US News ‘WORLD stock ragu-ragu kerana data disimpan sentimen diperiksa'
By Mardiana‘hamden |
Friday, July 20, 2012
BANGKOK (AP) - Pasaran saham DUNIA (WORLD stock markets) goyah Jumaat sebagai data Amerika Syarikat yang lemah disimpan sentimen cek walaupun harapan berterusan untuk langkah-langkah rangsangan baru dalam ekonomi utama.
Pelabur telah menjangka langkah selanjutnya oleh China untuk memangkin pertumbuhan ekonomi yang perlahan dan juga telah terus percaya Rizab Persekutuan Amerika Syarikat akan mengumumkan langkah-langkah tambahan pro-pertumbuhan walaupun Fed pengerusi Ben Bernanke memberi sebarang petunjuk itu dalam keterangannya selama 2 hari kepada penggubal undang-undang minggu ini.
Mood optimis di pasaran beberapa hari lepas yang dikaitkan dengan harapan rangsangan telah diganggu oleh kelompok data ekonomi Amerika Syarikat yang lemah. Mingguan tuntutan pengangguran meningkat 34.000 tinggi 3 minggu 386.000 dan penunjuk pembuatan serantau adalah lebih lemah daripada yang dijangkakan. Jualan rumah dan penunjuk utama ekonomi juga lembut.
"Pandangan . . . dibelenggu ketidaktentuan ekonomi Cina dan Amerika Syarikat, sebagai tambahan kepada risiko lanjutan daripada letupan di Eropah," penganalisis di DBS Bank di Singapura berkata dalam satu laporan. "Pertumbuhan di China telah terutamanya penting dalam memacu pertumbuhan di Asia, dan walaupun pertumbuhan global."
Oleh kerana dagangan dapat dijalankan di Eropah, Britain FTSE 100 turun 0.4 % peratus pada 5,693.68 manakala Jerman DAX menokok 0.1 % peratus kepada 6,763.66. Perancis CAC 40 susut 0.2 % peratus kepada 3,256.01. Wall Street telah bersedia untuk kehilangan tanah. Niaga hadapan Dow turun 0.1 % peratus dan S & P 500 niaga hadapan kehilangan 0.2 peratus.
Di Asia, Jepun Nikkei 225 jatuh 1.4 % peratus kepada 8,669.87 manakala Hang Seng Hong Kong menambah 0.4 % peratus kepada 19,640.80. Australia S & P/ASX 200 susut 0.1 % peratus kepada 4,199.10 dan China, Shanghai Komposit merosot 0.7 % peratus kepada 2,168.64.
Pasaran di Singapura, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia dan New Zealand juga jatuh. Di Amerika Syarikat (US) pada hari Khamis, Purata perindustrian Dow Jones meningkat 0.3 % peratus kepada 12,943.36 dan yang lebih luas S & P 500 indeks menokok 0.3 % peratus kepada 1,376.51 sebagai pendapatan korporat yang kukuh disokong pelabur.
Minyak penanda aras turun 57 sen pada $ 92,09 setong dalam dagangan elektronik di New York Mercantile Exchange. Kontrak melonjak $ 2,79, kira-kira 3 % peratus kepada $ 92,66 di New York pada hari Khamis, paras tertinggi sejak pertengahan Mei.
Dalam mata wang, euro adalah turun 0.1 % peratus kepada $ 1,2270. Dolar jatuh 0.3 % peratus kepada 78,59 ¥.
'Aware Yourself 2012' Signs Of the End Of the WORLD . . .
US News ‘ WORLD stocks waver as data keeps sentiment checked’
BANGKOK (AP) - WORLD stock markets wavered Friday as weak U.S. data kept sentiment in check despite continued hopes for new stimulus measures in major economies.
Investors have been anticipating further moves by China to prop up slowing economic growth and also have continued to believe the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce additional pro-growth measures despite Fed chairman Ben Bernanke giving no indication of that in his two-day testimony to lawmakers this week.
The mood of optimism in markets the past few days linked to stimulus hopes was tempered by a batch of weak economic U.S. data. Weekly jobless claims rose 34,000 to a three-week high of 386,000 and an indicator of regional manufacturing was much weaker than anticipated. Homes sales and leading economic indicators were also soft.
"The outlook . . . is clouded by uncertainty surrounding the Chinese and US economies, in addition to lingering risk of a blowout in Europe," analysts at DBS Bank in Singapore said in a report. "Growth in China has been especially critical in driving growth in Asia, and even global growth."
As trading got underway in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent at 5,693.68 while Germany's DAX added 0.1 percent to 6,763.66. France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent to 3,256.01. Wall Street was poised to lose ground. Dow futures were down 0.1 percent and S&P 500 futures lost 0.2 percent.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.4 percent to 8,669.87 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 percent to 19,640.80. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1 percent to 4,199.10 and China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.7 percent to 2,168.64.
Markets in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and New Zealand also fell. In the U.S. on Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent to 12,943.36 and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.3 percent to 1,376.51 as strong corporate earnings buoyed investors.
Benchmark oil was down 57 cents at $92.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $2.79, about 3 percent, to $92.66 in New York on Thursday, its highest level since mid-May.
In currencies, the euro was down 0.1 percent to $1.2270. The dollar fell 0.3 percent to 78.59 yen.
MARKETS News ‘Protes besar-besaran di Sepanyol terhadap pemotongan penjimatan’
MADRID (AP) - Berpuluh-puluh ribu Sepanyol marah membantah di 80 bandar di seluruh Sepanyol pada hari Khamis terhadap pakej penjimatan terbaru kerajaan, menyalahkan pegawai-pegawai untuk "merosakkan" negara.
Penunjuk perasaan membanjiri utama Madrid persegi Puerta del Sol dan jalan-jalan di hadapan Parlimen lewat malam. Penyebaran perusahaan yang besar polis rusuhan dikendalikan tambak di hadapan badan perundangan, kerana bimbang peningkatan ketegangan boleh membawa kepada keganasan.
