European bank shares among leading fallers prior to crucial meeting over Greece receiving €8bn to stave off default Stock markets fell sharply on Monday amid growing tensions over the EU’s failure to resolve the Greek debt crisis. European bank shares led the fallers, hours ahead of crucial talks that will help determine whether Greece receives €8bn (£6.96bn) of funds it needs to stave off default. In London, the FTSE 100 index lost more than 80 points in early trading, a fall of 1.5%. Germany’s Dax, France’s CAC, Spain’s Ibex and Italy’s FTSE MIB opened between 2.3% and 2.9% lower. The sell-off followed a weekend meeting in Wroclaw , Poland, where EU countries failed to come up with a consensus on how to prevent a Greek default. European leaders clashed with US treasury secretary Timothy Geithner, who told them to stop “loose talk” that was damaging the eurozone and bringing “catastrophic risk” to global financial markets. Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “The lack of any headway at the Ecofin weekend meeting in Poland, along with a swift dismissal of advice from Geithner, merely serves to highlight the simmering tensions among European politicians as they try to balance the competing demands of political unpopularity at home against the need to reassure financial markets.” Shares in French bank Société Générale tumbled over 6% in Paris, making SocGen the biggest faller among European banks. In London, Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group all fell by more than 5%. Investors are braced for another week of turbulence as the world’s finance ministers and central bankers gather in Washington for the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting. In Asia, markets were also bathed in red. While Japan’s Nikkei was closed for a national holiday, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.4% and markets in Taiwan, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai and Jakarta were down more than 1%. Oil prices also slipped, with Brent crude falling below $112 a barrel. Gold, seen as a safe haven investment, strengthened. Spot gold hit $1,824 an ounce. More austerity ahead? Greek prime minister George Papandreou has scrapped plans to attend the IMF meeting and held an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday to discuss additional austerity measures, ahead of a crucial conference call with EU, European Central Bank and IMF officials – the troika – on Monday. The Greek government will continue its meeting after being told that the next tranche of the bailout, €8bn due at the end of the month, hinges on further belt-tightening. “The timing of a Greek default remains in the hands of the troika and it is difficult to believe that they will decide to pull the plug at this stage because of the potential impact upon the other troubled sovereigns and the banking sector,” said Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution Securities. “That said, who knows what contingency plans they have prepared behind closed doors (although the fact that they have leaked like a sieve throughout the crisis suggests we would have heard about them if they had …) and on the day that all the ducks are lined up then that might be the day that support for Greece is withdrawn. However, comments from the German finance minister that ‘membership in a monetary union is an opportunity, but also a heavy burden … the Greeks must decide whether they want to bear this burden’ might suggest that the endgame is nigh.” Elsewhere, credit ratings agency Moody’s is expected to announce within a month whether it plans to downgrade Italy’s Aa2 rating, a move that could escalate the European debt crisis, although Standard & Poor’s already rates the country two notches lower at A+. European debt crisis European banks Europe European Central Bank FTSE Stock markets Banking Greece Europe Nikkei Société Générale Royal Bank of Scotland Lloyds Banking Group Euro Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
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West Midlands police question suspects over alleged plot to carry out act of terrorism Six men have been arrested in Birmingham as part of a large intelligence-led counter-terrorism operation, police said on Monday morning. The men were detained at or near their homes overnight on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK. A spokeswoman for West Midlands police said the men, aged between 25 and 32, were taken into custody by unarmed officers in the Moseley, Sparkbrook, Sparkhill, Ward End and Balsall Heath areas of Birmingham between 11.30pm on Sunday and 1am on Monday. The spokeswoman also confirmed that a 22-year-old woman from Saltley, Birmingham, had been arrested at 6.30am on suspicion of failing to disclose information contrary to the Terrorism Act 2000. The suspects are being held for questioning at an unnamed police station in the West Midlands police area, the spokeswoman added, and specialist police teams are now searching their homes and seven other properties in Birmingham. In a brief statement, West Midlands police’s assistant chief constable for security, Marcus Beale, said: “The operation is in its early stages so we are unable to go into detail at this time about the nature of the suspected offences. “However, I believe it was necessary to take action at this time in order to ensure public safety.” The nature of the suspected offences has not been disclosed but there has been a heavy police presence in the city due to the Liberal Democrats’ autumn conference taking place at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre. UK security and terrorism Birmingham guardian.co.uk
