani Taliban have carried out numerous suicide bombings and other attacks on soldiers, security forces and police in a bid to destabilise the US-backed government. The government has said military offensives have weakened the Taliban - who are reportedly linked to al-Qaeda - but fighters often move around and establish new strongholds after being dislodged. Aside from facing a resilient force of Taliban fighters, the government is under pressure from the United States, the source of billions of dollars in aid, to help its efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.

Source: Agencies

Ex-president Duvalier back in Haiti

Jean-Claude Duvalier makes surprise return from exile in midst of political vacuum left by disputed polls. Last Modified: 17 Jan 2011 02:13 GMT

Duvalier's partner suggested their return was prompted by the devastating earthquake a year ago [GALLO/GETTY] Former Haitian president, Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, has made a surprise return to Haiti in the midst of a political vacuum left by disputed presidential elections. Returning to his homeland after 25 years in the political wilderness, most of them spent in exile in France, Duvalier did not explain the reason for his return on Sunday, simply saying: "I've come to help". Duvalier's partner, Veronique Roy, described to AFP news agency how he bent to his knees and kissed the ground as he set foot on home soil for the first time since his violent ouster in 1986. Roy suggested the couple's return had been prompted by the devastating earthquake almost exactly a year ago that killed nearly a quarter of a million Haitians. "That was the trigger," she told AFP. "It's so emotional. We were not expecting this welcome." A delegation of former officials who had served as cabinet ministers under Duvalier awaited his arrival at the airport and a few hundred supporters were gathered outside. Popular revolt Duvalier was ousted by a popular revolt after his family and supporters were accused of plundering tens of millions of dollars of state funds during his 15-year reign. Duvalier's unexpected return also came as the country wrestled with the results of a November 28 election that sparked deadly riots over allegations of vote-rigging by the current ruling party. The head of the Organization of American States (OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, was to arrive in Haiti Monday to discuss his regional group's report that evaluated the election results, his office said. Duvalier had earlier told a Florida radio station he was not returning as a presidential candidate, saying: "This is not the order of the day." In 2007, Duvalier called on Haitians to forgive him for the "mistakes" committed during his reign. Haitian authorities have accused Duvalier of diverting more than $100m out of the desperately poor country under the guise of social work during his reign.

Source: Agencies

Talks to name Lebanon PM put off

As regional leaders meet in Damascus to discuss Lebanon's political crises, president delays talks by a week. Last Modified: 17 Jan 2011 10:07 GMT

Hezbollah wants Lebanon to end its co-operation with the UN investigation in Rafiq al-Hariri's assassination [AFP] Talks scheduled for Monday to name a new Lebanese prime minister have been postponed until next week, the president's office said, days after Saad Hariri's government collapsed. Lebanese politicians said that the consultations on a new government could be delayed because of a summit in Damascus later on Monday where the leaders of Syria, Qatar and Turkey were due to discuss Lebanon's political crisis. "After assessing the positions of various parties in Lebanon ... President Michel Sleiman has decided to postpone parliamentary consultations until Monday, January 24 and Tuesday, January 25, 2011," read a statement released by Sleiman's office. The president had been scheduled to begin two days of consultations with parliamentarians on appointing a new prime minister, following the resignation last week of 11 ministers led by the Hezbollah movement. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Qatari emir, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, are due to meet Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, in Damascus on Monday to discuss the situation. Nasrallah speaks Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, said late on Sunday that his party would refuse to back Hariri, Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, in forming a new government. Hezbollah, which has a political bloc in parliament as well as a powerful military wing, commands strong support in Lebanon's Shia Muslim community. IN DEPTH Profile: Rafiq al-Hariri Timeline: Al-Hariri investigation Focus: Lebanon simmers as Hezbollah braces Focus: Split remains over Hariri tribunal Inside Story: Hezbollah talks tough Lebanon's crisis is the result of long-simmering tensions over the UN tribunal that is investigating the 2005 assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister and the father of Saad Hariri. The tribunal is widely expected to indict members of Hezbollah, which many fear could rekindle violence in Lebanon. "Despite the fact we reject the indictment simply for being politicised, Lebanon is our homeland and we are keen on its safety and stability," Nasrallah said in his speech. Hezbollah has several times denounced the Netherlands-based tribunal as a conspiracy by the US and Israel. The group demanded that Saad Hariri's government reject the court's findings even before they come out. But though he offered some concessions, Saad Hariri has refused to end co-operation with the tribunal, prompting Hezbollah's walkout. The US earlier denounced Hezbollah's move as an attempt to evade justice. "The tribunal is an independent, international judicial process whose work is not subject to political influence, either from inside Lebanon or from outside," Maura Connelly, the US ambassador to Lebanon, said on Sunday. "The efforts by the Hezbollah-led coalition to collapse the Lebanese government only demonstrate their own fear and determination to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty and independence." Regional fears Rula Amin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beirut, said that a new government might be formed relatively quickly. "It could be a very quick process, that's what the opposition want - they want a new government that will do what Mr Hariri was not willing to do, which is to end Lebanon's co-operation with the tribunal," she said. "However, they are still not sure if they will have enough members of parliament who would support such a move." Lebanon's crisis has sparked fears in the region.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Tunisians await new government

