Chinese President Xi Jinping calls for renaissance
17 March 2013 Last updated at 04:57 GMT
The BBC
The new Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has said he will fight for “the great renaissance of the Chinese nation,” in his first speech as head of state.
He was speaking at the end of the annual National People’s Congress.
At a rare news conference later, new Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing would “win the trust of the people”, pledging to cut government spending.
The comments come as the Communist government has completed a once-in-a-decade leadership transition.
Mr Li, who already holds the number two spot in the Communist Party, is now taking over the day-to-day running of the country, succeeding Wen Jiabao.
Iraq war 10 years on: ‘We don’t stay out late because we’re still afraid’
Abdul Karim Hadi, a small businessman whose life was better under Saddam’s regime, vents his anger at the US government
Peter Beaumont in Baghdad
The Observer, Sunday 17 March 2013I first met Abdul Karim Hadi seven years ago. During the time of the Saddam Hussein regime, he was one of a small group of citizens’ band radio enthusiasts, licensed by the state to broadcast from their own radio sets. His little electronics repair shop was situated across the road from the secret police headquarters. Once a place cluttered with the equipment he was repairing, today these days his shop – now up for sale – is bare and empty.
“Fine, I’m fine,” Karim says in a weak voice by way of a greeting. He waves his hand in front of his face and laughs: “That’s Baghdad ‘fine'” – in other words, not very fine at all.
The Antarctic is left defenceless to tourism
Tourism booms again, but continent has no mandatory protection against visitors
ROD MCGUIRK ROSS ISLAND SUNDAY 17 MARCH 2013
Across most of Earth, a tourist attraction that sees 35,000 visitors a year can safely be labelled sleepy. But when it’s Antarctica, every footstep matters. Tourism is rebounding here five years after the financial crisis and is now growing fast, with the number of cruise ship passengers visiting doubling in a year.
Although the downturn triggered by the economic collapse created an opportunity for the 50 countries that share responsibility through the Antarctic Treaty to set rules to manage tourism, little has been done. The 28 countries that make up the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Committee have made 27 non-binding recommendations on tourism since 1966, but just two mandatory rules – and neither of those is yet in force.
Cypriots rush to banks in wake of bailout levy
EUROZONE
Cypriots have rushed to local banks to drain their accounts following a bailout agreement that includes a tax on bank deposits. Cooperative banks have shut their doors in response to the rush.
Cypriots headed to local cooperative banks and ATM machines Saturday in an effort to protect their savings from a new tax. The deal, agreed to as part of an international bailout, was brokered early Saturday morning.
Eurozone lenders have agreed to give Cyprus a rescue package worth at least 10 billion euros ($13.08 billion) becoming the fourth country to receive a sovereign bailout.
Top Syrian general ‘defects to rebels’
March 17, 2013 – 11:13AM
A brigadier general and about 20 soldiers defected from the Syrian army in two separate incidents on Saturday, activists said, in another sign that the strength of President Bashar al-Assad’s armed forces is diminishing.
Brigadier General Mohammed Khalouf appeared dressed in a camouflage military uniform in a video on Al Arabiya news channel and said he had planned his escape with the opposition movement for some time.
“It is not possible for anyone to accept any of the ideas of this regime unless they have achieved special interests,” he said in the video.
Count begins after candlelight vote in Zimbabwe
Ballot counting was under way in Zimbabwe on Sunday after a referendum on a new constitution set to curb President Robert Mugabe’s powers.
17 MAR 2013 07:35 – AFP
The results from Saturday’s referendum are expected to show strong support for the text which would introduce presidential term limits, beef up Parliament’s powers and set elections to decide whether the 89-year-old Mugabe stays in power.
Mugabe has ruled uninterrupted since the country’s independence in 1980, despite a series of disputed and violent polls and a severe economic crash propelled by hyper-inflation.
The draft constitution is part of an internationally backed plan to get the country on track. Zimbabweans’ verdict on the draft is expected to be known within five days of the voting.
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