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Australian foreign minister tweeted that New York airport authorities tried to confiscate his supply Australia’s foreign minister said American authorities tried to confiscate his supply of Vegemite as he entered the US. It’s the second time this year that the yeast extract spread has sparked high-level – if lighthearted – diplomatic disagreement. Foreign minster Kevin Rudd tweeted on Sunday that airport authorities in New York had questioned his bringing in the dark brown paste, a byproduct of brewing beer that is popular among many Australians on sandwiches, toast and crackers. “Only problem travelling to NY is that they tried to confiscate our Vegemite at the airport. Needed foreign ministerial intervention,” Rudd tweeted from New York. “Airport staff were surprised when I said it is good for you & I ate it for breakfast. They then waved me through,” he added. Vegemite also was a source of disagreement when Julia Gillard made her only visit to the United States as prime minister in March. She and US president, Barack Obama, visited a high school in Virginia where an 11th grade student asked what Vegemite was. “It’s horrible,” Obama exclaimed. “I love Vegemite,” Gillard said, noting that their opinions of the spread serves as a “little bit of division” between the two of them. The Australian invention, launched in 1923, has a high Vitamin B content and is marketed heavily on its health benefits for children. Australians abroad commonly bemoan how difficult Vegemite is to find outside Australia. It sparked international curiosity when “a Vegemite sandwich” was mentioned in the lyrics of Australian band Men at Work’s hit song Down Under that topped the US and British charts in 1983. Former prime minister John Howard claims that more Australians know the lyrics of a Vegemite advertising jingle written in 1954 than know the Australian national anthem. Australia United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Australian foreign minister tweeted that New York airport authorities tried to confiscate his supply Australia’s foreign minister said American authorities tried to confiscate his supply of Vegemite as he entered the US. It’s the second time this year that the yeast extract spread has sparked high-level – if lighthearted – diplomatic disagreement. Foreign minster Kevin Rudd tweeted on Sunday that airport authorities in New York had questioned his bringing in the dark brown paste, a byproduct of brewing beer that is popular among many Australians on sandwiches, toast and crackers. “Only problem travelling to NY is that they tried to confiscate our Vegemite at the airport. Needed foreign ministerial intervention,” Rudd tweeted from New York. “Airport staff were surprised when I said it is good for you & I ate it for breakfast. They then waved me through,” he added. Vegemite also was a source of disagreement when Julia Gillard made her only visit to the United States as prime minister in March. She and US president, Barack Obama, visited a high school in Virginia where an 11th grade student asked what Vegemite was. “It’s horrible,” Obama exclaimed. “I love Vegemite,” Gillard said, noting that their opinions of the spread serves as a “little bit of division” between the two of them. The Australian invention, launched in 1923, has a high Vitamin B content and is marketed heavily on its health benefits for children. Australians abroad commonly bemoan how difficult Vegemite is to find outside Australia. It sparked international curiosity when “a Vegemite sandwich” was mentioned in the lyrics of Australian band Men at Work’s hit song Down Under that topped the US and British charts in 1983. Former prime minister John Howard claims that more Australians know the lyrics of a Vegemite advertising jingle written in 1954 than know the Australian national anthem. Australia United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Brazilian police arrest suspects in Amazon murders of environmentalists
September 19, 2011 No Comment
Two held over killings of José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo, who were dedicated to saving the rainforests Police in the Brazilian Amazon say they have arrested two men in connection with the murders of two rainforest activists who were gunned down in May. José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and his wife, Maria do Espírito Santo, were killed on 24 May, six months after Ribeiro da Silva had predicted he could be killed at any time, during an international environmental conference . The activists were known for their vocal stance against illegal loggers, cattle ranchers and charcoal producers that were operating in Praia-Alta Piranheira, the remote Amazon settlement in Brazil’s Para state, where they lived. On Sunday, nearly four months after the killings, police said they had arrested two of