UN reports mass exodus due to Mali unrest

 

About 22,000 people have fled fighting in Mali to the neighboring countries of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mauritania, the United Nations said Tuesday.

 

Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, told reporters in Geneva that most of the 10,000 refugees who have arrived in Niger are sleeping in the open with little access to shelter, clean water, food or medicine.

 

He said a further 9,000 have arrived in Mauritania and 3,000 have fled to Burkina Faso because of attacks that started Jan. 17 by a Tuareg rebel group known as the National Movement for the Liberation of the Azawad.

 

The rebels claim they are fighting for independence from the Malian government. Many have returned from Libya following the death of leader Moammar Gadhafi, who included Tuaregs in his armed forces.

 

In just over two weeks, the rebels have attacked at least six towns in the north of landlocked Mali. It s the first time the Tuaregs have picked up arms since the last rebellion ended in early 2009.

 

Felix Kambire, a spokesman for Burkina Faso s security minister, said the 3,000 refugees who have fled there include army officers, paramilitary and high-ranking civil servants.

 

Ousmane Ag Dala, a former civil servant in charge of coordinating development activities in northern Mali, said thousands more refugees have fled to Burkina Faso and even more are expected.

 

“We are fleeing insecurity because we have come to understand that there is difference between those fighting in the north and the rest of us who suddenly found themselves out of their homes and offices,” Dala told The Associated Press Tuesday.

 

“We have made peace in 1963, in 1990 and in 2000 to show the Malian people that we are a nation,” Dala said alluding to the various Tuareg rebellions that occurred in Mali.

 

Col. Assane Ag Medi, a former rebel officer of the Malian army, said he arrived in Burkina Faso with some 60 vehicles full of refugees.

 

“Despite my loyalty to the defense and security forces of my country, I have been forced to leave my country like many others including family members of ministers, officers, diplomats,” he said. “That means national unity is endangered.”

 

Burkina Faso s government was to meet with its partners later Tuesday to figure out how to meet the needs of the refugees.

Famine over in Somalia but emergency remains: UN

 

But the situation remains dire with nearly a third of the population needing emergency support, the UN said on Friday.

 

“The United Nations declares an end to famine conditions in Somalia,” the UN Somalia Food Security Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and the US famine warning network, known as FEWS NET, said in a statement.
 

China retail sales hit $74 billion during holidays

 

China said retail sales surged 16.2 percent year on year to 470 billion yuan ($74 billion) during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, as consumers splashed out on food, wine and clothes.

 

Hundreds of millions of people journey across the country during the holiday to celebrate with their families and consumer spending typically soars during the period.

 

The commerce ministry said sales of clothes, jewellery and food rose 18.7 percent, 16.4 percent and 16.2 percent respectively, according to a statement posted on its website Saturday, the last day of the holiday.

 

The number of passenger trips on trains, planes, boats and buses was expected to reach 3.2 billion during the peak travel period from January 8 to February 16, up 9.1 percent from last year.

 

Authorities warned snow and rain in parts of southern and southwestern China could disrupt road and rail links as millions of people returned to work in the major cities, the Global Times reported.

Former ‘Housewives of NJ’ star talks food, drops racial slur

TrendPK.com: Former ‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’ star Danielle Staub once made a huge deal about being a gay advocate, but then she hung out with someone who used offensive terms and now she has dropped a racial slur of her own.

Staub was recently interviewed about being on a new reality TV show related to the food industry, states FOX.

She began speaking about her love of food and eating when she dropped the slur: “I knew my heritage was Italian, and I hated the American food my parents made. So I learned to hang with my Guinea friends and whenever I would taste a dish I would go to the store and reproduce the dish.”

The term “Guinea” is reportedly a racial slur against Italian-Americans and did cause some backlash.

John Marino, National Executive Director at the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), commented, “It’s an offensive term that should be never used and is unacceptable.”

Rosanna Imbriano, Director at The Center for Italian and Italian American Culture, also commented that the word is offensive and puts Italians in a “negative light.”

