World leaders ‘stand' with Britain after London attack

executive@coastaldigest.com (Agencies)
March 23, 2017

Paris, Mar 23: World leaders unanimously condemned the attack in the heart of London by a man who was shot dead by armed police, with many saying they stand with Britain.

UK Parliament

At least four people were killed and more than 40 injured in the attack outside parliament on Wednesday when a man mowed down pedestrians with a car then leapt out and stabbed a police officer.

In an address outside her Downing Street office, Prime Minister Theresa May described the attack as "sick and depraved" saying the assailant chose the site as an assault on Britain's democratic values.

Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany stood "firmly and resolutely alongside Britons in the struggle against all forms of terrorism" while President Frank-Walter Steinmeier added: "In these grave moments, we Germans feel very close to the British people."

France

President Francois Hollande sent a message of "solidarity" and "support to the British people" saying France could identify with their pain after the attack, in which three French high school students were also wounded.

"France, which has been hit so hard in recent times, knows what the British people are suffering today," he said.

And Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve tweeted: "Solidarity with our British friends, horribly attacked, full support for the injured French students, their families and their friends."

United States

The White House condemned the attack and pledged "the full support of the US government in responding to the attack and bringing those to justice who are responsible," spokesman Sean Spicer said at a briefing.

Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted: "Our thoughts are with the victims of today's attack in London and their families. Canadians remain united with the people of the UK."

European Union

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the attack left him "highly emotional".

In Brussels to commemorate the one-year anniversary of attacks on the main airport and a metro station, Juncker said "the fact that exactly on the same day something similar happened in London, and to London, is really putting me in the situation of someone who does not have... enough words to express how I am deeply feeling."

European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: "My thoughts are with the victims of the Westminster attack. Europe stands firm with the UK against terror and ready to help".

Russia

Speaking on Russian television, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova sent Moscow's "condolences" and said Russia felt Britain's pain.

"We consider it an evil to which it is necessary to fight collectively. In this moment, as always, our hearts are with Britons and we share their pain".

The Netherlands

Prime Minister Mark Rutte told Dutch television he was shocked by the "horrific" news and said: "The city is in our hearts. We are following the situation closely, and are in contact with the British authorities."

Italy

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who observed a moment of silence at the start of a meeting with Social Democratic lawmakers, expressed his "condolences" and said: "Italy and the United Kingdom remain side-by-side in our condemnation and firm response to all forms of terrorism".

Belgium

"Our condolences are with those who mourn and all who are affected in London," Prime Minister Charles Michel tweeted. "Belgium stands with U.K. in fight against terror."

Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasised that "Turkey feels and shares deeply in the United Kingdom's pain" and that it stood in "solidarity" with Britain "in the fight against terrorism".

Erdogan had earlier warned Europeans in a speech on Wednesday that "no European, no Westerner will be able to take steps on the street safely and peacefully," as a crisis between Ankara and the EU showed no signs of abating.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called terrorism "a global catastrophe" on Turkish television, adding: "All countries should come together on the terror issue and fight together against" it.

Greece

"We express our solidarity with the British people on today's indiscriminate attack," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tweeted.

Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tweeted: "Spain stands with the British people. I condemn the attack in the vicinity of Westminster, London. Solidarity with the victims."

"This attack clearly shows the priorities on which Europe must concentrate. It's only when we are united that we have the capacity to face these threats," said Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

Australia

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the assault was an attack on "freedom and democracy everywhere".

"But we will never, ever let the terrorists win. We will defeat and destroy them on the battlefield, we will defeat and defy them at home," he said.

"We will never change the way we live. We will never let them divide us."

Qatar

Qatar stressed its rejection of violence "in all its forms" and its support for the UK government "in all the measures it takes to maintain the country's security."

Venezuela

Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro expressed "full support for the people of London and our absolute rejection of all forms of terrorism."

"Enough terrorism, enough war, enough violence. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and support the victims and their families," he said in televised comments.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 2,2020

Geneva, Jul 2: The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated the overall number of coronavirus cases globally at 10,357,662, with 508,055 people having died from the disease.

The UN health agency said in the situation report published on late Wednesday that 163,939 new cases had been recorded in the past day, while further 4,188 patients had died.

Americas continue to lead the count with over 5.2 million cases, followed by Europe with more than 2.7 million.

The WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 17,2020

The coronavirus pandemic has sickened more than 2,425,000 people, according to official counts. So far at least 164,000 people have died, and the virus has been detected in at least 177 countries, as the following table shows.

