Central bank boss quits over fake degree

ECUADOR'S central bank president has resigned over revelations he used a bogus university degree to get into a graduate school and study business.

Pedro Delgado acknowledged he never completed his economics studies at Ecuador's Catholic University and fabricated a diploma later to gain admission to a business school called INCAE, in Costa Rica.

"I made a mistake, a very serious mistake, 22 years ago," Mr Delgado said on television Wednesday night.

"I made the wrong decision and, in order to achieve my academic goal, I made a mistake that is now costing me dearly."

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, who is Mr Delgado's cousin, said Mr Delgado's dishonesty had dealt a serious blow to his government.

It was INCAE that first started investigating Mr Delgado and passed on its findings to the Quito government, which confirmed the central banker had no undergraduate degree and made as if he did.

Mr Delgado had run the central bank since November 2011.

He was also in charge of monitoring companies seized by the state over unpaid debt, and has been accused by opposition groups of a number of improprieties including attempts to coordinate financial activities with Iran.

"Nothing was found because all these accusations were fabricated to damage the image of the one who leads the revolution," Mr Delgado said of these other charges and alluding to Mr Correa.

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Patriarch 'dismayed' at holy site attacks

THE head of the Roman Catholic church in the Holy Land expressed "dismay" at a wave of attacks on local Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious sites over the past year.

In his Christmas message, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Fuad Twal, noted "an increase in a certain religious radicalism," with church data showing 21 acts of vandalism, arson and desecration of mosques, churches, synagogues and cemeteries since December 21, 2011.

"I reiterate my dismay at the desecration of churches, convents, synagogues and cemeteries that offends everyone," Patriarch Twal said.

"We must take out the evil at its root by educating our youth in all schools."

The most recent attack was discovered on December 12, after vandals sprayed anti-Christian graffiti on Jerusalem's Monastery of the Cross and at an Armenian cemetery overnight, in an apparent hate crime by Jewish extremists.

There have also been acts of arson and graffiti, including the painting of Nazi swastikas at synagogues, allegedly perpetrated by Muslims.

Repeated incidents of arson and anti-Islamic graffiti against mosques have been linked to the "price tag" campaign of Israeli extremists opposed to state moves to dismantle unauthorised settler outposts.

Of late they have become increasingly unrelated to any specific government measures.

The patriarch also made mention of the conflict in Syria, which activists say has killed more than 43,000 people in 21 months.

"The joy of Christmas is overshadowed by the staggering violence in Syria," he said. "We are full of compassion for the victims."

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55 dead or missing in boat capsize

FIFTY-FIVE Somalis and Ethiopians have drowned or are missing after their boat capsized off Somalia in the worst such disaster in the area in almost two years, the United Nations says.

The UN refugee agency said on Thursday the incident represents "the biggest loss of life" in the Gulf of Aden since February 2011, when 57 Somali refugees and migrants from the Horn of Africa drowned while attempting to reach Yemen.

"Twenty-three bodies have been recovered. The 32 remaining passengers are presumed to have drowned," UNHCR said.

At least five people survived Tuesday's accident.

The boat was overcrowded and capsized just 15 minutes after leaving the port of Bosasso in Somalia's northern semi-autonomous state of Puntland on Tuesday.

Some 100,000 people have crossed the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden this year, despite warnings about the risks such trips involve, the agency said.

In addition to using unseaworthy and overcrowded boats, those fleeing the Horn of Africa often fall prey to unscrupulous smugglers, in whose hands they can face exploitation, extortion and even death, the agency warned.

It said 95 people have drowned or gone missing in the waters between Somalia and Yemen this year.

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Oil prices fall in absence of fiscal deal

GLOBAL oil prices have dipped as Democrats and Republicans remain locked in a stalemate over a deal to resolve the US fiscal cliff, analysts say.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February slid 25 cents to $US89.73 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for February reversed 28 cents to $US110.08 a barrel in London afternoon deals on Thursday.

"Crude oil prices slid lower on Thursday, in a healthy correction, after a recent rally that dominated the oil market in the last few days," said analyst Myrto Sokou at brokerage Sucden Financial Research.

