The IMF has approved a three-year, $1.3 billion loan to jump start recovery in Cyprus and restore financial credibility to its indebted banking industry.The funds will be distributed to stabilize the banking industry, tame the state deficit, and to restore economic growth on the island.The IMF announced on Wednesday it had approved the first $111 million (86 million euro) installment of the loan, which was made immediately available to the Cypriot government. The next installment of $1.3 (1 billion euro) will be wired before June 30th, 2013 and fostered by the European Stability Mechanism, based in Luxembourg.The bailout is part of a $13 billion (10 billion euro) monetary package funded by Troika lenders over the next three years.The financial assistance is intended to prevent a further crisis and to revive the economic pulse of the debt-stricken nation.The loan “is intended to stabilize the country’s financial system, achieve fiscal sustainability, and support the recovery of economic activity to preserve the welfare of the population,” the IMF said in a statement.Klaus Regling, chief of the European Stability Mechanism, said on Monday, “The loans granted by the ESM help to maintain financial stability in the euro area and buy time for Cyprus. This time enables Cyprus to undertake the reforms necessary to rebuild its economy on a sustainable basis.”This is the fourth eurozone loan from the IMF crisis lending fund. Greece, Portugal, and Ireland have all received bail-out support from IMF lending. Taking out loans from the IMF increases the organization’s power in the eurozone. The more debt it owns, the more influence it holds over policy.The IMF is optimistic at Cypriot prospects, but is still cautious about a possible debt relapse.“Challenges ahead are significant, including restoring credibility in the banking sector and reducing fiscal deficits and debt to sustainable levels,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said of Cyprus.“There is no room for implementation slippages.”On Wednesday, the EU statistics office confirmed the 17 nation eurozone remained in recession with an overall regional contraction of 0.2 percent in the first financial quarter, from January to March. The Cypriot economy shrank by 1.3 percent.Official figures show France has returned to its second recession in four years, as the economy shrank by 0.2 percent in Q1 of 2013, after shrinking the same amount in the final of quarter of last year.The eurozone’s strongest economy, Germany, also showed some sluggish signs of growth. GDP grew by just 0.1 percent in the first quarter, far less than 0.3% expected by economists, showing sluggish signs of growth.The Netherlands, which entered recession three months ago, also showed contraction, with GDP falling by 0.1 percent in the first quarter of this year. Once one of the strongest-looking members of the eurozone, the Netherlands suffers from rising unemployment and the housing market bubble bursting. … Read More
Media follows a ‘drumbeat narrative’ on Syrian rebels, ‘burying’ unflattering reports
The meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry’s and Russian president Vladimir Putin came as US lawmakers proposed a bill that would send arms to the Syrian rebels, known as the Martyrs of Yarmouk. US President Barack Obama previously hinted that, if he can prove Syrian president Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons, American military involvement would be imminent. RT: John Kerry and Russian president Vladimir Putin have been meeting for hours. How likely is it that they’ll reach a consensus on Syria? Afshin Rattansi: Very unlikely. If it wasn’t for 70,000 dead and millions of refugees created it would almost be funny, if the leaks coming out of Moscow are true. Kerry, the United States Secretary of State, is saying to Vladimir Putin that they have common interests; they both promote regional stability, and prevent the spread of extremism. It’s difficult to know what Putin can say to the US Secretary of State because we all know, well most of the world knows, that the NATO powers have been doing exactly the opposite: not promoting regional stability and helping the spread of extremism. How have they managed to talk for these hours? Unless, presumably, Mr Putin explained to John Kerry that the only way to prevent extremism is to stop the NATO backing of rebels in Syria.RT: If an agreement really is unlikely then why is John Kerry here in the first place? AR: It is interesting that John Kerry has bothered to appear in Moscow at all. The United States has shown itself to be incredibly weak regarding what’s happened in Syria and there’s a lot of subterfuge going on.I know in Britain, when the report about chemical weapons came out, the mainstream media has all been following the drumbeats narrative that basically it is very important for Britain to support the rebels. Even their own journalists were caught off guard. No one knew how to report the idea that the British backed rebels were using chemical weapons so John Kerry must be going there to try to explain himself and perhaps explain to Mr Putin that they aren’t supplying the chemical weapons, which they have of course to people in the Middle East before, notably Saddam Hussein and the weapons of mass destruction to their client state of Israel.RT: What will John Kerry say about the unarmed UN peacekeepers being abducted by the rebels? Doesn’t that undermine the US’ support of the Syrian opposition? AR: If only the United States people realized