BBC News - United States returns to Peru last Machu Picchu artefacts

The last of the artefacts taken from Machu Picchu by American archaeologist who rediscovered the Inca citadel have been returned to Peru.

Machu Picchu is the main tourist attraction in Peru, but there are concerns over the high number of visitors to the Andean citadel

More than 35,000 pottery fragments and other pieces were flown from Yale University to the Andean city of Cusco.

They had been taken to the US by archaeologist Hiram Bingham, who brought the site to international attention in 1911.

The move completes a deal signed in 2010, following legal action by Peru.

It argued that Bingham had only been loaned the artefacts.

The American archaeologist and historian took to Yale some 46,000 ceramics, bone fragments and metal pieces.

The first and second lots of artefacts arrived back in Peru last year.

The best pieces will now be on display in a newly built museum in nearby Cusco.

The citadel of Machu Picchu, located 2,500m (8,200ft) above sea level, was built in the 15th Century by the Incas.

It is Peru's main tourist attraction, attracting more than 1 million visitors a year.

Reuters News - Japan economy shrinks, recesssion looms

Workers unload a container from a cargo ship at a port in Tokyo November 12, 2012. Japan's economy shrank 0.9 percent in the three months to September, marking the first contraction in three quarters, adding to signs that slowing global growth and tensions with China are nudging the world's third-largest economy into recession.

Credit: Reuters/Yuriko Nakao

By Leika Kihara and Kaori Kaneko

TOKYO | Mon Nov 12, 2012 1:30am EST

(Reuters) - Japan's economy shrank in the September quarter for the first time since last year, adding to signs that slowing global growth and tensions with China are nudging the world's third-largest economy into recession.

The 0.9 percent fall in GDP was in line with expectations, although a decline in capital expenditure was much steeper than forecast. Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp have slashed spending plans to cope with massive losses as they struggle with competitive markets and a strong yen.

The fall in GDP translated into an annualized rate of decline of 3.5 percent, government data showed on Monday. While U.S. growth showed a modest pick up in the third quarter, Japan and the euro zone economies are shrinking.

"The GDP data confirms that the economy has fallen into a recession," said Tatsushi Shikano, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo. "It is set for a second straight quarter of contraction in the current quarter."

A recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

The data kept government pressure on the Bank of Japan to boost monetary stimulus even after it eased policy in October for the second straight month as a strong yen and a territorial row with China exacerbate weak demand for exports.

Economy Minister Seiji Maehara said the central bank should pursue powerful policy easing to boost the economy, although BOJ Governor Masaaki Shirakawa shot back that the government should do its bit too.

Many analysts expect the BOJ to leave policy unchanged at a review next week, but some see it boosting stimulus again at a December 19-20 meeting, shortly after the U.S. Federal Reserve is due to meet.

External demand accounted for 0.7 percentage points of July-September GDP contraction, matching the median projection. Japan's exports fell 5.0 percent in July-September, the biggest slide since a 6.0 percent decline in April-June last year, the data showed.

A row with China over sovereignty of some islands in the East China Sea sparked violent protests in China and the boycott of Japanese goods, which added to the slide in exports, particularly for automakers such as Nissan Motor Co.

Private consumption - which accounts for roughly 60 percent of the economy - fell 0.5 percent in the third quarter against a median forecast of a 0.6 percent drop.

Capital expenditure tumbled 3.2 percent, the fastest pace of decline since a 5.5 percent drop in April-June 2009, as companies turned more pessimistic about earnings from domestic and overseas markets.

In Japan's ailing electronics sector, Sony plans to reduce capital spending by 29 percent in the year to March 2013 and Panasonic plans a 27 percent cut, after incurring huge losses in their TV manufacturing businesses.

The companies are struggling to compete with more nimble rivals, such as South Korea's Samsung Electronics and America's Apple Inc, and with a steady rise in the yen, which makes exports from Japan more expensive.

Analysts said Japanese companies face too many uncertainties to plan future spending with confidence and that is unlikely to change in the current quarter.

Resolving the protracted euro zone debt crisis is no nearer, U.S. tax increases and government spending cuts in early 2013 could tip America into recession unless Congress acts, and adding domestic uncertainty Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised to call a national election "soon" to break a political deadlock.

