World leaders vow to fight polio

It is good to know that even once is a while, world leaders are united towards a good cause, and not fighting each other...
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Posted: 29 October 2011

PERTH, Australia: World leaders Saturday added their weight to a push to eradicate polio, pledging millions of dollars in new funds to bring an end to the crippling and potentially fatal disease.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, said her country would spend A$50 million ($53.5 million) over four years towards the global fight.

"While polio remains anywhere in the world it is a threat to anyone," she told a joint news conference with leaders from Britain, Canada and two of the world's four polio endemic countries -- Pakistan and Nigeria -- by her side.

"We are here today to demonstrate our commitment to ending the fight against polio, that is ending polio for all time."

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said his country would commit further investments in polio surveillance and immunisations without giving a figure, while philanthropist Bill Gates pledged $40 million in new funding.

"We're at a crossroads," Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said via a video message, adding that recent cases in China highlighted the risk of polio spreading back across the globe.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said he would raise annual spending on fighting polio from $17 million to $30 million from 2012.

Jonathan said while the disease had been reduced by 75 per cent in the African nation, it remained present in some states and had started to make a comeback over the past year.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government in January pledged 40 million pounds ($64.5 million) to fight the disease, said the world was in sight of eradicating the disease.

"Today for the vast majority of countries polio has been eliminated and the harrowing images of children in iron lungs banished to the past," he said.

"But for all this progress we haven't quite finished the job and the truth is that nearly eradicated is just not good enough."

Cameron said the world now ran the danger of going backwards on ending the disease which mainly affects children.

"If we fail to get rid of polio we run the risk of seeing it spread back to countries from which it has been eradicated," he said.

Polio remains a challenge for the 54-nation Commonwealth, with three of the four of the world's endemic countries -- India, Nigeria and Pakistan -- members. Afghanistan is the fourth state in which the highly contagious disease has not been eradicated.

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said he was concerned that polio had re-emerged in his country, which shares a long, rugged and porous border with war-ravaged Afghanistan.

"This situation is totally unacceptable," he said, adding that medical staff often had difficulty reaching those in need given the difficult terrain and the problem of insurgents.

In areas where the oral vaccine was most needed, he said, there were people who were "so fanatical they don't let the doctors into this area".

"But we are trying our best," he added.

Gillard said it was possible the disease, which in 1954 held Perth in its grip, preventing Britain's Queen Elizabeth II from staying onshore during her maiden visit Down Under, could be ended for ever.

"Change is possible," she said. "This is an issue which within our lifetime was a problem right around the world. Now we are in grasping distance of the end of polio worldwide and that is what we are determined to do."

- AFP/wk


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Taken from ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
World leaders vow to fight polio

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Oil prices drop after US inventory data

Posted: 02 July 2009 0417 hrs

An attendant fills a car with petrol at a service station.

NEW YORK: Oil prices fell on Wednesday after bouncing above 71 dollars as markets reacted to a mixed report on US petroleum inventories.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for August delivery fell 58 cents from Tuesday's closing price to 69.31 dollars a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for August delivery lost 51 cents to 68.79 dollars per barrel.

The US Department of Energy said in its weekly report that American crude oil reserves tumbled 3.7 million barrels in the week ending June 26, the fourth weekly drop in a row.

The market had expected a lighter decline of 2.1 million barrels.

But the department also reported growing domestic inventories of key refined products gasoline and distillates.

Gasoline or petrol stocks rose 2.3 million barrels, and distillates, which include diesel and heating duel, increased by 2.9 million barrels last week.

"Product demand is simply awful. Products built more than expected, and the expectations were already bearish," said Hussein Allidina of Morgan Stanley Research.

Prices had dropped Tuesday from eight-month peaks above 73 dollars after new data showed a plunge in American consumer confidence.

In the second quarter of 2009, oil had jumped dramatically - by 40 percent, or more than 20 dollars - on rising confidence that the global slump is easing.

Barclays Capital said in a report on Wednesday that oil prices cannot be sustained below 70 dollars into the medium term.

