New Tensions Emerge in Iran Nuclear Talks Thursday July 9th, 2015 at 7:18 PM
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Heated exchanges took place among foreign ministers as Washington and Tehran struggled to overcome remaining hurdles to a final agreement over Tehran’s nuclear program.
The European Central Bank has insisted since the beginning of the Greek crisis that membership of the currency bloc is irreversible. But recently a change of mood has become palpable among policy makers.
Islamic State-inspired terror plots had been planned around the US for the Fourth of July holiday weekend
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FBI Chief: Agents Stopped Multiple Terror Plots Ahead of July 4by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
The head of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that agents broke up a number of terror plots in the weeks leading up to the Independence Day holiday. "I do believe our work disrupted efforts to kill people, likely in connection with July 4," Director James Comey told reporters. He said more than 10 people were arrested. But he gave no information about what they were plotting or where they planned to strike. Separately, a national security source said...
ATHENS — Greece finally met a deadline that counted on Thursday and made a series of sweeping proposals that its creditors needed by midnight to set off a mad rush toward a weekend deal to stave off a financial collapse of the nation.
The package met longstanding demands by creditors to impose wide-ranging sales-tax hikes and cuts in state spending for pensions that the left-leaning Greek government had long resisted.
It raised hopes that Greece can get the rescue deal that will prevent a catastrophic exit from the euro after key creditors said they were open to discussing how to ease the country’s debt load, a long-time sticking point in their talks.
In the text of proposals sent by Athens late Thursday, the government conceded to demands it had previously refused to accept — mostly on moving various categories of goods and services to higher sales tax rates — in exchange for a new 53.5 billion-euro ($59 billion) bailout package.
The government said the proposals would be voted on by Greece’s parliament late Friday before an emergency summit Sunday of all 28 European Union leaders.
After months of foot-dragging despite impending chaos, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met a midnight deadline with more than an hour to spare. The spokesman for eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem tweeted that it was “important for institutions to consider these (proposals) in their assessment” of the Greek situation.
Finance officials from the European institutions and the International Monetary Fund were to fine-comb through the proposals on Friday before the 19 eurozone finance ministers assess them on Saturday.In ideal circumstances, a summit of the full European Union would be able to approve them on Sunday.
Earlier Thursday, Donald Tusk of Poland, who chairs the EU summits, indicated that European officials would make an effort to address Greece’s key request for debt relief.
“The realistic proposal from Greece will have to be matched by an equally realistic proposal on debt sustainability from the creditors. Only then will we have a win-win situation,” Tusk said.
Greece has long argued its debt is too high to be paid back and that the country requires some form of debt relief. The International Monetary Fund agrees with the premise, but key European states like Germany have resisted the idea.
On Thursday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the possibility of some kind of debt relief would be discussed over coming days, though he cautioned it may not provide much help.
“The room for maneuver through debt reprofiling or restructuring is very small,” he said.
Making Greece’s debt more sustainable would likely involve lowering the interest rates and extending the repayment dates on its bailout loans. Germany and many other European countries rule out an outright debt cut, arguing it would be illegal under European treaties.
Tsipras met with finance ministry officials and his cabinet throughout the day Thursday to finalize his country’s plan, a day after his government requested a new three-year aid program from Europe’s bailout fund and promised to immediately enact reforms, including to taxes and pensions, in return.
The last-minute maneuvers come as Greece’s financial system teeters on the brink of collapse. It has imposed restrictions on banking transactions since June 29, limiting cash withdrawals to 60 euros ($67) per day to stanch a bank run. Banks and the stock market have been shut for just as long.
The closures, which have been extended through Monday, have led to daily lines at ATM machines and have hammered businesses. Payments abroad have been banned without special permission.
“Can you see anybody in the shop? Nobody’s coming in, because everyone’s living off a drip,” said Magda Petridi, a fortune teller who runs a shop selling good luck charms, aromatic oils and trinkets. “Until a month ago business was going pretty well.”
