Rio de Janeiro: China’s CNOOC and CNPC, Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch Shell and France’s Total won an auction Monday to join Brazilian state operator Petrobras in developing the huge “Libra” Atlantic oilfield. The five energy firms won 35-year concessions, with Petrobras taking a 40 percent stake, more than the minimum required by the terms of Brazil’s offer, which has been controversial at home. Shell and Total both earned a 20 percent stake with CNOOC and CNPC securing 10 percent each. Their consortium was the only bid to offer the Brazilian state the minimum 41.65 percent of oil to be extracted from the site, which holds an estimated eight to 12 billion barrels of oil. To put that into context, Brazil curren...
October 22, 2013 at 1:55 am | News Desk
Beijing: Starbucks has become the latest foreign firm to be roasted by China’s state-run media, with a series of accusations that the world’s largest coffee shop chain is overcharging Chinese consumers. State broadcaster CCTV aired a seven-minute report criticising the firm’s pricing in China, arguing that a tall latte in Beijing is more expensive than in London, Chicago and Mumbai. The report on Sunday gave the price of a Beijing latte as 27 yuan ($4.42), compared with 24.25 yuan ($3.97) in London, 19.98 yuan ($3.26) in Chicago and 14.6 yuan ($2.39) in Mumbai. It came after a stream of print stories attacking the Seattle-based firm, with the state-run Economic Information Daily accusing it of “profiteering”. T...
October 22, 2013 at 1:15 am | News Desk
Zurich: Continental giants Portugal and Sweden were drawn together in the pick of the World Cup qualifying play-offs in Europe made by football’s governing body FIFA on Monday. Former champions France were given a favourable pairing as they travel to Ukraine for the first leg on November 15 while Greece will host Romania and Croatia play their first leg in Iceland. The second round of the two-legged ties will be played on November 19. Former World Cup semi-finalists Portugal and Sweden were the first two countries pulled out of the hat as Cristiano Ronaldo will defy Zlatan Ibrahimovic in what will be a battle of star-studded line-ups. “We have been drawn against a team against whom we will be playing two complicated matches, two...
October 22, 2013 at 1:07 am | News Desk
Athens: A Roma couple were charged in Greece on Monday with abducting a young girl dubbed the “blonde angel”, whose discovery has prompted thousands of calls from parents of missing children. The couple — a 39-year-old man and his 40-year-old wife — were ordered detained by a court in Larissa, central Greece on charges of abducting the child, their lawyer Konstantinos Katsavos told AFP. They face a sentence of between 10 and 20 years in prison if convicted. Police found the blonde-haired, green-eyed girl named Maria in a Roma camp in the central town of Farsala on Wednesday, and the couple was arrested after DNA tests showed they were not related. The girl’s discovery has struck a powerful chord with parents of...
October 22, 2013 at 1:07 am | News Desk
London: Britain on Monday paved the way for its first nuclear plant in a generation, to be built by state-owned foreign firms, underlining the government’s controversial commitment to atomic power. The coalition government signed a £16-billion ($26-billion, 18.9-billion-euro) deal with French energy giant EDF to build two reactors at Hinkley Point C, southwestern England, to meet Britain’s future energy needs. Also involved in the contract are French group Areva — the world’s leading nuclear power company — and Chinese nuclear firms CGN and CNNC. Energy Secretary Ed Davey said the deal, subject to European Union approval, was necessary as Britain faced a “looming energy crisis” in the next dec...
October 22, 2013 at 1:07 am | News Desk
Birmingham (United Kingdom): England breakthrough star Andros Townsend continued his fine form by inspiring Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-0 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday. The 22-year-old winger, who starred as England booked their place at the World Cup earlier this week, scored the opening goal with a 31st-minute cross that crept past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Roberto Soldado added a second after half-time as Spurs moved up to fifth place in the table, three points below leaders Arsenal, and began to atone for their shock 3-0 home defeat by West Ham United. “It was a great performance,” said Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas. “We improved with time because the beginning was difficult, as we had lots of lo...
October 21, 2013 at 1:35 am | News Desk
Athens: Greece should prepare itself for a hellish negotiating period with international creditors on the country’s financial needs and its level of debt, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Sunday. “Up to June it will be hell. Our lenders will review and judge everything,” Stournaras said to the newspaper To Vima. The minister also told the daily Kathimerini that Greece would refuse a new bailout package if it came with additional austerity measures. His statements come at a time of increasing anxiety in Greece as the so called troika of creditors from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund consider further loan releases to the cash-strapped country. Greece is experiencing a sixth...
October 21, 2013 at 1:26 am | News Desk
Kano (Nigeria): Boko Haram gunmen dressed in military uniform on Sunday killed 19 people near the Nigerian border with Cameroon in the restive northeast where the Islamists have carried out deadly attacks, residents and a survivor said. The motorcycle-riding gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs blocked the highway near the town of Logumani, 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the border, shooting and hacking to death 19 motorists and burning three trucks, they said. “We have recovered 19 dead bodies from the scene of the attack by Boko Haram gunmen,” Musa Abur, leader of a civilian vigilante group in the area told AFP. “Five of the victims, who included two truck drivers and their assistants, were shot dead while the rest were slaught...
October 21, 2013 at 1:16 am | News Desk
Vienna: Tommy Haas won his second Austrian Open title on Sunday, a dozen years after claiming his first, with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 defeat of Robin Haase. Victory over the Dutchman took two and a quarter hours and denied Haase his third trophy in Austria after twice winning on clay at Kitzbuehel. Haas first won in Vienna in 2001 having lost the final the year before to Tim Henman. “Winning a title doesn’t come around that often, so it’s a great feeling having done it twice this year,” said Haas, the father of a young daughter whom he said is one of the main motivations keeping him out on court at the age of 35. “It’s a great feeling to have done it here again,” added the son of an Austrian father who live...
October 21, 2013 at 1:03 am | News Desk
Baghdad: A roadside blast followed by a suicide bombing at a cafe in the Iraqi capital killed at least 34 people on Sunday, security and medical officials said. The blasts in the Shiite-majority area of Al-Amil in south Baghdad also wounded at least 50 people, the officials said. A police colonel said the first bomb exploded near the streetside cafe, after which a suicide bomber detonated explosives when people gathered at the scene. Emergency personnel quickly cleaned the site of the explosions, leaving almost no evidence of the attack, while police commandos cordoned off the scene, an AFP journalist said. Militants have repeatedly targeted cafes in Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq this year, along with other areas where crowds of people gath...
October 21, 2013 at 1:03 am | News Desk
Pakistan Rupee Exchange Rate