Masamichi Adachi, senior economist at JPMorgan Securities, said business investment would fall again in the fourth quarter as the global economy recovers only gradually.

"If some of these uncertainties are removed, it is possible for things to improve," Adachi said.

He forecast capital expenditure will fall 0.5 percent in October-December and then rise 0.7 percent in January-March.

Japan's economy outperformed most of its Group of Seven peers in the first half of this year on robust private consumption and spending for reconstruction following last year's earthquake.

But growth has stalled since then. Indeed, second-quarter growth was revised down in the latest figures by half to just 0.1 percent. The last quarterly economic contraction was in the Oct-Dec period of 2011, when GDP fell 0.3 percent.

With the economic affect of rebuilding from last year's earthquake and tsunami fading, the government acknowledged last week that its index of leading indicators gauge fell to a level suggesting the onset of a recession.

"I can not deny the possibility that Japan has fallen into a recession phase," Maehara told reporters after the data was released.

He said he expected the BOJ to pursue powerful policy easing, although in a speech BOJ head Shirakawa stressed that flooding markets with cash alone wouldn't inflation the economy when interest rates are near zero. The government should boost the economy's growth potential with deregulation and structural reform, he said.

"Exports and output are likely to remain weak, and domestic demand won't increase enough to make up for the weakness in exports," he said.

The BOJ set a 1 percent inflation target and eased policy in February. It followed up with further stimulus based on asset buying in April, September and October on mounting evidence the economy was on the cusp of a recession.

The euro zone is expected to report on Thursday that the economy shrank by 0.2 percent in the third quarter, extending a 0.2 percent contraction in the second quarter.

(Editing by Neil Fullick and Tomasz Janowski)

BBC News - Greece MPs approve new austerity budget amid protests

Greek lawmakers have approved the 2013 budget involving fresh spending cuts, despite mass public street protests.

The budget was passed by 167 votes to 128

The budget was passed by 167 votes to 128. The move was a pre-condition for Athens to be granted a 31.5bn euro (£25bn; $40bn) EU/IMF loan necessary to stave off bankruptcy.

In Athens, more than 10,000 people protested outside the parliament.

The vote comes as eurozone finance ministers are due to discuss the Greece crisis at a meeting in Brussels.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who is due to attend the summit, earlier warned that without the new loan, Athens would start running out of money within days.

The problem that he faces is that it could take some weeks before the EU backs the new instalment, BBC Athens correspondent Mark Lowen reports. The measure will have to be approved first by some parliaments, including Germany's.

Sunday's demonstration in Athens passed largely peaceful

Political symbol

The new Greek budget foresees a deepening of the worst recession of any country in modern history, our correspondent says.

The national economy is expected to shrink next year by 4.5% and public debt is likely to rise to 189% of GDP, almost double Greece's national output. This year, public debt stood at 175%.

The head of Syriza, a left-wing opposition party, said the latest budget cuts would leave Greeks unable to afford essential goods this winter.

"This is why we say you are dangerous for this country," Alexis Tspiras said, telling the government: "You are incapable of negotiating."

As MPs inside parliament debated the budget late on Sunday, marchers outside brought the centre of the capital to a standstill.

Members of the Communist-affiliated Pame union, the private sector GSEE union and the public sector Adedy union had urged parliament to reject the budget.

But there was none of the violence seen last Wednesday when protesters attacked riot police with petrol bomb and the police responded by firing tear gas.

Evangelos Venizelos, whose socialist Pasok party is part of the governing coalition, warned European partners that any delay in pushing through the loan worked against Greece and the eurozone as a whole.

"The country is at its limits," he said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said nobody opposed the next slice of loan funding, but the Greek government should have met the conditions for it months ago.

"We are not responsible for the urgency. All those concerned have known the deadlines for a long time," Mr Schaeuble said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper.

The next tranche of bailout loans for Greece has been delayed for months, becoming as much a political symbol as a financial one, the BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels reports.

Eurozone governments have not decided how they will pay for it, our correspondent says. So there are still plenty of questions surrounding Greece and the whole strategy of austerity-based reform.

