Thursday, 3 April 2014
Chile hit by powerful quake aftershock, no major damage
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Chile late on Wednesday but there were no reports of damage and a precautionary tsunami alert along the coast and in neighboring Peru was called off.
It was the strongest of several aftershocks that followed a huge 8.2-magnitude quake blamed for six deaths in the same region on Tuesday.
Chile's emergency office Onemi said there were no initial reports of casualties or serious damage from the latest quake.
President Michelle Bachelet, who had gone to the area to inspect the damage from the earlier quake, was evacuated from her hotel in the city of Arica.
"I was evacuated like all the citizens and we have come here (to Arica's emergency office) to see if there is any way we can help," she said late on Wednesday night.
The area is home to many of the biggest mines in Chile, the world's top copper producer.
A spokeswoman for Glencore Xstrata's and Anglo American's Collahausi mine said the "process of normalization" it was following after Tuesday's quake was continuing without problems.
Other mines could not immediately be reached for comment, but they were generally unaffected by Tuesday's stronger quake.
Chile's arid, mineral-rich north is sparsely populated, with most of the population concentrated in the port towns of Iquique and Arica, near the Peruvian border.
The new quake was located 12 miles south of Iquique at a relatively shallow depth of 12.4 miles, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said that while there was no widespread tsunami threat, the latest tremor could generate a local tsunami.
The ports of Iquique, Arica, Patache, and Tocopilla remained closed early on Thursday. Some of them ship metals, suggesting exports and trade flows may be disrupted.
The bigger earthquake on Tuesday triggered a tsunami with 2-meter (7-foot) waves and officials said it caused six deaths.
More than 2,600 homes were damaged and fishing boats along the northern coast were smashed up. However, most infrastructure held up.
Chile is one of the most earthquake-prone areas of the world. In 1960, southern Chile was hit by a 9.5 quake, the largest in modern history.
Bachelet, who was sworn in as president less than a month ago, is conscious of the stinging criticism she faced near the end of her first term in office in 2010, when her government was seen to have responded inadequately to a massive 8.8-magnitude quake and tsunami that killed 526 people.
Residents in the area of the latest quakes have been expecting "the big one" for many years. The Nazca and South American tectonic plates rub up against each other just off the coast of Iquique, where a "seismic gap" has been building up.
An unusually large number of tremors in the area in recent weeks had led authorities to reinforce emergency procedures, while residents bought rations and prepared for an eventual evacuation.
However, the mega-quake they had been fearing may still be yet to happen, said Paul Earle, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center.
"(Tuesday's) earthquake was not large enough to release the stress on the whole area where they believe the seismic gap is," he said earlier on Wednesday. "It's going to take some time to evaluate the effect of this earthquake on that region. But people should stay prepared."
Bayern Munich winger Robben takes aim at Man Utd tactics
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben has taken aim at Manchester United's tactics on Tuesday night.
Bayern expected United to play defensively on Tuesday but Robben said he was surprised at just how cautious they were, comparing it to a game of handball.
"Before the game I said that I didn’t like everybody saying how we’d win easily," said Robben after the 1-1 draw in the first-leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. "It’s not easy when opponents don’t leave any gaps.
"We wanted to play football but they tried to stop us. The English played very defensively — it was almost like in handball. We just have to finish it next week."
Bayern expected United to play defensively on Tuesday but Robben said he was surprised at just how cautious they were, comparing it to a game of handball.
"Before the game I said that I didn’t like everybody saying how we’d win easily," said Robben after the 1-1 draw in the first-leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. "It’s not easy when opponents don’t leave any gaps.
"We wanted to play football but they tried to stop us. The English played very defensively — it was almost like in handball. We just have to finish it next week."
Ibrahimovic out of Chelsea return-leg
Ibrahimovic will be out for two to three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in the first leg of Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 Champions League win over Chelsea.
The Swedish striker reared up after an innocuous-looking challenge with David Luiz in the 68th minute and lay on the turf in clear discomfort before receiving attention from medical staff.
