Interactions will be different afterward, one hopes.
[AlAhram] Egypt has paid off the final installment, worth $200 million, of a loan borrowed from The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... in 2012, said an Egyptian central bank official on Thursday.
Central bank deputy-governor Rami Aboul-Naga told Egyptian official news agency MENA the $1 billion loan was taken out under ex-president Mohammed Morsi in 2012.
Aboul-Naga stressed that Egypt had paid all the loan installments on time, saying the country's financial obligations have been fulfilled with no delays.
Two months ago, central bank governor Tarek Amer revealed that Egypt had paid $17 billion worth of foreign debts since floating its currency in November 2016. Amer also said Egypt would pay $8 billion more this year.
[AlAhram] Egyptian citizens abroad sent to Egypt a total of $16.3 billion in remittances between November 2016 ‐ when Egypt floated its currency ‐ and August 2017, registering a 17.35 percent increase compared to the same period the year before, according to official data revealed at the Industrial Investment Map in Cairo.
Teuta Grazhdani, the head of Egypt’s Labour Mobility and Human Development at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said that this period saw a $2.4 billion increase in remittances.
The flotation of the Egyptian pound has unified exchange rates and diminished the black market, where foreign currency rates were much higher than in banks. Since the devaluation, many Egyptians have opted to send remittances through legal avenues.
Grazhdani said during the event, which aimed at promoting foreign investment in Egypt’s industrial sector and was hosted by Egypt's Ministry of Industry, that the remittances have exceeded revenues from the Suez Canal, tourism, and direct investment. She said that Egypt should make use of its expats’ experience, knowledge, and abilities to promote the country as an investment destination.
Grazhdani stressed that Egyptian expats have to be part of the economic development process, and should be empowered with the tools to do so, and their remittances should be used as capital for different industrial development projects in Egypt.
Around 9.4 million Egyptians live abroad out of a total population of 104.2 million.
Egypt is in constant need of foreign currency to buy basic foodstuffs and fulfill its international obligations.
The country’s foreign reserves registered $36.535 billion at the end of September 2017, hitting pre-2011 levels after years of political turmoil and terrorism brought it down to critical levels.
The country's foreign reserves, which stood at $16.41 billion at the end of October 2015, have been climbing since Egypt signed an agreement for a three-year $12 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2017.
[PRESSTV] A plague epidemic in Madagascar has killed 127 people since August, while the number of pulmonary cases is starting to decline across the country, says the World Health Organization.
WHO said in an October 31 report that a total of 1,111 cases were clinically classified as pulmonary plague, the deadliest form of the disease, while 261 were bubonic plague.
Plague is endemic in Madagascar, but the outbreak that has caused 1,801 suspected cases since August is especially worrying because it started earlier in the season than usual and has hit urban rather than rural areas.
The outbreak has hit the island's two main cities Antananarivo and Toamasina the hardest, authorities said last week.
Doctors Without Borders has set up a plague triage and treatment center in Toamasina where they say patients infected with the disease will no longer be contagious after four days of treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2017 00:00 ||
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[PRESSTV] Russia's state-owned nuclear technology giant Rosatom is ready to construct as many as 16 modern nuclear reactors in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , if the oil-rich kingdom ever decides to hold a tender, Russia’s top energy official says.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak made the announcement on Thursday, after meeting Saudi King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Riyadh to discuss global oil prices.
"The nuclear industry is an important part of our cooperation," Russia’s RT TV network quoted Novak as saying at an intergovernmental commission meeting on Thursday. "Rosatom could take part in the creation of a nuclear cluster in Saudi Arabia, including the construction of 16 modern nuclear reactors."
Russia and Saudi Arabia have recently signed an agreement on energy and climate. They have also inked a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the energy sector.
According to Novak, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) were considering investing in more than 20 projects worth over $10 billion. The two sides had already spent more than $1 billion on nine joint projects.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Saudis with all the oil in the world - which soon will be unsaleable, really need nuclear power stations?
#2
I can easily understand how Russians could construct the reactors. The question is: who's gonna manage and maintain them?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
11/03/2017 11:19 Comments ||
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#3
who's gonna manage and maintain them?
Highly trained Philippino and Palestinian technicians, Abu Uluque, with some Saudi managers looking in on them between coffee breaks -- just like all the other factories. Until the money runs out, anyway. After that, it would get interesting.
But given that, according to the article, Saudi Arabia is prioritizing spending elsewhere, I'm not sure why Russia made this announcement.