A final report is still awaited from the main lenders - the European Comission, the IMF and the European Central Bank - on the progress of reforms Athens has signed up as part of the bailout deal.

BBC News - HSBC investigating claims of criminal account holders

HSBC bank says it is looking into allegations that criminals have used offshore accounts at its Jersey operation for money laundering.

HSBC said it was unaware of an HMRC inquiry

The bank issued a statement after the Daily Telegraph newspaper said it was at the centre of a major investigation by HM Revenue and Customs.

HSBC said it was investigating "an alleged loss of certain client data in Jersey as a matter of urgency".

But it added it had not been contacted by HMRC or any other authority.

"Clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes and over-claiming benefits is a top priority for us, and we value the information we receive from the public and business community," the bank said.

In a statement, HMRC said: "We can confirm we have received the data and we are studying it. We receive information from a very wide range of sources which we use to ensure the tax rules are being respected."

Allegations

According to the Daily Telegraph, the tax authorities have obtained details of "every British client of HSBC in Jersey" based on information provided by a whistle-blower this week.

It is reported that the 4,000 offshore account holders include a well-known drug dealer living in Central America, bankers who face allegations of fraud and a man once dubbed London's "number two crook".

BBC business editor Robert Peston said: "It is really quite difficult to tell from this disclosure whether or not this is an example of HSBC yet again having, shall we say, laxer or weaker controls over who it takes money from.

"The American authorities do think HSBC was, for too many years, too prone, or in a sense, too easily duped by terrorists and criminals who wanted to launder money. We just don't have enough information whether or not this is an another example of those weak controls."

Our business editor said he had been told by HSBC that this appeared to be a case of "whistle-blowers handing over bunches of bank names for whatever reasons".

He added: "They don't think they will emerge from this investigation to be shown to be particularly lax in their controls."

Earlier this year, a US Senate report alleged that staff at HSBC's global operations had laundered billions of dollars for drug cartels and terrorists in a "pervasively polluted" culture that persisted for years.

The report detailed how HSBC's subsidiaries cleared suspicious travellers' cheques worth billions, and allowed Mexican drug lords to buy planes with money laundered through Cayman Islands accounts.

David Bagley, HSBC's head of compliance since 2002, resigned from his post when he appeared before the US Senate committee in July.

HMRC has received the HSBC data only very recently. But even if it has come with names and addresses attached, it will not necessarily be an easy matter to identity the people who own the accounts.

Complex task

Ronnie Ludwig, a tax partner at the accountants Saffery Champness, believes the accounts are likely to be in the names of nominee companies and trusts, which hide the identity of the beneficial owner.

He thinks the accounts could have a trigger clause, which means the money is moved swiftly to accounts in other offshore tax havens, such as the British Virgin Islands or the Cayman Island, if HMRC intensifies its scrutiny.

Mr Ludwig told the BBC that HMRC would have quite a task on its hands to sort through each account.

"HMRC is facing an uphill struggle in terms of its resources, because these cases will be very complex, difficult and ultimately time-consuming to unravel," he said.

Reuters News - After Obama win, U.S. backs new U.N. arms treaty talks

People view various newspaper front pages showing President Barack Obama's victory over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on display at the Newseum in Washington November 7, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Gary Cameron

By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS | Wed Nov 7, 2012 6:48pm EST

(Reuters) - Hours after U.S. President Barack Obama was re-elected, the United States backed a U.N. committee's call on Wednesday to renew debate over a draft international treaty to regulate the $70 billion global conventional arms trade.

U.N. delegates and gun control activists have complained that talks collapsed in July largely because Obama feared attacks from Republican rival Mitt Romney if his administration was seen as supporting the pact, a charge Washington denies.

The month-long talks at U.N. headquarters broke off after the United States - along with Russia and other major arms producers - said it had problems with the draft treaty and asked for more time.

But the U.N. General Assembly's disarmament committee moved quickly after Obama's win to approve a resolution calling for a new round of talks March 18-28. It passed with 157 votes in favor, none against and 18 abstentions.

U.N. diplomats said the vote had been expected before Tuesday's U.S. presidential election but was delayed due to Superstorm Sandy, which caused a three-day closure of the United Nations last week.