their three prime suspects during a dawn raid on a jungle camp around 32 miles from the Amazon town of Novo Repartimento. Police said they had seized three revolvers and one shotgun during the raid on the alleged killers. “The family’s reaction is happiness, happiness, happiness,” Ribeiro da Silva’s sister Claudelice Silva dos Santos told the Guardian on Monday, as the two suspects were reportedly transferred by helicopter to a prison in Belem, the state capital. “We have been waiting for this news for nearly four months.” Police named the prisoners as José Rodrigues Moreira, supposedly a small-time cattle rancher who is accused of ordering the killings, and his brother Lindon Johnson Silva Rocha, who allegedly carried out the executions. “Hidden in a tent in the middle of the forest, the two brothers were armed and even tried to escape as they were being surrounded by police,” security authorities said in a statement. Alberto Lopes do Nascimento, the third man wanted for the assassinations, had not been arrested, family members said. Ribeiro da Silva and Do Espírito Santo had suffered regular death threats because of their fight to protect the environment, and last November Ribeiro da Silva told a TEDx conference in Manaus he expected to be killed. “I will protect the forest at all costs. That is why I could get a bullet in my head at any moment,” he said. Their murders, six months after Ribeiro da Silva’s speech, triggered widespread outrage in Brazil and made headlines around the world. The country’s president, Dilma Rousseff, ordered a federal police investigation into the killings and hundreds of paramilitary troops were deployed in the region. Silva dos Santos, Ribeiro da Silva’s youngest sister, described the arrests as the “second step” towards justice. “Now we want convictions,” she said. She said she hoped police investigations would continue, to establish whether the murders were part of a wider conspiracy. “We believe there are more people involved [in the murders],” she said. Brazil Amazon rainforest Forests Deforestation Tom Phillips guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Taliban suicide bomber attacks senior police officer’s home in Karachi
September 19, 2011 No Comment
At least eight people are killed when bomber drives a car packed with explosives into the house in Pakistan’s commercial hub At least eight people have been killed, including six police officers, after a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into the home of a senior police official in Pakistan’s commercial hub, Karachi. The six police officers were guarding the home of Karachi’s senior superintendent of police, Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam, who survived the attack, said a police official, Naeem Shaikh. He added that a woman and a child had also been killed in the blast. Police said 300kg (136lb) of explosives had been used. Aslam told reporters he had received threats from militant groups, including Pakistani Taliban insurgents, who are close to al-Qaida. “I was sleeping when they carried out this cowardly act and rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into my house,” said Aslam at the scene of the blast. “I will not be cowed. I will teach a lesson to generations of militants.” The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying Aslam had arrested and killed many of its fighters. “We will attack other police officials as well who are taking action against our people,” a Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. He went on to name five Karachi police officials on the Taliban hit list. The assault broke a lull in militant violence in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, which is home to ports, the main stock exchange and central bank. “My daughter was preparing to go to school when all of a sudden the explosion occurred. My daughter started crying and I ran out of house to see what has happened,” said Mohammad Imran, one of Aslam’s neighbours. “I saw a cloud of smoke rising in the sky. Our children are traumatised. Our families are disturbed. There is no security.” The blast left a 2.5-metre crater and much of Aslam’s house was destroyed. Cement blocks, cars parts, broken chairs and pieces of shattered beds were strewn at the scene. At a Karachi hospital, two victims of the attack wrapped in cloth lay on a bed. Aslam is a well known police officer who led many high-profile raids on everyone from suspected al-Qaida cells in safehouses to some of Karachi’s most hardened criminals. Pakistan Taliban Global terrorism Afghanistan guardian.co.uk
