Bahamas profile

An archipelago of 700 islands and islets, the Bahamas attracts millions of tourists each year.

The Bahamas enjoys a high per capita income.

The huge growth in the services sector of the economy has prompted people to leave fishing and farming villages for the commercial centres in New Providence Island, Grand Bahama and Great Abaco.

This trend has compounded the islands' dependence on tourism and banking.

As with other Caribbean countries, The Bahamas faces the challenge of tackling drugs trafficking and illegal immigration.

It has taken steps to clean-up its offshore banking system.

The Bahamas is a destination for migrants from its strife-torn Caribbean neighbour, Haiti. Tens of thousands of Haitians are thought to be living illegally in the country.

Bahamian culture is expressed most colourfully in "Junkanoo" street celebrations, which feature rhythmic music, dance and elaborate costumes and masks.

Ukraine country profile

Ukraine gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since veered between seeking closer integration with Western Europe and reconciliation with Russia, which supplies most of the country's energy.

Crimea is also the homeland of the Crimean Tatars, whom Stalin accused of collaborating with the Nazis and deported to Central Asia in 1944. More than 250,000 have returned since the late 1980s.

In 1932-1933, Stalin's programme of enforced agricultural collectivisation brought famine and death to millions in Ukraine, the bread basket of the USSR. Not until its twilight years did the Soviet Union acknowledge the extent of the suffering.

News of another Soviet-era calamity, the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station, rang alarm bells around the world immediately. About 8% of Ukraine's territory was contaminated as were large areas in neighbouring Belarus. Millions have suffered as a result.

The first president after independence, former Communist Party official Leonid Kravchuk, presided over rapid economic decline and runaway inflation. His successor, Leonid Kuchma, oversaw a steady economic recovery, but was accused of conceding too much to Russian economic interests.

Opposition to Mr Kuchma grew, further fed by discontent at controls on media freedom, manipulation of the political system and cronyism.

The authorities' attempt to rig the 2004 presidential elections led to the "Orange Revolution", with reference to the colour of the main opposition movement.

Mass protests, a revolt by state media against government controls and the fracturing of the governing coalition brought in European-Union mediation and a re-run of the election.

A fragile alliance of anti-Kuchma forces united behind pro-Western opposition leader and former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, who won the presidency.

Mr Yushchenko succeeded in carrying out some democratic reform, but moves towards Nato and EU membership were slowed by divided public opinion in Ukraine and Western reluctance to antagonise a resurgent Russia.

Rivalry with his prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, soured into open antagonism, and neither proved able to cope with the worldwide economic downturn after 2008.

Their opponent in the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yanukovych, won the 2010 presidential election. He swiftly re-oriented foreign and trade policy towards Russia, clamped down on media freedom, and had various opponents, most prominently Ms Tymoshenko, imprisoned in trials seen at by many as politically-motivated.

Although trade with EU countries now exceeds that with Russia, Moscow is the largest individual trading partner. Ukraine depends on Russia for its gas supplies and forms an important part of the pipeline transit route for Russian gas exports to Europe.

In 2006, Ukraine was forced to agree to pay almost twice the former price for Russian gas after Russia briefly to cut supplies in a move that sparked alarm in western Europe as well. In January 2009, Russia again cut gas supplies in a row over unpaid fees.

The Ukrainian economy's dependence on steel exports made it particularly vulnerable to the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008, and in October of that year the country was offered a $16.5bn (£10.4bn) loan by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Beirut Traders Association launches third edition of ‘Grow My Business’ competition in partnership with Bank Audi

A press conference was held on May 14, 2013, at the premises of the Beirut Traders Association (BTA) in Sanayeh, to launch the third edition of the ‘Grow My Business’ competition, an initiative by the BTA, in collaboration with the MIT Enterprise Forum – Pan Arab Region, and in partnership with Bank Audi sal – Audi Saradar Group.

Building on the success of the two last years, the competition consists in coaching a selection of Lebanese entrepreneurs and SME owners and guiding them in developing appropriate business plans which would help their businesses to grow.

Candidates can download the application from the website www.growmybusiness.me, following which a jury composed of prominent figures of the BTA, of the MIT Enterprise Forum – Pan Arab Region, and of Bank Audi will select the top 25 candidates on July 9, 2013.

During the second stage of the competition, the 25 nominees will benefit from a workshop organised by experts and professors, and focusing on how to draft a successful business plan.

All 25 business plans are then submitted to the jury who will accordingly choose the 12 best candidates and assess them through a series of oral presentations.