He will miss the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Why Drake Dissed Jay Z
Despite the culture’s ubiquity, there are few rappers who can fill and command stadium crowds in dozens of cities; Drake is one of an exalted few, finding himself on increasingly equal footing with former mentors like Jay Z, Kanye West, and label boss Lil Wayne, despite the generation gap and his relative newcomer status. Worst Behavior Drake knows just how successful his plan was and how unassailable he has become, and he’s unapologetic about it: “I’m the big homie/They still be trying to lil’ bro me, dog.”
The panderer of yore, a grating character eager to get into everyone’s good graces with his stereotypically Canadian charm, has been replaced by a self-assured mogul type. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, which came with a pair of controversies, Drake made an accurate but disparaging observation about Jay Z, for whom he’s consistently professed admiration and respect: “It’s like Hov can’t drop bars these days without at least four art references. I would love to collect at some point, but I think the whole Rap/art world thing is getting kind of corny,” he said in the interview.
Jay Z, ostensibly offended by the comment, addressed Drake on a recent verse: “Sorry Mrs. Drizzy for so much art/Silly me, rappin’ ’bout shit that I really bought/While these rappers rap about guns that they ain’t shot/And a bunch of other silly shit that they ain’t got.” It was a weak diss, and back-and-forth barbs have been central to the ethos and pendulum swing of hip-hop since forever, but nowadays they're received differently. Drake, playing it smart, hasn’t responded; in similar beefs with rappers Common and Kendrick Lamar, he took to subliminally dissing each on record but leaving it at that. “I don’t want confrontation because it’s stressful, man…I try and avoid shit like that for the sake of my career,” he told Rolling Stone.
Drake seems to relish being calm and calculated over being rash and reactionary, using it as yet more power with which to sculpt his dream career trajectory. The one-sided Jay Z melee was quickly forgotten, as tabloids printed news of a rekindled relationship between Drake and Rihanna. The two were spotted hanging out in Europe, as she accompanied him on the final leg of his tour. Neither camp has confirmed the romance, but a dalliance with Rihanna, who is among the reigning and most influential pop stars of the time, certainly wouldn’t hurt his status. There’s also the possibility of a return to acting, a proposition made almost certain by an impressive recent appearance as the host and musical guest of Saturday Night Live.
Either way, he’s poised to eclipse the rap sphere and Worst Behavior Drake is fully aware of that prophesied fact: “I'm tired of hearin' 'bout who you checkin' for now/Just give it time, we'll see who's still around a decade from now.
The panderer of yore, a grating character eager to get into everyone’s good graces with his stereotypically Canadian charm, has been replaced by a self-assured mogul type. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, which came with a pair of controversies, Drake made an accurate but disparaging observation about Jay Z, for whom he’s consistently professed admiration and respect: “It’s like Hov can’t drop bars these days without at least four art references. I would love to collect at some point, but I think the whole Rap/art world thing is getting kind of corny,” he said in the interview.
Jay Z, ostensibly offended by the comment, addressed Drake on a recent verse: “Sorry Mrs. Drizzy for so much art/Silly me, rappin’ ’bout shit that I really bought/While these rappers rap about guns that they ain’t shot/And a bunch of other silly shit that they ain’t got.” It was a weak diss, and back-and-forth barbs have been central to the ethos and pendulum swing of hip-hop since forever, but nowadays they're received differently. Drake, playing it smart, hasn’t responded; in similar beefs with rappers Common and Kendrick Lamar, he took to subliminally dissing each on record but leaving it at that. “I don’t want confrontation because it’s stressful, man…I try and avoid shit like that for the sake of my career,” he told Rolling Stone.
Drake seems to relish being calm and calculated over being rash and reactionary, using it as yet more power with which to sculpt his dream career trajectory. The one-sided Jay Z melee was quickly forgotten, as tabloids printed news of a rekindled relationship between Drake and Rihanna. The two were spotted hanging out in Europe, as she accompanied him on the final leg of his tour. Neither camp has confirmed the romance, but a dalliance with Rihanna, who is among the reigning and most influential pop stars of the time, certainly wouldn’t hurt his status. There’s also the possibility of a return to acting, a proposition made almost certain by an impressive recent appearance as the host and musical guest of Saturday Night Live.