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Stage set for new showdown with Republicans as US president targets the rich for $1.5trn of tax increases Barack Obama is expected to unveil plans to reduce the massive US deficit by about $3.6trn over the next decade. The plan looks set to spark yet more confrontation with his Republican critics. Roughly half of the savings would come from tax increases, according to people briefed on the proposals. The Republican opposition is staunchly against tax hikes. Obama will unveil the new proposals on Monday at the White House. They will be submitted to a congressional “super-committee” that was created in August to draw up a deficit-reduction plan. The president is also expected to propose nearly $250bn in cuts to spending on Medicare, the federal health care program that primarily benefits the elderly; $330bn in cuts to other mandatory benefit programs; and underline savings of $1trn from the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. According to initial reports there would be no changes in social security and no increase in the Medicare eligibility age, which the president had considered this summer. Obama’s plans would include roughly $1.5trn in tax increases aimed mainly at wealthy Americans and corporations, people familiar with the proposal said. The president is set to unveil a “Buffett tax” aimed at those earning $1m or more a year and named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, a persistent critic of low tax rates for the rich. The Republican House speaker, John Boehner, has made clear that he will not support any tax increases. Given opposition to Obama and tax increases, the Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely to pass the package. The super-committee must report its findings before 23 November otherwise $1.2trn in cuts to defence and entitlement programmes will go into effect automatically in 2013. Obama’s plans look set to spark a fierce debate as the two sides attempt to negotiate a compromise ahead of the deadline. Obama’s proposed Buffett tax, first revealed over the weekend, has already attracted sharp criticism. Any further tax increases on wealthy Americans or corporations will undoubtedly face a similar assault. By combining cuts and tax increases the president is attempting to be true to his promise of his “balanced approach” requiring “shared sacrifice”. In August the president took to the road to sell his vision of a balanced approach to tackling US debt. “If everybody took an attitude of shared sacrifice we could solve our deficit and debt problem next week,” Obama said. “I need you to send a message to folks in Washington: stop drawing lines in the sand.” Obama backed away from proposing sweeping changes to Medicare, following the advice of fellow Democrats that it would only give political cover to a privatisation plan supported by House Republicans that turned out to be unpopular with older Americans. Administration officials said 90% of the $248bn in 10-year Medicare cuts would be squeezed from service providers. The plan does shift some additional costs to beneficiaries but those changes would not start until 2017, and administration officials made clear as well that Obama would veto any Medicare cuts that were not paired with tax increases on upper-income people. The president’s plan also calls for cuts of $72bn over 10 years from Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for low-income people and the severely disabled. States, hospitals and advocates for the poor are expected to resist those. Monday’s proposals will be the president’s fourth package of deficit-reduction ideas this year. Poll figures show the electorate is losing faith in the president and his ability to tackle the US’s economic malaise. According to a recent Gallup poll 26% of Americans now approve of Obama’s record on the economy, 11 points lower than in May. The president has been making big moves to address the nation’s financial problems. This month he unveiled a $477bn jobs plan aimed at getting more Americans back to work. Boehner has attacked the jobs plan, saying high taxes, too much regulation and government interference are the real drains on job creation. “The members of the president’s cabinet are not doing their jobs if they aren’t constantly focused on removing impediments to job growth,” he said. “If they’re not focused on that, they should be fired.” Obama administration US economy Barack Obama United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Stage set for new showdown with Republicans as US president targets the rich for $1.5trn of tax increases Barack Obama is expected to unveil plans to reduce the massive US deficit by about $3.6trn over the next decade. The plan looks set to spark yet more confrontation with his Republican critics. Roughly half of the savings would come from tax increases, according to people briefed on the proposals. The Republican opposition is staunchly against tax hikes. Obama will unveil the new proposals on Monday at the White House. They will be submitted to a congressional “super-committee” that was created in August to draw up a deficit-reduction plan. The president is also expected to propose nearly $250bn in cuts to spending on Medicare, the federal health care program that primarily benefits the elderly; $330bn in cuts to other mandatory benefit programs; and underline savings of $1trn from the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. According to initial reports there would be no changes in social security and no increase in the Medicare eligibility age, which the president had considered this summer. Obama’s plans would include roughly $1.5trn in tax increases aimed mainly at wealthy Americans and corporations, people familiar with the proposal said. The president is set to unveil a “Buffett tax” aimed at those earning $1m or more a year and named after billionaire investor Warren Buffett, a persistent critic of