An official at the U.S. mission said Washington's objectives have not changed.

"We seek a treaty that contributes to international security by fighting illicit arms trafficking and proliferation, protects the sovereign right of states to conduct legitimate arms trade, and meets the concerns that we have been articulating throughout," the official said.

"We will not accept any treaty that infringes on the constitutional rights of our citizens to bear arms," he said.

U.S. officials have acknowledged privately that the treaty under discussion would have no effect on domestic gun sales and ownership because it would apply only to exports.

The main reason the arms trade talks are taking place at all is that the United States - the world's biggest arms trader accounting for more than 40 percent of global conventional arms transfers - reversed U.S. policy on the issue after Obama was first elected and decided in 2009 to support a treaty.

'MONTHS AWAY' FROM DEAL?

Countries that abstained included Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Belarus, Cuba and Iran.China, a major arms producer that has traditionally abstained, voted in favor.

Among the top six arms-exporting nations, Russia cast the only abstention. Britain, France and Germany joined China and the United States in support of the resolution.

The measure now goes to the 193-nation General Assembly for a formal vote. It is expected to pass.

The resolution said countries are "determined to build on the progress made to date towards the adoption of a strong, balanced and effective Arms Trade Treaty."

Jeff Abramson, director of Control Arms, a coalition of advocacy groups, urged states to agree on stringent provisions.

"In Syria, we have seen the death toll rise well over 30,000, with weapons and ammunition pouring in the country for months now," he said. "We need a treaty that will set tough rules to control the arms trade, that will save lives and truly make the world a better place."

Brian Wood of Amnesty International said: "After today's resounding vote, if the larger arms trading countries show real political will in the negotiations, we're only months away from securing a new global deal that has the potential to stop weapons reaching those who seriously abuse human rights."

The treaty would require states to make respecting human rights a criterion for allowing arms exports.

Britain's U.N. mission said on its Twitter feed it hoped that the March negotiations would yield the final text of a treaty. Such a pact would then need to be ratified by the individual signatories before it could enter into force.

The National Rifle Association, the powerful U.S. interest group, strongly opposes the arms treaty and had endorsed Romney.

The United States has denied it sought to delay negotiations for political reasons, saying it had genuine problems with the draft as written.

(Editing by Xavier Briand)

BBC News - China congress: Hu Jintao opens party meeting on leadership change

Chinese President Hu Jintao has opened a Communist Party congress that begins a once-in-a-decade power transfer with a stark warning on corruption.

President Hu Jintao's address opened the week-long meeting

Addressing more than 2,000 delegates, Mr Hu said that a failure to tackle the issue "could prove fatal to the party".

China faced unprecedented opportunities and challenges, he said, and the nation should "aim higher and work harder".

His speech kicks off a week-long meeting that will see a new set of leaders unveiled.

Security is very tight across Beijing, with many dissidents detained or under house arrest, rights groups say.

Mr Hu told delegates at the Great Hall of the People that China had to adapt to a changing domestic and global environment.

"We must aim higher and work harder and continue to pursue development in a scientific way, promote social harmony and improve the people's lives," he said.

China's development should be made more balanced and sustainable, he said, and the "serious challenge" of corruption should be addressed.

"If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party, and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state," he said.

Anyone who broke the law would be brought to justice, "whoever they are and whatever power or official positions they have", he said.

The months leading up to the congress have seen China's political leadership rocked by a scandal involving Bo Xilai, the former Chongqing party leader once seen as a candidate for top office.

His wife has been jailed for murdering a British businessman and he is expected to face trial on corruption-related charges.

Across China, meanwhile, recent cases of official corruption have stoked public anger and there have been a series of high-profile mass protests focusing on land grabs and environmental issues.

On the internet, thousands of people have left comments appealing for better measures to fight corruption on official websites launched for the congress by the three major party mouthpieces - Xinhua news agency, People's Daily and China Central Television (CCTV).

Economic growth has also slowed in recent months and the wealth gap is an issue of great concern, as is China's ageing population.

Mr Hu said a new model for economic growth was needed to respond to domestic and global changes.

"On the basis of making China's development much more balanced, coordinated and sustainable, we should double its 2010 GDP and per capita income for both urban and rural residents (by 2020)," he said.