Either way, he’s poised to eclipse the rap sphere and Worst Behavior Drake is fully aware of that prophesied fact: “I'm tired of hearin' 'bout who you checkin' for now/Just give it time, we'll see who's still around a decade from now.
Switzerland snubs U.S. effort to sanction Russian billionaires
ZURICH (Reuters) - Russian officials sanctioned by the European Union will be barred from new business interests in Switzerland but billionaires included on the U.S. sanctions list face no restrictions, the Swiss government said on Wednesday.
Switzerland decided last week against imposing its own sanctions in response to the Ukraine crisis, but promised not to become a place to circumvent sanctions imposed elsewhere.
In a statement on Wednesday, it fleshed out its plans to make sure people on the EU list - 33 politicians and security officials - could not use Switzerland to bypass the EU rules, but did not mention those sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
A spokeswoman for the Swiss State Secretariat for Economics (SECO) later confirmed to Reuters that only the individuals on the EU sanctions list were affected by the Swiss measures.
The United States and the EU have both imposed personal sanctions against Russian and Crimean officials involved in last month's seizure of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.
Washington has also targeted a bank and several Russian billionaires, including Gennady Timchenko, whose sale of his shareholding in Geneva-based oil trader Gunvor narrowly averted collateral damage to the Swiss commodity trading sector.
Switzerland, a global commodity trading and private banking hub, is a popular destination for Russia's wealthy elite and reluctant to take steps it fears could compromise its cherished neutrality or damage closely-nurtured trade ties with Moscow.
Switzerland has already been under pressure for years over its secrecy laws, which helped make it the world's biggest offshore financial centre but drew the ire of countries seeking to fight tax evasion - especially the United States, but also Germany and France.
In its statement the government said financial intermediaries in Switzerland would be prohibited from entering into new business relationships with the 33 Russians and Crimeans on the EU's sanctions list.
This means those named on the list will not be allowed to transfer assets to Switzerland that they hold outside of the EU, it said. Assets within the EU are already blocked by the EU sanctions.
Existing business relationships will not be subject to the ban but must be reported to SECO, including details of beneficiaries, purpose and value, so that the government can gain an overview of the what relationships and assets the persons concerned have in Switzerland.
The measures will come into force at 1600 GMT on Wednesday. Depending on how the situation develops, the government left open the possibility of taking further action.
Russian assets in Swiss banks stood at nearly 13.8 billion Swiss francs ($15.6 billion) in 2012, with another 2.5 billion held by fiduciaries according to the most recent data from the Swiss National Bank. This does not include private banking funds or other assets such as precious metals and real estate.
Switzerland decided last week against imposing its own sanctions in response to the Ukraine crisis, but promised not to become a place to circumvent sanctions imposed elsewhere.
In a statement on Wednesday, it fleshed out its plans to make sure people on the EU list - 33 politicians and security officials - could not use Switzerland to bypass the EU rules, but did not mention those sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
A spokeswoman for the Swiss State Secretariat for Economics (SECO) later confirmed to Reuters that only the individuals on the EU sanctions list were affected by the Swiss measures.
The United States and the EU have both imposed personal sanctions against Russian and Crimean officials involved in last month's seizure of the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.
Washington has also targeted a bank and several Russian billionaires, including Gennady Timchenko, whose sale of his shareholding in Geneva-based oil trader Gunvor narrowly averted collateral damage to the Swiss commodity trading sector.
Switzerland, a global commodity trading and private banking hub, is a popular destination for Russia's wealthy elite and reluctant to take steps it fears could compromise its cherished neutrality or damage closely-nurtured trade ties with Moscow.