that. Presumably John Kerry will be telling Mr Putin about the Martyrs of Yarmouk, or whatever they call themselves, even after they’ve kidnapped 24 UN observers in March and kidnapped four more Filipinos. I’ve been to the Golan Heights and it is emblematic of US-backed Zionist policy in that regions and its emblematic to the Arab world as a disaster zone. The broken churches that I saw, still today, in the Golan Heights on the Syrian side and the green fields on the other side. It’s very difficult how John Kerry will explain what to do, presumably trying to put pressure on his Islamist friends. I think the key here is that the American public needs to know that their government is supporting the de facto supporters, or at least very close to those, who would have supported the September 11 attacks. What we want now, really, is for the American people to start writing to their Congressmen and say the United States must stop supporting these rebels because this is not going to benefit anyone in the Middle East or the United States. RT: The US insisting the chemical weapons could have only been in the hands of the Assad regime, how could they have been so sure of that? AR: The mainstream media on all channels was so quick to criticize Carla del Ponte and say she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, this is a human rights commission report this isn’t a UN inspector. I’ve never heard of a UN reporter being so cast into the rubbish dump, even by reporters. As to why the US press secretary in Washington is so quick, I think it’s obvious they’re scared. But presumably the mainstream media will bury this information and it will get all tangled up in the public imaginations of NATO countries to continue to create the impression in the minds of people that President Assad used chemical weapons and WMDs. I think it was recently reported that one great Middle East correspondent was saying he was dining with a Syrian commander who said ‘We have MIG jets, why would we need to use chemical weapons?’ And of course we now hear that the Chief of Staff for Colin Powell, the former US defense secretary under George W. Bush, this is an Israeli ‘false flag’ operation. That’s a word usually used by conspiracy theorists, no that’s the former defense secretary’s man. … Read More
G20 gives ‘currency war’ stamp of approval
Japan reassured other finance ministers that it isn’t intentionally weakening the yen with its stimulus plan.According to the Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso, his colleagues understand that Japan is pursuing “price stability and economic recovery,” rather than competitively weakening the yen.Expert are split on whether the meeting will bring significant positive results. Some believe the communiqué will repeat February’s decision, when the group agreed to avoid using competitive currency devaluation to gain advantages in trade, the Associated Press reports.US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew spoke of the intention to put more pressure on Europe to boost efforts to support growth, and on Japan and China to avoid lowering the value of their currencies in order to improve exports.In Europe countries have yet to agree on the scale of austerity measures they apply locally, while Germany is pressing on deficit reduction.IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde is urging countries to focus on growth rather than on adjusting budget imbalances. She also said that Europe needs “to fix its frayed banking system” first and foremost.Earlier this week, the IMF lowered its outlook for the world economy, predicting government spending cuts would slow US growth and keep the Eurozone in recession.The G20 talks, chaired by Russia, kicked off in in Washington on April 18 and continued on Friday. The meeting preludes the upcoming spring meetings of the 188-nation International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.World Bank President Jim Yong Kim told reporters that the BRICS’ proposed creation of a new development bank is a good plan, as it will create new sources of capital needed to meet the world’s need to fund infrastructure projects.The plan to create a new development bank was agreed by the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa last month during the summit in South Africa. The project is aimed to attract investment to help fund $4.5 trillion in infrastructure projects in emerging economies. … Read More
Extreme monetary easing could have drastic side effects – IMF
In its report on global financial stability published on Wednesday the IMF said that central banks of leading economies would have to take urgent steps to prevent the possible negative impact of close-to-zero interest rates and stimulus programs, the Financial Times reports.In the short term,the IMF agreed that monetary easing to stimulate growth is reasonable in the current situation.