United States 

780,330

37,782

Spain

200,210

20,852

Italy 

181,228

24,114

Germany

141,672

4,404

U.K.

124,743

16,509

France

114,657

20,265

Turkey

90,980

2,140

Mainland China

88,466

4,632

Iran

83,505

5,209

Russia

47,121

405

Brazil

40,743

2,587

Belgium

39,983

5,828

Canada

36,823

1,690

Netherlands

33,405

3,751

Switzerland

27,944

1,142

Portugal

20,863

735

India

18,539

592

Peru

16,325

445

Ireland

15,652

687

Austria

14,795

470

Sweden

14,777

1,580

Israel

13,713

177

Japan

10,915

168

South Korea

10,674

236

Chile

10,507

139

Saudi Arabia

10,484

103

Ecuador

10,128

507

Poland

9,593

380

Romania

8,936

478

Mexico

8,772

712

Pakistan

8,418

176

Singapore

8,014

11

Denmark

7,515

364

U.A.E.

7,265

43

Norway

7,156

181

Czech Republic

6,900

194

Indonesia

6,760

590

Serbia

6,630

125

Australia

6,625

71

Philippines

6,459

428

Belarus

6,264

51

Qatar

6,015

9

Ukraine

5,710

151

Malaysia

5,425

89

Dominican Rep.

