TwistedSifter

Every Wednesday you will find links and top-line summaries to current events around the globe.

India Floods Leave 2.5 million Homeless, 250 Dead [Reuters]

- Rescue workers used sandbags to stop a raging river from breaching its embankment on Monday as floods triggered by heavy rains over the last week left 2.5 million people homeless. The flooding, described by officials as the worst in many decades in south India, has killed some 250 people. At least five million people are crammed in temporary government shelters
- Flood waters swamped millions of acres of cropland, including sugarcane plantations, prompting worries of a fall in sugar output in Karnataka, the country’s third-biggest producer. Traders also estimated the flooding would hit corn output by at least one million tonnes in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, which account for about 35% of India’s total corn production
- Officials said 300,000 heavy sandbags were being used to fortify weakening embankments of the Krishna river that flows close to Vijayawada, a city of about a million people in Andhra Pradesh and an important trading center

Jobs Report Highlights Shaky U.S. Recovery [New York Times]

- The U.S. economy shed 263,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.8% from 9.7% in August, according to the Labor Department’s monthly snapshot
- Despite a $787 billion stimulus package adopted early this year and aimed in part at shoring up state and local coffers, government jobs slipped by 53,000 in September
- For those out of work, the job market looks harsher now than at any point in the recession. The number of people who have been jobless for more than six months increased in September by 450,000, reaching 5.4 million

Canwest Bankruptcy Filing Hobbles Its Media Holdings [New York Times]

- The future of Canwest Global Communications, Canada’s largest media conglomerate, became uncertain on Tuesday after the company was granted bankruptcy protection in a Toronto court for several operations, including its television network and The National Post newspaper
- The company, which is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, did not include a chain of 11 large newspapers or several specialty television channels that it owns jointly with Goldman Sachs in the filing
- It will be difficult for the Asper family, which founded the Global Television Network, to retain control of the company once everything is settled. The Aspers loaded Canwest with debt, which now is about $4 billion CAD, to expand cable television channel offerings and to move into publishing. In a statement, the family said it would provide $15 million CAD ($13.9 million USD) of the $65 million CAD in new financing that the units require

Exxon Said To Pay $4 Billion For Oil Field [New York Times]

- The energy giant Exxon Mobil has agreed to pay about $4 billion for a minority stake in an oil field off the coast of Ghana, a region that has emerged as a major new petroleum province. Exxon’s acquisition of 23.49% underscored the interest that energy companies have shown in the 700 miles of Western African coastline that stretches from Sierra Leone to Ghana
- While major companies like Exxon have focused on developing large oil and gas projects, much of the riskier and more prospective exploration has been undertaken by smaller, independent producers like Anadarko Petroleum, Tullow Oil and Kosmos
- Exxon needs to find 1.5 billion barrels of reserves each year to replace the oil and gas it pumps annually. Jubilee, should start producing oil by the end of next year and is expected to eventually pump about 120,000 barrels a day. Kosmos has estimated that Jubilee could hold recoverable oil and gas reserves of as much as two billion barrels

France Secures $6 Billion in Kazakh Deals [BBC]

- France and Kazakhstan have signed energy and business deals worth $6 billion. Kazakhstan also agreed to allow French military supplies to pass through on their way to Afghanistan
- Kazakhstan has large oil and gas fields and is Central Asia’s largest economy. Nursultan Nazarbayev has ruled since the country gained its independence when the Soviet Union broke up in 1991
- Kazakhstan is being courted by a number of Western nations for its energy reserves and strategic position. It shares borders with China and Russia and is near Afghanistan

China Yearns to Form Its Own Media Empires [New York Times]

- An ambitious plan, set forth last week by China’s State Council, envisions the creation of entertainment, news and culture companies with a market orientation and with less government backing. China, in short, would like to consolidate its industry into companies resembling Bloomberg, Time Warner and Viacom, analysts say
- Though China has not provided a detailed plan, one exception is likely to be news programming, which falls under the control of the Communist Party. China has also been upgrading its state-run news media, with an eye on foreign language publications, wire services and television programs to reach readers and viewers overseas
- Among the first companies to benefit from the new government policy will be Shanghai Media Group, one of the country’s biggest state-run news and media conglomerates. To help the company bulk up, the China Development Bank recently agreed to provide $1.5 billion in financing over the next five years

Leading Nigeria Oil Rebel Disarms [BBC]

- The last prominent militant in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region has given up his weapons after agreeing to a government amnesty deal. Government Tompolo, who heads the main rebel faction in the western Delta, disarmed in return for promises of cash and education for his fighters
- The militants took up arms in 2006, saying proceeds from the Delta’s oil wealth had not benefited local people. Although Nigeria is the world’s eighth-largest oil exporter, the unrest has prevented it from pumping much more than two-thirds of its production capacity
- BBC’s Caroline Duffield in Lagos says that what the government calls its peace process is murky, and it is unlikely that any of the guerrillas are giving up all their arms

Flash Moves On To Smart Phones [BBC]

- Flash is one of the most common pieces of software installed on computers. It is found on about 98% of PCs and almost 75% of all online video is delivered using the software, according to Adobe
- Until now, many smartphones and netbooks have used a “light” version of the program because of the limited processing power of the devices. The new software is intended to work as well on a smartphone as a desktop PC
- Adobe, the maker of Flash, said it should be available on most higher-end handsets by 2010, although Apple’s iPhone would continue not to use the software

- Gold Price Rises To All-Time High of $1,043.77 [BBC]
- Armed Violence Kills 2,000 A Day Worldwide [Reuters]
- Greece’s Socialists Win Snap Poll [BBC]
- Executive Quits After 24 Suicides in 18 Months at France Télécom [New York Times]
- Offshore Haven Considers a Heresy: Taxation [New York Times]
- On Sunday Nights, NBC Feels Like a Champion [New York Times]
- Disney, Universal Name New Studio Chiefs [Reuters]
- Three More U.S. Banks Closed, Nearing 100 for the Year
- Somali Pirates Free Turkish Ship After $1.5 Million Ransom Paid [Reuters]
- After Delays, Cambodia Rekindles Stock Market Dream [Reuters]
- Nobel Prize for Medicine Awarded for Chromosome Find [BBC]
- Communication Pioneers Win 2009 Physics Nobel [Reuters]

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