Central Asia Star

The Agreements on the Interest Rate Swap was investigated by the Financial Services Authority. It was reported that there is a percentage of 90 mis-sold interest rate swap sales. The banks who failed on the particular area triggered the FSA to investigate in the sales in one the product the bank has been offering. There are guidelines given as a result of the investigation and the banks are prompted to meet the criteria. There are two categories under the guidelines, first it would be for the bigger firms who were really well informed about the product and second, to those small firms that does not have any idea about the product being sold to them.

The Financial Conduct Authority’s CEO made a remark on the actions that were made by FSA. FSA will also ensure a reasonable and fair outcome both for small and large businesses. The following banks that started their own review of the individual claims were already expected to pay out for the compensation to the customers where the product was mis-sold. It is expected for the smaller banks to begin their review. Banks in the UK like, HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays have started their investigation.

The Federation of Small Businesses has appreciated the work that was carried out by the FSA. The National Chairman of the Federation said that there isn’t enough clarity on how a redress would look like. He also encouraged the different banks to smoothly carry out the review and be able to give the right compensation to the small firms who were caught up because of the said scandal on the mis-selling of Internet Rate Swaps.

It is simply amazing to see sports enthusiast who offer their entire life for the love of sports. Most of the time players who often excel in their individual fields in sport feel contented while they do their job and make a name for themselves in the world. We know a lot about famous athletes who have already devoted their life in playing their valued game. Having known them succeed is also a pride they carry with them all their lives.

Believe it or not at the age of one hundred one, someone can still manage to run. The World’s Oldest Marathon runner named Fauja Singh who has been running in different marathons for over a decade already made us believe that anything can be possible. The 101- year-old Fauja Singh already completed nine marathons that forty-two kilometer far. It was just last Sunday that he has made his last run in a race that took place in Honkong. Since he has been running long distance marathons, he thinks it is already time for him to rest. He put an end to his career last Sunday. He already made a lot of money that is allotted for different charities that he was supporting.

The runner was also known as the Turbaned Tornado. Most of his fans see him wearing his Turban while he joins different marathons. This is his head wear that is traditionally worn by him. When he was interviewed, he said that he was determined to run as long as he wants to after suffering depression when he witnessed his son’s death. The said incident encouraged him to have another focus in life and that was to focus in long-distance runs.

The natural calamities brought by weather disturbances are always unexpected. Most of the time a lot of people could not prepare for the said calamity. The unwanted disasters like flash floods, earthquake, typhoons, and landslides are examples of the phenomenon people would least expect coming in their areas. Tons of homes and infrastructures are destroyed by the said calamities and in worse scenarios, the people’s lives is put at risk.

There were so many calamities in Asia that have occurred in countries like Thailand, Japan, and Indonesia who was struck by a deadly earthquake and tsunami that destroyed almost everything in the country. It took a long time for the said countries to recover from great loss pf properties, livelihood sources, and love ones. Another calamity struck a part of Indonesia. There was a landslide in the mountainous area of Manado that is situated in the Northern part of Sulawesi. So many residents in the area were buried alive because of the mud that washed away their homes.

Last Saturday, heavy rain poured in Manado and the non-stop rain was the cause of the landslide. After the incident, many rescuers and some residents helped in recovering the body of people who were buried. Others were dead and only a few did survive the tragedy. The Disaster Agency in North Sulawesi gave a report on the number of casualties affected by the landslide and the toll of death already reached seventeen. People who were alarmed of the ongoing landslide were evacuating as fast as they can. Some made but those who were left and didn’t have the time to run were buried. The number of casualties included children. Most of the residents were not able to save anything from their homes because they have secured the members of their family.

You can see a population in China where they are almost described to be treated as immigrants even if they are from China. These people belong to the Hukou System and most of them are the so called migrant workers. They have the worse situation and treated not equal among the rest of the Chinese citizens. They make up most of the urban population in China but they are considered by the government as illegal. The Hukou System does not help them a lot because they are not entitled of having the benefits like education and health care which is supposed to be given to everyone in a particular country. They say that this kind of treatment is unfair and does not help the Chinese economy.