Large crowds juga berkumpul di Barcelona dan Bilbao, manakala akhbar utama Sepanyol, El Pais dianggarkan di laman webnya bahawa lebih daripada 100,000 orang telah menghadiri perhimpunan di ibu negara. Perbarisan di Madrid membawa bendera Sepanyol yang mempunyai busur hitam untuk berkabung dan banner berkata, "Tidak kepada potongan" dan "Anda telah memusnahkan kami."
Negara berada dalam kemelesetan ke-2 dalam tempoh 3 tahun dan kadar pinjaman kerajaan dalam keadaan yang tinggi tidak boleh bertahan kerana pelabur bimbang kerajaan boleh menghadapi kos baru dalam menyelamatkan bank. Jika kadar pinjaman kerajaan tidak jatuh kembali ke bawah, lama kelamaan ia mungkin perlu bailout berdaulat seperti yang diambil oleh Greece, Ireland dan Portugal.
Isabel Urbelz, penjawat awam berusia 54 tahun, berkata dia marah dengan kerajaan kerana ia telah memotong bonus Krismas. "Saya marah, saya marah. Mengapa tidak boleh kah dipotong di tempat lain?" kata beliau. Kebimbangan terhadap percubaan Sepanyol untuk memulihkan keyakinan pasaran dalam ekonomi yang muncul semula selepas lelongan bon pergi buruk dan kos pinjaman meningkat lebih tinggi - walaupun sebagai parlimen negara lulus pusingan terbaru penjimatan keras langkah-langkah yang direka untuk mengurangkan defisit kembung.
Parti pemerintah konservatif Popular digunakan majoriti di Parlimen untuk menolak melalui langkah-langkah, termasuk kenaikan cukai jualan dan potongan gaji untuk kakitangan awam. Kerajaan juga menerbitkan butir-butir € 100 billion (US $ 122.9 billion) perjanjian bantuan kewangan antara Sepanyol dan Eurogroup yang bertujuan untuk menyokong bank bergelut di negara ini.
Kenyataan Ekonomi Kementerian berkata jumlah bailout tepat "akan dikenali sekali bank kepada bank imbasan selesai," dan bahawa mekanisme pinjaman boleh didapati sehingga 31, Disember 2013. Ia juga berkata kadar faedah akan berubah-ubah.
Undi di parlimen diikuti lelongan bon Sepanyol jangka sederhana, di mana kerajaan terpaksa membayar kadar faedah yang jauh lebih tinggi untuk memunggah € 2.96 billion (US $ 3.62 billion) dalam bon yang matang pada 2014, 2017 dan 2019. Rangkaian sasarannya adalah € 2 bilion kepada € 3 bilion. Permintaan adalah kira-kira 2 kali jumlah yang ditawarkan bagi setiap isu. Tetapi itu turun dari lelongan awal.
Dan kadar faedah ke atas hutang 5 tahun meningkat dengan ketara dengan 6.46 % peratus, dari 5,54 % peratus di lelongan itu pada 5 Julai yang lalu. Perbendaharaan dengan syarat tidak kadar yang setanding bagi tempoh matang lain. Dalam pasaran bon sekunder, di mana hutang yang dikeluarkan ini didagangkan secara terbuka, kadar faedah, atau hasil, bon penanda aras 10-tahun Sepanyol - ukuran kebimbangan pelabur tentang keselamatan hutang sesebuah negara - adalah pada 6,95 % peratus Khamis, naik 0,05 % peratusan tempat pada hari.
Kerajaan Sepanyol, yang diketuai oleh Perdana Menteri Mariano Rajoy, memperkenalkan pusingan terbaru pemotongan perbelanjaan dan kenaikan cukai untuk mencukur €65 billion belanjawan kerajaan menjelang 2015. Beberapa langkah tertentu telah dibiarkan ditangani kemudian, seperti mempercepatkan fasa dalam peningkatan dalam umur persaraan 65-67.
Yang pakej penjimatan telah diumumkan oleh Rajoy minggu lalu selepas menteri kewangan daripada itu 16 negara-negara lain yang menggunakan matawang euro bersetuju dengan terma asas bailout 1 sehingga € 100 bilion untuk mengukuhkan sektor perbankan Sepanyol dan memberikan kerajaan 1 tahun tambahan untuk mencapai defisit- pengurangan sasaran.
Menteri-menteri kewangan zon euro dijadualkan untuk mengadakan persidangan hari Jumaat untuk memberikan kelulusan akhir untuk pakej bailout bank. Perbendaharaan Menteri Cristobal Montoro menarik tidak tumbukan kerana beliau melancarkan perbahasan pada waktu pagi. 1 hari selepas berkata "terdapat tiada wang untuk membayar gaji penjawat awam kerana kemelesetan ekonomi dan kadar pengangguran hampir 25 % peratus justeru menjejaskan hasil cukai, katanya Khamis bahawa Sepanyol tidak boleh pergi jauh ke dalam hutang.
"Sudah tiba masanya untuk memanggil sungkur sungkur," katanya kepada penggubal undang-undang dari podium. "Pembiayaan perkhidmatan awam dengan defisit dan hutang yang lebih akan azab kami." Ketua pembangkang sosialis Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba menuduh kerajaan bertindak sebagai boneka ke Brussels dengan begitu banyak tali pinggang-pengetatan pada 1 masa apabila begitu ramai orang-orang di Sepanyol adalah berkerja.
"Tangkap kapal terbang ke Brussels dan beritahu mereka ini yang memotong adalah kekejaman," kata Perez Rubalcaba.
AP koresponden Daniel Woolls di Madrid menyumbang kepada cerita ini.
MARKETS News ‘ Massive protests in Spain against austerity cuts’
MADRID (AP) - Tens of thousands of angry Spaniards protested in 80 cities throughout Spain on Thursday against the government's latest austerity package, blaming officials for "ruining" the country.
Protesters flooded Madrid's main Puerta del Sol square and the streets in front of parliament late into the night. Large deployments of riot police manned barricades in front of the legislature, fearing rising tensions could lead to violence.
