Clinton arrives for NATO talks, praises allies

BRUSSELS – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, arriving Friday at NATO headquarters, welcomed an expected series of announcements by allied nations of additional military, civilian and financial support for the war effort in Afghanistan.

Clinton was attending a string of meetings here with allied foreign ministers and with representatives of non-NATO countries that have troops in Afghanistan, plus Russia. She sought to sell President Barack Obama's revamped war strategy, which banks on major new allied contributions, not just to escalate the combat effort but also to bolster civilian functions and provide more development aid.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, also was to attend the meeting of NATO's main political council to explain the 43-nation military mission, which he has sought to revise and reinforce since he took over command last June. He has described conditions in the fight against Taliban extremists — now in its ninth year — as serious and deteriorating.

Allied governments need to be able to sell their publics on the idea of enlarging the war, and particularly those countries in which political parties share power have to be sure "the political stars are in alignment" before they announce new commitments, Clinton said.

Clinton made the comments in an interview with reporters traveling with her from Washington. She departed the U.S. capital Thursday shortly after testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she joined Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in defending the president's decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Clinton told reporters she was pleased that allies have responded positively to the Obama plan.

"We are encouraged that they are going to — beginning (Friday) but not ending (Friday) — have a number of public announcements about additional troop commitments and additional civilian assistance and development aid, as well," she said without naming any countries.

She said she had discussed the matter with her counterparts from 20 to 25 countries over the past week.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday that the allies will contribute at least 5,000 more troops to the war effort "and probably a few thousand more."

The U.S. now has about 71,000 troops in Afghanistan, while 42 other NATO and non-NATO nations have a total of 38,000 troops there. They are fighting a far smaller collection of Taliban militants who enjoy a haven across the border in Pakistan.

European countries have been reluctant to add large numbers of soldiers to a war that often looks unwinnable and to support an Afghan government tainted by corruption and election fraud. Some leaders are waiting for an international conference on Afghanistan in London in late January before promising any more troops.

Asked about the criticism that has focused on Obama's decision to announce a date in 2011 to begin the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, Clinton said that it has been misunderstood by some and that others were simply seeking to create a controversy.

"There have been some misunderstandings about what that date meant," she said, referring to Obama's announcement that beginning in July 2011, the U.S. troop contingent would begin to be withdrawn. The administration has said the pace and scale of the withdrawal will be determined after a further assessment of conditions on the ground, starting with an administration review in December 2010.

"Some people seized on that, for whatever reason or lack of understanding, as a way to try to create a difference where I'm not sure there is one," Clinton said.

She also took a gentle stab at the Bush administration's approach to running the war. She said Afghanistan's defense chief had told her last month that for the first time he felt like a full participant in the NATO military structure, as a result of changes made by McChrystal, who was appointed to the top command by Obama several months after he took office. Referring to the more limited Afghan participation before McChrystal's arrival, she said, "That's a little bit discouraging, when one looks back."

Clinton also was scheduled to meet separately in Brussels Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for eleventh-hour talks on a follow-on to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires at midnight Friday. Both sides have said they don't expect to complete a draft agreement — let alone get it ratified by their national legislatures — before the existing treaty expires. But they hope to wrap it up by the end of December and to make arrangements for monitoring each other's nuclear arsenals in the interim.

Upon her arrival in Brussels, Clinton's aides said she had recorded earlier in the week two video messages directed at the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan to "echo the themes and messages" from Obama's West Point speech on his Afghan war plan. The Clinton videos are available via the internet in Arabic, Dari, English, Pashto and Urdu, her aides said.

Health bill survives first big test - on Medicare

WASHINGTON – Unflinching on a critical first test, Senate Democrats closed ranks Thursday behind $460 billion in politically risky Medicare cuts at the heart of health care legislation, thwarting a Republican attempt to doom President Barack Obama's sweeping overhaul.

The bid by the bill's critics to reverse cuts to the popular Medicare program failed on a vote of 58-42, drawing the support of two Democratic defectors. Approval would have stripped out money needed to pay for expanding coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans.