Australia to levy $1.8b flood tax

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a new 1.8 billion Australian dollar (US$1.79 billion) income tax to help fund reconstruction in flood-devastated Queensland state without tipping the government budget further into deficit. With a slender grip on power after last year’s election left neither of Australia’s two major political forces with enough seats to govern alone, Ms. Gillard’s handling of the flood recovery will be pivotal for the Labor government.

It comes as Canberra begins counting the clean-up cost of its worst natural disaster in decades, estimated by officials Thursday to trim about A$5.6 billion from the government budget and cut economic growth by half a percentage point in the fiscal year ending June 30.

The proposed year-long temporary tax hit the Australian dollar Thursday, sending it down to US$0.9964 from US$0.9997 during the Asian trading day, on the belief that it could have a dampening effect on consumer spending and take pressure off Australia’s central bank to raise rates. Australian stocks ended flat.The temporary tax, to apply to the fiscal year beginning July 1 to Australians earning over A$50,000 a year, will cost around A$1 a week for someone on an annual income of A$60,000, rising to A$5 a week for someone earning A$100,000 a year. In announcing the tax, Ms. Gillard is judging that the political cost of not delivering on a promise to restore the budget to surplus by the year ending June 30, 2013, would be greater than any voter backlash against higher taxes. The great majority of Australians are ready to contribute, I have no doubt about that, Ms. Gillard said. But Tony Windsor, one of a handful of independent lawmakers keeping the Labor government in power, warned: Don’t count on my vote for the new tax. Mr. Windsor is calling for a permanent National Natural Disaster Levy to fund future crises including floods, wild fires, hail storms or cyclones. Another key independent, Robert Oakeshott, is undecided. Meanwhile, the increasingly influential Greens Party said it supports the idea of a flood tax. But it added it opposes Ms. Gillard’s proposed spending cuts to other government programsincluding solar hot water rebates and energy efficiency measuresto help fund the recovery costs. That raises the prospect the tax legislation could be voted down when introduced into Parliament next month. It beggars belief that the government would choose to cut climate change programs…to fund disaster relief when such disasters will be made worse by climate change, acting Greens leader Christine Milne said. Joe Hockey, shadow Treasurer for the main conservative Liberal-National opposition coalition, said a tax to fund the flood recovery effort is too much on top of an anticipated rise in food prices as a result of the damage to agricultural land. On top of the recent Labor party increases in the cigarette tax and also alcohol taxes and car taxes and given that electricity prices are rising, it is too much at this point in the economic cycle, Mr. Hockey said. Rick Kuhn, a political expert at Australian National University, described the tax as an incredible act of hypocrisy on the part of the government. It is placing the burden for the flood relief onto ordinary working class taxpayers at a time when the government is going to be cutting the corporate tax rate, he said, referring to plans to cut the company tax rate to 29% from 30% from July 1, 2013. Devastating floods have washed out thousands of homes, roads and rail lines and killed more than 30 people across resource-rich Queensland state since December, disrupting exports and destroying agricultural crops. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal used for steelmaking and the second largest supplier of coal for power plants. Separate floods spreading across Victoria state over the past two weeks have affected 60 towns in an area larger than Denmark. Ms. Gillard pledged Thursday an immediate government payment of A$2 billion toward the Queensland reconstruction effort, to be funded by cutting spending in other areas and delaying non-urgent infrastructure projects in other states. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. economists warned the flood tax will act as another constraint on household spending, reinforcing market expectations that the country’s central bank will hold interest rates steady for some time. This federal government flood tax will cost jobs, slow the economy and destroy households that are just hanging on, said Scott O’Driscoll, National President of the United Retail Federation. Woolworths Ltd., one of the country’s largest grocery and general-merchandise retailers, this week downgraded guidance for earnings growth this year, partly citing disruptions from the floods. Given the economy already is taking a big hit from higher food prices, rents and insurance premiums, it seems strange that the government wants to take the chance of damaging it further, Macquarie Research Economics director Brian Redican said. These policies increase the risks to the economy recovering in a quick and timely fashion from the flood impact. Economist and Reserve Bank of Australia board member Warwick McKibbin panned the tax proposal as politically motivated, saying that relaxing the government’s goal of restoring the budget to surplus in fiscal 2013 is a better option. (WSJ)

No Problem producer plans mega party inviting entire industry

The much talked about party of No Problem seems to be the most looked forward to. Turns out, this party is going to be a lavish affair reminiscent of the filmi parties that ruled the scene a few years back.

