Hidden in the maze of mud-walled alleys in the Loy Wiyala district of Kandahar, Amina, 16, is taking her first, secretive steps towards becoming a teacher.Banned by her father Abdul from making the short walk to school, she uses a clandestine classroom to impart her smattering of knowledge to younger sisters poring over textbooks scattered across a rug.
Oil and natural gas markets are set to remain oversupplied until 2015, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, forecasting in its annual medium-term outlook report “comfortable spare capacity for both energy commodities.The overall tone of the report contrasted with earlier years, when the western countries’ energy watchdog had warned about potential shortages.Nonetheless, it said: “We
State laws will have to be made as consistent as possible to ensure that some victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are not treated unfairly, says Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer chosen by the White House and BP to administer a $20bn claims fund.Determining which claims are eligible and which are not will be a “challenging task, says Mr Feinberg, a renowned mediator who will soon take over the day
It was only a national anthem, but it was one of those moments that makes you so proud of this improbable country.White and black South Africans got to their feet together in a freezing stadium in Pretoria and sang Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika in all its five languages, from Xhosa to Afrikaans.All right, some of us cried.Then their team, the Bafana Bafana, got pasted by Uruguay, but in a sense it didn’
The scale of complaints about Pampers Dry Max, which became a public-relations nightmare for Procter & Gamble this year, was exaggerated because they were made on Facebook, according to the company’s marketing chief.The case demonstrated how unhappy customers can damage a brand using social networks.
The failed sale of one of AIG’s crown jewels has strained relationships at the top of the US insurer, increasing tensions between Robert Benmosche, the chief executive, and Harvey Golub, the chairman, according to people close to the situation.The rift between AIG’s two senior executives has triggered concerns within the board and among officials in the US government, the controlling shareholder,
Plans by global regulators to compel banks to set aside billions of dollars in extra capital to cope with future crises are to be pared back after intense lobbying by the industry.After wrangling over the details of a regulatory overhaul published six months ago, a consensus on the Basel committee is suggesting that its proposals be thinned down.
Dubai’s financial centre is to refocus on its core business of attracting financial institutions as the indebted emirate seeks to shrug off past excesses, according to its governor.Ahmad al-Tayer, a former finance minister who has gained influence as Dubai seeks to revive its economy, said the tax-free Dubai International Financial Centre was to restructure to boost competitiveness.