In light of these enriching sessions, the jury will pronounce, towards end-September 2013, the ultimate winner of the third “Grow My Business” competition who will win a LBP 50,000,000 prize courtesy of Bank Audi.

Mr. Nicolas Chammas, Chairman of the Beirut Traders Association, seized the opportunity to explain that, “the purpose of this competition is to give a tangible added value to small and medium-sized companies, to uplift the professional standards of the commercial sector as a whole, and to contribute to the sustainable development of the national economy.”

Mrs. Hala Fadel, Chair of the MIT Enterprise Forum – Pan Arab Region, corroborated this statement, adding, “We are committed to supporting Lebanese talents and helping them grow to become regional and global companies. We provide them with training, coaching, mentorship, and most importantly, connections and exposure. We are excited to be part of this competition for the third year, and to continuously contribute to the nurturing of SMEs in Lebanon.”

As for H.E. Mr. Raymond Audi, Chairman – General Manager of Bank Audi sal – Audi Saradar Group, he underlined that “the Bank’s involvement in “Grow My Business” is a patent testimony of its ongoing support to the Lebanese economy, namely through the development of SMEs which are its major engine.”

Chadians hail ex-police chief arrest

Campaigners in Chad have welcomed the arrest of Mahamat Djibrine, former President Hissene Habre's police chief.

Mr Djibrine is accused of torturing and killing hundreds of opposition activists in the 1980s.

It is not clear whether he will be tried in Chad or in Senegal, where Mr Habre is due to go on trial after being held under house arrest there since 2005.

Mr Djibrine has not yet commented on the allegations.

He was arrested on the basis of a lawsuit filed 13 years ago by victims of Mr Habre's government.

Earlier this month, Senegal and Chad signed a deal to allow special judges to carry out investigations in Chad for Mr Habre's trial on charges of crimes against humanity. Under this deal, Mr Habre's former top officials can be tried alongside him in Senegal.

Mr Habre denies killing and torturing tens of thousands of his opponents.

Mr Djibrine is the former head of the Directorate of Documentation and Security (DDS), Mr Habre's political police force.

"He is accused of torture, acts of barbarism and illegal detention," prosecutor Massingaral Kagah told the AFP news agency.

He served in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Ivory Coast until campaigners complained and he was sent back to Chad.

The Chadian Association for the Defence of Human Rights said he should be put on trial in Chad.

For many years, Senegal resisted putting Mr Habre on trial but it has changed its position under new President Macky Sall.

The charges date from 1982, when Mr Habre came to power in a coup, until 1990, the year he was ousted.

A 1992 Truth Commission in Chad accused Mr Habre of being responsible for widespread torture and the deaths of 40,000 people.

He was accused of carrying out a deliberate policy of terror to discourage any opposition.

Survivors of torture say that, among other things, they were subjected to electric shocks, near-asphyxia and "supplice des baguettes", when their heads were squeezed between sticks.

Oil price probe widens, senator wants Justice Department help

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A European probe into possible oil price manipulation expanded with the investigation of a small niche trading house in the Netherlands, while a key U.S. senator on Friday called for the Justice Department to join the investigation.

Dutch trading house Argos Energies, a mid-sized trading company that deals in physical oil products and owns storage facilities, was visited by inspectors from the European Commission on Tuesday, a source familiar with the investigation said on Friday.

The visit occurred on the same day that authorities raided the London bureau of pricing agency Platts, and the offices of Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP in the biggest cross-border action since the probe into rigging of Libor benchmark interest rates.

In Washington, the chairman of the Senate’s energy committee asked the Justice Department to investigate whether alleged price manipulation has boosted fuel prices for U.S. consumers.

“Efforts to manipulate the European oil indices, if proven, may have already impacted U.S. consumers and businesses, because of the interrelationships among world oil markets and hedging practices,” Senator Ron Wyden, the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, wrote in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Federal Trade Commission have both declined to comment on any role or coordination with EU authorities in the probe. U.S. politicians including Wyden often call for enquiries into issues that affect gasoline prices, although regulators are not obligated to take action.

A spokesman for the Justice Department would not comment on whether the agency would undertake a probe, but said it was reviewing Wyden’s letter.

Authorities have sharpened scrutiny of financial benchmarks around the world since slapping large fines on some of the world’s biggest banks for rigging interest rate benchmarks.

Over the past year many observers have noted the resemblance between the Libor self-reported benchmark and the journalist assessment-based methodology used to set most of the world’s oil prices, but this week’s investigation is the first indication that EU authorities are taking a harder look at the system.

The source said that inspectors were still on the premises of Argos Energies on Friday and that it was also the last day of the inspection at the company.