Switzerland has already been under pressure for years over its secrecy laws, which helped make it the world's biggest offshore financial centre but drew the ire of countries seeking to fight tax evasion - especially the United States, but also Germany and France.
In its statement the government said financial intermediaries in Switzerland would be prohibited from entering into new business relationships with the 33 Russians and Crimeans on the EU's sanctions list.
This means those named on the list will not be allowed to transfer assets to Switzerland that they hold outside of the EU, it said. Assets within the EU are already blocked by the EU sanctions.
Existing business relationships will not be subject to the ban but must be reported to SECO, including details of beneficiaries, purpose and value, so that the government can gain an overview of the what relationships and assets the persons concerned have in Switzerland.
The measures will come into force at 1600 GMT on Wednesday. Depending on how the situation develops, the government left open the possibility of taking further action.
Russian assets in Swiss banks stood at nearly 13.8 billion Swiss francs ($15.6 billion) in 2012, with another 2.5 billion held by fiduciaries according to the most recent data from the Swiss National Bank. This does not include private banking funds or other assets such as precious metals and real estate.
Nigeria: Tokunbo Import - Manufacturers Embark On Importation of New Cars
FOLLOWING the extension of implementation of government policy on importation of used vehicles into the country, car assembly plants have commenced massive importation of brand new cars in readiness for July, 2014 when it will come into effect.
A freight forwarder who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, explained that most of the assembly plants are working ahead of government to justifying their claim that they have what it takes to meet the need of Nigerians as regards new cars.
The freight forwarder who claimed to be the agent to one of such firms, name withheld, said that his client import of new vehicles has shot up twice what it used to be about six months ago.
The Federal Government had last year jacked up duty on used vehicles imported into the country from 35 percent to 70 percent. At the commencement of the implementation of the policy in February, agents and importers of used vehicles had protested, which resulted in the extension of the commencement date to July.
Recall that Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motors, Carlos Ghosn, recently said that the first set of Made-in-Nigeria 4×4 SUVs will be rolled out by Nissan Motors in April this year.
Ghosn, who said the vehicles would be rolled out of the old Volkswagen Assembly plant in Lagos, noted it was possible to produce two to three million cars in Nigeria annually.
According to him, this will lead to creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the country.
The same claim was made by other vehicle manufacturing companies, which said they have the capacity to produce made-in-Nigeria cars.
Reacting to the above, former Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, and member of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Tony Iju Nwabunike, said that freight forwarders would head for the law court and the National Assembly to challenge the planned commencement of 70 percent increase on duties of imported vehicles.Nwabunike described the new policy as anti-people.
He explained that claims by government that the new law is intended to encourage local manufacturing of vehicles do not hold water as there is no real vehicle manufacturing company in the country presently. He pointed out that what is available in the country presently are vehicle assembling plants and in some cases, importers who pretend to be manufacturers.
According to him, "I challenge anybody that will come here to tell me that he is a manufacturer of automobile in Nigeria. All we have here in Nigeria are assembling plants. Assembling Semi-Knock Down, SKDs, products or Completely Knock Down, CKDs, of products is not total manufacturing of vehicles and cars. So I wonder why federal government will think of putting that 70 percent back. I agree with those who are actually agitating not to pay it and I stand by them by all means to see that it is not done.
Director General, National Automotive Council, NAC, Aminu Jalal, said, "Nigeria spent N550billion on importation of cars, buses and trucks, which does not include tractors and military vehicles. We also spent about N500 billion on spare parts and N150billion on tyres."
A freight forwarder who spoke to Vanguard on the condition of anonymity, explained that most of the assembly plants are working ahead of government to justifying their claim that they have what it takes to meet the need of Nigerians as regards new cars.
The freight forwarder who claimed to be the agent to one of such firms, name withheld, said that his client import of new vehicles has shot up twice what it used to be about six months ago.
The Federal Government had last year jacked up duty on used vehicles imported into the country from 35 percent to 70 percent. At the commencement of the implementation of the policy in February, agents and importers of used vehicles had protested, which resulted in the extension of the commencement date to July.