The broader legislation aims to extend health coverage to 31 million who now lack it, while barring insurance industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. Though the overhaul is estimated to cost about $1 trillion over a decade, the Congressional Budget Office has said it would cut federal deficits by $130 billion over that period, and probably reduce them further in the 10 years beyond that.

"Our bill does nothing to reduce guaranteed Medicare benefits," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., as several fellow Democrats accused Republican critics of making false claims of potential harm during three days of debate.

The AARP supported the 10-year package of cuts in projected spending, giving Democrats political cover for their decision to pare back subsidies to private Medicare plans as well as payments to hospitals, hospices, home health agencies and other providers.

Republicans disagreed vigorously. "Medicare is already in trouble. The program needs to be fixed, not raided to create another new government program," said the party's leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The Medicare vote came not long after the Senate backed a guarantee for all insured women age 40 and older to receive mammograms with no out-of-pocket costs. The breast cancer screening test would be included in an array of preventive measures that insurance plans would be required to cover. The proposal cleared on a near party-line vote of 61-39, one more than the 60 needed for passage. It essentially wiped out a federal advisory committee recommendation to defer routine mammograms until women reach the age of 50.

The day's votes were the first since the Senate's health care debate began on Monday, and demonstrated the ability of Democrats to move ahead in the face of implacable Republican opposition.

At the same time, Democrats worked in private meetings to settle controversies within the party that are still standing in the way of the bill's passage. The most contentious of these involves proposals for the government to sell insurance in competition with private companies, an approach supported by liberals but opposed by most Democratic moderates and conservatives.

"Our caucus is now in the process of negotiating with ourselves because we need all 60 of us to get this done," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., after one closed-door meeting. Senate procedures require 60 votes to overcome Republican delaying tactics designed to kill the bill.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he expected all such issues to be worked out soon, but he did not specify precisely when.

For the time being, that left the two parties free to engage in an intensely political debate on health care, an issue that is certain to play a role in next year's midterm elections.

Unwilling to allow Republican charges on Medicare to go unanswered, Democrats responded with an alternative that stated no guaranteed benefits would be cut from the program and its finances would be strengthened.

The lead proponent of that provision was Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who was appointed to his seat earlier in the year and faces a difficult campaign in 2010. "This is a message amendment," his office informed fellow Democrats in an e-mail unintended for publication, indicating its purpose was partially political.

The bill "does not take away any seniors' guaranteed Medicare benefits," Bennet said on the Senate floor. "We know that the bill extends Medicare solvency for five additional years." It passed 100-0.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama's Republican opponent in last year's presidential race, laid bare the political nature of the debate by making a recording to be telephoned automatically to thousands of voters in states represented by Democrats, urging the deletion of the Medicare cuts. The calls were paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and took aim at Bennet as well as Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who is seeking a new term next year, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

In the end, Nelson and Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia were the only Democrats to support McCain's proposal.

On the other side, Republicans would not allow the Democrats to go unchallenged on women's health with a proposal long backed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski requiring the government to develop a list of tests to be covered at no additional cost to the patient.

On Wednesday, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., made it explicit that mammograms would be covered for women at age 40.

More broadly, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, backed an alternative that gave GOP senators opposed to the Democratic proposal a measure they could support. It urged the insurance industry to consult with medical experts in deciding what preventive tests to provide. But it provided no government guarantee that any would be required, did not rule out copays for patients undergoing the procedures, and would have wiped out a list of free tests for men and women that Democrats wrote into their legislation.

It failed on a vote of 59-41 with Nelson siding with the Republicans.

Political philosophy played a hidden role in the struggle over women's health. Republicans have accused Democrats for months of supporting a federal takeover of health care. Murkowski quietly shelved an earlier draft of her amendment that would have given the government authority to require additional preventive tests and raised the cost of the bill by $30 billion over a decade. One Republican said conservatives objected, forcing the switch.