“When the patient is still under treatment, you should not suspend the medicine, but you should always be vigilant about the side-effects of this medicine,” IMF’s head of financial stability José Viñals said. In the organization’s view it is not yet time to impose higher interest rates and switch to more traditional methods of supporting growth. Despite the concerns the IMF advised central banks to keep on going with close-to-zero interest rates as lifting them now could destabilize the system. It also said banks’ health in the Eurozone needed close attention emphasizing its previous advice to introduce a unified resolution regime for banks, including a common model for providing financial aid and deposit guarantees.Speaking about the US, that has already moved past the stage of restructuring banks, the IMF said the country’s monetary authorities should start considering the side effects of extreme monetary easing. “While we are at the very early stage [of the US recovery], we are already seeing a deterioration in the quality of issuance, which is typical of the late stages of the credit cycle,” Viñals said.Central bank executives seem puzzled and uncertain about where their extreme monetary easing could take their countries’ economies in the future. A former member of the European Central Bank’s executive board Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said “we don’t fully understand what is happening in advanced economies.” The governor of the Bank of England Sir Mervyn King said that “there is the risk of appearing to promise too much or allowing too much to be expected of us”.Janet Yellen, vice-chairman of the Federal Reserve, however is more sure that they are moving in the right direction. “I don’t see pervasive evidence of rapid credit growth, a marked build-up in leverage, or significant asset bubbles that would threaten financial stability. But there are signs that some parties are reaching for yield, and the Federal Reserve continues to carefully monitor this situation,” she said. … Read More
North Korea ready to develop relations, ensure stability ‘as a responsible nuke state’
North Korea, which, despite tension, is getting ready to celebrate the birthday of the country’s founder Kim Il-sung, said it was ready to conduct relations “based on the ideals of peace and sovereignty” and contribute to security and stability in Asia, and in the whole world “as a responsible nuclear-weapon state.”However, North Korea’s Kim Yong-nam pointed out that not every nation is worthy their friendship, saying the country’s “invincible defense forces” armed with strengthening “nuclear deterrence forces” will “unfold a total fight against the USA, acting in accordance with a wartime scenario.”“We will expand in quantity our nuclear weapons capability, which is the treasure of a unified Korea… that we would never barter at any price,” Kim Yong-nam stressed.Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday asserted the United States is willing to “reach out” to North Korea – as long as it “takes action” towards giving up its nuclear program.“I think it is really unfortunate that there has been so much focus and attention in the media and elsewhere on the subject of war, when what we really ought to be talking about is the possibility of peace. And I think there are those possibilities,” Kerry said during his Sunday visit to Tokyo where he is meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kishida reiterated the American condition for talks, saying both Japan and the US “cannot allow North Korea in any way to possess nuclear weapons.”North Korea should cease its “provocative speech and behavior,” Kishida stressed, urging it to take “concrete action toward denuclearization.”Just the day before, China also said it is “firmly committed to upholding peace and stability and advancing the denuclearization process on the Korean peninsula.”“There is no question in my mind that China is very serious – very serious – about denuclearizing,” Kerry noted after his Saturday talks with top Chinese officials.He also warned the North Korean government would be making a “huge mistake” if it were to launch a missile as he stopped in South Korea, where some 28,000 US troops are stationed.The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday added that North Korea should realize their “provocative acts do not bring any benefit,” other than making the situation for them “more difficult.” He said that Japan is willing to coordinate with the United States, South Korea, China and Russia to prevent the North Korean missiles from being launched.The other battle frontIn the meantime, Pyongyang warned South Korea of “catastrophic consequences,” should there be a propaganda action during the Day of the Sun – Kim Il-sung’s 101th birthday celebrations on April 15.Several South Korean NGOs have recently announced plans to launch air balloons with leaflets criticizing the North Korean regime over the border between the two countries.Reports said the South Korean police have already prevented one such launch on Saturday, “for the first time ever,” according to activists. The latter undertook such attempts in the past, sometimes also attaching dollar bills to the leaflets. The people living in the border areas have protested the actions, as it inevitably leads to flare-ups with the North, the police explained.North Korea itself is responsible for some recent provocative actions – which are taking place on the cyber-front, Seoul officials have claimed.The South Korean nuclear power plant operator Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power said it had to cut off the Internet access and even seal the USB ports on all the computers inside their facilities for the fear of possible cyber-attacks from North Korea. Such “preventive measures” were taken after several other state companies, including banks and TV stations, became subject to such attacks that were officially blamed on North Korean hackers.Some 48,000 South Korean computers have been hacked during the recent attacks, leading some of the country’s experts to claim the war is already going on in cyber-space. They estimate an