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Second Greek bailout secured after torturous talks
The protests show no sign of relenting, as angry Greeks demonstrate against the new package of austerity measures agreed by the government in exchange for a new 130-billion-euro rescue loan from the EU and IMF .
After 13 hours of talks, ministers finalised measures to cut Greece's debt to 121 percent of gross domestic product by 2020 to secure its second rescue in less than two years and meet a bond repayment next month.
The ministers managed to persuade private bondholders to take greater losses and Greece to commit to deep cuts to avert a chaotic Greek default next month.
According to the new austerity program some 15,000 civil servants will be cut in 2012. The minimum wage and supplemental pensions are also to be reduced; while state entities and organizations are to close down, leaving more workers without jobs.
23 february 2012
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Sao Paulo Carnival samba dance ends in disaster
After days of Carniva l preparations in Sao Paulo by Samba troupes vying to be this year’s best, dreams of Samba hopefuls have been ripped to shreds.
Every year during the Carnival season, Samba troupes dance in front of judges as they compete for the coveted title of city champions. This year, at the 11 th hour, disaster struck.
Just minutes before judges were to announce the champion; a supporter of the Império da Casa Verde , a troupe that was in danger of being downgraded, hurdled over the security barriers and tore up the judge’s result sheets. Supporters of the troupe claim that bribery and corruption had run rampant in this year’s Samba competition .
The incident in Sao Paulo’s sambadrome turned ugly and set off a series of attacks as upset supporters of other troupes went on a rampage destroying the judges headquarters and Carnival floats that were parked nearby.
According to the president of Sao Paulo’s league of samba schools, there were no extra copies of the grade sheets. The winner will be decided after a meeting of all the samba troupes that were involved in the competition.
The man who tore up the score sheets, has since been taken into custody.
23 february 2012
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Pope Benedict XVI leads service to mark start of Lent
Ash Wednesday is ‘day of penitence and fasting’. Lent helps Roman Catholics prepare for Easter.
23 february 2012
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Two foreign correspondents killed in Homs
In news that escalates an already tense situation, a French photojournalist and a prominent American war correspondent have been killed by Syrian shelling in the opposition stronghold Homs .
French government sources identified those killed as French photojournalist Remi Ochlik and American reporter Marie Colvin, who was working for Britain's Sunday Times.
Their deaths have increased the sense of ire felt by the international community, as President Bashar Assad's regime escalates its attacks on critics of his rule.
Yet despite weeks of intense artillery barrages on the central city of Homs, opposition factions that include thousands of defectors have maintained their resistance. Hundreds have died in what has now become a siege. The violence and brutality of the crackdown, together with the determination of the opposition, could combine to push Syria into all-out civil war.
Condemnation of Assad’s assault has been coming in, with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe saying that the attacks showed the "increasingly intolerable repression" by Syrian forces.
Activists say at least two other Western journalists were wounded in the shelling, which has claimed dozens of lives in the past several days.
Journalistic risk-taking will likely continue. Syria's third-largest city of Homs is a critical battleground, and Assad’s forces know that a successful resistance here would encourage rebel pockets growing elsewhere.
The situation in Syria is however slowly shifting. The US administration has now said that it is considering military assistance for Syria's rebels, bypassing the usual UN process of gaining Security Council agreement. This in itself follows resistance from China and Syrian sponsor Russia towards any resolution calling on Assad to leave.
After 11 months of an Assad-inspired crackdown, and up to 7,300 deaths according to activists, the situation may now only be salvageable following unilateral action of one sort or another.
23 february 2012
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Thai police plead case to extend suspect’s detainment
The Iranian suspect accused of the Thailand bomb plot has been brought to court in an appeal by the local authorities to extend his detainment.
Mohammad Hazaei is suspected to be involved in the Bangkok blasts last week which targeted Israeli diplomats. He has been interrogated for 8 days and now faces charges including illegal possession of explosive devices. But according to Thai Law, he cannot be detained for more than 84 days.
Police are also looking for four more suspects in connection to the case, but have uncovered a link to the bombings in New Dehli . A senior Israeli official visiting India has spoken out about the attack on diplomatic staff at the Israeli embassy, saying he expected the perpetrators to be 'chased and found'.