Overall, the $1 trillion legislation would require most Americans to purchase insurance and provide federal subsidies to lower and middle income individuals and families to defray the cost. Businesses would not be required to provide coverage to their employees, but large firms would face a penalty if they did not and if any of their workers received federal subsidies.

Consumers would be allowed to shop for insurance in a new marketplace in which companies would compete for business by selling policies that provide benefits according to standards established by the federal

Senators: Take action against White House crashers

WASHINGTON – Two senators said Sunday that authorities should pursue criminal charges against the Virginia couple who crashed last week's state dinner at the White House.
"You've got to send a strong deterrent that people just don't do this kind of thing," Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana said on "Fox News Sunday."
Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona agreed, saying, "If it's a federal crime to lie to a federal agent, and these people didn't tell the truth about their invitation, then they should be in some way brought to justice here, again, as an example to others not to do it."
According to authorities, Michaele and Tareq Salahi were allowed into the White House dinner Tuesday night even though they were not on the guest list. The Secret Service has apologized for the breakdown in security, and an investigation into possible criminal behavior is ongoing.
Casey Margenau, a friend of the Salahis, appeared Saturday on Fox News Channel's "Geraldo at Large" and said, "I understand that they spent Friday with the Secret Service and they have been cooperating."
The New York Times, citing an anonymous federal official, reported Sunday that the Secret Service interviews with the Salehis continued through Saturday.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan refused Sunday to provide information on the investigation, telling The Associated Press, "We are not going to comment any more this weekend."
"It's an incredible situation," said Bayh. "I mean, of course, people have been laughing about it, ... but it's not a laughing matter that people could get that close to the president and the vice president who aren't sup