Pensioners without bank cards have been particularly hard hit as they have struggled to access their accounts. Some branches have been opened so the elderly and unemployed without bank cards can withdraw a maximum weekly sum of 120 euros each. Hundreds lined up outside banks Thursday morning, many facing hours-long waits in the heat.
Meanwhile, many ATMs had a shortage of 20 euro notes, effectively reducing the daily withdrawal limit to 50 euros.
If Tsipras does not get a deal, Greece faces an almost inevitable collapse of the banking system, which would be the first step for the country to fall out of the euro.
“I believe he will have to get an agreement. We will pay dearly for it, but at least we’ll get an agreement,” said mechanic Pantelis Niarchos, walking down the street in central Athens.
After months of fruitless negotiations with Tsipras’ government, elected in January on promises to repeal bailout austerity, the skeptical eurozone creditor states had insisted they wanted to see a detailed, cost-accounted plan of reforms.
Greece’s financial institutions have been kept afloat so far by emergency liquidity assistance from the European Central Bank. But the ECB has not increased the amount in days, leaving the lenders in a stranglehold despite capital controls.
German ECB governing council member Jens Weidmann argued Greek banks should not get more emergency credit from the central bank unless a bailout deal is struck.
He said it was up to eurozone governments and Greek leaders themselves to rescue Greece.
The central bank “has no mandate to safeguard the solvency of banks and governments,” he said in a speech.
The ECB capped emergency credit to Greek banks amid doubt whether the country will win further rescue loans from other countries. The banks closed and limited ATM withdrawals because they had no other way to replace deposits.
Weidmann said he welcomed the fact that central bank credit “is no longer being used to finance capital flight caused by the Greek government.”
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Casert reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Efty Katasreas in Athens, Angela Charlton in Paris, David McHugh in Frankfurt and Mike Corder in Brussels contributed to this report.
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 The Indian Express |
Greece seeks bailout totaling $55 billion, offers painful spending cuts
Washington Post ATHENS — Greece is seeking another bailout totaling at least 50 billion euros ($55 billion) from its European creditors and offering to make painful spending cuts and tax increases as it races to avert a financial meltdown, according to government ... Greece Gets Last-Minute Help From France on Bailout ProposalNew York Times If Greece Leaves, We All LoseWall Street Journal GREECE LATEST-Greek govt to seek parliament approval FridayReuters The New Yorker -Bloomberg -Telegraph.co.uk all 2,375 news articles » |
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 New York Times |
The Latest: Greece Seeks 53.5B Euros in New Bailout Package
New York Times ATHENS, Greece — The latest from the Greece's financial crisis (all times local): ___. 1:34 a.m.. Greece is seeking 53.5 billion euros ($59 billion) as part of a new bailout package, according to draft legislation submitted to parliament early Friday ... Greece submits new bailout plan just before deadlineHindustan Times France Intercedes on Greece's Behalf to Try to Hold Eurozone TogetherWall Street Journal Greece seeks bailout totaling $55 billion, offers painful spending cutsWashington Post Bloomberg -BBC News -Christian Science Monitor all 17,927 news articles » |
The killings include the execution of the country's defence chief with an anti-aircraft gun for falling asleep in a meeting.
Authorities arrest more than 10 people allegedly inspired by Islamic State to carry out attacks close to the Independence holiday.
Hackers stole information on 21.5 million people in a June cyber-attack on a US federal government database, it has emerged.
 New York Times |
Prince Saud al-Faisal, Longtime Saudi Foreign Minister, Dies at 75
New York Times BEIRUT, Lebanon — Prince Saud al-Faisal, the urbane diplomat who used quiet diplomacy to elevate Saudi Arabia's influence though many international crises during his four decades as foreign minister, died on Thursday, according to a close associate ... Saudi former veteran foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal diesReuters Saud al-Faisal, former Saudi foreign minister with 40 years in the post, diesFox News Prince Saud al-Faisal: World's longest serving foreign minister diesABC Online Salon-The Guardian all 194 news articles » |
 USA TODAY |
Russia is greatest threat to the US, says Joint Chiefs chairman nominee Gen ...