Israeli Energy Minister, Uzi Landau :
"It is disturbing but it's not new. Israel has been under increasing attacks by international terror , much of that under the sponsorship of Iran. Now, Iran by the way, has targeted our diplomats … (unclear) lately. It took place in Thailand, where an Iranian passport was found on one of the attackers. It was done so in Tbilisi and it has taken place here in New Delhi. "
Israeli diplomats remain on high alert as the investigation continues following last week’s bombings.
23 february 2012
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Gucci and John Richmond kick off Milan Fashion Week
Gucci featured tapestry motifs and floral prints. John Richmond created gothic collection with velvets.
23 february 2012
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Fashion designers get to grips with famous faces
After marrying into the British royal family , Kate Middleton , and her sister Pippa, may well be fed up with all the attendant fuss and stuffiness that goes with such a noble role.
They’ve had enough, and have now gone in for the more unusual fashion tastes. In a studio, surrounded by photographers , the two sampled a fashionable selection of dresses by designers that like to base their themes around breakfasts.
As with the wedding , Kate looked a tad over-shadowed by her sister Pippa, who looked elegant in egg. The designer explained his take on it all.
British fashion designer Philip Colbert:
''Certainly I am not covering them in pounds of bacon or sort of anything too perverse it's quite, I like to think the spirit of my dresses and creations are quite good humoured and play more on the fun side of clothing and so I'd like to think they'd find it quite fun I am definitely not showing them in a bad light I think it's maybe a freedom that they don't have but might be fun to see.''
Suspicious? Too good to be true?
Indeed it is. These two girls are in fact look-a-likes, spoofing the iconic Middleton’s in an off-schedule show as part of the London Fashion Week.
But, as Kate at one point most likely thought, it’s good to dream.
23 february 2012
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US Department of Justice release photos of conspirator
The US Department of Justice has released mug shots of a Moroccan man who was arrested last week for wearing a vest full of al-Qaeda explosives.
Amine El Khalifi was charged by federal authorities with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against property owned and used by the United states, and intending to detonate a bomb and to shoot people .
According to court documents, El Khalifi discussed plans to attack an Alexandria office building and a synagogue with an undercover operative he thought was a member of al-Qaeda. Later, he allegedly volunteered to wear a suicide vest and to kill himself in a martyrdom operation at the Capitol .
23 february 2012
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Vice President Hadi casts his vote as sole candidate
Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the one and only candidate running in Yemen's controversial presidential election has cast his ballot.
Hadi, Yemen’s current vice president, was one of more than 10 million Yemenis eligible to vote. The contest comes after a string of attacks against election committees in the country's southern regions.
Explosions broke out around three polling stations in Aden and it is reported three ballot boxes have been snatched away by separatists and major streets have been blocked as an attempt to prevent local residents from voting.
Large crowds of Houthi tribesman turned out in the northwestern province of Saada in recent weeks to protest the vote.
The Houthis , who seek autonomy for their region in the north, are yet to enter negotiations or sign a deal with the current government.
Yemen's outgoing president Ali Abdullah Saleh is currently in the U.S. undergoing treatment, signed a power transfer deal in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh last fall handing power over to Hadi in return for immunity from prosecution.
23 february 2012
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Anne Frank recently baptised into Mormon Church
Anne Frank, a Jewish girl whose diary and death made her a symbol of the Holocaust, is reported to have been baptized by proxy last week into the Mormon Church which has prompted some analysts to believe that the on-going practice may jeopardize US Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s Jewish vote.
According to a former Mormon, Anne Frank was baptized of February 18th at a temple in the Dominican Republic. Baptisms of the deceased are permitted in the Mormon Church, with the belief that those in the ‘after life’ can choose whether or not to accept the baptism.
Frank’s baptism is the latest in a string by the Mormons even after the church vowed to stop the practice. The last high-profile baptism was of the parents of famous Nazi hunter and Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal , although the Mormon Church has since apologised.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, who is still alive, is on the Mormon list to be baptized once he dies. Wiesel, who is Jewish, has asked former Mormon Bishop and Republican Candidate Mitt Romney to speak out against the practice. In 2007, Romney admitted to baptising the dead but said he has not done so recently.
Analysts believe that Frank’s baptism and the way Romney handles his Mormon faith may affect his ability to capture the Jewish vote in the on-going American primary and upcoming Presidential Election.
22 february 2012
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New Israeli boycott to be waged against chocolate
The leaders of Israel’s cottage cheese boycott have their sights set on a new target: chocolate bars.
