Chinese buy Volvo from Ford Motor Co.

Volvo, one of the best known car brands in the world, is now in the hands of Chinese entrepreneurs, in what turned out to be a big cash loss for Ford.

The Chinese car manufacturer Geely yesterday sealed a deal to buy the giant Volvo Cars Unit from American car manufacturer Ford Motor Co. for $1.8 billion, announced the official Chinese news agency.

"I can confirm that the final settlement was signed at 14.40 of the sale of Volvo to Geely," told the spokesman for Volvo, Per-Aake Froeberg to the France Press news agency.

Ford and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group signed the agreement at the headquarters of the Swedish brand in Gothenburg, added the “New China”, official Chinese news agency.

The U.S. car company had announced in December it had reached an agreement on the main conditions with Geely, to sell Volvo to the Chinese company, for about two billion dollars, according to the newspaper Financial Times.

Ford Motor Co. bought Volvo in 1999 for 6.4 billion dollars representing a coup for the Chinese automaker, one of the largest private manufacturers of China which is aiming to expand in Europe.

The union workers at Volvo, which account for 22 thousand people eventually approved the deal on Saturday, but were initially against the take over, on the basis of what they considered very vague expansion plans and possible redundancies.

According to Per-Aake Froeberg, the financial director of Ford, Lewis Booth and the chairman of Geely, Li Shufu, signed the agreement today to sell the main Swedish car manufacturer. Geely aims to produce 600 thousand vehicles by 2015.

Obama humiliates Netanyahu

The President of the United States, Barack Obama “humiliated” the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he held a meeting, says the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth today.

The meeting was held on Tuesday evening in Washington, away from the eyes of the press, was an "ambush" by Obama, feeling “bloated” after the adoption of the health reform, wrote the newspaper, which publishes details of what may have been the meeting.

Soon after the start of the meeting, the U.S. president had asked the head of the Israeli government, what gestures was he willing to make toward the Palestinians, to persuade them to resume the peace talks that have been interrupted for more than a year.

Obama was not satisfied with the vague answers and called for concrete steps, while Netanyahu continued to speak in a theoretical framework of possible measures.

Also discussed was the controversial issue of the construction of Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, which put the long time allies on opposite sides when Israel announced the building of 1,600 homes, during the visit of Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden to Israel.

Washington saw the announcement as a humiliation to his vice president and, according to some local commentators, Obama wanted to return it to Netanyahu, especially after knowing that, hours earlier, Israel had given the green light to build another 20 buildings in East Jerusalem.

After an hour and a half of debate without agreements, Obama rose from his chair and said, “I’m going to the White House for dinner with Michelle and the girls”. ”I'll be around here. Tell me if there is something new”, answered Netanyahu, according to the report of the newspaper.Later, Netanyahu had requested a second meeting with Obama, which lasted just under half an hour.

The White House did not allow access to the press before or after the meeting, nor release official photos, as required by the protocol, which can be interpreted as another way to humiliate their guest.

Cape Verde Islands - the new Caribbean

One of the most beautiful countries in Africa, Cape Verde is one of those places where you feel at home. The population speaks Portuguese and the country has an interesting mix of European and African cultures. Cape Verde is an archipelago of volcanic origin that contains ten islands with breathtaking beauty.

The country is full of small markets scattered all over with a wide variety of products that are sure to meet any immediate needs you have. These markets are animated and show a wide variety of local products such as ceramics, embroidery, shells and coconut shells, as well as carpets of various designs, all rich in detail.

The entertainment and activities that you find in the Cape Verde Islands are varied. The nightlife is mostly found in the good restaurants and bars located in the hotels. During the day you can practice water sports, diving and deep sea fishing with several species to choose from.
The Island of SAL is one of the places you need to visit, offering beautiful sandy beaches with crystal clear waters. Santa Maria is the biggest beach in the island and receives the most tourists. But you can also go to Asparagus, where young people gather for walks at night or meet in restaurants.

There is also SANTIAGO Island where Praia, the capital of Cape Verde is located. Here you will find the beaches of Praiamar and Quebra Canela, which attract thousands of tourists. Some 20 kilometers inland from the beach you will find São Domingos and São Jorge, two very interesting villages that are worth a visit.

The best way to get to know the beauty of Cape Verde Islands is by boat. A modern ferry service will take you to the best places in the archipelago, in a relatively fast and cheap way. This way you can explore all the islands without spending much and still have fun listening to the local stories.

As for the Cape Verde weather, all that can be said is that it is summer all year round. The temperatures vary from a low of about 20º C to a high of 30° C, which are just right. The months of April, May and June are typically dry, while August and September are the rainiest. If you enjoy lots of sun all year round, endless sandy beaches and variety then some well deserved Cape Verde Holidays is just what the doctor ordered.