Washington Post Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, the nominee to serve as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that Russia poses the greatest security threat to the United States, and said it is reasonable to send ... Russia is top US national security threat - US Gen. DunfordReuters Joint Chiefs Nominee: Russia Is Top Security Threat to US New York Times Joint Chiefs nominee: Arming Ukraine is 'reasonable' Fox News all 106 Minneapolis Star Tribune all 84 news articles » |
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Thousands of birds leave ‘dead zone’ after abandoning Florida Gulf Coast by The European Union Times
A 150-acre portion of the Florida Gulf Coast is being described as a “dead zone” by scientists after thousands of birds mysteriously abandoned their typical nesting grounds on the federally protected landscape.
The most surprising is that there isn’t just one species of bird that has disappeared – it is virtually all of them, including blue herons, roseate spoonbills, snowy egrets, pelicans and more, according to a report by the Associated Press. And while some bird families have taken up residence on another island close by, the vast majority is nowhere to be found.
“It’s a dead zone now,” said biologist Vic Doig of the US Fish and Wildlife Service to the news outlet. “This is where the largest bird colony on the Gulf Coast of Florida used to be.”
Scientists are baffled about the development, particularly because the area in question – part of the Cedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge called the Seahorse Keys – isn’t even accessible to people without a boat. Biologist Peter Frederick of the University of Florida told AP that birds do abandon their nests, but that doesn’t mean every species on the island should do so at the same time.
So with that in mind, scientists performed a number of tests to see if they could pinpoint the cause of the mystery migration. Yet tests showed no diseases or contamination, no influx of predators, such as raccoons, infiltrating the habitat, and no other convincing reasons for the birds to flee.
Still, researchers remain wary of the event, since the disappearance of the birds could cause a chain reaction of events, since some animals need the birds to survive.
“Any rookery that’s persisted for decades as one of the largest colonies is incredibly important,” said Janell Brush, an avian researcher with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, to the AP. “It’s quite a large colony. There had to be some intense event that would drive all these birds away.”
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US spies on almost all Latin Americaby The European Union Times
US National Security Agency (NSA) intercepts nearly all communications in the South American continent, WikiLeaks revealed.
Founder of whistleblower website WikiLeaks Julian Assange says the US National Security Agency intercepts almost all communications in the South American continent.
“Ninety-eight percent of Latin American communications are intercepted by the NSA while passing through the United States to the world,” Assange told the Chilean media on Tuesday.
He highlighted the role of Google and Facebook in the agency’s data collection program.
“They are physically in the United States and therefore under their legal jurisdiction, with punitive laws used to force them to hand over the information they are collecting,” Assange said.
Over the weekend, WikiLeaks disclosed documents that indicate the NSA spied on several key Brazilian government officials, including President Dilma Rousseff, her secretary and her chief of staff.
The NSA eavesdropped on 29 Brazilian government phone numbers, listening to conversations taking place on the president’s office line and her presidential jet phone, as well as on phones of Brazil’s foreign minister, ambassadors and military chiefs, according to the documents.
“Our publication today shows the US has a long way to go to prove its dragnet surveillance on ‘friendly’ governments is over,” Assange wrote in a statement.
“The US has not just [been] targeting Rousseff but the key figures she talks to everyday,” he said.
The NSA also spied on Brazil’s ambassadors to the US, Germany, France, Switzerland and the European Union.
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BRICS Economic Agenda: Participants to Discuss Greek Debt Crisis by The European Union Times
The Greek debt crisis, the expected lifting of sanctions on Iran and oil and stock market volatility will dominate the agenda of the BRICS summit which is opening today in Russia.
During their two-day meeting in Ufa, the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will discuss closer industrial, technological and financial integration of their countries within the five-nation bloc.
The participants will also discuss measures to set in motion the new Development BRICS Bank and a $200 billion pool of currency reserves to finance joint projects, including those proposed by Russia’s Rosneft Company.
