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Tension Rises at Egyptian Universities

Clashes between the police and students in Egypt have intensified in recent weeks, partly shutting some of the country’s top universities and taking a heavy toll on demonstrators. At least two students have been killed and hundreds more injured or arrested since early November. Since the start of the Arab Spring protests, in 2010, Egyptian universities have experienced their fair share of tumult. But recently the situation has reached a fever pitch. The ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July triggered student protests against the military-backed government, resulting in a crackdown by security forces. The Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, an Egyptian group that monitors academic freedom, has denounced a “widespread violation of universities’ independence and the rights and freedoms of their students.” Protests have taken place at universities across the country — most notably at the Islamic university of Al-Azhar and at Cairo University. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Militant group in Egypt's Sinai warns military

An al-Qaida-inspired group in Egypt’s volatile Sinai has warned the country’s military and police, urging troops to desert their ranks or face death at the hands of its fighters. Ansar Jerusalem, or Ansar Beit al-Maqdis as the group is known, said in a statement on militant websites Monday that it considers Egyptian troops to be infidels because they answer to a secular government. If the warning is ignored, Ansar Jerusalem says it "will be more determined to fight" the military and police. Like other Sinai-based militant groups, Ansar Jerusalem has been blamed for rising attacks against Egypt’s forces since a July coup toppled the country’s former Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi. The group has also said it was behind a September suicide bombing that targeted Egypt’s interior minister, who escaped unharmed. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Militant group in Egypt’s Sinai warns military

An al-Qaida-inspired group in Egypt’s volatile Sinai has warned the country’s military and police, urging troops to desert their ranks or face death at the hands of its fighters. Ansar Jerusalem, or Ansar Beit al-Maqdis as the group is known, said in a statement on militant websites Monday that it considers Egyptian troops to be infidels because they answer to a secular government. If the warning is ignored, Ansar Jerusalem says it "will be more determined to fight" the military and police. Like other Sinai-based militant groups, Ansar Jerusalem has been blamed for rising attacks against Egypt’s forces since a July coup toppled the country’s former Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi. The group has also said it was behind a September suicide bombing that targeted Egypt’s interior minister, who escaped unharmed. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China cash squeeze worsens despite central bank efforts

China’s cash squeeze worsened on Monday despite the central bank’s repeated attempts to calm financial markets with emergency money injections. The seven-day bond repurchase rate, an important gauge of short-term liquidity, climbed to 8.8 per cent in early trading, up about 60 basis points from its average on Friday, a signal that banks are still hoarding cash . The continued tightening of monetary conditions in the face of the central bank’s liquidity injections raises the spectre of a repeat of the Chinese cash crunch earlier this year that exposed fragility in the world’s second-biggest economy and spooked global investors. Traders and analysts have praised the central bank’s more aggressive response to the current liquidity squeeze, but concerns are mounting as its actions appear to have been largely ineffectual so far. Late on Friday the People’s Bank of China announced it had conducted Rmb300bn ($49bn) of “short-term liquidity operations” , […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China Rates Approach Crisis Levels Despite Central Bank Measures

An exceptional bid by China’s central bank to curb soaring interest rates and relieve pressure on the financial system appeared to have come up short on Monday, as Chinese money market rates shrugged off the measure and continued to approach the crisis levels seen in June. The central bank, the People’s Bank of China, said late Friday that it had provided more than 300 billion renminbi, or about $50 billion, in short-term funds to selected banks over a three-day period that week. Rates continued to surge on Monday, however, in China’s money markets — a key source of short-term funding for commercial banks and also for financial institutions engaged in risky, off-balance-sheet shadow lending. One key rate, the seven-day repurchase rate, rose as high as 10 percent on Monday. That was double the rate of a week earlier and the highest level since June, when the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Beijing to "resolutely control" population growth

Curbing the explosive growth of its population will be a top priority for the Beijing municipal government, Mayor of the Chinese capital Wang Anshun has said. "To resolutely control the population’s excessive growth is the key to solving multiple problems, such as traffic and environmental problems," said Wang on Sunday at a session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing committee. Beijing will give full play to the restructuring of industries and upgrading of service industries to slow down population growth, he added. Since 2000, Beijing’s permanent population has increased by an average of nearly 600,000 annually to reach 20.69 million at the end of 2012, far exceeding the previously planned target of keeping the population at 18 million by 2020. The population of Beijing is about 2.6 times that of London and 2.5 times that of New York. The metropolis faces traffic […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Beijing to “resolutely control” population growth

Curbing the explosive growth of its population will be a top priority for the Beijing municipal government, Mayor of the Chinese capital Wang Anshun has said. "To resolutely control the population’s excessive growth is the key to solving multiple problems, such as traffic and environmental problems," said Wang on Sunday at a session of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Beijing committee. Beijing will give full play to the restructuring of industries and upgrading of service industries to slow down population growth, he added. Since 2000, Beijing’s permanent population has increased by an average of nearly 600,000 annually to reach 20.69 million at the end of 2012, far exceeding the previously planned target of keeping the population at 18 million by 2020. The population of Beijing is about 2.6 times that of London and 2.5 times that of New York. The metropolis faces traffic […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Gasoline Price Takes Off in U.S.

Gasoline futures are climbing in response to signs of unseasonably strong demand for the fuel. Prices surged 5.9% last week to a three-month high after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline demand was the highest in more than five years. Gasoline prices usually fall in the winter as bad weather keeps drivers off the road. However, an improving U.S. economy and appetite overseas for relatively cheaper U.S. gasoline have led to stronger-than-expected demand this year. "It’s been a huge momentum shift" as market watchers switched their focus from high gasoline production to demand growth, said Jim Ritterbusch , president of energy-advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates. "The macroeconomic guidance has been positive for gasoline demand," Mr. Ritterbusch said, citing gains in the U.S. economy and lower unemployment. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve said it would scale back its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, signaling that the economy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Won't Tighten Pipeline Rules

The U.S. Transportation Department doesn’t plan to change regulations to better protect underground pipelines from riverbed erosion, a year after Congress ordered it to evaluate its policies in the wake of pipeline breaks that spilled hazardous liquids into waterways. The department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said its review found that over the past two decades, riverbed erosion contributed to just one in every 200 significant hazardous-liquid incidents involving pipelines. The agency, which oversees pipeline safety, said in a recent letter to Congress that its "existing legislative authority is adequate to address the risks of hazardous liquid pipeline failures at major river crossings." The agency said that after its review, it sees no need to change existing regulations. The letter could spell the end of efforts by pipeline-safety advocates to enhance protections against "scouring," in which flooding or rapid currents strip away layers of earth from a river’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Won’t Tighten Pipeline Rules

The U.S. Transportation Department doesn’t plan to change regulations to better protect underground pipelines from riverbed erosion, a year after Congress ordered it to evaluate its policies in the wake of pipeline breaks that spilled hazardous liquids into waterways. The department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said its review found that over the past two decades, riverbed erosion contributed to just one in every 200 significant hazardous-liquid incidents involving pipelines. The agency, which oversees pipeline safety, said in a recent letter to Congress that its "existing legislative authority is adequate to address the risks of hazardous liquid pipeline failures at major river crossings." The agency said that after its review, it sees no need to change existing regulations. The letter could spell the end of efforts by pipeline-safety advocates to enhance protections against "scouring," in which flooding or rapid currents strip away layers of earth from a river’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple