A quick look at news you might have missed from around the world for Friday, Nov 27, 2009.
Dubai $80 billion in debt — looks to restructure
Iranian government seizes Nobel Peace Prize
Five Aussie MP’s resign over climate change legislation
“You can’t just say to the world: ‘I don’t want to pay my debts’. There is no income coming in from any of these properties. I think this is shocking PR.”
The Emirate that relies on tourism and commerce rather than oil for its revenue has found itself $80 billion in debt and in need of restructuring that debt in order to pay. The two state owned entities, Dubai World and Nakheel are known for Transport & Logistics, Drydocks & Maritime, Urban Development, Investment & Financial Services and for real estate.
According to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, the restructuring move was carefully planned.
“Our intervention in Dubai World was carefully planned and reflects its specific financial position,” he said in a statement.
“The government is spearheading the restructuring of this commercial operation in the full knowledge of how the markets would react. We understand the concerns of the market and the creditors in particular.
“However we have had to intervene because of the need to take decisive action to address its particular debt burden.”
Stock Markets around the world plummeted upon the Dubai announcement amid fears of a return to the worldwide credit crunch and financial crisis that threw the world into recession a year ago.
The 2003 Nobel Peace Prize won by human rights activist Shirin Ebadi was removed from a bank vault three weeks ago by the order of the Iranian government. Ebadi has been a vocal critic of last years Iranian presidential election that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad returned to power.
Ebadi, who has not returned to her native Iran since the day before that disputed June 11 election, has been told that her accounts had been frozen — accounts that included the $1.3 million that accompanied the peace prize, and with which her human rights group had been using “to help prisoners of conscience and their families.”
“They said they would detain me if I returned, or that they would make the environment unsafe for me wherever I am,” she said. But she said that she intends to return to Iran.
“I will return whenever it is useful for my country,” she added.
Five members of the opposition Liberal Party have resigned their portfolios rather than follow their leader Malcolm Turnbull in support of Australia’s legislative version of Cap and Trade.
The Liberal Party is in turmoil with the resignations of five frontbenchers from their portfolios this afternoon in protest against the emissions trading scheme.
Tony Abbott, Sophie Mirabella, Tony Smith and Senators Nick Minchin and Eric Abetz have all quit their portfolios because they cannot vote for the legislation.
Senate whip Stephen Parry has also relinquished his position.
This is just the beginning fallout from the Climategate scandal — expect more governments to begin questioning the science of Manmade Global Warming.
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[...] even more difficult to grasp when I consider the fact that David published his last 73wire.com post at 5:00 AM on Friday morning, just an hour and ten minutes before he lost control of his vehicle on [...]
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Hinz family. David’s passing is a great loss to many.
So sorry for you loss. You are all in my thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. May God’s Grace comfort you.