The pirates, who kidnapped eight sailors from a cargo vessel off the coast of Cameroon last week, contacted the ship owner, according to a source from the Russian Embassy in Cameroon on Wednesday.

Three Russian nationals are being held hostage and a ransom for their release is being negotiated on, a source in the embassy said in an interview with Russian state-run news agencies TASS and RIA.

The talks can last for up to two weeks and the amount of ransom will not be revealed for the captives’ security, the source said.

The health condition of the Russian captives is “satisfactory,” according to the source, and an agreement was reached to supply them with medicines against malaria.

“The pirates, based on our information, are Nigerians. Presumably, the sailors were taken to Nigeria. An emergency response group is negotiating the release of sailors,” the source said.

Nigerian police spokesman Frank Mba said there was no information yet about three Russian sailors abducted off the Cameroonian coasts last Friday.

“We will act immediately once we have any information on the incident or their whereabouts,” Mba told Anadolu Agency.

Earlier, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said its diplomats are working with Cameroonian officials to accelerate the process of the release of the Russian citizens.

The vessel, which belongs to German company MarConsult Schiffahrt, was attacked near Port Douala, eight sailors were kidnapped, one Ukrainian, three Russians and four Filipinos. The vessel itself was not seized.

*Abu ‘Adnan contributed to this story from Lagos, Nigeria

Source: aa.com

US President Donald Trump has accused the mainstream American media of trying to crash the country’s economy as recession fears grow due to Trump’s trade disputes with several countries particularly China.

“The Fake News Media is doing everything they can to crash the economy because they think that will be bad for me and my re-election,” he said in a tweet on Thursday. “The problem they have is that the economy is way too strong and we will soon be winning big on Trade, and everyone knows that, including China!”

Trump’s critics have accused him of trying to shift blame for recession concerns away from his escalating trade disputes with the world.

China on Thursday vowed to retaliate against planned escalations with unspecified but “necessary” countermeasures against the latest round of US tariffs levied on $300 billion of Chinese products as part of an escalating trade war.

Early this month, Trump tweeted that Washington will commence imposing tariffs of 10 percent on the remaining $300 billion of goods and products coming from the Asian country to the US from September 1.

The surprise tariff announcement came days after officials from the US and China restarted trade talks in Shanghai, China.

However, Trump backed off on part of the plan on Tuesday, postponing tariffs on some items such as cell phones, laptops and other consumer goods.

He hoped that the move could blunt their impact on US holiday sales. However, tariffs will still apply to those products from mid-December.

On Wednesday, US stocks tumbled as weak economic data from China and Germany and a key US Treasury benchmark exacerbated global recession fears.

Trump, however, targeted Federal Reserve policy as the culprit for the market turmoil. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates last month and is expected to make additional cuts in the months ahead.

Source: Presstv

Many black people in the United States have difficulty saving money partly because they lack access to traditional banking services, contributing to the growing racial wealth gap in the US, a new study has found.

Many African Americans depend on more expensive alternative financial services like check-cashing counters since there are fewer banks in non-white neighborhoods, according to the study published on Tuesday by McKinsey & Co.

Increasing access to basic banking services, like checking and savings accounts, could save individual black Americans up to $40,000 over their lifetime, the report found.

“Black families are being underserved and overcharged by institutions that can provide the best channels for saving,” said the report authored by McKinsey partners Shelley Stewart and Jason Wright.

In majority-white communities, there are an average of 41 banks and financial institutions for every 100,000 people, compared with 27 in neighborhoods that are majority non-white, the study said.

However, more expensive alternative financial services like payday lending are more readily available in black neighborhoods, the report said.

Additionally, banks in black communities typically require higher account balances to avoid service fees, the study said.

The US racial wealth gap has expanded significantly over the last two decades, with the wealth of the average white family growing 10 times higher than the average wealth of a black family, according to government data.

The white household had a net worth of $171,000 while average black and Hispanic households had a median net worth of $17,600 and $20,700 respectively.

“When you bridge that gap, the money is not just going to black pockets, it’s going to everyone’s pockets,” Wright told Reuters.

America’s racial income inequality and corporate greed has become a focus of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.

Critics say the tax policies of US President Donald Trump has funneled vast amounts of money to the wealthiest Americans while offering only modest benefits to lower income taxpayers.

Source: Presstv

The grounding of the 737 MAX for more than four months after two deadly accidents has tarnished Boeing’s reputation, but it still has the confidence of US policymakers.

This is despite the fact that one of the MAX flight systems, the MCAS, has been cited in both accidents.

Is this an indication that the American aerospace giant is too big to fail?