Indians still haunted by worst industrial accident

BHOPAL, India – Hazra Bi wishes she could forget. But her damaged family is a living reminder of that December night 25 years ago when lethal gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, in the worst industrial disaster the world has ever seen.
The gas that swept through her poor neighborhood left her nearly blind in one eye, menopausal at 36, with searing headaches and breathlessness. It left her son, then 4, unable to control his bladder and suffering debilitating panic attacks. And two years ago it gave her a granddaughter born severely underweight, her legs like twigs, who still cannot walk or talk.
The Bhopal industrial disaster killed about 4,000 people in the early hours of Dec. 3, 1984. A few days later the death toll had doubled. Over the next few years, the lingering affects of the poison nearly doubled the toll again, to about 15,000, according to government estimates. Local activists say the real numbers are almost twice that.
A quarter-century later, thousands like Bi are still grappling with the affects of exposure to the deadly gas as it winds its way through generations not even born when the disaster struck. Rights groups say toxic waste from the plant still contaminates the soil and groundwater in nearby neighborhoods.
"We're still finding children as young as 2 months old being born with birth defects," says Satinath Sarangi, director of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic, which offers free health care for those exposed to gas or polluted water.
According to the government, at least 500,000 people were affected by the gas leak, and activists like Sarangi say that thousands of children, born to parents directly exposed to the gas leak or poisoned by the contaminated water, are suffering from cleft lips, missing palates, twisted limbs.
Varying degrees of brain damage are being found, as are chaotic menstrual cycles, they said. Even more common are all sorts of skin, vision and breathing disorders.
Government officials say there is no current contamination and dismiss assertions that the birth defects are related to the disaster. Babulal Gaur, the state minister for Gas Relief and Rehabilitation, says the diseases plaguing the children are only a consequence of living in poor slums.
American chemical company Union Carbide Corp. has said that the accident — which took place when water entered the sealed tank containing the highly reactive MIC — was an act of sabotage by a disgruntled employee, never identified, and not lax safety standards or faulty plant design, as claimed by some activists.
Union Carbide was bought by Dow Chemical Co. in 2001. Dow says the legal case was resolved in 1989, when Union Carbide settled with the Indian government for $470 million, and that all responsibility for the factory now rests with the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh, of which Bhopal is the capital.
Tomm F. Sprick, a spokesman for Union Carbide gave The Associated Press a statement saying "the groundwater issue at the Bhopal site is best addressed by the state government of Madhya Pradesh, which owns the site and is responsible for clean up activities," and that the company gave the Indian government all the toxicity information about the chemicals involved in the manufacture of MIC.
It's a responsibility that the state government accepts.
"Dow Chemical does not own that site. We do," says Gaur, the minister.
Through the twisting, dirt-filled alleys of the slums that bore the brunt of the gas leak, it's impossible to walk past more than a dozen homes without finding at least one young child with visible physical abnormalities.
Dressed in a faded blue sweater and bright red pants, Hazra Bi's granddaughter, Taheba, drags herself across the floor as she plays with a piece of silver foil.
"A 2-year-old walks, talks, responds to its name, but this is the fate of the third generation of Bhopal," Hazra Bi says, as she watches over the child.
Elsewhere in the city, 26-year-old Rizwana Bi sits on a plastic mat minding her 8-year-old daughter Menaz, who looks half her age and whose twisted body is strapped into a special chair with a wooden back to support her spine.
Rizwana and her husband (who are unrelated to Hazra) both were exposed to the gas as children, and have two sons, both of whom have severe speech defects and poor mental development.
She is one of dozens of parents who bring their children to a special school and clinic run by the Chingari Trust, a nonprofit organization funded in large part by the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize awarded in 2004 to Bhopal activists and survivors Rashida Bee and her friend and neighbor, Champa Devi Shukla.
Chingari, which means "spark" in Hindi, says it has identified hundreds of children with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to speech defects who were born to parents exposed to the gas or the contaminated water.
Hundreds of tons of toxic material from the factory still sit in a warehouse on the premises, but Gaur says there is no contamination of either the soil or water.
The tragedy of Bhopal's children is compounded by the lack of any detailed research into the long term health implications of exposure to the gas.
In 1985 the Indian Council of Medical Research — the top government-funded body conducting medical investigations — initiated two dozen studies into the likely biomedical impact of MIC exposure. Most of those studies were never published, say doctors involved in the research.
"We were told that studies could not be published because of some legal issues, but to date those studies have not been published," said Dr. N.R. Bhandari, a pediatrician who was the main investigator in five studies.
According to V.M. Katoch, the New Delhi-based head of the medical council, most of the main findings of the investigations were published and "the individual studies will not merit a publication anyway."

Asia stocks rebound after UAE pledges bank support

HONG KONG – Asian stock markets rebounded Monday from their steep fall last week after the United Arab Emirates moved to contain the fallout from Dubai's debt crisis.
Major markets jumped by 2 percent or more after tumbling on Friday amid fears Dubai's debt problems could lead to more financial instability just as the global recession is easing.
The UAE's central bank helped soothe investor fears, at least for now, by pledging Sunday to make extra funding available to all banks in the country, including foreign institutions with local branches.
However, the bank's announcement, aimed at shoring up confidence and averting a bank run, did not mention any specific help for Dubai. The troubled emirate, which splurged on flashy developments and other investments during the credit boom, said last week it now needed at least a six-month reprieve from paying its roughly $60 billion debt.
Nearly every market traded higher in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average climbing 224.82 points, or 2.5 percent, to 9,306.34.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 703.15 points, or 3.3 percent, to 21,837.65 and South Korea's Kospi added 2.7 percent to 1,565.80. Both those markets tumbled nearly 5 percent on Friday.
Elsewhere, Shanghai's market climbed 2.4 percent, Australia's index was 2.7 percent higher and Taiwan's benchmark rose 1.7 percent.
Asia's turnaround followed Europe, where markets recovered Friday.
Uncertainty surrounding Dubai's fate sent Wall Street lower, though the losses were less than other markets.
The Dow on Friday fell 154.48, or 1.5 percent, to 10,309.92. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.14, or 1.7 percent, to 1,091.49, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 37.61, or 1.7 percent, to 2,138.44.
Wall Street futures pointed to a higher open in the U.S. Monday.
Oil prices rebounded to near $77 a barrel in Asia as panic about the global fallout from Dubai's debt problems abated.
Benchmark crude for January delivery rose 61 cents to $76.66 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.91 to settle at $76.05 on Friday.
In currencies, the dollar was steady at 86.65. The euro was higher at $1.5059 from