low tax rates for the rich. The Republican House speaker, John Boehner, has made clear that he will not support any tax increases. Given opposition to Obama and tax increases, the Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely to pass the package. The super-committee must report its findings before 23 November otherwise $1.2trn in cuts to defence and entitlement programmes will go into effect automatically in 2013. Obama’s plans look set to spark a fierce debate as the two sides attempt to negotiate a compromise ahead of the deadline. Obama’s proposed Buffett tax, first revealed over the weekend, has already attracted sharp criticism. Any further tax increases on wealthy Americans or corporations will undoubtedly face a similar assault. By combining cuts and tax increases the president is attempting to be true to his promise of his “balanced approach” requiring “shared sacrifice”. In August the president took to the road to sell his vision of a balanced approach to tackling US debt. “If everybody took an attitude of shared sacrifice we could solve our deficit and debt problem next week,” Obama said. “I need you to send a message to folks in Washington: stop drawing lines in the sand.” Obama backed away from proposing sweeping changes to Medicare, following the advice of fellow Democrats that it would only give political cover to a privatisation plan supported by House Republicans that turned out to be unpopular with older Americans. Administration officials said 90% of the $248bn in 10-year Medicare cuts would be squeezed from service providers. The plan does shift some additional costs to beneficiaries but those changes would not start until 2017, and administration officials made clear as well that Obama would veto any Medicare cuts that were not paired with tax increases on upper-income people. The president’s plan also calls for cuts of $72bn over 10 years from Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for low-income people and the severely disabled. States, hospitals and advocates for the poor are expected to resist those. Monday’s proposals will be the president’s fourth package of deficit-reduction ideas this year. Poll figures show the electorate is losing faith in the president and his ability to tackle the US’s economic malaise. According to a recent Gallup poll 26% of Americans now approve of Obama’s record on the economy, 11 points lower than in May. The president has been making big moves to address the nation’s financial problems. This month he unveiled a $477bn jobs plan aimed at getting more Americans back to work. Boehner has attacked the jobs plan, saying high taxes, too much regulation and government interference are the real drains on job creation. “The members of the president’s cabinet are not doing their jobs if they aren’t constantly focused on removing impediments to job growth,” he said. “If they’re not focused on that, they should be fired.” Obama administration US economy Barack Obama United States guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Title: The Thief On The Tree Artist: Roy Acuff Happy Sunday!
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Gene Weingarten, the former editor of the Washington Post's Style section who's now their Sunday “humorist,” has naturally returned to the scene of his completely typical liberal hatred of Dick Cheney. For Sunday's Post Magazine, Weingarten pretended to write a rave review of Cheney's memoir In My Time , since “conservatives predicted we in the liberal media would unfairly savage it. Supposedly, we harbor some deep, almost deranged antipathy toward the loathsome former vice president.” He then reminded readers of his hatred: Two years ago, when the news first broke that Mr. Cheney had a book contract, this reporter speculated that the former vice president would demand payment in the form of “ a gunnysack filled with unblemished human heads .” It turns out this was completely wrong, and I regret the error. As Mr. Cheney makes clear in the acknowledgments, he was paid in the severed heads of the last 700 remaining East African mountain gorillas. This is how his fake-review began: In this surprisingly intimate memoir, Mr. Cheney reveals a personal warmth that will take many of his carping critics by surprise. Who could fail to be moved by his description of his worries, as a father-to-be, that his newborn daughter would inherit his genes and have to face, as he did, the painful ordeal of horn-removal surgery? In a similar vein, Cheney finally puts to rest the persistent rumor that, while himself in utero, he ate his twin brother to eliminate a competitor. Mr. Cheney admits the unusual infanti-fratricide but says he believed at the time — and still does — that his womb-mate had “all the earmarks of a terrorist sympathizer.” He also suggested: Though a rock-ribbed social conservative, Mr. Cheney has refreshingly charitable words for marginalized minorities, urging greater compassion for, and better integration into our society of, “those all-too-misunderstood groups such as the Undead and those with faith-based allegiance to Lucifer, Harvester of Souls.” This isn't going to be funny to anyone who doesn't share Mr. Weingarten's very dark view of Cheney.
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