Amid rumbling regional tensions over territorial rows in the East China and South China Sea, Mr Hu said the nation should "resolutely safeguard" maritime rights and become a maritime power.

"Active and prudent efforts" should be made to reform the political structure, he said, without giving details.

China's leadership change

• Special Communist Party meeting every 10 years
• This time, leaders over age of 68 will be retired
• New group of seven or nine top leaders unveiled
• Names already decided in secret, none elected
• Factions more important than policies, exact selection process unclear

Party numbers

• Ruled China since 1949
• 83m members in 2011
• 77% of members are men
• Farmers make up one third of membership
• 6.8m members work for the Party and state agencies
• Funded by government grant and membership dues
• Private businessmen allowed to join since 2001
• Seven of country's richest men attending congress

'Growing concerns'

The congress - for which no formal schedule has been revealed - will last a week and will be keenly observed for any indications of the leadership's future plans.

During the congress a new central committee is selected. It then chooses the country's highest decision-making body, the Standing Committee of the Politburo.

The process takes place behind closed doors, with the make-up of the top bodies in reality decided ahead of time.

The current Standing Committee has nine members, of whom seven including Mr Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao are expected to step down.

The other two members, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, are expected to become party leader and deputy respectively. Mr Xi is also expected to take over from Mr Hu as China's president in March 2013.

Ahead of the congress there has been speculation that the number of seats on the committee will be reduced from nine to seven.

Analysts say there has also been division at the very top of the leadership, with two rival factions jostling for position and influence.

Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, propaganda chief Liu Yunshan, party organisation chief Li Yuanchao and Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang are thought to be the front-runners.

But the exact composition of the committee will not be clear until it is formally announced next week, likely on 15 November at a plenum expected to follow the congress.

In Beijing, more than 1.4 million volunteers have been brought in to help out with security for the congress.

Transport restrictions are in place, street vendors have been told to close and even the flying of kites has reportedly been banned.

Rights group Amnesty International says more than 130 political dissidents were unlawfully detained or placed under house arrest ahead of the meeting.

BBC News - David Cameron attacks 'ludicrous' EU budget increase

David Cameron has attacked a 'ludicrous' proposed rise in the EU budget in advance of talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

David Cameron is expected to push for the EU budget to be frozen during talks with Angela Merkel

The leaders are due to discuss the issue at Downing Street later.

Mr Cameron has indicated he wants a freeze and he is under pressure from some in his party to campaign for a reduction in real terms.

Germany has indicated it is sympathetic to the UK's arguments but says some rise is necessary.

The talks between the two leaders come less than three weeks before a summit of EU member states at which they will try to work out the next set of long-term spending plans for Brussels.

Tough outcome

Speaking in Abu Dhabi, during his three-day visit to the Middle East, Mr Cameron said he would make a "very robust and strong argument" for an arrangement that forced the European Commission to limit its budget.

He said: "They are proposing a completely ludicrous 100 billion euro increase in the European budget.

"I'll be arguing for a very tough outcome. I never had very high hopes for a November agreement because you have got 27 different people round the table with 27 different opinions."

Last week the government was defeated in a Commons vote on the EU budget after 53 Conservative MPs defied their party over the issue.

Tory rebels joined with Labour to pass an amendment calling for a real-terms cut in spending between 2014 and 2020.

The amendment was not binding on ministers, but was seen as a blow to David Cameron's authority on Europe ahead of the EU budget summit.

Signs of exasperation

Mr Cameron said: "I feel I am in there fighting for Europe's taxpayers, particularly British taxpayers.

"We have a rebate, we are keeping that rebate. But over and above that rebate I also want to see a good budget outcome for the UK."

The BBC's correspondent in Berlin, Stephen Evans, says many in Angela Merkel's parliamentary party show signs of exasperation at what they see as the British hard-line.

Any deal agreed by EU leaders later this month would have to be put to the Commons for approval.

Mr Cameron has said he would be prepared to veto any unacceptable proposal - which would mean that a deal would not go ahead.

If no agreement is reached by the end of next year the 2013 budget will be rolled into 2014 with a 2% rise to account for inflation.