Plane crash in Algeria

Plane crash in Algeria

 

[caption id="attachment_12283" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Photo AFP - Farouk Batiche)[/caption]

 

Inspecting the wreckage

 

Algerian forensic inspect the wreckage of a C-130 Hercules aircraft at the aftermath of a crash in Mount Fertas in the Oum El Bouaghi region, about 320 kms from the Algerian capital Algiers.

 

(AFP - Farouk Batiche)

 

(Agence France-Presse, 13 Thursday February 2014 The Roman)

 

 

Plane crash

Plane crash

 

[caption id="attachment_12228" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Plane crash: People look at the wreckage of Algerian military transport plane after it slammed into a mountain in the country’s rugged eastern region on Tuesday. A civil defense official said 102 people on board were killed but one person managed to survive. The U.S.-built C-130 Hercules transport crashed about noon near the town of Ain Kercha, 50 kilometers southeast of Constantine, the main city in eastern Algeria. (AP/Mohamed Ali))[/caption]

 

People look at the wreckage of Algerian military transport plane after it slammed into a mountain in the country’s rugged eastern region on Tuesday.

 

A civil defense official said 102 people on board were killed but one person managed to survive.

 

The U.S.-built C-130 Hercules transport crashed about noon near the town of Ain Kercha, 50 kilometers southeast of Constantine, the main city in eastern Algeria.

 

(AP/Mohamed Ali)

 

(The Jakarta Post, 12 Wednesday February 2014 The Roman)

 

Honda net profit doubles to $1.56 bn in Q3

Honda net profit doubles to $1.56 bn in Q3

 

Tokyo (AFP)

 

Honda said Friday its net profit doubled to $1.56 billion in the three months to December, thanks to brisk global sales and a weaker yen.

 

Net profit for October-December rose to 160.7 billion yen ($1.56 billion), while revenue rose 24.5 percent to 3.02 trillion yen in the quarter.

 

The results were "mainly due to a rise in automobile and motorcycle net sales as well as the positive impact of foreign exchange effects," the company said.

 

A sharp decline in the yen this financial year has boosted profitability at major Japanese exporters including Honda rivals Toyota and Nissan.

 

For the nine months to December, Japan's third-largest automaker logged 403.60 billion yen in net profit, up nearly 40 percent from the same period the previous year.

 

Revenue for the three quarters rose 23 percent, with its sales in North America up 30 percent year-on-year thanks to healthy sales of four-wheeled vehicles, it said.

 

Honda also enjoyed good sales in the motorbike business in Asia, where net profit was up more than 50 percent from a year ago.

 

(Agence France-Presse, 31 January 2014 The Roman)

Tunisia trims 2014 growth forecast to 3.8%

Tunisia trims 2014 growth forecast to 3.8%

 

[caption id="attachment_11721" align="alignnone" width="400"] (Tunisia’s central bank cut its growth forecast for 2014 to 3.8 percent, down from 4 percent. (File photo: Reuters))[/caption]

 

Tunisia's economy will expand less quickly than hoped this year, the central bank said on Thursday, cutting its growth forecast to 3.8 percent from 4 percent.

 

The economy grew by 3 percent last year.

 

The bank did not say why it was trimming its forecast, which came against a background of turmoil in many emerging economies as the U.S. Federal Reserve scales back its monetary stimulus.

 

The bank said the budget deficit was 8.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2013.

 

Under pressure from international lenders to cut subsidies, the government hopes to reduce it to 6.5 percent this year, according to the 2014 budget.

 

Three years after toppling their autocratic leader Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in an uprising that inspired other 'Arab Spring' revolts, Tunisia is progressing toward full democracy after approving a new constitution this week.

 

A new caretaker government has taken over to run the country until new elections later this year.

 

But despite political progress, high living costs and a lack of economic opportunities are still the main concerns for many Tunisians.

 

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday approved a $507 million loan tranche for the North African country, the second part of a $1.5 billion credit agreed at the start of 2013.

 

The central bank said foreign currency reserves stood at11.230bn Tunisian dinars ($6.98bn) by Jan. 28, equal to 102 days of import cover, compared to 106 days a month earlier.

 

(Reuters, Tunis)

 

(Al Arabiya News, 30 Thursday January 2014 The Roman)