"The general momentum is slightly bearish today, with European equity markets reporting renewed losses as 'fiscal cliff' sentiment worsened somewhat with Obama threatening to veto Boehner's 'Plan B', heightening chances that it would not pass through the Democrat-controlled Senate."

With less than two weeks to go before the fiscal cliff of huge tax hikes and deep spending cuts is due to take effect, US lawmakers have still not reached a compromise budget deal to cut the nation's deficit with less painful measures.

Traders remain fearful that the fiscal cliff - due to be implemented on January 1 - could plunge the world's biggest economy back into recession and ravage global oil demand.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he and the Republicans had narrowed differences to "a few hundred billion dollars". But a deal remains elusive.

Republicans are loath to raise taxes, while Democrats do not want to cut spending on programs such as Medicare.

House Speaker John Boehner, the Republican negotiating with the president, has said he is willing to extend tax breaks for everyone earning less than $US1 million ($A957,400) per year. Obama has said, however, he is willing to go no higher than $US400,000.

Boehner announced on Wednesday that he will move to pass his measure, which he describes as his "Plan B", through the House on Thursday but Obama warned he would veto the legislation.

Meanwhile traders shrugged off official data on Thursday showing that the US economy grew 3.1 per cent in the third quarter, faster than previously estimated.

Gross domestic product growth in the July-September period was revised upward from prior estimates of 2.7 per cent and 2.0 per cent.

The higher figure reflects upward revisions to consumer spending, exports and government outlays, and downward revision to imports.

"The US GDP data were fairly robust but failed to provide some upside momentum to the oil market as the main focus has been switched to the US fiscal cliff talks," added Sokou.

"Crude oil prices continue to post renewed losses, as risk appetite is limited."

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Brazil cuts GDP growth forecast

BRAZIL'S Central Bank has cut its GDP growth forecast for 2012 from 1.6 per cent to one per cent, confirming a marked slowdown in Latin America's biggest economy.

In September, the bank had already revised its forecast downward from 2.5 per cent to 1.6 per cent.

On Thursday, the bank also revised its inflation estimate for 2012 to 5.7 per cent, up from 5.2 per cent. The new projection is well above the official target of 4.5 per cent.

Market analysts have been predicting 1.5 per cent GDP growth for Brazil this year, a projection similar to one by the International Monetary Fund in October.

The IMF also expects Brazil to fare worse than its partners in the BRICS bloc of emerging powers, predicting 7.8 per cent growth for China, 4.9 per cent for India, 3.7 per cent for Russia and 2.6 per cent for South Africa.

Brazil's economy grew just 0.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2012 compared with the previous three months, signalling a weaker than anticipated recovery, the Brazilian statistics office said late last month.

The economy lost steam last year due to the global slowdown, with GDP growth at 2.7 per cent, down from a sizzling 7.5 per cent in 2010.

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Chicago struts past Les Miz

THE Broadway musical Chicago is about to swagger into the history books again.

The overnight performance of the edgy musical will be its 6681, meaning it becomes the third longest-running show in Broadway history. It snatches that title from Les Miserables.

The only shows that have run longer are Cats, with almost 7500 shows, and The Phantom of the Opera, which is still going after more than 10,300 performances.

It was only last year that Chicago took over third place on the list, beating out A Chorus Line.

Set in the 1920s, Chicago is a scathing satire of how show business and the media make celebrities out of criminals. It has skimpy outfits, a rotating cast of celebrities and killer songs such as All That Jazz.

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Pope Paul VI moves along path to sainthood

THE late Pope Paul VI, who led an era of church reforms and issued a ban on contraception, is progressing along the path to possible sainthood.

Pope Benedict XVI has approved a decree recognising the "heroic virtues" of the Italian, who served as pontiff from 1963-1978.

To be beatified, the last formal step before sainthood, a miracle achieved through Paul VI's intercession must be recognised by the Vatican.

Paul gained prominence at the Vatican as a close aide to wartime pontiff Pius XII and later led the Milan archdiocese.

Elected pontiff in 1963, Paul continued the groundbreaking liberalising reforms started by predecessor Pope John XXIII, travelled worldwide and promoted better relations among Christians.

His 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, which forbids Catholics to use contraception, was highly controversial.

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