World bank warns Bulgaria over ageing population

SOFIA | Fri Sep 20, 2013 9:47am EDT

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria is heading for the steepest drop in the working-age population in the European Union that will impose a heavy burden on the Balkan country's economy, the World Bank said in a report on Friday.

The report said the labor supply in the state of 7.3 million people was projected to decline significantly until 2050, when one in three Bulgarians is projected to be older than 65 and only one in two Bulgarians will be of working age.

Its median age increased from 30 in 1960 to 42 in 2012, the third-highest median age in the EU, surpassed only by Germany and Italy, it said.

Between 1950 and 1990, Bulgaria's population grew from 7.3 million to 8.8 million before falling back and its age structure has changed radically, with emigration alone contributed to a 10 percent decline of the economically active population since the 1990s.

"Bulgaria's age structure has changed radically," World Bank economist Doerte Doemeland said during a presentation of a report on convergence with the EU.

The report said Bulgaria, the poorest EU nation, should increase productivity to manage the demographic challenge and sustain aggregate output growth.

It also said Bulgaria's pension system was projected to remain in deficit as the country's low contribution rates had led to declining revenues and increasing subsidies from the state budget.

The transfers from the general government budget to the pension funds are projected to decline from 6.1 percent of GDP in 2012 to 4.9 percent of GDP in the medium term before climbing to 5.6 percent by 2050, the report said.

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Mega show World bill unveiled for Summerfest Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, organiser of SummerFest Abu Dhabi, the emirate’s seasonal destination extravaganza, has unveiled an action-packed line-up of 98 shows over 47 days during its flagship Show World family activation at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).

Free-to-attend for all SummerFest Abu Dhabi general ticket holders, Show World - one of the core attractions at the festival’s ADNEC hub - will feature seven blockbuster acts performing twice-daily shows during week-long runs. Show World will be open throughout the 52-day festival, which runs 27th June – 17th August and spans the Holy Month of Ramadan, Eid Al Fitr and the emirate’s traditional EidFest celebrations.

Designed to entice, engage and excite, the Show World bill kicks off with two consecutive regional premieres of 90-minute live action shows which will appeal to local and expatriate kids alike. Raising the Show World curtain is Cartoon Network’s LAZY TOWN LIVE ON STAGE - ROBOTICUS show, which get kids up and active throughout its June 27th– July 3rd run, with daily performances at 16:30 and 19:30.

Show World’s second week sees much-loved BANANAS IN PYJAMAS duo, B1 and B2, take-over for their side-splitting Banana-rific production from July 4-8th - again performing in daily shows at 16:30 and 19:30. For the final July 9th performances, to coincide with the start of Ramadan, timings change to 21:00 and 23:30.

The evening performances continue into week three as Sesame Street’s IFTAH YA SIMSIM LIVE: TREASURE HUNT - featuring loveable Muppet favourites, Bader, Anees, Elmo, Khokha, Ka’aki and Gharghour also known as Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Grover – embark on a mega dance and musical show from July 10-13th and 15-19th.

Week four sees the major characters from four hit Cartoon Network shows - Ben 10 Omniverse, Ben 10, Ben 10 Alien Force and Ben 10 Ultimate Alien – perform the BEN 10 LIVE: TIME MACHINE in evening performance slots from July 20-21st and 23-27th.

Local sensation, FREEJ, closes out the final week of evening Ramadan shows from July 28th – 30th and August 1st – 4th. The all new locally-produced show features hilarious antics as hero character, Abood, goes on a fantasy adventure while looking after one of the grandmother’s pet canary – a bird that lives in a fish bowl. Meeting new friends and learning new lessons, ‘Abood’s Dream’ is a fun-filled, traditional family theatre experience with a local cultural twist.

From August 5th and 7th-12th, SCOOBY-DOO LIVE! MUSICAL MYSTERIES picks up the Show World mantle with big musical numbers - including the cartoon’s classic theme song, ‘Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?’ – as well as original tracks ‘Round Every Corner’ and ‘We’re Mystery Inc.’ The August  5th  shows keep the 21:00 and 23:30 Ramadan timings, before returning to the earlier slots of 16:30 and 19:30 from August 7-12th.