President Donald Trump, whose mantra is “America first,” certainly criticized Boeing early in his administration over the presidential plane, Air Force One, but he has been largely silent about the recent woes.

The wave of negative press about the flaws that caused the deaths of 346 people did not prompt legislators to summon Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg before Congress to inflict on him the kind of humiliation Wall Street bankers were subject to following the global financial crisis.

“Boeing is one of the engines of the US economy, it’s way too big and too important for the United States,” said Michel Merluzeau, an expert at Air Insight Research.

– Political ties –

If American politicians were to attack the manufacturer, they would be shooting themselves in the foot, Merluzeau said, because “there are many jobs involved, a very, very numerous supply chain and it cannot be replaced with Facebook or Google that don’t produce anything tangible.”

Founded 103 years ago, Boeing employs more than 150,000 people around the world, the vast majority in the United States.

In addition to direct jobs, its subcontractors — like General Electric (GE), United Technologies and Spirit Aerosystems — are large US industrial employers.

The location of Boeing plants resembles a political campaign map, with facilities in Republican strongholds like Alabama, South Carolina and Texas, and Democratic areas like California and Washington, as well as states that helped Trump win the election: Pennsylvania and Arizona.

And Muilenburg has shown political savvy in his picks for the company’s board of directors, naming Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, and Caroline Kennedy, ally of former president Barack Obama and daughter of former president John F. Kennedy.

– Air Force One –

Boeing is a dominant player not just in civilian aircraft but in the defense and space industries, and is a major supplier to the Pentagon.

The company produced the famous B-17 and B-29 bombers of World War II and the B-52 used the Vietnam War. Today it produces a variety of aircraft including the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, Apache attack helicopters, the B-1 bomber and combat drones.

It also is part of SpaceX, which will manage travel to the International Space Station.

And Boeing manufactures the presidential plane, the iconic Air Force One.

But Boeing also “can be used as a strategic tool,” said Arthur Wheaton, a professor at Cornell University in New York.

Chinese purchases of Boeing aircraft are part of trade negotiations with Beijing, according to a source, since that can be a fast way to reduce the US trade deficit.

US civilian aircraft exports fell 12 percent to $20.4 billion in May, due to the MAX crisis, which affected the GDP, according to government data.

AFP

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the fourth review of the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) for Cameroon on July 17, 2019. The completion of the review enables the disbursement of SDR 55.2 million (about US$76.2 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 372.6 million (about US$514.5 million).

The Executive Board also approved the authorities’ request for a waiver for the non-observance of the performance criteria pertaining to the external arrears’ accumulation and the ceiling on net BEAC financing, based on the corrective actions taken by the authorities.

Cameroon’s three-year arrangement was approved on June 26, 2017 for SDR 483 million (about US$666.9million, or 175 percent of Cameroon’s quota—see Press Release No.17/248.) The arrangement aims at supporting the country’s efforts to restore external and fiscal sustainability and to lay the foundations for a more sustainable, inclusive and private sector-led growth.

Following the Executive Board discussion, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the following statement:

“Cameroon’s performance under the ECF-supported program has improved from a year ago. Most end-December 2018 targets including on the fiscal deficit have been met, and structural reforms are advancing.

Cameroon continues to play a leadership role in the rebuilding of CEMAC’s fiscal and external buffers. Going forward, the Cameroonian authorities’ continued support of the implementation of the BEAC’s foreign exchange regulation will be essential to ensure full repatriation of foreign exchange receipts.

Enhanced fiscal discipline is key to reaching the end-2019 program targets and mitigating risks from external shocks and security challenges. Reducing recourse to exceptional spending procedures and completing the Treasury Single Account reform will support the steadfast implementation of the 2019 budget while improving cash management and the transparency of budget execution.

Refraining from new non-concessional borrowing and strictly adhering to the disbursement plan for contracted-but-undisbursed loans are essential to preserving debt sustainability. Further project prioritization and enhanced investment efficiency will help address developmental needs while supporting prudent debt management. Improving the financial viability of key public enterprises through performance contracts and targeted reforms of administered prices will reduce reliance on subsidies and mitigate risks from contingent liabilities.

Enhancing financial inclusion, the business climate, and governance remains central to promoting private sector development and boosting competitiveness. In particular, further strengthening EITI compliance and the AML/CFT framework are essential to promoting private sector-led growth and attracting foreign investment.

Cameroon’s program continues to be supported by the implementation of supportive policies and reforms by the regional institutions in the areas of foreign exchange regulations and monetary policy framework and to support an increase in regional net foreign assets, which are critical to the program’s success.”

IMF Communications Department