For 3rd time, Woods cancels meeting with police

WINDERMERE, Fla. – Tiger Woods finally gave his side of the story Sunday — on his Web site, not to police — and took the blame for an "embarrassing" car crash that gave him cuts, bruises and public scrutiny like never before.
His statement failed to clear up any questions about the middle-of-the-night accident outside his Isleworth estate in which his wife told police she used a golf club to smash the back windows of the Cadillac SUV to help him out.
"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," Woods said on his Web site. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."
The statement was posted around 2 p.m. Sunday, about an hour after Woods' attorney told the Florida Highway Patrol that for the third straight day golf's No. 1 player would be unavailable to talk to troopers.
This time, the meeting was not rescheduled.
Even so, Sgt. Kim Montes of FHP said troopers went to Woods' $2.4 million estate anyway, only for attorney Mark NeJame to turn them away. The attorney gave troopers Woods' driver's license, registration and insurance as required by law for such accidents.
Woods said the crash was a private matter, and he intended to keep it that way.
"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible," he said. "The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."
Woods is scheduled to compete at his Chevron World Challenge, which starts Thursday in Thousand Oaks, Calif., although his tournament director did not know Woods' status for the tournament — whether he would play or even attend.
Even with his first public comments on the 2:25 a.m. Friday accident, Woods left several questions.
• Where he was going at that time of the night?
• How did he lose control of his SUV at such a speed that the air bags didn't deploy?
• Why were both rear windows of the Cadillac Escalade smashed?
• If it was a careless mistake, why not speak to state troopers trying to wrap the investigation?
"We have been informed by the Florida Highway Patrol that further discussion with them is both voluntary and optional," Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, said in an e-mail. "Although Tiger realizes that there is a great deal of public curiosity, it has been conveyed to FHP that he simply has nothing more to add and wishes to protect the privacy of his family."
Woods' wife turned troopers away from their home in the exclusive gated community outside Orlando on Friday, the day of the accident, because she said he was sleeping. Steinberg called troopers en route to Woods' house on Saturday and postponed the meeting until Sunday.
"We're just continuing our traffic crash investigation," Montes said. "If we have somebody who we feel is pertinent to the investigation, then we will interview them."
She said the 911 caller was interviewed Saturday, and investigators might speak with other people who were at the scene as well.
The FHP released the 911 call from an unidentified neighbor on Sunday.
"I have a neighbor, he hit the tree. And we came out here just to see what was going on. I see him and he's laying down," the neighbor told dispatchers without ever identifying the victim as Woods.
Asked if the victim was unconscious, the neighbor replied, "Yes."
Part of the call were inaudible because of a bad connection. At one point, the voice of a woman is heard yelling, "What happened!"
"We're just trying to get the police here right now," the neighbor says to the woman. "We don't know what happened. We're figuring that out right now. I'm on the phone with the police right now."
According to the FHP accident report, Woods had just pulled out of his driveway when he struck a fire hydrant and then a tree. Woods said he had cuts, bruising and "right now I'm a little sore."
Montes said the Woods' car was towed for "safekeeping," and authorities have already documented where the damage is on the vehicle and the point of impact.
The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.
The woman, Rachel Uchitel, denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by The Associated Press.
Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred confirmed she was representing Uchitel when she was reached by the AP on Sunday.
"She is with me in L.A.," Allred said later in an e-mail to the AP. "We plan to meet and then we'll decide on the next step, which we do not plan to announce to the press."
Uchitel arrived at Los Angeles International Airport late Sunday morning, where she was met by Allred and escorted out of the baggage claim area and into a black car. Uchitel did not speak to reporters except to ask that she be left alone.
Aside from occasional criticism of his temper inside the ropes, Woods has kept himself out of the news beyond his sport. In an October posting on his Facebook account, Woods wrote, "I'm asked why people don't often see me and Elin in gossip magazines or tabloids. I think we've avoided a lot of media attention because we're kind of boring. ..."
___
AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson in Jacksonville, and Associated Press writers Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles, and Sarah Larimer in Miami contributed to this report.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets set to fall on debt woes