Argos Energies declined to comment.

NO IMPACT ON LIQUIDITY

Platts said trading in the oil market has not been significantly affected by the investigation.

“Market participation and liquidity are unchanged,” Platts editorial director Dan Tanz said.

Meanwhile Neste Oil, a Finnish refinery, said it had received a request from the European Commission to provide information, although it said it was not under inspection.

“We will naturally cooperate with this request and provide the information requested to assist the European Commission in its investigation,” Matti Lehmus, executive vice president, Oil Products and Renewables said in a statement.

Hungary’s Pannonia Ethanol, a recent entrant to Europe’s market, was the first company to identify itself as having complained to Brussels over access to the Platts market-on-close (MOC) system – a daily half-hour “window” of trading during which the agency determines prices through a series of bids, offers and trades.

European oil major Total, which last year wrote to regulators to question the way oil prices were determined, said it was not involved with the current investigation and has not been visited.

“No, we haven’t sent any letter,” Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie told reporters on the sidelines of the group’s annual meeting, when asked whether it had complained to the EU.

“I’ve learnt about this through the press and news agencies. I’d be very surprised if some of the cited companies were involved in price manipulation.”

The investigation is focused on whether there was collusion to distort prices of crude, refined oil products and ethanol traded during the MOC window.

Platts, a unit of McGraw-Hill, provides clients with price benchmarks set by reporters for opaque energy markets.

Its assessments are used to close physical and derivative deals worth billions in a $2.5 trillion market.

Thomson Reuters, parent of Reuters news, competes with Platts in providing news and information to the oil market.

(Reporting by Simon Falush and Timothy Gardner; Additional reporting by Peg Mackey; Editing by William Hardy, Anthony Barker, Phil Berlowitz and Bob Burgdorfer)

Collapse at Cambodia shoe factory

Part of a shoe factory has collapsed in Cambodia, leaving at least two people dead, officials say.

The concrete roof at the factory in Kampong Speu province, west of Phnom Penh, crashed on to employees as they were working, a police spokesman said.

At least six people were injured, police said. Rescue workers combed through the rubble for several hours before finishing operations.

The garment industry is Cambodia's biggest employer and export earner.

More than half a million people are employed in the industry, for which the minimum wage rose this month from $61 (£40) to $75 a month. Many of the factories make clothes for the US and European markets.

Workplace safety in nations at the heart of the global garment industry has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, following the collapse of a commercial building housing garment factories in Bangladesh.

More than 1,100 people died in the disaster, which was Bangladesh's worst industrial accident.

Minister of Social Affairs Ith Sam Heng was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying that no one else remained trapped inside the building.

One report said the weight of equipment stored on the roof caused the collapse.

"We were working normally and suddenly several pieces of brick and iron started falling on us," injured 25-year-old Kong Thary was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

The shoe factory is owned by a Taiwanese company Wing Star Shoes, which makes trainers for Japanese sports brand Asics, reports say.

In the wake of the Bangladesh tragedy, more than a dozen European companies, including discount clothing company Primark and UK supermarket chain Tesco, have signed up to a new legally-binding deal aimed at improving factory conditions in Bangladesh.

But many key US companies, including Gap Inc and Walmart, are not on board.

Mexico profile

Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendour and urban blight rub shoulders.

On a more positive note, Mexico has recently been emerging from its deepest economic slump since the 1930s, with foreign companies pouring billions of dollars of fresh investment into the country. Foreign direct investment climbed nearly 30 per cent in the first six months of 2010 from a year earlier.

Violent crime though remains a major concern; Mexico has one of the highest rates of kidnappings in the world, and over 35,000 people have died in drug-related violence since December 2006.

Powerful cartels control the trafficking of drugs from South America to the US, a business that is worth an estimated $13bn (£9bn) a year.

Mexico's northern border towns are experiencing the worst of the violence. Ciudad Juarez (just across from El Paso in Texas) is the city suffering the most. There are also high levels of violence in Michoacan and Guerrero states.

However, Mexico is a large country, and there are still many areas which do not experience high levels of serious crime. The overall murder rate is lower than several other countries in the region, including El Salvador and Honduras.

Native rights

Another persistent issue has been the pressure for greater rights for Mexico's indigenous people. A law passed in 2001 fell short of giving Mexico's Indians political autonomy.

However, demands for indigenous rights have been largely peaceful since 1994, when at least 150 people died during an uprising in the southern state of Chiapas, led by the Zapatista rebel movement.

Writers such as Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, the mural-painter Diego Rivera, and popular ranchero and mariachi music mean that Mexican culture is known throughout the Spanish-speaking world and beyond.