Recall that Chief Executive Officer of Nissan Motors, Carlos Ghosn, recently said that the first set of Made-in-Nigeria 4×4 SUVs will be rolled out by Nissan Motors in April this year.
Ghosn, who said the vehicles would be rolled out of the old Volkswagen Assembly plant in Lagos, noted it was possible to produce two to three million cars in Nigeria annually.
According to him, this will lead to creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the country.
The same claim was made by other vehicle manufacturing companies, which said they have the capacity to produce made-in-Nigeria cars.
Reacting to the above, former Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, and member of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Tony Iju Nwabunike, said that freight forwarders would head for the law court and the National Assembly to challenge the planned commencement of 70 percent increase on duties of imported vehicles.Nwabunike described the new policy as anti-people.
He explained that claims by government that the new law is intended to encourage local manufacturing of vehicles do not hold water as there is no real vehicle manufacturing company in the country presently. He pointed out that what is available in the country presently are vehicle assembling plants and in some cases, importers who pretend to be manufacturers.
According to him, "I challenge anybody that will come here to tell me that he is a manufacturer of automobile in Nigeria. All we have here in Nigeria are assembling plants. Assembling Semi-Knock Down, SKDs, products or Completely Knock Down, CKDs, of products is not total manufacturing of vehicles and cars. So I wonder why federal government will think of putting that 70 percent back. I agree with those who are actually agitating not to pay it and I stand by them by all means to see that it is not done.
Director General, National Automotive Council, NAC, Aminu Jalal, said, "Nigeria spent N550billion on importation of cars, buses and trucks, which does not include tractors and military vehicles. We also spent about N500 billion on spare parts and N150billion on tyres."
Two Nigerians Win $50,000 in Google’s Competition
The winners will have the opportunity to work with a Google sponsor over a six-month period to further their online success.
After graduating from university, Odiete learned how to create handbags using Google Search and YouTube. With the help of contacts found via Search, over 100 blogs have featured her vibrant designs.
She dreams of building an international brand that promotes African designs. Odiete also runs training classes for other women who want to start businesses.
On the other hand, Obuh, used to be a dump site scavenger, in order to pay for studio time to record his music. After being discovered by the BBC in ‘Welcome to Lagos’, he became known around the world. Since then, he has recorded songs which he shares with new audiences on YouTube. He also uses Google+ and YouTube to raise awareness about underprivileged youngsters in the slums of Lagos, helping to raise scholarship money, and encouraging kids to stay in school.
In an effort to invest in the future success of all the finalists, Google also surprised the remaining five success stories by awarding them $10,000 each to help grow their ventures and initiatives for greater social and economic impact. Recipients included; Tim McGuire (South Africa), Nqobizitha Mlilo (Zimbabwe), Mayowa Adegbile (Nigeria), Lamine Mbengue (Senegal) and Steve Kyenze (Kenya).
Africa Connected is an initiative of Google, aimed at discovering and promoting amazing successes achieved on the web across Africa. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to educate and inspire many more people to get connected on the web to achieve their own success.
The competition was launched in August 2013, calling entrepreneurs, creatives, innovators and web-lovers to share stories of how the web has transformed their lives and work. Ten finalists were selected from over 2,200 entries from 35 countries, by a panel of judges as well as public voters.
Google Lead for the Africa Connected initiative, Affiong Osuchukwu, said: “There are over 1 billion people living in Sub-Saharan Africa and currently 16 per cent of them are online. With Africa Connected, we wanted to celebrate how the web is changing lives in Africa, and show how it is contributing to the socio-economic development of the continent. Selecting the shortlist was no easy task: each winner shares a unique perspective of how they have used the internet to solve a problem, earn a living, or create opportunities, not just for themselves, but also for others around them.”
“Even though there are only five winners of the contest, there are many more powerful and inspiring stories out there. To start, there are 21 other inspiring success stories already hosted on the Africa Connected website; www.africaconnected.com. We encourage you to watch and learn from them,” she added
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