The summit comes against the backdrop of the deepening debt crisis in Greece, the stock market crash in China and the expected lifting of international sanctions on Iran which has sent oil prices tumbling down.
Leaders of Iran, Belarus, Afghanistan, Pakistan and some other non-BRICS countries will also take part in the summit held in the capital of Russia’s southern Urals republic of Bashkortostan.
A one-on-one meeting between President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani will be the high point of the two-day summit.
With the international sanctions against Tehran now on the way out, many experts believe that the return of the oil-rich Islamic nation to the world markets may push the oil prices down.
So far their expectations have proved right with crude already dipping by more than 10 percent over the past few days.
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The Hackers Waging Russia's Internal Cyberwarfare
Sergei Maksimov, a.k.a. Hacker Hell, had been terrorizing the Russian blogosphere for years—possibly at the behest of the Kremlin.
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BRICS Summit Firms Up Plans for New Development Bank
Meeting in Russia, the world's emerging economies also discussed Greece and the Chinese stock market.Majority of Irish Want Abortion Decriminalised
According to an Amnesty International poll, 64% of people did not know abortion was illegal.
Paraguay Girl's Rape Case Ramps up Abortion Debate Before Pope Visit
Paraguayan law permits abortion if a mother's life is endangered. Pope Francis last year called abortion "horrific," and has shown no signs of changing the Catholic Church's position.Former Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal Dies
The former foreign minister died two months after he was replaced, following 40 years on the job.Kerry Says 'We Will Not Be Rushed' on Iran Nuclear Deal
"We're here because we believe we are making real progress," Kerry said.White House: No Final Agreement Reached on Iran
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to speak about the possibility of an extension.Number of Syrian Refugees Now Exceeds 4 Million: UNHCR
The U.N.’s refugee agency says more than 4 million Syrians have fled the country to escape conflict.Carnival Will Cruise to Cuba In May
The government has granted approval to transport passengers to the Communist island nation.
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Mayor fires Anthony Batts 2 1/2 months after city broke out into riots following the death of a man injured in police custody
Dr. Soe Maunglay started working for Dr. Farid Fata at his private cancer practice in 2012, and realized something bizarre was going on
Iran hits out at western negotiators after nuclear talks are pushed back again by Julian Borger in Vienna
Senior Iranian official bitterly accuses west of changing stance and walking back from positions as negotiations in Vienna looks sure to pass US deadline
The Iranian delegation at Vienna nuclear talks has hit out against western negotiators, accusing them of changing their stance and presenting multiple positions, as the negotiations looked almost certain to pass a US congressional deadline.
“There have been changes of positions and walking back from positions,” a senior Iranian official told journalists, but speaking on condition of anonymity. In unusually bitter remarks, he also complained the six world powers negotiating with Iran in Vienna were no longer sticking to a common position.
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WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT Satellite imagery (pictured) and footage of the massacre in Tikrit, Iraq, helped convict 24 ISIS militants behind the mass slaughter of 770 Iraqi soldiers last June.
The Kremlin says the presidents of Russia and Iran have discussed military and nuclear cooperation, as well as the fight against the Islamic State group.
The nominee to become chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff says Russia presents “the greatest threat” to national security and its behavior is "nothing short of alarming."
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Tajik State News Agency Takes On IS In 'Information War'by support@pangea-cms.com (Joanna Paraszczuk)
Tajikistan's official news agency has launched an "information war" against Islamic State, pushing back against the group's propaganda by reporting on its gory killings, enslavement of women, and other abuses.
Project announced by Panayotis Lafazanis comes as Brussels is seeking to cut EU reliance on Gazprom
Sergei Pugachev cites harassment and fears for his life
Isil militants reportedly kill four children during destruction of an ancient Christian church in the Iraqi city of Mosul
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Genetic Signatures Identify Crop Varieties Best Able to Withstand Stress by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Differences in a crop plant's genes can help predict how a particular variety will respond to a drier or hotter climate. Geneticist Geoff Morris of Kansas State University sampled the genomes of about 2,000 varieties of sorghum, looking for differences. The genetic material, as well as information about the village where each variety of the cereal grain crop was grown, came from gene banks. Using those different genetic signatures and the location data, Morris and his colleagues...
