03-25-2013, 02:06 AM
Update:
1. Israel fires into Syria after Golan attack on troops
(Reuters) - Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front.
It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory.
Israeli forces "destroyed a Syrian machine gun nest that fired twice in the last 24 hours on Israeli patrols operating to safeguard the border," the spokesman, Ofir Gendelman, said on his Twitter page.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/2...6020130324
2. Russia and China stand united, China's leader warns against meddling
MOSCOW // The Chinese president warned against foreign interference in the affairs of other nations during a speech in Moscow yesterday, sending a signal to the West and echoing a message often repeated by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Permanent UN Security Council members with veto power, Russia and China have frequently teamed up diplomatically to blunt the influence of the United States and its Nato allies and have blocked three draft resolutions on Syria.
"We must respect the right of each country in the world to independently choose its path of development and oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries," Xi Jinping told students at an international relations school.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/asi...t-meddling
3. Central African Republic capital falls to rebels, Bozize flees
(Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic seized control of the country's riverside capital Bangui on Sunday, forcing President Francois Bozize to flee into neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, government officials said.
At least six South African soldiers were killed in clashes with the rebels, a Reuters witness said. A United Nations source said the force, in the country to train the army along with hundreds of regional peacekeepers, was preparing to leave. The Seleka rebel coalition resumed hostilities this week in the mineral-rich former French colony, vowing to oust Bozize, whom it accused of breaking a January peace agreement to integrate its fighters into the army.
France, which already has some 250 soldiers stationed in the Central African Republic, sent in another company of 150 troops to secure Bangui's international airport, a diplomatic source said on Saturday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/2...AU20130324
4. Cyprus, Troika agree to 20% tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at Bank of Cyprus
Cyprus and the Troika have agreed to a 20 per cent tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and 4 per cent on deposits held at other banks. A senior Cypriot official told Reuters that a plan to tap nationalized pension funds would not be a part of a plan to raise billions of euros in return for a bailout from the European Union. Cyprus said earlier on Saturday that it was looking at seizing a quarter of the value of big deposits at its largest bank in order to raise such funds.
"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available. Today, there are only hard choices left," European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement. Cyprus is scrambling to come up with €5.8 billion by Monday, or face being kicked out of the Eurozone. The cash is a prerequisite for a further €10 billion in bailout funds.
http://rt.com/news/cyprus-bailout-tax-troika-730/
5. Not even close: Pentagon requests $49 million to build new Gitmo prison
The US Southern Command (Southcom) has requested $49 million to build a new prison building at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba “for special detainees” as well as carry out other “necessary” renovations, US media reveal.
The proposed facility is an apparent replacement for Camp 7, which was constructed to hold 14 “high-value” detainees – including the self-described 9/11 attack architect Khalid Shaikh Mohammed – who had been in CIA custody, but were handed over to the military in 2006.
The proposed prison comes on top of funds previously requested to upgrade the camp’s facilities, including a new dining hall, barracks for prison guards, a hospital, a “legal meeting complex” and a “communications network facility” to store data, the New York Times reports.
http://rt.com/usa/guantanamo-new-prison-request-673/
6. Texas Moves to Repatriate its Gold from the Federal Reserve
Call it the Rick Perry gold rush: The governor wants to bring the state’s gold reserves back from a New York vault to Texas. And he may have legislative support to do it. Freshman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is carrying a bill that would establish the Texas Bullion Depository, a secure state-based bank to house $1 billion worth of gold bars owned by the University of Texas Investment Management Co., or UTIMCO, and stored by the Federal Reserve.
The idea isn’t entirely new. Some Republicans worked on a gold bill last session that was never filed. And gold-standard-backing Ron Paul, the former Lake Jackson congressman, has raised repeated concerns about the safety of states’ gold supplies.
“If you think gold is a hedge, or a protection, you always want it as close to the individual and the entity as possible,” Paul told The Texas Tribune on Thursday. “Texas is better served if it knows exactly where the gold is rather than depending on the security of the Federal Reserve.”
http://www.infowars.com/texas-moves-to-r...l-reserve/
7. Washington state weighs 1st abortion insurance mandate in US
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — In 1970, Washington became the first — and remains the only — state in the country to legalize elective abortions by a popular vote. A generation later, and 40 years removed from the landmark United States Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling that extended abortion access nationwide, Washington is once again poised to stand out.
With 21 states having adopted bans or severe restrictions on insurance companies from paying for abortions, Washington is alone in seriously considering legislation mandating the opposite. The Reproductive Parity Act, as supporters call it, would require insurers in Washington state who cover maternity care — which all insurers must do — to also pay for abortions.
The bill passed the state House earlier this month by a vote of 53-43, though it faces an uncertain future in the Senate. A similar bill in the New York state Assembly has been introduced each session for over a decade but has never received a public hearing. "This is a core value for Washingtonians," said Melanie Smith, a lobbyist for NARAL Pro-Choice Washington. "We should protect it while we still have it and not leave access to basic health care up to an insurance company."
http://news.yahoo.com/wash-weighs-1st-ab...25495.html
8. IMF blocks Cyprus bailout agreement, insists on bank merger
NICOSIA/BRUSSELS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is blocking a bailout agreement for Cyprus by insisting the merger of the Mediterranean island's two largest banks, the official Cyprus News Agency reported on Saturday. The agency quoted a senior official of the Cypriot side in the negotiations with international lenders as saying that "we are not even near an agreement with the troika."
The official was also quoted as saying that lack of an agreement is entirely due to the inflexible stance of the IMF representative. She is raising new issues every half an hour, the official said, referring to Delia Velculescu, who heads the IMF delegation.