[DAWN] Venezuelans living with hyper-inflation and a scarcity of cash for buying daily goods will soon have the country's largest paper bill circulating in recent history.
The country's president announced on Wednesday that the new 100,000-bolivar note will hit the streets this week. It will be worth less than $2.50 in US currency in black market dealings.
In a nationally broadcast appearance, President Nicolas Maduro held up the new paper bill, while also unveiling a 30 per cent boost to the minimum wage.
The new denomination is stop-gap measure in an economic plan by Maduro's government aimed at doing away with the need for paper money.
"The use of the physical currency is being replaced," the socialist leader said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2017 00:00 ||
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#2
"The use of the physical currency is being replaced," the socialist leader said.
... while we destroy the last remaining remnants of our economy.
Prediction: in the future, Venezuelans will refer to their currency using exponential notation. Ex: "Hey, buddy! Lend me a 8 until payday" or "Sorry, smallest I've got is a 13".
#4
Cashless is a great way to control a society. 100% record of every transaction, easily taxed, 100% control of money. Someone you don't like, cut them off. They starve. Easy.
Tell the folks in Florida or Texas who went without power for weeks. Pre-cash societies operated by barter. I suspect post-cashless societies will operate the same.
[PRESSTV] North Korea says the US has flown heavy strategic bombers over the Korean Peninsula and carried out bombing drills simulating attacks on major targets in the country.
The B-1B bombers, escorted by US and South Korean fighter jets, flew on Thursday from a US Air Force base in Guam to conduct a "surprise" strike drill, North’s official KCNA news agency said on Friday.
"The frenzied US scheme of threats and blackmail, which aims to crush our republic with nuclear [weapons], continues in November as it did in October," the KCNA said.
The US Air Force later said that two Guam-based US B-1B bombers, accompanied by fighter jets from South Korea and Japan, carried out an exercise in the vicinity of the Korean peninsula on Thursday.
"The bilateral continuous bomber presence (CBP) mission was planned in advance ... and was not in response to any current event," the Air Force said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2017 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] A Spanish judge has ordered that eight dismissed Catalan ministers be incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! while they are investigated on potential charges of sedition, rebellion and embezzlement.
The order was issued on Thursday after state prosecutors, who are investigating the leaders over their involvement in the breakaway region's declaration of independence, requested the ministers be held.
Mireia Boya Busquets, a Catalan MP from the far-left Popular Unity Candidacy party, tweeted "the legitimate government is in prison. This is a fascist ...anybody not a leftist... state. If we normalise it we erase ourselves as a people".
Among those incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! without bail are sacked Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, the former spokesperson for the Catalan government, former Minister of the Workforce Dolors Bassa and others.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/03/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Be Still La Sagrada Familia
Books read. Noble dead.
Faded screams at Montjuic.
No surprise endings.
#4
This will be interesting. Note to Brussels, what ever you come up with will be looked at closely by Moscow in relation to the Baltic States or the Ukraine. How long were the Baltic States part of Russia? Internal problem of Spain, then it will be an 'internal' problem for Russia. I'm sure you can mealymouth like any good American federal judge that 'affirmative action' isn't discrimination based on race.
What threatens Turkey that requires such a defense?
[Ynet] Russia has sold its advanced S-400 air defence missile system to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... for over $2 billion, Sergei Chemezov, the head of state conglomerate Rostec, said on Thursday, the TASS news agency reported.
The deal with Turkey, a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member, has caused some disquiet in the United States.
Turkey originally awarded a $3.4 billion contract for a defence system to China in 2013, but cancelled that two years later, saying it would concentrate on developing a system domestically.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/03/2017 06:30 ||
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[Telegraph] Burying a pair of underpants in a field may not seem the obvious starting point for the perfect roast, but farmers are being urged to dig deep for tastier meat.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) claim interring a pair of cotton smalls in a pasture can reveal vital information about soil fertility.
According to the experts, sterile and lifeless soil will keep underwear intact, but organically thriving soil will eat away at the briefs, leaving nothing but the elastic waistband.
Dig up the pants after just two months, and it is possible to judge how healthy the land is.
Soil conditions on beef and sheep farms directly influence how well grass and forage crops grow and, consequently, the quality of the feed they produce. And better feed produces healthier, tastier animals.
Scottish farmer Iain Green, of Corskie Farm, near Elgin, in Moray, has been burying his pants in various fields since September.
"The theory behind the test is that the cotton will be devoured by the microbes and bacteria in the soil, so the more you have the better," he said.