4,964

235

Panama

4,467

126

Colombia

3,977

189

Finland

3,868

98

Luxembourg

3,558

75

Egypt

3,333

250

South Africa

3,300

58

Morocco

3,046

143

Bangladesh

2,948

101

Argentina

2,941

136

Thailand

2,792

47

Algeria

2,718

384

Moldova

2,548

70

Greece

2,245

116

Kuwait

1,995

9

Hungary

1,984

199

Bahrain

1,907

7

Croatia

1,881

47

Kazakhstan

1,852

19

Iceland

1,773

10

Uzbekistan

1,627

5

Iraq

1,574

82

Estonia

1,535

40

New Zealand

1,440

12

Azerbaijan

1,436

19

Oman

1,410

7

Armenia

1,339

22

Slovenia

1,335

77

Lithuania

1,326

37

Bosnia and Herzegovina

1,309

49

North Macedonia

1,225

54

Slovakia

1,173

13

Cameroon

1,163

42

Cuba

1,087

36

Ghana

1,042

9

Afghanistan

1,026

36

Hong Kong

1,025

4

Bulgaria

929

43

Tunisia

884

38

Ivory Coast

847

9

Djibouti

846

2

Cyprus

772

12

Latvia

739

5

Andorra

717

37

Lebanon

677

21

Nigeria

665

22

Costa Rica

662

6

Niger

648

20

Guinea

622

5

Albania

584

26

Burkina Faso

581

38

Kyrgyzstan

568

7

Bolivia

564

33

Uruguay

535

10

Kosovo

510

12

Channel Islands

488

24

Honduras

477

46

San Marino

462

39

West Bank & Gaza

449

3

Malta

431

3

Jordan

425

7

Taiwan

422

6

Georgia

402

4

Senegal

377

5

Congo

332

25

Mauritius

328

9

Montenegro

312

5

Sri Lanka

304

7

Isle of Man

300

9

Guatemala

289

7

Kenya

281

14

Vietnam

268

Venezuela

256

9

Tanzania

254

10

Mali

246

14

Somalia

237

8

Jamaica

223

5

El Salvador

218

7

Paraguay

208

8

Faroe Islands

185

Republic of the Congo

160

6

Rwanda

147

Brunei

138

1

Gibraltar

132

Cambodia

122

Madagascar

121

Gabon

120

1

Myanmar

119

5

Trinidad and Tobago

114

8

Ethiopia

111

3

Sudan

107

12

Liberia

99

8

Aruba

97

2

Monaco

94

3

Bermuda

86

5

Togo

84

6

Liechtenstein

81

1

Equatorial Guinea

79

Barbados

75

5

Maldives

69

Cape Verde

67

1

Sint Maarten

67

10

Cayman Islands

66

1

Guyana

65

7

Zambia

65

3

Bahamas

60

9

Haiti

57

3

Uganda

56

Benin

54

1

Libya

51

1

Guinea-Bissau

50

Macau

45

Sierra Leone

43

Eritrea

39

Mozambique

39

Syria

39

3

Chad

33

Mongolia

33

Nepal

31

Zimbabwe

25

3

Angola

24

2

Eswatini

24

1

Antigua and Barbuda

23

3

Timor-Leste

22

Botswana

20

1

Laos

19

Belize

18

2

Fiji

18

Malawi

17

2

Dominica

16

Namibia

16

Saint Kitts and Nevis

15

Saint Lucia

15

Curaçao

14

1

Grenada

14

Central African Republic

12

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

12

Falkland Islands

11

Greenland

11

Montserrat

11

Seychelles

11

Turks and Caicos Islands

11

1

Gambia

10

1

Nicaragua

10

2

Suriname

10

1

Vatican City

9

Mauritania

7

1

Papua New Guinea

7

Western Sahara

6

Bhutan

5

British Virgin Islands

5

1

Burundi

5

1

South Sudan

4

São Tomé and Príncipe

4

Anguilla

3

Yemen

1

 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 3,2020

The dollar's dominance will slowly melt away over the coming year on weakening global demand and a sombre U.S. economic outlook, according to a Reuters poll of currency forecasters whose views depend on there being no second coronavirus shock.

Despite fears a surge in new Covid-19 cases would delay economies reopening and stymie a tentative recovery, world stocks have rallied - with the S&P 500 finishing higher in June, marking its biggest quarterly percentage gain since the height of the technology boom in 1998.

Caught between bets in favour of riskier investments, weak U.S. economic prospects as well as an easing in the thirst for dollars after the Federal Reserve flooded markets with liquidity, the greenback fell nearly 1.0 per cent last month. It was its worst monthly performance since December.

While there was a dire prognosis from the top U.S. medical expert on the coronavirus' spread, the June 25-July 1 poll of over 70 analysts showed weak dollar projections as Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Monday reiterated the economic outlook for the world's largest economy was uncertain.

"The dollar rises in two instances: when you see risk off or when there is a situation where the U.S. is leading the global recovery, and we don't think that's going to be the case anytime soon," said Gavin Friend, senior FX strategist at NAB Group in London.

"The U.S. is playing fast and loose with the virus, and chronologically they're behind the rest of the world."

Currency speculators, who had built up trades against the dollar to the highest in two years during May, increased their out-of-favour dollar bets further last week, the latest positioning data showed.

About 80 per cent of analysts, 53 of 66, said the likely path for the dollar over the next six months was to trade around current levels, alternating between slight gains and losses in a range. That suggests the greenback may be at a crucial crossroad as more currency strategists have turned bearish.

But more than 90 per cent, or 63 of 68, said a second shock from the pandemic would push the dollar higher. Five said it would push the U.S. currency lower.

Much will also depend on debt servicing and repayments by Asian, European and other international borrowers in U.S. dollars.

While an early shortage of dollars in March from the pandemic's first shock pushed the Fed to open currency swap lines with major central banks, international funding strains have eased significantly since. In recent weeks, usage of the facility has reduced dramatically.

That trend is expected to continue over the next six months with major central banks' usage of swap lines to "stay around current levels", according to 32 of 46 analysts. While 13 predicted a sharp drop, only one respondent said use of them would "rise sharply".

The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against six other major currencies, has slipped over 5 per cent since touching a more than three-year high in March.

When asked which currencies would perform better against the dollar by end-December, a touch over half of 49 respondents said major developed market ones, with the remaining almost split between commodity-linked and emerging market currencies.

"The dollar is so overvalued, and has been overvalued for a long time, it's time now for it to come back down again, as we head towards the (U.S.) election," added NAB's Friend.

Over the last quarter, the euro has staged a 1.8 per cent comeback after falling by a similar margin during the first three months of the year. For the month of June, the euro was up 1.2 per cent against the dollar.

The single currency was now expected to gain about 2.5 per cent to trade at $1.15 in a year from around $1.12 on Wednesday, slightly stronger than $1.14 predicted last month. While those findings are similar to what analysts have been predicting for nearly two years, there was a clear shift in their outlook for the euro, with the range of forecasts showing higher highs and higher lows from last month.

"In comparison to even a month or two ago, the outlook in Europe has improved significantly," said Lee Hardman, currency strategist at MUFG.

"I think that makes the euro look relatively more attractive and cheap against the likes of the dollar. We're not arguing strongly for the euro to surge higher, we're just saying, after the weakness we have seen in recent years, there is the potential for that weakness to start to reverse."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.