"We see prices as being likely to stay largely within the 65-75 dollars range in the current quarter, with brief forays possible either side of that range, and have adjusted price forecasts to reflect that core view," it said.

The market remains concerned by tensions in key crude producer Nigeria.

Nigerian rebels on Monday announced a new raid against a Shell oil facility and said they had killed at least 20 soldiers in a gun battle, a claim denied by the security forces.

While a Shell spokesman confirmed the raid and said it had caused a loss of production, Nigeria's combined police and army joint task force (JTF) denied there had been any clash with the rebels.

The Niger Delta has since 2006 been rocked by violence by armed groups who say they are fighting for a greater share of the region's oil wealth for the local population. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Oil prices slide on sagging US consumer confidence

Posted: 01 July 2009 0408 hrs

A driver transfers gasoline into an underground tank at a gas station in San Anselmo, California.

NEW YORK: Oil prices sank from eight-month peaks on Tuesday after new data signalled a plunge in consumer confidence in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, tumbled 1.60 dollars from Monday's closing price to 69.89 dollars per barrel, after earlier touching 73.38 - a level unseen since October.

London's Brent North Sea crude for August delivery fell 1.69 dollars to 69.30 dollars a barrel, having earlier surged as high as 73.50.

Consumer confidence in the United States - the world's biggest energy consuming nation - sank in June as households worried about the prolonged recession and vanishing jobs, the Conference Board said on Tuesday.

The news pushed the dollar higher against the euro on currency markets as investors flocked to buy the world's main safe-haven currency and moved away from risky currencies.

A stronger US currency makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for buyers holding weaker currencies, which in turn tends to dampen demand and pull the market lower.

"The rising dollar affected the crude oil prices," said Mike Fitzpatrick of MF Global.

Oil prices have increased dramatically - by 40 percent or more than 20 dollars - in the second quarter on gaining confidence that the global slump is easing. It had closed at 49.66 dollars on March 31, which was the last day of the first quarter.

The Conference Board, a US business research group, said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index retreated to 49.3 points in June from a revised 54.8 in May, an eight-month high. Most analysts expected a much stronger reading of 55.3 points.

This dashed hopes for a recovery soon from the recession that began in December 2007.

"Once again we've seen the green shoots arguments shot down," said analyst David Fineberg at financial spread-betting firm CMC Markets in London.

"This shift in outlook is also hammering oil prices - crude is back below 70 dollars a barrel - so in summary, falling consumer demand is painting a rather bleak picture."

Traders also digested data showing that Britain's recession-battered economy shrank at its fastest pace in more than 50 years during the first quarter of 2009 amid the worst global slowdown in decades.

British gross domestic product contracted 2.4 percent in the first three months of the year compared to the final quarter of 2008.

Oil had plunged from record peaks of more than 147 dollars in July 2008 to 32 dollars in December as a global downturn slashed energy demand, but the market has clawed back ground on hopes of "green shoots" of recovery.

The continuing turmoil in Nigeria is also weighing on the oil market, traders said.

On Monday, Nigerian rebels had announced a new raid against a Shell oil facility and said they had killed at least 20 soldiers in a gun battle, a claim denied by the security forces.

The raid was just the latest in a series that have targeted Shell facilities this month and which have continued despite last Thursday's offer from President Umaru Yar'Adua of an amnesty for the militants. - AFP/de

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Oil prices climb above US$70 on Nigeria violence

Posted: 26 June 2009 0533 hrs

A man fills his car with petrol at a service station

NEW YORK - Oil prices rose back above 70 dollars Thursday as renewed violence in key crude producer Nigeria and a forecast of a higher price range sparked buying.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, jumped 1.45 dollars to 70.12 dollars a barrel.

London's Brent North Sea crude for August rose 1.45 dollars to 69.78 dollars.

"The news from Nigeria (about) more attacks on oil facilities and the fact that two refineries are now shut down are supporting the market," said Andy Lipow, President at Lipow Oil Associates.