army of at least 3,000 ‘hacker troops’ from the North are taking part, according to Itar-Tass.North Korea has dismissed the allegations as “rumors” and “deliberate provocations” aimed at worsening the existing tension.It also thwarted the South Korean president Park Geun-hye’s recent call for dialogue and “trust-building process,” calling it “a cunning trick to hide the South’s policy of confrontation.”There would be no negotiation until South Korea and the United States end their joint military drill on the peninsula, the North Korean Reunification committee spokesman said in a statement on Sunday, adding that under these circumstances “such a dialogue would be meaningless.”The statement aired by the KCNA news agency also blamed the South for trying to “shift its responsibility for putting the Kaesong Industrial Complex into a crisis.” Some 53,000 North Korean workers employed by 123 South Korean companies were working at the Kaesong Industrial Complex until it closed down due to the recent escalation of diplomatic hostilities.The South Korean media is now speculating whether the North will test-fire a missile during Monday’s birthday celebrations, some claiming the launch facility is already on standby, RT’s Aleksey Yaroshevky reported from the region on Sunday. … Read More
Hundreds of thousands might be left out of immigration reform
The legislation, which is expected to be introduced in the Senate next week, would prohibit all undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US after Dec. 31, 2011, from applying for legal status, an unnamed Senate aide told the Associated Press.The conditions proposed by the bill have not yet been released, but the unnamed Senate aide claims that they would strike a harsh blow against hundreds of thousands of the 11 million immigrants who live in the US illegally.Additionally, the bill would only allow undocumented immigrants with a clean criminal record and financial stability to be granted a path to citizenship. Those who arrived in 2012 or later, those who are poor, or those who can’t prove that they arrived before the cutoff date will be unable to apply for legal status.The conditions could prove problematic for those who have been illegally in the US for years, but can’t prove it due to their lack of documents. Without such papers, illegal immigrants are often also unable to find well-paying jobs, and would therefore have a harder time proving financial stability. The new provisions that are allegedly outlined in the legislation may serve as a disappointment for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, as well as immigrant rights groups. The conditions of the bill, which were negotiated upon by a bipartisan group of senators, four of which are Democrats and four of which are Republicans, is more likely to pass due to the collaborative effort by both parties.“All issues that rise to the member level have been dealt with,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, told AP in a statement. “All that is left is the drafting.”Due to immense pressure from the Republican negotiators, the legislation harshly tackles illegal immigration both in the workplace and in regards to the path to citizenship. It would require all employers to verify their workers’ legal statuses and increase border security. Illegal immigrants who qualify and apply for the 13-year path to citizenship could receive provisional legal status. The federal government would also create a new visa program allowing up to 200,000 low-skilled workers into the country each year to serve in low-paying industries, holding jobs as janitors, construction workers, nursing home attendants and other occupations.Proponents of the measure claim that it would put most immigrants on a path to citizenship – but some opponents argue that hundreds of thousands would be excluded – and it is the excluded individuals that are likely to enter the spotlight as the bill moves through Congress.The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a hearing on the legislation for next Wednesday and will likely introduce the bill for a vote during the first or second week of May. … Read More
Unemployment behind increase in Al-Qaeda presence in Yemen – President
He believes peace and stability in the conflict-torn country could be reached only through dialogue involving all strata of Yemeni society.RT: Mr. President, what subjects did you discuss with Russian President Vladimir Putin during your meeting?Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi: First of all, I’d like to thank RT’s Arabic channel Rusiya Al-Yaum for what it’s doing for the Arab world as a whole and Yemen in particular. This is my first visit to Russia since I was elected in 2012. I came to thank the Russian government and Mr. Putin for supporting the people of Yemen at the time of crisis in 2011.Yemen was on the brink of civil war, but its political forces – the ruling party, opposition parties, together with our social, youth and women’s organizations agreed that we should take the way of peace and stop the civil war that had been raging in our capital city Sana’a for more than a year.We all agreed that we were going to act according to the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative and its implementation mechanism. We then held an early election on February 24, 2012. A compromise president was elected, and we continued to establish peace in Yemen according to the mechanism I mentioned above. We also managed to stop hostilities in Sana’a and other