Large crowds also gathered in Barcelona and Bilbao, while leading Spanish newspaper El Pais estimated on its website that more than 100,000 had attended the rally in the capital. Marchers in Madrid carried Spanish flags bearing black bows for mourning and banners saying, "No to the cuts" and "You have ruined us."
The country is in its second recession in three years and its government borrowing rates are unsustainably high as investors worry the government may face new costs in rescuing the banks. If the government's borrowing rates do not fall back down, it may eventually need a sovereign bailout like those taken by Greece, Ireland and Portugal.
Isabel Urbelz, a 54-year-old civil servant, said she was angry with the government because it had cut her Christmas bonus. "I am indignant, I'm angry. Why can't they cut elsewhere?" she said. Concerns over Spain's attempts to restore market confidence in its economy resurfaced after a bond auction went poorly and its borrowing costs edged higher - even as the country's parliament passed the latest round of harsh austerity measures designed to cut its bloated deficit.
The ruling conservative Popular Party used its majority in Parliament to push through the measures, which include a rise in sales taxes and a wage cut for civil servants. The government also published details of the €100 billion ($122.9 billion) financial assistance agreement between Spain and the Eurogroup aimed at shoring up the country's struggling banks.
The Economy Ministry statement said the precise bailout amount "will be known once a bank to bank scan is complete," and that the loan mechanism will be available until Dec. 31, 2013. It also said the interest rate will be variable.
The vote in parliament followed an auction of medium-term Spanish bonds, where the government had to pay substantially higher interest rates to unload €2.96 billion ($3.62 billion) in bonds maturing in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Its target range was €2 billion to €3 billion. Demand was roughly two times the amount on offer for each issue. But that was down from earlier auctions.
And the interest rate on the five-year debt rose sharply to 6.46 percent, from 5.54 percent at the last such auction on July 5. The Treasury provided no comparable rates for the other maturities. In the secondary bond market, where issued debt is traded openly, the interest rate, or yield, on benchmark Spanish 10-year bonds - a measure of investor worries about the security of a country's debt - was at 6.95 percent Thursday, up 0.05 percentage points on the day.
The Spanish government, led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, introduced the latest round of spending cuts and tax increases to shave €65 billion off the government's budgets by 2015. Some specific measures were left to be addressed later, such as speeding up the phasing in of an increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67.
The austerity package was unveiled by Rajoy last week after finance ministers from the other 16 countries that use the euro agreed the basic terms of a bailout of up to €100 billion to strengthen Spain's banking sector and gave the government an extra year to reach deficit-reduction targets.
The eurozone finance ministers are scheduled to hold a conference Friday to give final approval for the bank bailout package. Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro pulled no punches as he launched the debate in the morning. A day after saying "there is no money" to pay civil servant wages because recession and a jobless rate of nearly 25 percent are sapping tax revenue, he said Thursday that Spain simply cannot go deeper into debt.
"It is time to call a spade a spade," he told lawmakers from the podium. "Financing public services with more deficit and more debt will doom us." Socialist opposition leader Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba accused the government of acting as a puppet to Brussels with so much belt-tightening at a time when so many people in Spain are out of work.
"Catch a plane to Brussels and tell them these cuts are a barbarity," Perez Rubalcaba said.
AP correspondent Daniel Woolls in Madrid contributed to this story.
EUROPE News ‘80 buah bandar raya Sepanyol melihat bantahan terhadap penjimatan’
MADRID (AP) - Berpuluh-puluh ribu kakitangan awam, ahli-ahli kesatuan sekerja dan Sepanyol lain berarak di 80 buah bandar raya Sepanyol membantah kumpulan terbaru langkah-langkah penjimatan yang diluluskan oleh kerajaan.
Parti pemerintah Popular konservatif digunakan majoriti di Parlimen untuk menolak melalui langkah-langkah pada hari Khamis. Mereka termasuk kenaikan cukai jualan dan potongan gaji untuk kakitangan awam. Senja jatuh, perbarisan di Madrid membawa bendera Sepanyol yang mempunyai busur hitam untuk berkabung dan banner berkata, "Tidak kepada potongan" dan "Anda telah memusnahkan kami."
Lewat Khamis, kerajaan juga telah menerbitkan butiran euro 100 bilion (US $ 122.9 billion) perjanjian bantuan kewangan antara Sepanyol dan Eurogroup yang bertujuan untuk menyokong bank bergelut di negara ini.
EUROPE News ‘80 Spanish cities see protests against austerity’
MADRID (AP) - Tens of thousands of public employees, trade union members and other Spaniards are marching in 80 Spanish cities to protest the latest batch of austerity measures approved by the government.
The ruling conservative Popular Party used its majority in Parliament to push through the measures on Thursday. They include a rise in sales taxes and a wage cut for civil servants. As dusk fell, marchers in Madrid carried Spanish flags bearing black bows for mourning and banners saying, "No to the cuts" and "You have ruined us."
Late Thursday, the government also published details of the euro 100 billion ($122.9 billion) financial assistance agreement between Spain and the Eurogroup aimed at shoring up the country's struggling banks.
TINJAUAN 1WC'sChannel 2012: Sepanyol, Madrid: bekas Sisa terbakar selepas demonstrasi menentang langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini kerajaan Sepanyol di pusat bandar Madrid di 19 Julai, 2012 (TINJAUAN 1WC'sChannel 2012: Sepanyol, Madrid: bekas Sisa terbakar selepas demonstrasi menentang langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini kerajaan Sepanyol di pusat bandar Madrid di 19 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/Faget Dominique)
Perhimpunan Sepanyol menjadi ganas sebagai
protes juta orang di 80 bandar
Polis
Sepanyol telah bertempur dengan penunjuk perasaan yang berarak terhadap
kumpulan terbaru langkah-langkah penjimatan. Lebih 1 juta kakitangan awam,
ahli-ahli kesatuan sekerja dan muak rakyat telah diambil untuk jalan-jalan 80
bandar Sepanyol. Keganasan berlaku di Madrid sekitar tengah malam selepas
berpuluh-puluh penunjuk perasaan sampai ke bandar di Puerta del Sol persegi dan
bertempur dengan polis rusuhan. Keselamatan memaksa menggunakan cota, peluru
getah dan gas pemedih mata untuk menyuraikan orang ramai kerana ia cuba untuk
memasuki bangunan kongres yang terletak di dataran. Sesetengah penunjuk
perasaan lobbed botol pada pegawai.