Polluted water kills more people than wars

The lack of drinking water kills each year at least 1.8 million children under the age of 5 throughout the world, according to a UN report released yesterday on World Water Day.

Every day, about two million tones of domestic, industrial and agricultural waste contaminate two billion tons of water, poisoning marine life and spreading diseases that eventually kill, millions of children all over the world every year.

According to a report presented yesterday by the UN, the use and consumption of polluted water kills more than all forms of violence, including wars. ”These deaths are an affront to humanity and undermine the efforts of many countries to achieve development”, said the United Nations Secretary-General yesterday. To Ban Ki-Moon, it is an unacceptable situation, because "man already has enough scientific knowledge to better manage natural resources".

”Sick Water” Report

The ”Sick Water” Report of the UNEP Program for the Environment of the United Nations warns of the need for urgent action, particularly as urban populations will double in the next four decades from the current 3.4 billion people to 6 billion.

The problem is that in big cities they already have a lack of proper management of water waste, due to the aging of the system, failures in the infrastructure or inadequate drainage.

The UN report points out that diarrhea, mainly caused by dirty water, kills alone some 2.2 million people a year, adding that "more than half of the hospital beds are occupied by people whose diseases are water contamination related.

"If we plan to survive on a planet with 6 billion people and heading to more than 9 billion by 2050, we need to be smarter on the management of domestic waste. The sewers are literally killing people," said the Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner.

What will change with the health care reform in the US

After last nights historic passing of the Health Care bill by a comfortable 219-212 vote, many Americans are still unsure of how this will impact their lives or what is expected of them.

The reform of the health sector in the United States, adopted on Sunday, establishes significant changes in the existing system. Some of the innovations come into force when President Barack Obama endorses the reform, but many of them only came into effect from 2014. In practice, all Americans will be required to have a health plan, under penalty of a fine if they don’t comply.

Thus, the government expects that about 32 million citizens who do not have coverage at the moment, will start to be protected. Many of these people do not have health insurance simply because they cannot afford it.

To change this, it is expected that about 24 million people will now receive tax incentives to pay for their own health care insurance. Another 16 million will be given access to Medicaid, the public health plan financed by the government for low-income population, which will be expanded.

Too sick

Another important change is that healthcare companies can no longer reject new clients by considering them too sick, a common practice in the United States.

Many Americans have health insurance through employers, through salary deductions, and this should continue. But those who currently have coverage, or are self employed professionals, will also be able to join the health plan. The reform also helps those who use Medicare, the public health care plan for Americans over 65 years of age.

Currently, patients have to pay for prescription drugs in excess of US $2,700 per year, and only qualify for reimbursement by Medicare when the cost of these drugs is US $6,154.
The new legislation will give these patients better repayment terms and discounts on some drugs. Under the health plan, young people may continue as dependents of their parents until they complete 26 years. Currently, many companies do not accept dependents over 19 years of age, or when they finish college.

Winners and losers

Among the biggest beneficiaries of the reform are clearly those Americans who currently do not have health insurance. But other sectors and individuals will also benefit. Although forced to accept an increase in health regulations, health insurance companies will potentially have millions of new customers.

As there will be more coverage, more patients could pay hospital bills, doctors and medicine, which would be beneficial to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. But the wealthiest Americans will inevitably have to pay more taxes to finance the scheme.

Democrats near historic Health Bill victory

The House of Representatives approved by 224 "yes" against 206 "no" votes, the rules of procedure for the debate on the health Care legislation in the United States, which will precede an historic vote.

The vote to approve the rules, with which the debate on the landmark health reform will take place, is an initiative in which the administration of President Barack Obama throws much of his political capital and has become his signature domestic issue.

The "yes" to the rules represents a first victory for health care reform, not only because the Republicans could propose changes that could create successive delays on the most important vote, but also because it indicates the direction of votes for the Democrats.

Democrats claim to have the 216 votes needed for final passage after they won the support of a few anti-abortion holdouts, who got a promise that Obama would issue an order reaffirming a ban on using federal funds for abortion.

The bill is expected to cost $940 billion over the next 10 years. The Democrats are expected to get 216 votes, giving them a substantial and historic victory

If the bill passes it means that Americans would be required to purchase insurance for the first time, or they could face penalties if they refuse it. A lot of the money in the proposed bill would be go to help subsidize families with incomes of up to $88,000 a year.

The bill would also add a significant expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor. Coverage would be required for people with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $29,327 a year for a family of four. Childless adults would be covered for the first time, beginning in 2014