Rounding out the Show World line up, from August 14-17th, is BEN 10 ULTIMATE CHALLENGE – a live game show pitting the region’s biggest Ben 10 fans against each other in four rounds of intense competition. The made-for-TV special runs three-times-a-day at 16:00, 18:00 and 20:00.

“This Show World line-up will ensure ADNEC is the hottest and coolest place to be this summer,” said Sultan Al Muhairi, Manager, SummerFest Abu Dhabi. “With so many free-to-attend shows and such a varied line-up of international and homegrown stars, families will be spoilt for choice throughout the festival. We hope it will be a major draw for visitors from across the GCC and beyond,” said Sultan Al Muhairi, Manager, SummerFest Abu Dhabi.

In addition to the edutainment activities, world-class shows and exciting international performances at its ADNEC hub, the new-look SummerFest Abu Dhabi, formerly known as Summer in Abu Dhabi, also features an exciting line-up of Arabic concerts, comedy nights, theatre productions and celebrity-driven sport activations rolling out at du Forum on Yas Island – the first time Abu Dhabi’s entertainment district has got in on the emirate’s summer act.

Meanwhile, guests booking a minimum of three nights’ stay at any of 40 participating Abu Dhabi hotels during SummerFest Abu Dhabi, with the exception of Eid, will also get free entry tickets to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi theme park and the award-winning Yas Waterworld - recently named the Middle East’s leading attraction by the World Travel Awards. Hotel guests will also receive free WiFi and kids under 12 will eat free.

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Australia book World Cup berth

SYDNEY - Australia has qualified for the 2014 World Cup by beating Iraq 1-0 today (June 18), with substitute Josh Kennedy heading home the winner in the 83rd minute.

Australia coach Holger Osieck made the bold call to take off talisman Tim Cahill and replace him with Kennedy, and the decision paid dividends when Mark Bresciano chipped a cross into the box, where Kennedy took advantage of lax marking to head past Noor Sabri in the Iraq goal.

In cold and wet conditions, Australia pushed relentlessly in the second half in front of an expectant home crowd of 80,523, but was frustrated by Iraq’s defence until Bresciano came up with the key pass.

It is the third straight time Australia has qualified for the World Cup, and becomes the third team to book its place for the 2014 tournament after Japan and host Brazil.

The Socceroos won just one of their first six games in the final stage of Asian qualifying, putting their Brazil ambitions in jeopardy, but home wins over Jordan and Iraq delivered a place in Brazil for the veteran squad, which includes Bresciano, Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill and Cahill in the twilight of their careers.

“It was a very tough qualifying campaign but we made it happen in the last three games,” Osieck said.

“It was a tricky game. They are not an easy team to play.”

Australia started the game positively and fired the first salvo in the 3rd minute with Tim Cahill stinging the palms of Iraqi keeper Abbas Noor’s goal from 10 yards, after some clever build up play from winger Robbie Kruse.

In the 15th minute Sasa Ognenovski spurned a good chance when he headed over the bar from fellow central defender Lucas Neill’s chipped cross.

On the half hour, Cahill again found the target but his weak header from Luke Wilkshire’s corner was easily saved by Noor.

Three minutes later Australia countered after a rare Iraq attack with Tommy Oar’s lofted pass playing in Cahill, but the New York Red Bulls star could only drag his effort wide from a tight angle.

A better chance for Cahill presented itself on the next Australian foray with McKay’s cross fumbled by Noor and Cahill’s acrobatic overhead kick sailed just wide from seven yards.

Iraq came more into the game late in the first half as Australia’s early dominance ebbed away, with the hosts unable to unlock Iraq’s defence and ending the half without the goal it needed to book its place for the World Cup.

Iraq, missing several of its best players, managed just one shot in the opening half which failed to test Schwarzer.