Di
beberapa kawasan bandar, aktivis menetapkan tong sampah di atas api dan cuba
untuk menyekat akses kenderaan polis dengan tambak tong plastik dan kotak
kadbod. Tiada kecederaan atau tangkapan telah dilaporkan. Penunjuk perasaan
membawa bendera dan sepanduk yang dihiasi dengan gunting, melambangkan potongan
perbelanjaan kasar negara. Jalan-jalan di Madrid telah menjadi lumpuh oleh
ramai yang berbatas orang-orang bellowing "Tangan sehingga, ini adalah
rompakan!" Dianggarkan 100,000 orang menyertai demonstrasi di ibu negara.
Di Barcelona, adegan yang sama telah dilaporkan. Kira-kira sedozen penunjuk
perasaan telah ditahan di luar bangunan parlimen tempatan.
8
orangbomba membogelkan di bandar utara Mieres berhampiran Oviedo. "Dengan
pemotongan yang begitu banyak, kita telah telanjang," mengisytiharkan
banner di dinding di atas mereka. Demonstrasi-demonstrasi telah dianjurkan oleh
kesatuan yang telah berasa marah dengan langkah-langkah baru kerajaan. Salah
satu langkah itu adalah akhir untuk Krismas bonus untuk kakitangan awam, yang
berjumlah 3,5-7 peratus pengurangan gaji tahunan. "Ada apa-apa yang boleh
kita lakukan tetapi mengambil jalan. Kami telah kehilangan antara 10 dan 15
peratus gaji kami dalam tempoh 4 tahun yang lalu," demonstrasi, Sara
Alvera, 51, seorang pekerja di sektor kehakiman, kepada AFP. "Kami undi
dua setengah juta. Saya harap mereka sedang memikirkan tentang itu," kata
Jose Luis Martinez, 52, yang bekerja di Kementerian Dalam Negeri, Reuters.
"Kami perlu membuat beberapa bunyi bising, kerana mereka sedang membuat
menyeronokkan kami dan semua orang yang bekerja," kata Iria, 34, seorang
juruaudit dalam perbendaharaan.
Spain, Seville: A woman protests against the Spanish government's latest austerity measures, in Seville, on July 19, 2012. (Sepanyol, Seville: Bantahan seorang wanita terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini kerajaan Sepanyol, di Seville, pada 19 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/Cristina Quicler)
Spain, Madrid: Spanish actors Javier Bardem his brother Carlos Bardem and their mother Pilar Bardem demonstrate against the Spanish government's latest austerity measures in Madrid on July 19, 2012. (Sepanyol, Madrid: Sepanyol aktor Javier Bardem Carlos Bardem abangnya dan ibu mereka Pilar Bardem menunjukkan terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini kerajaan Sepanyol di Madrid di 19 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/Dominiwue Faget)
Spain, Barcelona : A man protests during a demonstration organized by Unions on July 19, 2012 in Barcelona, against the government's welfare cuts. (Sepanyol, Barcelona: Bantahan seorang lelaki semasa demonstrasi yang dianjurkan oleh Kesatuan di 19 Julai, 2012 di Barcelona, terhadap pemotongan kebajikan kerajaan) (AFP Photo/Josep Lago)
Spain, Madrid : Thousands of people protest against the Spanish government's latest austerity measures, in Madrid, on July 19, 2012. (Sepanyol, Madrid: Bantahan beribu-ribu orang terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini Kerajaan Sepanyol di Madrid, pada 19 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/Pedro Armestre)
SPAIN, Barcelona : A woman holds a banner rwhich translates as "culture is not a luxury" during a demonstration organized by Unions on July 19, 2012 in Barcelona, against the government's welfare cuts. In the latest measures to lower Spain's deficit, conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced 65 billion euros' ($80 billion) worth of savings measures. (SEPANYOL, Barcelona: Seorang wanita memegang banner rwhich diterjemahkan sebagai "budaya tidak mewah" semasa demonstrasi yang dianjurkan oleh Kesatuan di 19 Julai, 2012 di Barcelona, terhadap pemotongan kebajikan kerajaan. Dalam langkah-langkah terkini untuk mengurangkan defisit Sepanyol, konservatif Perdana Menteri, Mariano Rajoy diumumkan 65 billion euro '(US $ US 80 billion) bernilai langkah-langkah penjimatan) (AFP Photo/Josep Largo)
Firemen participate in a protest against government austerity measures in Barcelona. (Bomba mengambil bahagian dalam protes terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan kerajaan di Barcelona) (REUTERS/Albert Gea)
Civil servants shout slogans during a protest against government austerity measures in Madrid (Penjawat awam menjerit slogan semasa protes terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan kerajaan di Madrid) (REUTERS/Sergio Perez)
Firefighters pose naked in front of a banner during a demonstration against government cuts inside their fire station in Mieres (Anggota bomba menimbulkan telanjang bulat-bulat di hadapan banner semasa demonstrasi terhadap pemotongan kerajaan di dalam balai bomba mereka di Mieres) (REUTERS/Eloy Alonso)
Demonstrators fill Madrid's Puerta del Sol square during a protest against government austerity measures. (Penunjuk perasaan mengisi Madrid dipersegi Puerta del Sol semasa protes terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan kerajaan) (REUTERS/Sergio Perez)
Protesters march during a demonstration against government austerity measures, in central Valencia (Penunjuk perasaan berarak semasa demonstrasi terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan kerajaan, di tengah-tengah Valencia)
Firemen spray water over demonstrators during a protest against government austerity measures in Madrid. (Bomba semburan air ke atas penunjuk perasaan semasa protes terhadap penjimatan kerajaan mengukur di Madrid) (REUTERS/Sergio Perez)
