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Bentonville, Arkansas, United States (AHN) – Wal-Mart Stores announced Wednesday that it will no longer pay its employees who work Sundays an additional $1 an hour. The new policy, however, would only cover workers hired after Jan. 1, 2011.

Current U.S. employees numbering 1.4 million will not be affected by the new policy, a Wal-Mart spokesman said.

The policy will also not apply to workers in Wal-Mart’s 49 Massachusetts and 10 Rhode Island outlets because the employees in the two states were not extended the extra $1 Sunday pay since their hourly rate for Sunday work is 1.5 times based on state labor regulations.

The policy is part of Chief Executive Officer Mike Duke’s strategy to reduce cost after Wal-Mart registered six consecutive quarters of sales declines at its U.S. operations.

On top of lower sales, operating expenses went up in 2009 to about $80 billion partly due to health benefits extended to workers.

To offset revenue reduction in its U.S. operations, Wal-Mart offered in November $2.4 billion to acquire a majority share in Massmart, a South African retail chain.

Wal-Mart is expanding its international business, particularly in emerging markets with high growth potentials.

Wal-Mart got the unanimous vote of the Massmart board, but needs the approval also of the South African regulators and 75 percent of Massmart stockholders.

The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union expressed concern with the possible Wal-Mart buy-in because of the U.S. retail giant’s stand against unions.

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LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar said on Wednesday he would revive free-market reforms and fiscal discipline in Africa’s top oil exporter after what he descr…

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Manama, Bahrain David E. Miller – Shia Islamists and communists rarely get along, but at the moment they have united in support of the sole female opposition candidate for the parliament in Bahrain.

Munira Fakhro, a member of the National Democratic Action Society, a left-wing opposition party, announced her candidacy for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 23 in a public gathering in the town of ‘Issa, south of the capital Manama.

“Everyone knows me in Bahrain,” Fakhro told The Media Line. “I have been working in public service for the past 40 years. I have written many books on women’s issues and civil society and can contribute both to women and to reforms in Bahrain in general.”

“My voice is clear, and cannot be bought,” she said.

Fakhro cited a long list of issues she intends to tackle if elected, including higher education, health and political reforms.

“We advocate both constitutional and electoral reform in Bahrain,” she said. “The new constitution of 2002 has given the king too much power. We would like to reduce the number of constituencies from 40 to five, like in Kuwait.”

“We want Bahrain to be a state of civilians, not of subjects,” adds Fakhro. “We oppose government tributes, as well as all forms of sectarian discrimination.”

Fakhro says that her party strongly opposes the nationalization of Sunni immigrants at the expense of Bahrain’s indigenous Shia majority. The government policy, locally referred to as tajnis, aims to tilt the kingdom’s demographic balance in favor of the Sunni minority, which rules the kingdom.

Shiite Muslims are believed to comprise as much as 70 percent of the kingdom’s Muslim population.

“The immigrants come to Bahrain from places like Jordan, Yemen and Syria,” she said. “Many of them come from tribal areas and often cannot read or write. Despite this, they immediately receive positions in the military or in the Ministry of Interior. They even get housing, while regular Bahrainis must wait years for this.”

Fakhro, who ran in the 2006 national elections and lost, afterward accused the government of election fraud.

In 2002, The National Democratic Action Society boycotted the elections following a constitutional change that left too much power in the hands of King Sheikh Hamad Bin ‘Isa Al Khalifah. The party demanded to return to the more equitable 1973 constitution, which stipulated that two-thirds of the parliament must be elected by the people, with the remaining third appointed as ministers by the king.

‘Iz Al-Din ‘Ali, deputy chief editor of the Bahraini daily Al-Ayam, says that the rallying of Shia Islamists and left-wingers around Fakhro’s candidacy is a marriage of convenience.

“There are deep ideological rifts, which both sides admit,” he told The Media Line, “but they agree on political issues such as combating nationalization [of Sunnis] and protecting public funds.”

‘Ali said that Fakhro’s party adheres to communist ideology, although its members prefer to refer to themselves as “secular” or “liberal.”

“In 2006, Fakhro had great success in the elections, when she won the highest number of votes in the first round,” he added. “She was less than 1,000 votes away from winning the second round as well. She is a very popular candidate.”

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Mogadishu, Somalia (AHN) – Somali businessmen on Saturday called on the Somali Transitional Federal Government and African Union peacekeepers to stop shelling Bakara, the largest and busiest market in the Somali capital.

In an interview with a local radio station, Ali Mohammed Siad, known as Ali Dhere, the chairman of Bakara Market businessmen, appealed to both Somali government and AMISOM troops to stop bombarding the market, which is a heavily populated area.

Siad said barrages by AMISOM had a great impact on the commercial area’s movements and activities, and the market may have to shut down.

“The government is needed to speak with African Union officials to stop bombardments completely which kill many [innocent] people,” Siad said during the interview.

He accused AMISOM forces of mass killing, referring to the people dying in Bakara Market because of indiscriminate shelling.

Nathan Mugishu, land force commander of the African Union Mission, has denied charges that AMISOM is indiscriminate and haphazard in its shelling, saying “it is known those [who] pound mortars on the civilian people.” He didn’t specify who he meant.

Bakara is an area tightly controlled by Islamists and government officials say it is where Insurgents organize themselves to launch attacks.

The statement by the Bakara businessman comes after days of fighting between government forces backed by AMISOM against Islamist insurgents.

About 85 people were killed and more than 100 others injured in recent violence in Mogadishu.

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Your application for an auto loan can be rejected due to the bad credit rating that you have. But you should not think that you have reached the end of the world. You should not suffer today for a mistake that you have done in the past. The local lenders and dealers are not entertaining people with a bad credit record. However, there are lenders who finance for both new and used vehicles to the bad credit or even no credit people.

A bad credit score can reflect in your credit report for various reasons. You may have gone through CCJs, missed payments and defaults on your previous loans or credit cards. You might have arrears in the market. Still you are eligible for an auto loan bad credit. The lenders have designed this product to support the people in time of their need.

You can purchase a car or even a truck for your commercial use. You are under no obligations for the funds that you are applying. You can use the funds for buying a sports car to participate in rally.

There are two types of auto loans bad credit. Secured auto loans are secured against your property or against the vehicle itself. The rate of interest is lower for these types of loans. The unsecured loans do not require any security for the funds. Te lenders charge a higher rate of interest from the borrowers as a huge risk is involved for them.

To apply for an auto loan bad credit, you can choose the internet as the best option. The lenders have their websites where you can log on and apply for a loan while sitting at home. No credit check is required; hence, you need not have to think about your credit history.

Bad credit will no longer stop you from applying for a loan these days. You will find number of online lenders who are there to provide you funds through loans regardless of your credit rating. Loans bad credit is one such loan that is specially designed for the borrowers suffering from bad credit ratings.

Any borrowers who have a credit rating below 600 are considered as bad credit holders. A borrower may suffer from bad credit record due to various reasons such as unable to pay off debts, loss of job, improper management of funds and illness. Borrowers such as defaulters, CCJ’s, arrear holders and bankrupts are listed as bad credit borrowers.

The loan lenders will provide you loans without bothering about your credit rating. However, your credit history, credit owned, current income and credit requirements will be reviewed by the lenders before approving these loans.

Like any other loans, the amount received through loans bad credit can be used for various purposes without any restriction. You can use to pay off debts, special occasions, purchase a car, repair your car, home improvement, pay unpaid bills, educational expenses, wedding expenses, go for a holiday or consolidate your debts.

Depending on your convenience you can either go for the secured or the unsecured form of loans bad credit. If you are able to pledge any collateral, then you can go for the secured form of these loans. On the other hand, if you do not any asset that you can pledge as security then considering the unsecured form of these loans is the best option.

With the increasing changes in the lifestyle of people the demand for loans has also increased. Apart from the regular loan borrowers, bad credit holders can also enjoy various loan options that have been designed keeping in mind their financial situation.

Automobiles are not just a prestige objects nowadays. They are as necessary as your other household items. Everyone, from the teens to the youth to the elders needs automobiles to travel. Of course, there is the public conveyance facility but it does not always serve your purpose: timings may not match, routes may be different and many other things compel you to think about owning your own car. But how can you purchase your car in case you have a bad credit score. There is an option: the auto loans bad credit scheme on the internet.

Your local bankers will straightaway refuse your loan application if your FICO score is 650 or below. But there are private money lenders on the internet who understand your need. They are willing to finance your car: new or old. And not only cars, you can also ask loans for vehicles associated with your business, such as pickup trucks. And the best thing is that you need not place any collateral too.

Auto loans bad credit is of two types: secured and unsecured. If you do not have any property to place as collateral, you need not loose hope. Once you fill in the online free form available on the website of an online money lender, you will receive a quotation that details how much money you can get as a loan, as well as the different repayment schemes that outline your monthly payments. Alternatively, most websites carry a free loan calculator so that you yourself can calculate the difference among the difference payment schemes.

The online money lenders will help you purchase you your dream vehicle. Though you use the vehicle, the ownership of the vehicle remains with the money lender, that is, until you pay off the loan. Once you repay the entire loan, you get the ownership transferred to you free of cost. Is there any easier way of procuring your car? Go for the auto loans bad credit now.