Italy PM Letta seeks to smooth property tax standoff

ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta promised a wide reform of property taxes on Friday, addressing one of the main issues dividing his coalition government, but gave no details on where he would find the billions of euros to pay for it.

He confirmed pledges to suspend the widely hated IMU tax on principal residences brought in by his predecessor Mario Monti but held back from the demands of center right members of his fragile left-right coalition for it to be scrapped entirely.

Nonetheless the suspension of payments due next month was welcomed by center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi, who made abolishing the tax one of the centerpieces of his recent election campaign.

“Our first success is that already in June we won’t have to pay,” he said in a video message on his Facebook page.

Letta has had to balance pledges to keep Italy’s budget deficit below European Union limits of 3 percent of gross domestic product with the priorities of his diverse coalition, cobbled together two months after an inconclusive election.

“The choices we make will be within these horizons but they will be markedly pro-growth,” Letta told reporters after a cabinet meeting to approve the decree passing the measures.

A spokesman for the European Commission, which decides later this month whether to end the so-called excessive deficit procedure against Italy following cuts to its fiscal gap, welcomed the government’s pledge to stick to its budget targets.

Letta did not detail where the money would come from but Deputy Prime Minister Angelino Alfano, from Berlusconi’s center-right People of Freedom (PDL) party, said the suspension would be financed by cuts to spending.

Letta also set aside 1 billion euros to ensure continued unemployment benefits for workers placed in special temporary redundancy schemes, part of which would be paid for by funds aimed at increasing productivity in the economy.

National statistics agency ISTAT confirmed this week that Italy, the euro zone’s third-largest economy, was in its longest recession since quarterly records began in 1970 and Letta has made reviving growth and cutting soaring youth unemployment his top priorities.

Confidence in his government has dropped sharply, according to an opinion poll for the SWG institute for RAI state television, which showed its approval rating had fallen from 43 percent at the start of the month to just 34 percent currently.

PAYMENTS SUSPENDED

Payments on IMU due in June, affecting around 15 million homes, will be pushed back until September, pending a broader reform of the overall system of property taxes which Letta said would be completed by August 31.

The regionalist Northern League party, which does not support the government, dismissed the decree as “blowing smoke in the eyes of Italian citizens” and said its only purpose was to ensure the government lasted until September.

The measures, which cover certain agricultural buildings but exclude luxury residences, leave the government needing to find 2 billion euros immediately to help cash-strapped local authorities, which depend on the tax to fund municipal services.

The planned reform would not just cover housing tax but a wide spectrum of levies including those on local waste collection and property registration, transfers and sales.

Letta said he wanted to allow companies to deduct property tax payments from taxable corporate income as part of measures to help business.

The head of the Confindustria business lobby, Giorgio Squinzi, as well as economists from international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, have said the priority should be on cutting payroll charges rather than housing tax.

But IMU has become a banner issue for the PDL, which has repeatedly demanded its complete abolition for primary residences as well as the repayment of contributions paid in 2012, a move which would cost around 8 billion euros.

Letta’s own center-left Democratic Party wants a more limited cut, to ensure that lower income families drew the greatest benefit. It says the main priority should be finding ways to head off a planned increase in sales tax due to come into effect in July.

(Additional reporting by Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Gavin Jones and Philippa Fletcher)

Troca de chefia no Santander mostra rigor do BC espanhol

Portugal profile

Portugal, a country with a rich history of seafaring and discovery, looks out from the Iberian peninsula into the Atlantic Ocean.

For almost half of the 20th century Portugal was a dictatorship in which for decades Antonio de Oliveira Salazar was the key figure. The dictatorship's stubborn refusal to relinquish its grip on the former colonies as demands for independence gained momentum there resulted in expensive wars in Africa.

This period was brought to an end in 1974 in a bloodless coup, picturesquely known as the Revolution of the Carnations, which ushered in a new democracy.

By the end of 1975 all of Portugal's former colonies in Africa were independent of Lisbon.

Since becoming a member of the then European Community in 1986, Portugal's traditionally largely agricultural economy became increasingly diversified and orientated towards the service sector.

It experienced solid growth in the 1990s, but GDP per head remains well under the EU average. The 2008 financial crisis left Portugal with a ballooning budget deficit, and in 2011 it became the third EU country after Greece and Ireland to ask international lenders for emergency assistance.

A 78bn-euro EU/IMF bailout was awarded on condition that Portugal reduces its deficit to bring it closer to the official EU target of 3% of GDP, leaving the government with little choice but to pass a series of austerity budgets.