Spain, Madrid : people demonstrate against the Spanish government's latest austerity measures in the center of Madrid on July 19, 2012. (Sepanyol, Madrid: orang demonstrate terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini kerajaan Sepanyol di pusat Madrid di 19 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/Dominique Faget)
Spain, Madrid: A man stands in front of riot policemen on a street of Madrid during a protest against the Spanish government's latest austerity measures, on July 19, 2012. (Sepanyol, Madrid: Seorang lelaki berdiri di hadapan anggota polis rusuhan di jalan Madrid semasa protes terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini kerajaan Sepanyol, di 19 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/Pedro Armestre)
Spain, Madrid: Riot policemen remain on a street of Madrid during a protest against the Spanish government's latest austerity measures, on July 19, 2012. (Sepanyol, Madrid: Polis rusuhan kekal di jalan Madrid semasa protes terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan terkini kerajaan Sepanyol, pada 19 Julai, 2012) (AFP Photo/Pedro Armestre)
Spanish rallies turn violent as million people protest in 80 cities
Spanish police have clashed
with protesters marching against the latest batch of austerity measures. Over a
million public employees, trade union members and fed-up citizens have taken to
the streets in over 80 Spanish cities. Violence erupted in Madrid around
midnight after dozens of protesters reached the city’s Puerta del Sol square
and clashed with riot police. Security forces used batons, rubber bullets and
tear gas to disperse the crowd as it tried to enter the congress building
located on the square. Some of the protesters lobbed bottles at officers.
In some urban areas, activists
set trash cans on fire and tried to block police vehicle access with barricades
of plastic bins and cardboard boxes. No injuries or arrests have been reported.
Demonstrators carried flags and banners decorated with scissors, symbolizing
the country's harsh spending cuts. The streets of Madrid were paralyzed by the
boundless crowds of people bellowing “Hands up, this is a
robbery!” An estimated 100,000 people participated in the demonstrations
in the capital. In Barcelona, similar scenes were reported. About a dozen protesters
were arrested outside the local parliament building.
Eight firemen stripped naked in
the northern town of Mieres near Oviedo. "With so many cuts we have
been left naked," declared a banner on the wall above them. The
demonstrations were organized by unions who have been outraged by the
government’s new measures. One such measure is an end to Christmas bonuses for
civil servants, which amounts to a 3.5 to 7 per cent reduction in annual
pay. "There's nothing we can do but take to the street. We have lost
between 10 and 15 per cent of our pay in the past four
years," demonstrator Sara Alvera, 51, a worker in the justice sector,
told AFP. "We are two and a half million votes. I hope they are
thinking about that," said Jose Luis Martinez, 52, who works at the
interior ministry, told Reuters. "We have to make some noise, because
they're making fun of us and of all working people," said Iria, 34,
an auditor in the treasury.
WORLD News ‘Syria Assad muncul di TV
selepas pengeboman’
BEIRUT (AP) - Syria Presiden Bashar Assad membuat penampilan perdananya Khamis sejak bom membunuh beberapa lieutenants atas beliau, kelihatan tenang dan terdiri di kaca TV negeri walaupun tenteranya bertukar bahagian Damsyik ke zon pertempuran dan pemberontak merampas 2 lintasan sempadan negara.
Serangannya yang tidak diduga pada Rabu bulatan Assad, dalam, bersama-sama dengan ketidakupayaan kerajaan untuk menghancurkan pemberontak selepas 5 hari pertempuran sengit dalam titik ibu negara Syria, Krisis cengkaman kuasa selepas 16 bulan keganasan.
"Ia adalah perang yang berlaku di sini, secara perang literal," kata seorang wanita berusia 25 tahun di kawasan kejiranan Muhajereen. Bunyi pertempuran telah memelihara beliau sehingga semua malam dan dia tinggal di rumah dari kerja kerana dia takut tembakan rawak, tambah beliau.
"Ia mengingatkan saya pada malam itu apabila Amerika mengebom Baghdad 9 tahun lalu," kata wanita itu, yang beliau bercakap tidak mahu mengenai dikenali kerana dia takut keselamatan. "Saya sedang menonton di TV, tetapi hari ini saya tinggal 1 situasi yang serupa."
Walaupun tentera Assad berkuasa kekal kebanyakannya setia - mencadangkan jumlah kejatuhan mungkin tidak akan berlaku - pemberontak muncul untuk membuat keuntungan mengejutkan kerana perang sivil yang dipergiatkan. Selain daripada pergaduhan yang berlaku di Damsyik, kira-kira setengah dozen pemberontak mengambil alih sempadan Syria persimpangan berhampiran bandar Iraq Qaim, kata Brig tentera Iraq. Ketua Qassim al-Dulaimi. Terdapat 4 jawatan utama sempadan dengan Iraq.
Pemberontak memotong sebuah kota kara tentera Syria berhampiran sempadan Syria-Iraq selepas pertempuran yang membunuh 21 tentera Syria, tambah beliau. Di samping itu, video amatur mencatatkan dalam talian menunjukkan pemberontak mengambil alih sempadan Bab al-Hawa persimpangan dengan Turki, di mana mereka menghentak-hentak pada potret daripada Assad. The Associated Press tidak dapat bebas mengesahkan video kerana kerajaan yg menghalang media kebanyakan daripada bekerja secara bebas di negara ini.
Penyelesaian diplomatik untuk menamatkan pertumpahan darah seolah-olah lebih jauh selepas Rusia dan China sekali lagi menggunakan kuasa veto PBB 1 resolusi yang disokong oleh Barat yang bertujuan mendesak kerajaan Assad, untuk menamatkan konflik yang semakin meningkat.
Penganalisis berkata rejim itu jelas digegarkan oleh keganasan di tengah-tengah asas kuasa Damsyik, tetapi langkah seterusnya tidak jelas lagi. "Kita tidak harus terbawa-bawa dengan spekulasi mengenai kejatuhan akan berlaku rejim itu," kata Salman Shaikh, pengarah Brookings Doha Center dan seorang penganalisis politik serantau. Beliau berkata pasukan rejim "masih menunjukkan jumlah tertentu kesepaduan dalam pertempuran."
Memetik rangkaian sumber atas alasan, Balai Cerap Syria bagi Hak Asasi Manusia yang berpangkalan di Britain melaporkan pertempuran sengit dalam rentetan kejiranan sepanjang pinggir selatan Damsyik, kejiranan timur laut Qaboun, dan bilangan pinggir bandar barat.
Tembak-menembak dan lonjakan dari serangan boleh didengar di seluruh ibu negara, dan jalan-jalan di kawasan yang teruk terjejas adalah sebahagian besarnya kosong, kecuali tentera kerajaan atau pemberontak. Pada hari Khamis, Syria banyak berkata mereka tidak menunggu untuk melihat jika keganasan akan berakhir bila-bila masa tidak lama lagi. Beribu-ribu distrim merentasi sempadan Syria ke Lubnan di titik lintasan Masnaa - kira-kira 25 batu (40 kilometer) dari Damsyik.
Beratus-ratus kereta swasta serta teksi dan bas diangkut seluruh rakyat. Walaupun Assad telah meninggalkan kuasa, pembangkang secara meluas dilihat terlalu teratur untuk mengambil alih. Terdapat tiada calon yang jelas untuk memimpin negara dalam ketiadaan Assad, dan warna suram mazhab kebanyakan keganasan mencadangkan apa-apa kekosongan kuasa akan menyambut dalam pertumpahan darah.
Sunni membuat kebanyakan orang 22000000 Syria, serta tulang belakang pembangkang. Tetapi Assad dan golongan elit pemerintah kepunyaan mazhab Alawite kecil, sebuah cabang Syiah Islam. Assad yang bergantung sepenuhnya kepada asas kuasa Alawite beliau untuk menghancurkan pemberontakan, mendorong serangan balas dendam dan rasa takut di kalangan kaum minoriti lain bahawa mereka menghadapi hukuman jika rejim itu jatuh.
1 lagi faktor yang menakutkan adalah kemunculan pelampau kalangan angkatan yang mencari untuk menggulingkan Assad. Berani mati besar-besaran beberapa menyerang tahun ini mencadangkan bahawa al-Qaeda atau lain-lain pasukan pengganas menyertai perjuangan.
Pegawai Amerika Syarikat berkata kehadiran Al-Qaeda telah meningkat sedikit, dengan 1 yang rasmi meletakkan anggaran di 100 Koperasi pasangan yang cuba untuk merampas pergolakan Syria. Mereka beroperasi di bawah nama Barisan Al-Nusra, yang telah mendakwa bertanggungjawab bagi beberapa siri serangan bom ke atas sasaran rejim, termasuk sebuah stesen TV yang dikendalikan oleh kerajaan pada bulan Jun, kata para pegawai. Tetapi pasukan pembangkang, seperti pemimpin Tentera pemberontak Syria Percuma, telah buat jelas kepada pegawai Amerika Syarikat bahawa mereka menolak kaedah kumpulan, kerana serangan sering berlaku di kawasan awam di mana orang awam telah terbunuh dan cedera.
Pegawai-pegawai bercakap mengenai tidak mahu dikenali kerana mereka tidak diberi kuasa untuk menggambarkan kepintaran dan analisis umum. Assad telah tidak bercakap tentang pengeboman yang mengorbankan 3 pembantu atas: Menteri Pertahanan Dawoud Rajha, 65, seorang bekas tentera amnya dan rasmi kerajaan yang paling kanan yang terbunuh dalam kebangkitan; Jeneral Assef Shawkat, 62, timbalan menteri pertahanan yang telah berkahwin dengan kakak Assad tua, Bushra, dan adalah salah satu tokoh yang paling digeruni di lingkaran dalam; dan Turkmani Hassan, 77, bekas seorang menteri pertahanan.
Pemberontak mendakwa tanggungjawab, berkata mereka mensasarkan bilik di mana keselamatan atas pegawai-pegawai kerajaan yang bertanggungjawab menghancurkan pemberontakan telah memenuhi. , Penampilan Khamis Assad telah dijalankan di TV negeri tanpa audio, tetapi laporan itu bertujuan untuk menghantar mesej yang dia masih hidup dan baik, dan dalam kawalan. Laporan berkata Assad, memakai sut dan tali leher biru, dalam bersumpah menteri pertahanan baru dan mahu dia nasib baik. Laporan itu tidak menyatakan di mana majlis itu berlangsung.
Assad tidak muncul di khalayak ramai dengan kerap, dan khabar angin berpusar yang ada adalah jauh lebih kepada pengeboman Rabu daripada bertemu mata ke mata. Ia masih menjadi misteri bagaimana sesiapa boleh telah menanam bom di mesyuarat peringkat tinggi, di dalam bangunan Keselamatan Negara, pada masa krisis yang mendalam.
Sesetengah pemerhati percaya ia hampir pasti pekerjaan di dalam, yang dijalankan oleh ejen penidur yang telah dipercayai oleh rejim yang mempercayai. Lain spekulasi pengeboman itu sebenarnya merupakan kerja-kerja rejim itu sendiri, untuk memenggal kepala 1 kumpulan pemimpin yang mungkin telah merancang 1 rampasan kuasa.
Menambah kepada kekeliruan ini, agensi berita negeri Syria memberi amaran kepada rakyat bahawa lelaki bersenjata telah menyembunyikan diri mereka dalam pakaian seragam tentera untuk melakukan serangan. "Lelaki bersenjata memakai pakaian seragam Pengawal Republikan di kawasan kejiranan Tadamon, Midan, Qaa dan Nahr Aishah, membuktikan bahawa mereka telah merancang serangan dan jenayah," katanya.