DUBAI (AFP) – Stock markets in Dubai and neighbouring Gulf emirate Abu Dhabi were set to open sharply lower on Monday as investors in the United Arab Emirates finally get their chance to react to Dubai's debt crisis.
The exchanges have been closed for the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha since the once-booming city state announced that its main Dubai World holding company was seeking to suspend payments on its debt.
The trend on the two UAE bourses is expected to reflect the sharp falls in Asia and Europe on Thursday and the United States on Friday, while some analysts predict the Dubai index may plunge by its one-day limit of 10 percent.
"I expect Gulf bourses to dive like the September crash last year," following the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, predicted Saudi economist Abdulwahab Abu-Dahesh.
However, the UAE central bank on Sunday tried to limit the impact of the crisis by saying it was pumping more liquidity into the banking system.
"This is a step aimed to calm investors... Markets should be calmer (than feared) tomorrow," Emirati financial analyst Nasser bin Gaith said on Sunday.
He said he expected the decision to have no real immediate impact on Dubai's debt problem, pointing out that Dubai World is largely indebted to foreign banks.
"On practical level, there is no direct impact... Local banks have limited exposure to Dubai World, unlike foreign banks," he said.
British banks reportedly have a total exposure of 30 billion dollars to Dubai World.
The central bank said the UAE banking sector stands stronger and more liquid than a year ago, and that it enjoys a "strong base of stable deposits."
Other Gulf stock markets have also been on holiday since Thursday for Eid al-Adha, sparing them an immediate impact from Dubai's announcement.
However, the news sent shock waves throughout other markets around the world on Thursday and Friday as investors feared a possible default by Dubai and its state-owned businesses, which together owe 80 billion dollars.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be the only Gulf stock markets to open on Monday. Kuwait follows on Tuesday and Saudi Arabia's financial market, the largest Arab bourse in capitalisation, will remain on holiday until Saturday.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, head of Dubai's Supreme Fiscal Committee, said on Thursday: "Further information will be made available early next week."
Dubai does not have big oil reserves, unlike Abu Dhabi which sits on around 95 percent of the UAE's crude deposits and runs the world's largest sovereign wealth fund valued by analysts at 400 to 500 billion dollars.
Two Abu Dhabi-controlled banks subscribed to Dubai bonds worth five billion dollars in a deal announced a few hours before Dubai revealed its debt problems.
The UAE central bank, backed by the coffers of Abu Dhabi, previously scooped up Dubai bonds worth 10 billion dollars in February, earmarked to help solve the debt problems of Dubai entities.
But doubts have been growing about Abu Dhabi's commitment to buoy Dubai, whose growth came to a screeching halt amid the global credit crunch before going into reverse gear.
Property prices in the once-booming desert city have slumped by 50 percent from their peak, and the Dubai stock market index is already down by two-thirds from its high around two years ago.
The International Monetary Fund welcomed Sunday the decision by the United Arab Emirates central bank to pump liquidity into its banking sector.
"The United Arab Emirates is a strong resource-based economy and we welcome today's announcement by the central bank of the UAE making available to banks a special additional liquidity facility," a statement from the IMF said.
British bank Standard Chartered, which has huge operations in the Middle East, said the UAE central bank had acted "decisively and pragmatically" in moving to pump more liquidity into the sector.
"Their support for the banking system will underpin consumer and market confidence in the economy," said Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands.