FINANCE LEADERS VOW BOLD EFFORTS
washington World financial leaders on Saturday promised “bold and ambitious” action to boost a global recovery that has shown recent disturbing signs of weakness.
That pledge from the InternationalMonetary Fund’s policy-setting committee comes after a week of swings in the financial markets triggered by growing fears that parts of Europe could be in danger of slipping into another recession.
The 188-nation IMF called increasing economic growth an “utmost priority” and pledged to make the necessary structural changes that would stimulate greater growth.
India braces for cyclone
hyderabad, india » Indian authorities were evacuating hundreds of thousands of people Saturday as a powerful cyclone swept through the Bay of Bengal and headed toward the country’s east coast.
The IndiaMeteorological Department described Hudhud as a “very severe” storm that could pack winds of 120 miles per hour and cause torrential rains when it makes landfall. About 150,000 people had been evacuated by late afternoon, with 400,000 more expected to be relocated by the end of the day.
Suspected drone strike kills two in Afghanistan
kabul » A suspected U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan near its border with Pakistan killed two people, Pakistani intelligence said Saturday, as a Taliban suicide bomber killed a police officer in the country’s south.
The drone strike struck near Margha, across the border from Pakistan’s Datta Khel, a town in the NorthWaziristan tribal area where the U.S. has carried out previous drone attacks targeting militants, the officials said. The Pakistani officials did not elaborate, and Afghan officials did not immediately comment on the strike.
U.N. leader calls for end to fighting in Libya
tripoli, libya » U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon traveled Saturday to Libya to support a reconciliation process between warring factions, calling on a renegade general fighting Islamist militias in its east to stop his operations and on armed groups to leave the capital’s airport.
Ban was in Libya days after the United Nations launched a reconciliation process that seeks to resolve the bloody rift that has left the oil-rich North African nation deeply split with two separate parliaments and governments.
Hundreds attend funeral for Duvalier B
port- auprince, haiti » Hundreds of people attended the funeral of former dictator Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier on Saturday, displaying lingering respect for a man who was widely reviled for repression and corruption.
Mourners paid their respects in front of Duvalier’s coffin draped with Haiti’s red-and-blue flag as they greeted his partner Veronique Roy, his ex-wife Michele Bennett and their two children. Former President Boniface Alexandre attended, as did some officials of President Michel Martelly’s administration.