provinces, because, as you know, the army and security forces were divided, tribes were divided, and the capital itself was divided.People went to polling stations while there were still barricades and guns on the streets, because they wanted peace, not war.Now we are moving towards implementing the initiative put forward by the Gulf countries and establishing ceasefire, as well as withdrawing troops and forming a national coalition government.The National Consensus Government was formed in such a way that the Prime Minister represented the opposition, and the President was from the ruling party. I was chosen to be President in the nature of a compromise.We are following the plan outlined in the initiative: we promised to fix water and energy supply, open the roads that connect the provinces; we, as well as the militants, withdrew our forces and sent them to free Abyan province from Al-Qaeda. Militia made up from local population helped us do that. We forced Al-Qaeda out of Abyan and have partially freed Shabwah province. We have started refresher training and the reorganization of our military, and are now in the process of country-wide restructuring of our military forces, the Interior Ministry and its departments – all in accordance with the initiative. A special commission made up from our Jordanian and American experts is giving us a hand with that. There’s also an EU commission working with Jordanian counterparts that helps us restructure our Interior Ministry. What we’re doing now is basically building up our military and security forces from scratch.We have embarked on the path of a national reconciliation dialogue.I talked about all these things with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, as Russia is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, which backed the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and the mechanism of its implementation.We discussed a number of standards that our armed forces are supposed to meet. As you know, the weapons we use in Yemen were made in Russia, as well as tanks, planes and helicopters. The lifespan of some of these weapons has expired, and we agreed to continue military cooperation in this field.We spoke about economic issues, and I also thanked Russia for preventing Yemen from degenerating into a civil war. Russia has played a role in this by taking a firm stance to support the Gulf Initiative.A civil war in Yemen would have reverberations both across the Arab world and the global community.RT: Mr. President, earlier you mentioned military relations with Russia. Shall we expect any agreements to be signed in this area in the future? ARMH: We’ve got plenty of long-term military agreements with Russia.I informed President Putin that other countries had provided Yemen with financial help in order to help it get out of the crisis. We do ask for support but we do not want Russia to simply invest into Yemen – we would like Russian companies to help us extend the working lifespan of fighters, cargo aircraft, tanks, motor vehicles and supply replacement parts to us.RT: Mr. President, the National Dialogue Conference is now a pivotal event for Yemen. How would you estimate the results that have been achieved so far after two weeks of work?ARMH: This is the first conference of this kind held in Yemen or any other Arab country at all. We have been preparing this conference for six months abiding by the initiative of Gulf states and its implementation mechanism. This national dialogue is now underway and it is going to last about six months more. All the issues will be split into nine main divisions. The discussion will kick off with addressing the problems of the southern part of the country, then we will move on to problems in Saada province, economic issues, and nation-building. In Yemen, 75 per cent of the population is under 45 years old. So this new young generation is looking forward to changes, and these changes can’t be carried out by a previous generation, which has been in power for 50 years. The new generation must take part in building their own future. That is the reason why the youth, women, civil society organizations, small parties and new parties established after the events are involved in the dialogue. There will be 565 representatives from these groups and they all will be a party to the process. The dialogue will be headed by the president of the Republic of Yemen who will be guided by the needs of all social layers.Yemen needs changes. For 50 years there have been internal conflicts going on in the country. In the past there was North Yemen and South Yemen, and there was bad blood between the two states. In 1990 they were unified into the Republic of Yemen but even this move didn’t make the parties adjust their course. So it led to the war of 1994 – one party pushed another aside from power. Such actions don’t fit with modern conceptions – you can’t just overthrow another party. The people of Yemen have found themselves at a crossroads, choosing between a civil war and nationwide reconciliation, whereby the system of governance would be reformed peacefully so that none of the communities would feel oppressed and discriminated.Yemen is in a complicated economic situation right now. In the 1960s we launched a bold campaign to eradicate illiteracy, poverty and diseases, but 50 years on we still find ourselves living hand-in-hand with illiteracy, poverty and diseases.RT: There have been reports in the media announcing the destruction of a terrorist network that was