Dalam satu video dalam talian penyejukkan, berpuluh-puluh mati dan cedera telah ditunjukkan di atas lantai sebuah masjid di kawasan Zeinab Sayida, selatan Damsyik. Seorang perawi luar kamera berkata helikopter kerajaan melepaskan mereka hari ini. Video lain menunjukkan apa yang kelihatan seperti sekurang-kurangnya 40 badan-badan yang dibalut dengan kain dalam kubur besar-besaran.
AP tidak dapat mengesahkan video. Mejar Jeneral Robert Mood, ketua Norway hampir 300 pemerhati PBB yang tidak bersenjata di Syria, menggesa penyelesaian diplomatik, yang nampaknya semakin daripada jangkauan. "Ia sakit saya katakan, tetapi kita tidak berada di landasan yang betul untuk keamanan di Syria," Mood kepada pemberita di Damsyik. Beberapa jam kemudian di Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB), Rusia dan China veto resolusi Majlis Keselamatan baru mengenai krisis.
Resolusi akan dikenakan sekatan bukan ketenteraan terhadap kerajaan Assad, jika ia tidak menarik balik tentera dan senjata berat daripada kawasan berpenduduk dalam masa 10 hari. Ia telah terikat dengan Bab 7 Piagam PBB, yang akhirnya boleh membenarkan penggunaan kekerasan untuk menamatkan konflik.
Rusia dan China telah lama menentang mana-mana gerakan yang meletakkan kesalahan secara eksklusif pada Damsyik atau boleh membuka jalan untuk campur tangan tentera asing di Syria. Undi 11-2, dengan 2 berkecuali, meninggalkan dalam keadaan terlantar masa depan pasukan pemantauan 300-ahli PBB di Syria, yang mandat tamat Jumaat.
White House kecewa mengisytiharkan bahawa Rusia dan China meletakkan diri mereka pada "salah sisi sejarah" dan "sampingan yang salah ke atas rakyat Syria." Jurucakap White House Jay Carney kepada pemberita menaiki Air Force One bahawa Washington tidak menyokong melanjutkan misi tanpa perlu sokongan.
"Amerika Syarikat tidak menyokong melanjutkan misi di mana anda menghantar pekerja-pekerja PBB yang tidak bersenjata ke Syria untuk cuba untuk melihat kezaliman rejim Assad, apabila tiada mekanisme dalam resolusi untuk mewujudkan akibat bagi rejim itu kerana gagal untuk hidup dengan kegiatannya. obligasi, "katanya.
AP penulis Bassem Mroue dan Ben Hubbard di Beirut, Qassim Abdul-Zahra di Baghdad, Kimberly Dozier di Washington dan Edith M. Lederer di Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) menyumbang kepada laporan ini.
WORLD News ‘Syria's Assad appears on TV after bombing’
BEIRUT (AP) - Syrian President Bashar Assad made his first appearance Thursday since a bomb killed some of his top lieutenants, looking calm and composed on state TV even as his forces turned parts of Damascus into combat zones and rebels seized two of the country's border crossings.
The unprecedented attack on Assad's inner circle Wednesday, along with the government's inability to crush the rebels after five days of intense clashes in the Syrian capital, point to an unraveling of his grip on power after 16 months of violence.
"It is a war going on here, literally a war," said a 25-year-old woman in the Muhajereen neighborhood. The sounds of battle had kept her up all night and she stayed home from work because she feared random gunfire, she added.
"It reminded me of that night when the Americans shelled Baghdad nine years ago," said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she feared for her safety. "I was watching it on TV, but today I'm living a very similar situation."
Even though Assad's powerful military remains mostly loyal - suggesting a total collapse may not be imminent — the rebels appeared to be making startling gains as the civil war intensified. Besides the fighting in Damascus, about a half-dozen rebels took over a Syrian border crossing near the Iraqi town of Qaim, said Iraqi army Brig. General Qassim al-Dulaimi. There are four major border posts with Iraq.
Rebels overtook a Syrian army outpost near the Syrian-Iraq border after clashes that killed 21 Syrian soldiers, he added. In addition, amateur video posted online showed rebels taking over the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, where they stomped on portraits of Assad. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video because the government bars most media from working independently in the country.
A diplomatic solution to ending the bloodshed seemed even more remote after Russia and China again vetoed a Western-backed U.N. resolution aimed at pressuring Assad's government to end the escalating conflict.
Analysts said the regime was clearly shaken by the violence in the heart of its power base of Damascus, but the next step was not clear yet. "We should not get carried away with speculating about the impending fall of the regime," said Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center and an analyst on regional politics. He said the regime's forces "are still showing a certain amount of cohesiveness in battle."
Citing a network of sources on the ground, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported intense clashes in a string of neighborhoods along the southern edge of Damascus, the northeastern neighborhood of Qaboun, and in number of western suburbs.
Gunfire and booms from shelling could be heard throughout the capital, and streets in the hard-hit areas were largely empty, save for government troops or rebels. On Thursday, many Syrians said they were not waiting around to see if the violence would end any time soon. Thousands streamed across the Syrian border into Lebanon at the Masnaa crossing point - about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Damascus.
Hundreds of private cars as well as taxis and buses ferried people across. Even if Assad did leave power, the opposition is widely perceived to be far too disorganized to take over. There is no clear candidate to lead the country in Assad's absence, and the grim sectarian tint to much of the violence suggests any power vacuum will usher in a bloodbath.
Sunnis make up most of Syria's 22 million people, as well as the backbone of the opposition. But Assad and the ruling elite belong to the tiny Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam. Assad is relying heavily on his Alawite power base to crush the uprising, prompting revenge attacks and fear among other minorities that they face retribution if the regime falls.
Another fearsome factor is the emergence of extremists among the forces looking to oust Assad. Several big suicide attacks this year suggest that al-Qaida or other terrorist forces are joining the fight.
