International News

Jamaica's Credit Rating Downgraded

Standard and Poor's, a top credit ratings agency, is keeping a negative outlook on Jamaica's credit following the resignation of the island's central bank governor. Standard & Poor's yesterday downgraded Jamaica one notch, to 'CCC' from 'CCC-plus', signaling the growing risk of a debt exchange operation that could be an event of selective default. The ratings downgrade comes as the Prime Minister Bruce Golding seeks a loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Africa Sahara Sun 'To Help Power Europe'

The Sahara Desert will soon be home to the world's largest solar field. A sustainable energy initiative that will start with a huge solar project in the Sahara desert has been announced by a consortium of 12 European businesses. The Desertec Industrial Initiative aims to supply Europe with 15% of its energy needs by 2050. Companies who signed up to the US$400 billion venture include Deutsche Bank, Siemens and the energy provider E.On. The consortium, which will be based in Munich, Germany, hopes to start supplying Europe with electricity by 2015. Desertec Industrial Initiative aims to produce solar-generated electricity with a vast network of power plants and transmission grids across North Africa and the Middle East.

Bulgarian Girl, 11, Gives Birth To Her Daughter...On Her Wedding Day

Kordeza Zhelyazkova, from Sliven in Bulgaria, was still wearing her wedding dress and tiara as she was rushed to hospital, where she gave birth to 5lb 8oz Violeta. Proudly displaying her baby, she told reporters: "I'm not going to play with toys any more - I have a new toy now" (hat tip: Ty Hogan). Kordeza - who fell pregnant within two weeks of her 11th birthday - spent the night in hospital with Violeta and then headed back to church for her wedding with 19-year-old Jeliazko Dimitrov. Kordeza said: "She is so beautiful, I love her. Violeta is the child and I must grow up. I am not going back to school - I am a mother now."

The couple met when Jeliazko rescued Kordeza from bullies in the playground. However he now faces six years in jail for having sex with a minor, mentioning he was fearful when he found out Kordeza was pregnant. He said: "I was walking past the school when I saw some boys mocking her and I told them to leave her alone. Then she arranged to meet me and asked me out on our first date. I thought she was 15. She didn't tell me she was 11." Kordeza added: "I didn't want to say in case he wouldn't fancy me." Their daughter was conceived within a week of their meeting.

Kordeza's grandmother Dida, 55, said: "It's normal for our girls to have babies young. It's our tradition. But I didn't want it for my Kordeza - I felt she was too young." The family planned a three-day Roma wedding for October 22 - so Kordeza and Jeliazko could be married before the baby was born. But Kordeza went into labor a week early, on the second day of the ceremony. Both grandmothers will be guardians of baby Violeta, and Kordeza and her daughter will receive US$115 a month in welfare benefits. The age of consent in Bulgaria is 14.