The former Asian champions qualifying hopes ended last week in a defeat to already-qualified Japan in Doha, and missed captain and striker Younis Mahmood and veteran midfielder organizer Nashat Akram, who did not travel to Australia.

The visitors started the second half brightly with midfielder Saif Salman forcing Schwarzer to dive to his left to stop his low drive from 25 yards.

In the 57th minute, Bresciano shot narrowly over from just outside the box as the hosts looked to up the pressure on the Iraq backline.

Bresciano went close again two minutes later when he combined with Kruse but his tame effort was easily collected by Noor.

Australia named an unchanged lineup for the third successive game after an impressive 1-1 draw away to Japan and a 4-0 rout of Jordan in Melbourne last week.

On the hour Australia coach Holger Oseick brought Glasgow Celtic’s Tom Rogic for Brett Holman and the change almost paid immediate dividends with Rogic bursting into the box, but saw his shot fly wide.

Australia thought they had the breakthrough in the 65th minute, but Kruse’s volley from outside the box was disallowed by Iranian referee Faghani Alireza who saw a foul by Ognenovski in the lead up to Kruse’s well taken strike.

Australia continued to press but could not find the breakthrough, prompting Osieck to substitute Cahill for Nagoya Grampus striker Kennedy.

Cahill was less than impressed with the decision, storming past the German coach to take his place on the bench, but the substitution proved inspired.

The hosts survived some nervous final minutes as Iraq pressed forward but managed to hold on. AP

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Spanish eatery hopes world best restaurant award boosts tourism

By Inmaculada Sanz

MADRID | Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:26pm EDT

MADRID (Reuters) - An avante-garde restaurant run by three brothers in north-east Spain hopes that being crowned the world's best restaurant will boost food tourism in recession-bound Spain.

El Celler de Can Roca in Girona scooped the prestigious prize from Britain's Restaurant magazine on Monday, making Spain's coastal region north of Barcelona the top place in the world to eat once again.

The restaurant ended Danish experimental eatery Noma's three-year run in the No. 1 slot. Noma took the title from Catalan chef Ferran Adria's El Bulli, which is 30 miles from El Celler, and held the crown for four years.

El Celler, which the Roca brothers opened in 1986 and boasts three Michelin stars, favors Catalan ingredients such as fresh seafood and playful presentation, serving caramelized olives on bonsai trees to diners.

Dishes at the avant-garde restaurant include desserts based on perfume ingredients, including Calvin Klein's Eternity, ice cream that tastes like smoke from Cuban cigars, and "Dublin Bay prawns with curry smoke".

"The prize means we can strengthen our brand and in terms of promoting our country it's extremely important," sommelier Josep Roca told radio station Cadena Ser on Tuesday.

"We have to take advantage of this to show off our country, philosophy, way of being, living, eating and in some way use it to our advantage in terms of tourism."

Josep and his brothers Joan and Jordi run the restaurant after learning the trade at their parents' Can Roca restaurant, also in Girona.

Joan, who spent one season under Adria at the now closed El Bulli, is head chef, while Jordi takes care of desserts.

The eatery, which has been ranked among the world's top five restaurants for the last five years, offers two tasting menus featuring over 20 dishes for 135 euros ($180) and 165 euros.

"The Roca brothers have managed to reach an extraordinary level based on dialogue, between the sweet, the savory and wine, in a way no other restaurant in the world has managed," said Adria, who cried when the award was announced on Monday.

Two restaurants in Spain's northern Basque Country, Mugaritz and Arzak, came in at No. 4 and No. 8 on the list, making Spain the world's top ranking gastronomic destination with three of the top 10 slots.

Elena Arzak, named the best chef in the world two years ago, told Reuters she also thought the rankings could help lift Spain's depressed economy.

Tourism is one of the only bright spots in Spain's economy, which has shrunk for seven consecutive quarters with record unemployment of 27 percent.

"Getting on the list has a major international impact because it encourages food tourism and generates excitement among people who like fine dining," Arzak said.

"People come from all over the world ... recently we've been seeing lots of visitors from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Canada. It's like you get to travel all over the world without leaving the restaurant, just talking to the people who come in."

(Writing by Clare Kane, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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Many in Muslim world want sharia as law of land: survey

By Religion Editor Tom Heneghan

Tue Apr 30, 2013 2:14pm EDT

n">(Reuters) - Large majorities in the Muslim world want the Islamic legal and moral code of sharia as the official law in their countries, but they disagree on what it includes and who should be subject to it, an extensive new survey says.

Suicide bombing was mostly rejected In the study by the Washington-based Pew Forum, but it won 40 percent support in the Palestinian territories, 39 percent in Afghanistan, 29 percent in Eygpt and 26 percent in Bangladesh.

Three-quarters of respondents said abortion is morally wrong and 80 percent or more rejected homosexuality and sex outside of marriage.

Over three-quarters of Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia want sharia courts to decide family law issues such as divorce and property disputes, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life said on Tuesday.

Views on punishments such as chopping off thieves' hands or decreeing death for apostates is more evenly divided in much of the Islamic world, although more than three-quarters of Muslims in South Asia say they are justified.

Those punishments have helped make sharia controversial in some non-Islamic countries, where some critics say radical Muslims want to impose it on Western societies, but the survey shows views in Muslim countries are far from monolithic.

"Muslims are not equally comfortable with all aspects of sharia," the study said. "Most do not believe it should be applied to non-Muslims."

Unlike codified Western law, sharia is a loosely defined set of moral and legal guidelines based on the Koran, the sayings of Prophet Mohammad (hadith) and Muslim traditions. Its rules and advice cover everything from prayers to personal hygiene.

Amaney Jamal, a Princeton University political scientist who was special adviser for the project, said Muslims in poor and repressive societies tended to identify sharia with basic Islamic values such as equality and social justice.

"In those societies, you tend to see significant support for sharia," she told journalists on a conference call. By contrast, Muslims who have lived under "narrow if not rigid" Islamic systems were less supportive of sharia as the official law.

POLITICS AND VIOLENCE

More than four-fifths of the 38,000 Muslims interviewed in 39 countries said non-Muslims in their countries could practice their faith freely and that this was good.

This view was strongest in South Asia, where 97 percent of Bangladeshis and 96 percent of Pakistanis agreed, while the lowest Middle Eastern result was 77 percent in Egypt.

The survey polled only Muslims and not minorities. In several Muslim countries, embattled Christian minorities say they cannot practice their faith freely and are subject to discrimination and physical attacks.

The survey produced mixed results on questions relating to the relationship between politics and Islam.

Democracy wins slight majorities in key Middle Eastern states - 54 percent in Iraq, 55 percent in Egypt - and falls to 29 percent in Pakistan. By contrast, it stands at 81 percent in Lebanon, 75 percent in Tunisia and 70 percent in Bangladesh.

In most countries surveyed, Muslims were more worried about Islamist militancy than any other form of religious violence.

SEX AND VEILS

Views on whether women should decide themselves if they should wear a headscarf vary greatly, from 89 percent in Tunisia and 79 percent in Indonesia saying yes and 45 percent in Iraq and 30 percent in Afghanistan saying no.

Majorities from 74 percent in Lebanon to 96 percent in Malaysia said wives should always obey their husbands.

Only a minority saw Sunni-Shi'ite tensions as a very big problem, ranging from 38 percent in Lebanon and 34 percent in Pakistan to 23 percent in Iraq and 14 percent in Turkey.

Conflict with other religions loomed larger, with 68 percent in Lebanon saying it was a big problem, 65 percent in Tunisia, 60 percent in Nigeria and 57 percent in Pakistan.

A section of the survey on U.S. Muslims noted they "sometimes more closely resemble other Americans than they do Muslims around the world". Only about half say their closest friends are Muslim, compared to 95 percent of Muslims globally.

(Reporting By Tom Heneghan; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Michael Roddy)

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