U.S. officials said al-Qaida's presence has risen slightly, with one official putting the estimate at a couple hundred operatives attempting to hijack Syrian unrest. They operate under the name of the Al-Nusra Front, which has claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks on regime targets, including a government-run TV station in June, the officials said. But opposition forces, such as the leaders of the rebel Free Syrian Army, have made clear to U.S. officials that they reject the group's methods, because the attacks often occur in public areas where civilians have been killed and injured.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the intelligence and analysis publicly. Assad has not spoken about the bombing that killed three top aides: Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha, 65, a former army general and the most senior government official to be killed in the uprising; Gen. Assef Shawkat, 62, the deputy defense minister who was married to Assad's elder sister, Bushra, and was one of the most feared figures in the inner circle; and Hassan Turkmani, 77, a former defense minister.
Rebels claimed responsibility, saying they targeted the room where the top government security officials in charge of crushing the revolt were meeting. Assad's appearance Thursday was carried on state TV without audio, but the report appeared aimed at sending the message that he is alive and well, and in control. The report said Assad, wearing a blue suit and tie, swore in the new defense minister and wished him good luck. The report did not say where the ceremony took place.
Assad does not appear in public frequently, and rumors swirled that there was far more to Wednesday's bombing than meets the eye. It is still a mystery how anybody could have planted a bomb in such a high-level meeting, inside the National Security building, at a time of deep crisis.
Some observers believe it was almost certainly an inside job, carried out by a sleeper agent who had been a trusted regime confidante. Others speculate the bombing was actually the work of the regime itself, to decapitate a group of leaders who may have been planning a coup.
Adding to the confusion, Syria's state news agency warned citizens that gunmen were disguising themselves in military uniforms to carry out attacks. "Gunmen are wearing Republican Guard uniforms in the neighborhoods of Tadamon, Midan, Qaa and Nahr Aisha, proving that they are planning attacks and crimes," it said.
In one chilling online video, dozens of dead and wounded were shown on the floor of a mosque in the Sayida Zeinab area, south of Damascus. An off-camera narrator says government helicopters fired on them Wednesday. Another video showed what appeared to be at least 40 bodies wrapped in cloth in a mass grave.
The AP could not verify the video. Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the Norwegian head of nearly 300 unarmed U.N. observers in Syria, urged a diplomatic solution, which appears increasingly out of reach. "It pains me to say, but we are not on the track for peace in Syria," Mood told reporters in Damascus. Hours later at the United Nations, Russia and China vetoed a new Security Council resolution on the crisis.
The resolution would have imposed non-military sanctions against Assad's government if it didn't withdraw troops and heavy weapons from populated areas in 10 days. It was tied to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which could eventually allow the use of force to end the conflict.
Russia and China have long opposed any moves that put the blame exclusively on Damascus or could pave the way for foreign military intervention in Syria. The 11-2 vote, with two abstentions, leaves in limbo the future of the 300-member U.N. monitoring team in Syria, whose mandate expires Friday.
A frustrated White House declared that Russia and China placed themselves on the "wrong side of history" and the "wrong side of the Syrian people." White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One that Washington does not support extending the mission without the necessary backup.
"The United States does not support extending a mission where you send unarmed U.N. employees into Syria to try to observe the brutality of the Assad regime, when there is no mechanism within the resolution to create consequences for the regime for failing to live up to its obligations," he said.
AP writers Bassem Mroue and Ben Hubbard in Beirut, Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, Kimberly Dozier in Washington and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Dalam kehidupan dan perang: kronika Damsyik
Seperti pejuang pembangkang di Syria cuba untuk membina momentum yang diperolehi oleh pertempuran sengit dalam ibu negara dan serangan bom Rabu, Maria RT Finoshina laporan dari Damsyik pada perubahan bandar telah melalui dalam hanya beberapa hari.
Beberapa bahagian Damsyik, "sebuah bandar dan sesungguhnya yang indah", telah berubah secara mendadak dalam 4-5 hari lepas, kata krew RT yang tiba di sana kira-kira 50 hari lalu.
Pertempuran antara kuasa-kuasa kerajaan dan pembangkang telah berlaku dalam sekurang-kurangnya 5 daerah bandar, dan bukan sahaja yang jauh, tetapi dekat dengan pusat bandar juga. Pemandu teksi enggan untuk pergi ke beberapa kawasan 'panas' pusat seperti Midan.
RT Photo/Maria Finoshina
In life and war: Damascus chronicle
As opposition fighters in Syria are trying to build on the momentum gained by fierce clashes in the capital and Wednesday's bomb attack, RT’s Maria Finoshina reports from Damascus on the changes the city has undergone in just a few days.
Some parts of Damascus, “a beautiful and solemn city”, have changed dramatically in the last 4-5 days, says RT crew who arrived there some 50 days ago.
The clashes between the government forces and the opposition have been taking place in at least five districts of the city, and not only remote ones, but close to the city center as well. Taxi drivers refuse to go to some of the 'hot' central areas like Midan.
RT Photo/Maria Finoshina
Mesej Maria Finoshina Twitter: kemusnahan di mana-mana di daerah ini. Helikopter terbang sepanjang masa kawasan FOM menembak semasa. Maria berkata kedai di mana anak-anak kapal yang digunakan untuk membeli buah-buahan dan kacang kini terbengkalai, tingkap musnah. Jalan-jalan kosong, tetapi kesan peperangan dan pertempuran sengit ramai sekali. Trek tangki boleh dilihat di atas tanah, bukan sahaja di jalan raya, tetapi walaupun pada leper kenderaan.
Maria Finoshina twitter messages: Devastation is everywhere in this district. Helicopters are flying over the area shooting fom time to time. Maria says store where the crew used to buy fruit and nuts is now abandoned, its windows gone. The streets were empty, but traces of war and the fierce clashes abounded. Tank tracks could be seen on the ground, not only on the roads, but even on flattened vehicles.
RT Photo/Maria Finoshina
RT Photo/Maria Finoshina