The Hukou is a household registration system that was meant to put a division in the Chinese population considering both the rural and urban residents. The said system was labeled to be discriminating and this was proven due to an incident in China where a bridge has collapsed and those who were affected would receive compensation from the government. The said compensation would vary according to what system you belong to. If you belong to the urban Hokou you would be receiving 400,000 yuan and the rural Hukou would have 180,000 yuan.

A lot of activists in China were against this type of system because it does not give equality to its citizen. The poor suffer the consequences and they are deprived of their rights. One democracy activist from China wants a reform in the Hokou system so that it would benefit the country and the world.

The expressway in downtown China collapsed because a truck filled with fireworks has exploded. The big blast created chaos on the busy bridge where a lot of cars were passing by following the truck.It was an accident that the contents of the truck exploded and the huge impact of the explosion caused the truck to turn into pieces and the bridge to sink below. A number of 11 people who were on the bridge with their vehicles at that time were dead. There were also injuries reported from 13 people.

The explosion happened in China’s Henan province and local authorities conducted search and rescue operations to find other missing victims of the explosion. The expressway was also locked down and other passersby and cars were not allowed to get inside the perimeter where the exact incident has happened. The truck fell a hundred feet below including other vehicles on the bridge that sank down. State broadcast news in China has owned a video footage of how the bridge started to collapse and how the other part was destroyed and its parts fell below.

China is one of the huge producers of Fireworks and it is part of the Chinese culture to use fireworks in very important occasions such as the Chinese New Year Celebration. They believed that the fireworks can send away bad luck. China will be celebrating its Lunar New Year and the government authorities from Beijing have informed the residents to only use a few fireworks so as not to pollute the air. The smoke that comes out after the firework is being used can bring a very alarming amount of polluted air.

How would you feel if your country is no longer in debt with other foreign countries? A lot of countries owe a bulk amount of debts from different creditors in the world. It’s not easy for the economy to transform and boost itself easily without financial considerations. A country’s improvement on infrastructures, railroad projects, and other aspects that shows the growth of the country can somehow be owed to the foreign countries finances.

A state just near the borders of China, Myanmar who is also known as Burma that belonged to the Southeast Asian countries is taking a big leap in paying its foreign debts. The country has had connections with the Paris Club of creditors, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank for discussions on an agreement that would best answer the interest of the country. The said discussions took place last week between the said creditors and the country’s representatives.

Myanmar has reported that their country is paid from its foreign debt that has amounted to $11.3 Billion. It wasn’t easy for the country to come up with the said amount of paying its debts to other countries, thanks to some international donors that are somehow capable of Myanmar’s cleared status.

One impressive move of the president was being able to clear the country’s international debt. The country’s government that is lead by Myanmar’s President, Thein Sein has made an assurance of new reforms that would have something to do with its economy and political status. Myanmar has transformed its economy in a not so easy way; it’s partly good leadership to thank for and creative initiatives responsible for the country’s growth.

Early this month, bad pollution all over China’s capital, Beijing sparked a public outcry over the air quality as well as causing a sudden increase in hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses and heart attacks.

The World Health Organization has set a healthy level of Air Quality Index at 25 micrograms, while Beijing considers a 300 reading as “Bad” and 500 as “Hazardous.” Last weekend it has breached 70 micrograms. Air pollution is a major problem in China because of the country’s rapid pace of industrialization, reliance on coal power, explosive growth in car ownership and the sometimes disregard for environmental laws. Various residents from Beijing have complained about the growing severity of the problem.

The government then published a draft of the new rules on its website on Saturday and asked for public feedback, an unusual step that illustrates how carefully the government is treading around the hot-button issue.
Cited are some commentaries from the residents affected by the pollution:

“I’m getting itchy,” complained my daughter Michelle, 22, visiting us from New York. “I could feel it at the back of my throat.”

Longtime expatriate residents in the Chinese capital jokingly call it the “Beijing tickle,” a nagging cough that takes a long time to shrug off.

Henry Ngo posted on a Facebook page, “Don’t worry,” “Smokers are inhaling worst air than this. And they did not die immediately!”