planning attacks in order to prevent a dialogue. You made a public statement as well, Mr. President, saying there are forces that seek to upset all efforts at reconciliation. Who do you think might be interested in disrupting a nationwide dialogue for a safe, consolidated Yemen? ARMH: Whenever there is a change underway, there are those who support it, and those who oppose it. There are also domestic and external players. For example, Iran doesn’t like it that Yemen should deal with its issues at its own discretion. They have a different attitude, and different methods. We arrested their vessels and their arms, and requested them to help Yemen in resolving its problems rather than export more problems into Yemen. Yemen is ridden with poverty. We have 6 million people aged between 15 and 28 who are unemployed. We have 600,000 university graduates from both humanitarian and technical schools who have spent the last 10 years looking for employment. Some of them despair and commit suicide, and some of them join Al Qaeda. That is why we don’t want our friends and neighbors to export more problems into our country; we can barely handle our existing difficulties. And we don’t want to have weapons smuggled into our country, because Yemen is already one of the most heavily armed nations in the world. RT: So you believe that unemployment has been one of the reasons for the increase in Al Qaeda’s presence in Yemen?ARMH: Yes. RT: You said the government had a plan to combat Al Qaeda in Yemen, and you did take steps to clear Abyan of its presence, etc. Is it possible to say today that the Al Qaeda network in Yemen has been destroyed?ARMH: Al Qaeda has not been destroyed completely, just as it hasn’t been destroyed in any particular country. There is an Al Qaeda presence in the United States. There is Al Qaeda in Europe. There is Al Qaeda in Russia, and in any country. It maintains its presence by way of the so-called “sleeper cells.” Al Qaeda has become a network without borders. As we were wrestling Abyan from them, we came across Al Qaeda fighters who had come over from Pakistan, Chechnya, Europe, the US, and other places. They had intended to establish their own government in Yemen, and when hostilities broke out in Sanaa, they thought it was time to set up their government in Abyan. But with God’s help, and with support from popular committees, our military and security forces managed to take down the government that Al Qaeda was trying to impose on the province. However, they still have their sleeper cells in some parts of Yemen, as well as outside the country.RT: The government of Yemen has addressed the United States with several requests to have Yemeni inmates of Guantanamo Bay and the Parwan Detention Facility in Bagram, Afghanistan, returned to Yemen. Why has this issue remained unresolved to date?ARMH: I spoke with the US Justice Secretary during my visit to the United States. We have agreed that they would hand us over every Yemeni national detained at Guantanamo Bay. We have made arrangements, and we are now moving toward a transfer of detainees under those conditions. I hope we will have this accomplished in the nearest future. We believe that keeping someone in detention for over ten years without due process is clear-cut tyranny. It’ll be difficult to rehabilitate someone who has been through such an excruciating experience – 10 years of imprisonment without due process. The United States is fond of talking democracy and human rights. But when we were discussing the prisoner issue with the American Justice Secretary, he had nothing to say. I told him, “Your country is always out there promoting liberty and human rights. Are you okay with someone being kept in your prison for ten years without due process?” He said, “Personally, I’m not happy with that.” So we made a deal to have them handed over to Yemen as soon as possible.RT: How soon will it be done?ARMH: God willing, it will be done.RT: Finally, I suppose you’re having a meeting with representatives of the Russian trade and industry, including Gazprom. Should we expect a future cooperation between your country and Russia in the energy sector? ARMH: We have cooperated in the past. Yemen is open not only for Russia but for all the companies that are working in oil exploration. There are several areas with supposed oil fields in our country. 34 companies, including Russian ones, began drilling but were forced to leave due to the 2011 events. We are going to ask these companies to return to the same areas where they intended to begin developing oil. They spent two or three years on a geological survey. All they had to do was to start drilling. Some of the Russian companies discovered natural gas while exploring oil but they mothballed some of the gas fields. We held talks and asked them to return. Today natural gas is considered to be more valuable because it’s one of the clean energy sources. Some cement factories and other industries are running on gas. It doesn’t pollute the environment.RT: Mr. President, what would be your message to the people of Yemen at this moment?ARMH: I am telling the people of Yemen: believe in dialogue, believe in those you’ve elected, because they are taking you down the road of peace, and of building a new Yemen which you’ve been aspiring for. We wish you success in dialogue. We wish you to bring Yemen to the shore of stability and security.RT: We’re wishing you success in your dialogue, and hope you can bring about the ultimate peace and stability. Thank you. … Read More