This short documentary features interviews with white people on the challenges of talking about race.
Produced by: Michèle Stephenson and Blair Foster
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US, UAE Launch Center to Counter Islamic State Messageby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
The United States and United Arab Emirates launched a new effort Wednesday to counter the Islamic State group using social media to confront the militants' ideology and present "moderate and tolerant voices from across the region." Named the Sawab Center and based in Abu Dhabi, the project issued messages on Twitter and posted a YouTube video saying the militants were twisting Islam to spread hate, fear and intolerance. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy...
Pope Francis Continues South American Tour in Boliviaby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Pope Francis was greeted by Bolivian President Evo Morales when he arrived Wednesday on the second leg of his three-nation tour of his home continent of South America. The pontiff told a crowd of thousands who gathered at the airport in the capital of La Paz that Bolivia "is making important steps towards including broad sectors in the country's economic, social and political life." Morales said the visit of the Argentinean-born pope represents support...
High-level Push Continues for Iran Nuclear Dealby webdesk@voanews.com (Mary Alice Salinas)
The high-level diplomatic efforts to finally seal a comprehensive international agreement on Iran's nuclear program continued on several fronts Thursday, with one day left before the newest, and perhaps final, self-imposed deadline. In one of several discussions with his counterparts, U.S.Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the ongoing negotiations. Earlier, Lavrov told reporters in Ufa, Russia, where he is attending a...
BRICS Leaders Gather in Russia for Economic Summitby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Representatives of the five BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -- are gathering in the Russian city of Ufa Thursday for their annual summit amid tight security. The group is to begin this month operating a $100 billion currency pool seen as an alternative to the International Monetary Fund. The BRICS New Development Bank is expected to start financing infrastructure projects in the five BRICS nations next year. Representatives from the five nations...
US Lawmakers' Pessimism Grows on Iran Nuclear Dealby webdesk@voanews.com (Michael Bowman)
U.S. lawmakers of both parties appear to be souring on the prospects for a nuclear deal with Iran. As another deadline approaches for negotiators in Vienna, even some of President Barack Obama’s most stalwart backers on Capitol Hill are sounding a note of resignation on the status of the talks. Speaking with VOA, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he is less optimistic about chances for a deal than he was a week ago. “It seems the Iranians are having a very hard time...
Bush 2016 White House Campaign Rakes in Record $114 Mlillion by webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
A Super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has raked in a record $103 million, the group, Right to Rise, said in a statement today, dispelling rumors that the outside spending group would fall short of expectations. Of the group's 9,900 donors, more han 9,400 gave less than $25,000. Bush's presidential campaign also announced Thursday that it had raised $11.4 million in the two weeks since he announced his candidacy, bringing his total haul to $114...
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US: More Than 21 Million Affected by Government Data Breachby webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
Hackers stole Social Security numbers, health histories and other highly sensitive data from more than 21 million people, the Obama administration said Thursday, acknowledging that the breach of U.S. government computer systems was far more severe than previously disclosed. The scope of the data breach - believed to be the biggest in U.S. history - has grown dramatically since the government first disclosed earlier this year that hackers had gotten into the Office of Personnel...
Eurozone officials to digest Greek government's plan ahead of crunch talks this weekend over bailout
Gen. Joe Dunford, President Barack Obama’s nominee to become the Pentagon’s top military officer, said Thursday he believes Russia poses the biggest threat to U.S. national security.
A naked man steals a police officer's car in Curry County, New Mexico. In footage shot by police, Jesus Tarango, 37, is seen stumbling along the road without clothes. As a police officer questions the man, he jumps into the police cruiser and drives off down the road Continue reading...
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