Elite-Strauss, makers of the popular Israeli chocolate wafer Pesek Zman, have been spotted in the United States selling the bar at less than half of what it costs in Israel. The company says it lowered prices in US Jewish communities ahead of next month’s chocolate-intensive Purim holiday, but disgruntled boycott organiser Itzik Alrov says that if Strauss doesn’t lower the price in Israel , an all-out boycott against the company’s chocolate will ensue beginning on March 1 st . As a sign that Israelis are already snubbing the sweet snack, chocolate sales are down by 7% this week.
Some may see Alrvo’s call as a bit of dejavu. It was just last summer when the 25-year-old Alrov got thousands of Israelis to boycott cottage cheese over price hikes in staple food items. The boycott eventually gained huge momentum and led to hundreds of thousands of Israelis protesting the rising cost of living in Israel.
22 february 2012
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Tel Aviv decision provokes backlash in Israel
In Israel, Tel Aviv city council’s recent proposal to allow public transportation to operate in the city on Shabbat has provoked a strong reaction.
The council’s declarative move suggests a bus service from suburbs to the city centre, and the beaches.
However, officials have been quick to condemn the move, with some calling it a “form of public pressure.”
It may all be a theoretic argument, as the proposal has virtually no chance of being put into practice. The Tel Aviv decision must be supported at a national level in order to become operational, but Transportation Ministry officials have already suggested that it will not be approved, and that the status quo will be maintained.
At least for the foreseeable future, Tel Aviv’s buses, it seems, are unlikely to be leaving their garage on Friday evening and Saturday .
22 february 2012
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Israelis discuss Barack Obama and the Republican Nomination
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney appears to be taking the lead in the US Republican primaries , but they have all promised to rebuild the economy and blamed President Barack Obama for the nation's problems. Another thing they agree on is support for Israel. Mitt Romney strongly supports the security fence that divides Israel from the West Bank, and Newt Gingrich stated that the Palestinians were an invented people .
JN1 asked Israelis what they think about the American candidates and who would be the best choice for Israel. In general, they were split on whether Obama or a Republican would be the best choice for Israel, but most agreed that Romney would likely win the Republican nomination.
Sivan Raviv for JN1 , Israel.
22 february 2012
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Jewish settlers wary of Palestinian housing project
This road leads to the West Bank Ateret settlement, a place where Jewish families live and Jewish children play. Whilst there are some ‘For Sale’ signs, most Jewish settlers have no intention of moving.
It may have been, and it still may be different. Across the way, there’s a lot of building work.
It’s not another settlement. It’s a new town. And it’s Palestinian. And it’s green. And – of course – it has been causing controversy.
The Rawabi project lies in the so-called Area A of the West Bank which, under the Oslo agreements, comes under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The access roads leading to it come under Areas B and C – zones of either joint or exclusively controlled by Israel.
What to categorise the road? A, B or C? Rawabi planners have sought to reclassify the areas through which the road needs to be built, and last month achieved a temporary solution that lets construction work start in earnest. Jewish settlers however, are wary of the word ‘temporary.’
Ateret local government official Noam Aharon:
"I hope that the road, currently defined as a temporary access road, will not stay. If this road happens and the road continues to be used it will mean that the east of Binyamin region will be cut off from the west of Binyamin."
The problem, explains a Palestinian businessman, is the political situation, and more fundamentally, the level of mistrust between the two communities .
Nablus businessman Bashar Al-Masri:
"There is no way that we and the settlers can live together. Having settlements in the West Bank is like a bomb waiting to explode and it is not enough to freeze the settlements, they should be removed. I am sure that one day the settlement near Rawabi will be part of Rawabi and populated by Palestinians."
As the surfacing work gets underway, and locals debate the status of the ground underneath, it forms an interesting analogy. What are the surface issues here, and what is it really about? Is it about reclassifying a road? Or is it actually about safety and security? Take a traffic jam, for example.
Ateret local government official Noam Aharon:
"There is also a security problem here ... a single Israeli car stuck in a traffic jam in between Palestinian cars is a security threat as it cannot escape, and let's not be afraid to say that the (Israeli) driver will fear for his life."
The Rawabi site is now busy with construction works. Rows of neat apartment blocks are starting to show. 40,000 people are expected to be housed here, and 5,000 jobs created along the way.