Protesters angry at prospect of ousted presidents allies in new unity government that will be announced soon. Last Modified: 17 Jan 2011 11:30 GMT

Tunisian authorities are struggling to stop violence while politicians try to cobble together a unity government after the toppling of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali as president. Mohamed Ghannouchi, the prime minister, promised to announce a new coalition government on Monday, hoping to maintain the momentum of political progress to ward off fresh protests and also undercut those loyal to the ousted president. The army fired water canons at protesters who are against 'old guard' in new government [Ayman Mohyeldin] Masoud Romdhani, a trade union activist, told Al Jazeera that clashes took place through the night between the army and security forces loyal to Ben Ali. "I could not sleep last night because of the shooting," Romdhani said, adding that by the morning things had improved and he was surprised to see people out in the streets and trying to clean things up. In the heart of Tunis, the army fired water canons at hundred of protesters, Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported from the capital on Monday. "What began this morning with a few dozen protesters outside the workers union grew and gained momentum," he said. "More and more people joined, calling for the collapse of a national unity government that contains elements of the old guard. The army allowed the protesters to move and speak freely, but do not want them to move into certain areas." Mohyeldin said that the army had brought in reinforcements while military helicopters flew above to monitor the situation. New government People were hopeful to hear any announcements on the new government, as well as possible elections that need to happen within 60 days according to the constitution. Follow Al Jazeera's complete coverage "Tomorrow we will announce the new government which will open a new page in the history of Tunisia," Ghannouchi said on Sunday. Al Jazeera has learnt that the Democratic Progressive Party and the Democratic Forum for Labour and Freedoms will have one minister each in the proposed coalition. While the technocrats in the current government are likely to retain their posts, representatives from trade unions and lawyers' groups are also expected to find cabinet berths. "We know the incoming national unity government will have three members of the opposition. It will include some technocrats, independents and economists and some figures from Tunisian labour and trade unions. Some of those have still to be determined," Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent reported from the Tunisian capital. "There are some unconfirmed reports that the current interior minister and foreign minister will stay in their positions and that obviously is already drawing some criticism here, with some of the pundits at least criticising the incoming national unity government for not being broad enough in its scope to reflect the political aspirations of the Tunisian people." Ben Ali loyalists Ben Ali, who had been in power since 1987, fled to Saudi Arabia on Friday following mass protests against his government. Fouad Mebezaa, the speaker of parliament, was sworn in as the country's interim president on Saturday and promised to create a unity government that could include the long-ignored opposition. A gun battle erupted on Sunday around the presidential palace in Carthage on the Mediterranean shore, while in the capital, Tunis, at least two major firefights broke out - one close to the central bank building, the other near the headquarters of the main opposition party, the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP). In a statement, the PDP said that police and military stopped a car carrying armed men, who it described as foreigners, after which shots were fired. Separately, security forces killed two armed men stationed on a rooftop near the central bank, a state TV reporter said from the scene. A military official told the TV station that the men were killed by fire from a helicopter. Presidential guards loyal to Ben Ali were involved in the shootout in Carthage, about 15km north of Tunis, according to two residents. The clashes broke out in the afternoon and were marked by sporadic but heavy gunfire, forcing local residents to barricade themselves inside their homes. Reuters reported, quoting a military source who did not want to be identified, that people loyal to the arrested head of Ben Ali's security force had opened fire as they passed near the front of the presidential palace. "Special military groups came out [from the palace] to pursue them and they started to exchange fire," the source said. Distrust of police Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Tunis on Sunday, said even though army roadblocks had sprung up throughout the city, people were saying they needed to arm themselves against the police, who they did not trust. "In between the roadblocks, we were coming across large groups of people who had their own home-made weapons, axes and steel bars, and some of them were not particularly friendly to us when we wanted to film in the area," he said. He said the army was rounding up those loyal to Ben Ali, including members of the presidential police. In the most prominent arrest, Tunisia's former interior minister, the man many held responsible for a police crackdown on anti-government protesters, was held in his home town in the north of the country. Rafik Belhaj, who was the most senior official in charge of the police force, was arrested in Beja on Sunday afternoon. Belhaj had been dismissed from his position on Wednesday in one of Ben Ali's final efforts to placate public anger with his leadership. Separately, Tunisian state television announced that Ali Seryati, the former head of Ben Ali's security service, would appear in court to face charges of threatening national security and provoking armed violence. Al Jazeera has learnt that a replacement had been appointed.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Gulf War: 9,000 Ex-Troops 'Still Suffering'