"We buried them in different fields, some which we think have healthier soil and others which aren't as good."
Earlier this week fellow farmers and officials gathered at Mr Green’s farm to dig up his underpants and analyse the findings. Some had entirely disintegrated while others looked like they had been recently buried.
Mr Green added: "I think quite a few of them were quite surprised and are away to try it for themselves.
"The results were very interesting. We have quite a wet field here and obviously that has been starved of oxygen and the underpants were hardly touched.
"However, with our arable fields, which are cultivated heavily, they were eaten away, but we do cover them with a lot of muck. It was a success and a simple and cheap way of testing soil.
"The cotton is the important thing, rather than the underpants."
The ’Soil my Undies’ challenge was first launched by the California Farmers’ Guild in July and is slowly being adopted by agricultural organisations across the world.
Healthy soil should be teeming with millions of tiny lifeforms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms, which all work to turn rotting material into nutrients to help plants thrive.
Evan Wiig, Executive Director of the California Farmers’ Guild, said: "Cotton is an organic material and breaks down naturally just like anything else you’d put in your compost pile. So if you bury cotton in soil teeming with life, all those creatures will begin to feast.
"If you have dead soil, if it is totally lifeless you should be able to pull the pants out of the ground, throw it in the washing machine and put them on like nothing ever happened. If you have incredibly healthy soil, you should have nothing left but an elastic strap."
A spokesman for the QMS said they would like farmers across Britain to adopt the test as way of checking the productivity of their soil. Any insights Skid?
#6
Interesting, but no choice for 'former smoker'. Also, try changing your subjective choices - are you in 'good' health, or only 'fair'? Same with eating habits.
My health feels a lot gooder after some coffee.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/03/2017 10:01 Comments ||
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#7
Looks like I'm going to outlive my 401K. Not sure if that's a good thing or not.
[ZeroHedge] ESPN’s decision to suspend host Jemele Hill last month after her second violation of the company’s social media policy (she tweeted that people should boycott advertisers of the Dallas Cowboys after its owner sided with President Trump) did little to stanch the steady bleed of paying customers that is threatening the erstwhile "World Leader in Sports."
As Breitbart reported, the troubled cable sports channel lost 480,000 paying subscribers last month - or about 15,000 a day. The loss coincided with Trump’s battle with professional sports over whether leagues should punish players for kneeling during the national anthem - a battle that Trump appears to be winning. Appears?
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy released Nov. 1, a report detailing the events and actions that led to the collision of USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and ACX Crystal off the coast of Japan June 17, and the collision of USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) and merchant vessel Alnic MC Aug. 21.
"Both of these accidents were preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watch standers that contributed to the incidents," said Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson. "We must do better."
USS FITZGERALD
The collision between Fitzgerald and Crystal was avoidable and resulted from an accumulation of smaller errors over time, ultimately resulting in a lack of adherence to sound navigational practices. Specifically, Fitzgerald's watch teams disregarded established norms of basic contact management and, more importantly, leadership failed to adhere to well-established protocols put in place to prevent collisions. In addition, the ship's triad was absent during an evolution where their experience, guidance and example would have greatly benefited the ship.
USS JOHN S. MCCAIN
The collision between John S. McCain and Alnic MC was also avoidable and resulted primarily from complacency, over-confidence and lack of procedural compliance. A major contributing factor to the collision was sub-standard level of knowledge regarding the operation of the ship control console. In particular, McCain's commanding officer disregarded recommendations from his executive officer, navigator and senior watch officer to set sea and anchor watch teams in a timely fashion to ensure the safe and effective operation of the ship. With regard to procedures, no one on the Bridge watch team, to include the commanding officer and executive officer, were properly trained on how to correctly operate the ship control console during a steering casualty.
Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 ||
11/03/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
With regard to procedures, no one on the Bridge watch team, to include the commanding officer and executive officer, were properly trained on how to correctly operate the ship control console during a steering casualty.
This is a joke, right. Freaking NO ONE. Got to be somebody hacked the report. The USN puts to sea with a senior command team who has not been trained to steer the freaking boat? Unpossible.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
11/03/2017 11:11 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[PRESSTV] A plague epidemic in Madagascar has killed 127 people since August, while the number of pulmonary cases is starting to decline across the country, says the World Health Organization.
[DAWN] Venezuelans living with hyper-inflation and a scarcity of cash for buying daily goods will soon have the country's largest paper bill circulating in recent history.
North Korea
...anybody not a leftist...