All this is happening because the structural foundations have been signed off as sound. Unfortunately, that is one analogy that doesn’t work so well in the West Bank.
22 february 2012
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Festivities in Myanmar mark Buddha’s enlightenment
Legend: pagoda built using 8 strands of Buddha’s hair. Authorities allow festival in sign of new freedoms. Former junta feared large groups and banned celebrations.
22 february 2012
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Workers snub government to join Carnival festivities
Citizens reject austerity and celebrate in the streets. Floats were themed around national economic crisis.
22 february 2012
Violence has broke out at the London School of Economics in London after Jewish and Israeli students clashed with pro-Palestinian activists who had set up a mock “Israeli apartheid wall” on campus
Inspectors from Israel’s Interior Ministry of Population and Immigration have begun impersonating prospective employers in an effort to apprehend illegal foreign workers
Israel’s High Court of Justice has ruled to allow Palestinian human rights leader Shawan Jabarin to leave the West Bank for the first time in 6 years for a special UN conference in Geneva
Retired Israeli general Aharon Davidi - one of Israel’s first paratroopers and a contemporary of Israel’s founding fathers – has died aged 84
According to statistics recently released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics around 4,900 single Jewish women in Israel gave birth in 2010 – nearly double the 2,600 single women who gave birth in 2000
The Israeli Defence Ministry has given preliminary approval to a plan to build 600 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has confirmed that he will speak at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on May 5 – a day after US President Barack Obama
Inspectors from Israel’s Interior Ministry of Population and Immigration have begun impersonating prospective employers in an effort to apprehend illegal foreign workers
Israel’s High Court of Justice has ruled to allow Palestinian human rights leader Shawan Jabarin to leave the West Bank for the first time in 6 years for a special UN conference in Geneva
Retired Israeli general Aharon Davidi - one of Israel’s first paratroopers and a contemporary of Israel’s founding fathers – has died aged 84
According to statistics recently released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics around 4,900 single Jewish women in Israel gave birth in 2010 – nearly double the 2,600 single women who gave birth in 2000
The Israeli Defence Ministry has given preliminary approval to a plan to build 600 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh
Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has confirmed that he will speak at an American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on May 5 – a day after US President Barack Obama
Breaking news
- Tel Aviv decision provokes backlash in Israel
- Vice President Hadi casts his vote as sole candidate
- Anne Frank recently baptised into Mormon Church
- New Israeli boycott to be waged against chocolate
- Iran blocks IAEA officials from entry to nuclear site
- Iranian ships pass back through the Suez Canal
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Eat sweets for breakfast and lose weight, Israeli research says
Paris Hilton may not be known for her intellectual prowess, but a new Israeli study seems to indicate the millionairess might have been right about something.
The often derided Hilton empire heiress famously revealed how she could lose weight on a candy diet and now Israeli research conducted by the Wolfson Medical Centre in Israel, reveals sweet food in the morning may really help dieters lose weight.
In the morning the body’s metabolic rate is faster and consuming high calorie food at that time of day also reduces the appetite for sweet snacks later in the day.
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Israeli scientists invent visor that resurrects vision
Science fiction is becoming reality, thanks to an Israeli team of scientists and their device that allows the blind to see.
Dr Amir Amedi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has demonstrated a visor that can use sound to hack into the visual cortex of blind people which allows them to see.
The Sensory Substitution Device, invented over 20 years ago by Dutch researcher Dr Peter Meijer, uses an algorithm to translate the position and appearance of an object into distinct tones.
The discovery builds on previous work by the team which showed braille readers show activity in precisely the same part of the brain that lights up when sighted readers read.
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Archaeological work reveals new Egyptian treasure
Painstaking archeological surveys and preservation of a solar boat belonging to King Khufu of the fourth Egyptian dynasty is unraveling a fascinating insight into how ancient Egyptians envisaged journeying to the afterlife.
King Khufu is known for commissioning the construction of Egypt's Great Pyramid, one of the most famous tourist attractions anywhere in the world. The revelation of yet another Egyptian archaeological treasure could provide a welcome boost to Egypt’s tourism industry recently beset with image problems, including kidnappings and murder of westerners and mooted bans on alcohol, beach parties and even a bikini ban.
But with fundamentalist Islamist parties taking a foothold in Egypt’s post-Mubarak society, the new government may need even more ancient treasures if it wants to halt the slide in tourists visiting the country’s beach resorts.