"The market has lived with Nigeria's supply disruption now for three years," he said.

Nigerian rebels on Thursday said they carried out a pre-dawn attack against Royal Dutch Shell facilities in a warning to Russia not to invest in the country's oil and gas industry.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said the attack was to coincide with a visit to Nigeria by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during which major energy investment deals were struck.

The attack on the Bille-Krakrama pipeline, which feeds the key Bonny export terminal in southern Rivers State, was carried out shortly after midnight Thursday.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua meanwhile on Thursday gave militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta 60 days to accept an amnesty offer in a bid to halt attacks on international oil companies.

MEND, the main militant group in the oil-rich southern Nigeria, stages regular attacks on oil installations as part of its campaign for a fairer share of oil wealth for locals in the Delta region.

Nigeria's oil production has been cut by a quarter over the past three years because of the attacks.

Crude oil futures plunged from record high points of more than 147 dollars in July 2008 to about 32 dollars in December as the economic downturn ravaged energy demand but the market has since clawed back ground on recovery hopes.

Oil prices had lost ground over the past week amid signs of a broader consolidation in the 65-75 dollar range, analysts at Barclays Capital said in a note to clients.

"Accompanying the transition in the macroeconomic backdrop, the oil market is, in our view, moving towards a transition period of very gradually improving demand, falling inventories, and prices closer to the desired range of key producers, which we would place in the 75-85 dollars region," the report said.

"While the current phase of market rebalancing might need to reach a more advanced stage before prices can comfortably move into producers' desired range, that move, in our view, is set to happen sometime through the year, with the broad trend for prices likely remaining to the upside."

- AFP /ls

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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Oil prices bounce above $60 in New York

AFP - Wednesday, May 20

Oil rigs extract petroleum in the Los Angeles area community of Culver City, California. Oil prices jumped to a six-month high above 60 dollars on Tuesday on growing signs of economic recovery amid concerns about unrest in African crude producer Nigeria, traders said.

LONDON (AFP) - - Oil prices jumped to a six-month high above 60 dollars Tuesday on growing signs of economic recovery amid concerns about unrest in African crude producer Nigeria, traders said.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rallied to 60.48 dollars a barrel -- a level last seen on November 10. The contract later stood at 59.90 dollars, up 87 cents from Monday's close.

Brent North Sea crude for July delivery touched a six-month high of 59.65 dollars a barrel before pulling back to 59.05 dollars, up 58 cents from Monday.

"Gains in the stock market increased optimism that the global economy is recovering," said BetOnMarkets analyst David Evans.

Global equity markets posted fresh gains Tuesday on hopes that the global economy is through the worst of its slump, setting the stage for a pick-up in energy demand, dealers said.

In early afternoon stock market trading in Europe, Frankfurt rallied 2.03 percent, Paris gained 0.82 percent and London climbed 0.61 percent.

In Asia, Hong Kong added 3.06 percent, Tokyo put on 2.78 percent, Seoul advanced 2.99 percent, Sydney added 2.19 percent and Taipei gained 1.18 percent.

Oil jumped by around two and a half dollars on Monday as traders tracked prospects of a global economic recovery, rising shares on Wall Street and developments in Nigera.

New York share prices shot higher Monday after better-than-expected earnings from home improvement retailer Lowe's helped reinforce hopes for a recovery in the United States.

A strong US economy is a key growth engine for the world because it is a major export market for many countries -- and is the biggest energy consuming nation on the planet.

Prices were also boosted by rising violence in oil exporter Nigeria, where the country's main armed group said it had ordered a blockade of key shipping channels in a bid to inflict further damage on the energy industry. Nigeria's military has urged oil firms to ignore the threat.

"Fresh violence in Nigeria helped to support prices," said VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov. "Militants there claimed to have sabotaged two pipelines, while threatening more supply disruptions."

Unrest in the oil-producing Niger Delta region has reduced Nigeria's daily output to 1.76 million barrels compared with 2.6 million barrels in January 2006.

From Yahoo! News; see the source article here.

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