12:26pm UK, Sunday January 16, 2011

Steph Oliver, Sky News online

Twenty years on from the first Gulf War, charities say more than 9,000 British veterans are still suffering from a cocktail of war-related health problems.

The National Gulf Veterans and Families Association claim more needs to be done to support former soldiers who are suffering from chronic headaches, cognitive difficulties, depression, unexplained fatigue, rashes and breathing problems.

Maria Rusling from the association told Sky News: "Although some veterans are on war pensions and benefits, a lot of them are still fighting not only the benefit system but the illnesses they have."

Thousands of troops from Britain and other countries fell ill with what is sometimes called Gulf War Syndrome, after the conflict began two decades ago.

During the war allied forces launched a massive bombing campaign, which led to victory over Iraq.

A US soldier patrolling Kuwait during the Gulf War

The assault began a more widespread offensive - Operation Desert Storm.

It led to Saddam Hussein's forces leaving Kuwait, having invaded on August 2,1990.

Coalition soldiers then entered Iraq and advanced 150 miles from Baghdad before President George Bush Snr declared a ceasefire.

The move proved to be controversial.

Saddam continued to be a thorn in the international community's side leading to the second Gulf War in 2003, when Allied forces controversially invaded Iraq and brought about his fall.

A grave in Iraq honouring those who died during the Gulf War

He was hanged in December 2006 for crimes against humanity.

The coalition in the first war was composed of 34 nations, led by the US and UK.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait had brought international condemnation, which was aggravated when Saddam appeared on state television with Western hostages whom he appeared ready to use as a human shield.

On November 29, 1990, the United Nations passed a resolution giving Iraq until January 15, 1991 to withdraw.

When the air campaign began, the coalition flew more than 100,000 sorties, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs.

Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War

Saddam declared that "the mother of all battles has begun".

The Allies' first aim was to destroy Iraqi air force and anti-aircraft facilities. They also attacked command and communication centres and launchers for Scud missiles.

Iraq fired missiles into Israel, but Tel Aviv complied with a US request for non retaliation, helping to keep Arab states in the coalition.

The air blitz was followed by land attacks into Kuwait from February 23.

Coalition fighters met generally light resistance before the Iraqis were expelled. But before they left, they torched nearly 700 oil wells.

A tank near a fire in an oil field in Kuwait during the first Gulf War

The coalition advance into Iraq was more speedy than US generals had expected. Forces from the US, UK and France chased retreating Iraqi forces over the border before Mr Bush declared a ceasefire on February 28.

In 2009, a landmark study for the US Congress concluded that troops' ill-health was caused by them being given nerve gas pills and exposed to pesticides during the conflict.

The Ministry of Defence's official position has been that Gulf War Syndrome is a useful "umbrella term", but comprises too many different symptoms to be characterised as a syndrome in medical terms.

Veterans' representatives say this has led to difficulties in receiving pensions.

The MoD has said claims are dealt with as quickly as possible.