Soligsohn, who lived in Beijing for 14 years, said, “This is a confluence of bad events,” she assured me. “Pollution is definitely a problem. It hasn’t gone away, but there is no reason to believe an extreme reading is anything other than an extreme.”There seems to be no quick solution.”This is complex and takes time, but the work has begun,” Soligsohn added.

The Beijing city government has in the past tried to conceal its pollution problem by manipulating air quality data; public pressure has forced it to adopt a more open stance. The city government now publishes hourly pollution data and even pollution forecasts to help citizens deal with the haze.

The United Nations has scheduled a date for the exiting of NATO bodies inside Afghanistan on 2014. Before this date, the NATO officers will be training the Afghan military and provide them the essentials that would help boost their capabilities. As the deadline approaches, many citizens fear for the worst that can happen.

Recently, a police officer’s two children were shot to death by the Taliban. The police officer is one of the many security officials in Afghanistan who receive death threats should they not quit their job. Political analysts state that this might be a plan of the Taliban to weaken the government security structures in many areas so that they can easily take over once NATO leaves.

Citizens also fear that NATO’s withdrawal can ease the fears of many Taliban Warlords, who continue to hide in pockets of resistance in the area. However, Afghan authorities say citizens do not need to worry about their own security

Since the U.N. mission on Afghanistan, the Taliban were pushed back from their earlier state of domination in many regions of Afghanistan, to the mountains and caves of the desert, out of the cities. The Taliban were known for their brutality, often shooting women and their medieval treatment of women. They have also banned television and music in the territories they control and impose a harsh rule over their captured towns.

Source: NBC

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The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) continues to battle 1,500 claims on a daily basis. Including valid, rejected claims, banks may face up to £16 billion in total for the compensation of all PPI in the UK today.

The FOS mentions that it has rented contractual spaces and hired new manpower to help deal with the PPI crisis. They recently reached the 500,000th mark of PPI claims in total. However, they mention that if banks continue to “drag their feet” in compensating claims, the costs become higher for both sides.

After their third quarter financial report, some banks may be driven in the red. The Royal Bank of Scotland declared an additional £400 million for PPI compensation, bringing their total bill up to £1.7 billion. HSBC continues to fight PPI setbacks amidst a £1 billion expenses shoot third quarter and may add more money to their already existing £1.1 bill. Lloyds leads the roster with over £5.3 billion in total for compensation being the biggest PPI mis seller in the country today.

Banks continue to blame claims management companies (CMC) such as PPICo.org and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for the rising number of PPI claims in the country. However, CMCs mention that they are only helping hands and they look through each claim carefully to verify its authenticity before they process it to the FOS. The FSA recently called upon banks to invite their potentially mis sold customers to make a claim.

However, Natalie Ceeney, Chief Ombudsman of the FOS, states that banks should avoid complaining as it is their fault in the first place. The mis selling led to the exposure of bad banking practices. FSA’s managing director Martin Wheatley mentioned that banks will be subject to a reform in the banking incentives system, pointed out by Wheatley to be the core of PPI mis selling.

The outstanding peace and the continuous efforts of nation building in the central Asian countries has swept India to connect and build productive ties with its countries. India has recently made strategic agreements with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan namely with security agencies and defense forces in laying ground for further economic growth.

Indiain Vice President Hamid Ansari stated Wednesday that it is willing to help tackle the issues concerning the problems in Afghanistan’s nation building. They are ready to work with Afghanistan with regards to building a cooperative regional economic and security framework to ensure the economy’s growth, social harmony, democracy and rule of law is properly observed.

Analysts see that the easy way to build ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and India, would be depending on human wisdom and divine intervention because the two countries seemed to be avoiding and elusive of India itself.

Part of the Central Asian ties revolved around the fact that Punjab farmers can actually help develop the farms and other uncultivated land in the central Asian countries. Farmers in central Asia were scarce and Indian farmers only have small land holdings. Indian Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal stated that India and central Asia can benefit one another through this effort.

Badal also stated that Amritsar could be the center of Indian business in the entire Central Asian region.

Source: Hindustan Times

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