True to the tradition of filmi parties, this party is going to be in a swanky sea facing a bungalow in Juhu, which is owned by B.K Modi, who is the head scion of Spice Studios, the co-producers of No Problem.

While Bollywood parties are always known to be lavish, this one takes the cake as B.K.Modi is getting the entire road washed before the party, and as if that was not enough, he is also red carpeting the entire lane to welcome their guests, the party is expected to go on till the wee hours in the morning and the guest list promises the who’s who of Bollywood.

Not just that, B K Modi is going all out, the food is going to be an elaborate affair and there are going to be delicious dishes from all over the world. And to whip up this delectable affair the best chefs are being called in.

Well, No Problem team seems to have thrown the mother of all parties in true filmi style, and B.K Modi is a mood to celebrate, regardless of the fate of No Problem at the box office; he wants to celebrate the first production under the banner of Spice Studios.

Harbhajans shoe stolen from restaurant in Ahmedabad

While having the dinner at a restaurant here, the shoe of Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh got stolen
It was happened as few members of Indian cricket team including Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni alongwith his wife Sakshi, teammate Suresh Rain, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha went for the dinner at Rishala Hotel here in the city.
As the dinner was served as per Rijwada tradition, in which we sit on the floor to eat the food, everyone had to take out their shoes out of the room. When everyone came out after having the dinner, Bhajji found that his shoe was missing. But who took itno one knowsIndian team is enjoying the festive season in the city ahead of the New Zealand series, which is starting tomorrow here.

Milk price to go up in Karachi

Staff Report

KARACHI: After increase in electricity and gas, the people of Karachi will pay Rs 4 extra per litter for milk as the Karachi Dairy Farmers Association (KDFA) has increased milk price.

The new milk price would be implemented from November 1 (Monday).

Sikandar Nagori, the KDFA president, while talking to Trend Pk on Sunday said that the food items for the cattle had gone up therefore it was not possible for the retailers and wholesalers to maintain milk price at same level for more time.

He said that no official has contacted them after this recent increase in milk price. Trend Pk

Australian farmers to lose water to restore rivers

CANBERRA: Farmers would lose more than a third of irrigation water in Australia’s major food bowl, the Murray-Darling, under a plan released on Friday to restore ailing rivers, posing a new headache for the Labor minority government.

The move could see the value of cotton production cut by 25 percent, and farmers and irrigators have warned of farm closures, massive job losses and higher food prices if the plan by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority is adopted by the government.

Environmentalists welcome the cuts, saying they will help Australia’s major river system survive future droughts brought on by climate change in the world’s driest inhabited continent.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s fragile one-seat majority government is dependent on support from both rural independents and the Green party and will have to balance both interests in deciding whether to

Fishermen hunt for flood survivors

SHAHDADKOT: Fishermen are helping scour the flooded countryside of the southern province of Sindh for people marooned in the deluge and now running out of food.

More than three weeks after torrential monsoon rains fell over the upper Indus River Basin, many people across Sindh’s flat rice belt in the province’s northwest remain cut off in their flooded homes.

The rains triggered Pakistan’s worst natural disaster in terms of damage and number of people affected.

But many ignored government warnings to leave as the flood swept down the Indus, doubting the scale of the inundation and determined to look after farms and precious animals.

But their food is running out.

“There are a lot of people still stranded,” said boatman Muzaffar as he set off into the flood near the town of Shahdadkot, 70 km (43 miles) west of Sukkur, in a 20-foot (6-metre)

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