The official familiar with the negotiations said, on condition of anonymity, that Velculescu is sticking to directions by IMF chief Christine Lagarde that the Bank of Cyprus be treated in the same way as the Cyprus Popular Bank. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission have accepted the Cypriot position for the Bank of Cyprus to continue its operations after 20 percent of deposits over 100,000 euros (about 129,000 U.S. dollars) be exchanged with bank stock.
The IMF insists that the bank be split in a good bank to take over guaranteed deposits of under 100,000 euros and good loans and the bad section to be left with deposits of over 100,000 euros and the bad loans be liquidated after some years. The same official said the IMF also insists that the good sections of the two banks be merged
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/...257411.htm
You're welcome, EY. Take note of the conflicting reports concerning Cyprus. Gotta love the fantastic amount of inherent risk built into fractional reserve banking systems. /sarc. off
1. Israel fires into Syria after Golan attack on troops
(Reuters) - Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front.
It was not immediately clear whether Israel held Syrian troops or rebels responsible for what a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said had been a deliberate attack on Israeli patrols in the occupied territory.
Israeli forces "destroyed a Syrian machine gun nest that fired twice in the last 24 hours on Israeli patrols operating to safeguard the border," the spokesman, Ofir Gendelman, said on his Twitter page.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/2...6020130324
2. Russia and China stand united, China's leader warns against meddling
MOSCOW // The Chinese president warned against foreign interference in the affairs of other nations during a speech in Moscow yesterday, sending a signal to the West and echoing a message often repeated by his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Permanent UN Security Council members with veto power, Russia and China have frequently teamed up diplomatically to blunt the influence of the United States and its Nato allies and have blocked three draft resolutions on Syria.
"We must respect the right of each country in the world to independently choose its path of development and oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries," Xi Jinping told students at an international relations school.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/asi...t-meddling
3. Central African Republic capital falls to rebels, Bozize flees
(Reuters) - Rebels in Central African Republic seized control of the country's riverside capital Bangui on Sunday, forcing President Francois Bozize to flee into neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, government officials said.
At least six South African soldiers were killed in clashes with the rebels, a Reuters witness said. A United Nations source said the force, in the country to train the army along with hundreds of regional peacekeepers, was preparing to leave. The Seleka rebel coalition resumed hostilities this week in the mineral-rich former French colony, vowing to oust Bozize, whom it accused of breaking a January peace agreement to integrate its fighters into the army.
France, which already has some 250 soldiers stationed in the Central African Republic, sent in another company of 150 troops to secure Bangui's international airport, a diplomatic source said on Saturday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/2...AU20130324
4. Cyprus, Troika agree to 20% tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at Bank of Cyprus
Cyprus and the Troika have agreed to a 20 per cent tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and 4 per cent on deposits held at other banks. A senior Cypriot official told Reuters that a plan to tap nationalized pension funds would not be a part of a plan to raise billions of euros in return for a bailout from the European Union. Cyprus said earlier on Saturday that it was looking at seizing a quarter of the value of big deposits at its largest bank in order to raise such funds.
"Unfortunately, the events of recent days have led to a situation where there are no longer any optimal solutions available. Today, there are only hard choices left," European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement. Cyprus is scrambling to come up with €5.8 billion by Monday, or face being kicked out of the Eurozone. The cash is a prerequisite for a further €10 billion in bailout funds.
http://rt.com/news/cyprus-bailout-tax-troika-730/
5. Not even close: Pentagon requests $49 million to build new Gitmo prison
The US Southern Command (Southcom) has requested $49 million to build a new prison building at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba “for special detainees” as well as carry out other “necessary” renovations, US media reveal.
The proposed facility is an apparent replacement for Camp 7, which was constructed to hold 14 “high-value” detainees – including the self-described 9/11 attack architect Khalid Shaikh Mohammed – who had been in CIA custody, but were handed over to the military in 2006.
The proposed prison comes on top of funds previously requested to upgrade the camp’s facilities, including a new dining hall, barracks for prison guards, a hospital, a “legal meeting complex” and a “communications network facility” to store data, the New York Times reports.
http://rt.com/usa/guantanamo-new-prison-request-673/
6. Texas Moves to Repatriate its Gold from the Federal Reserve
Call it the Rick Perry gold rush: The governor wants to bring the state’s gold reserves back from a New York vault to Texas. And he may have legislative support to do it. Freshman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is carrying a bill that would establish the Texas Bullion Depository, a secure state-based bank to house $1 billion worth of gold bars owned by the University of Texas Investment Management Co., or UTIMCO, and stored by the Federal Reserve.
The idea isn’t entirely new. Some Republicans worked on a gold bill last session that was never filed. And gold-standard-backing Ron Paul, the former Lake Jackson congressman, has raised repeated concerns about the safety of states’ gold supplies.
“If you think gold is a hedge, or a protection, you always want it as close to the individual and the entity as possible,” Paul told The Texas Tribune on Thursday. “Texas is better served if it knows exactly where the gold is rather than depending on the security of the Federal Reserve.”
http://www.infowars.com/texas-moves-to-r...l-reserve/
7. Washington state weighs 1st abortion insurance mandate in US
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — In 1970, Washington became the first — and remains the only — state in the country to legalize elective abortions by a popular vote. A generation later, and 40 years removed from the landmark United States Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling that extended abortion access nationwide, Washington is once again poised to stand out.
With 21 states having adopted bans or severe restrictions on insurance companies from paying for abortions, Washington is alone in seriously considering legislation mandating the opposite. The Reproductive Parity Act, as supporters call it, would require insurers in Washington state who cover maternity care — which all insurers must do — to also pay for abortions.
The bill passed the state House earlier this month by a vote of 53-43, though it faces an uncertain future in the Senate. A similar bill in the New York state Assembly has been introduced each session for over a decade but has never received a public hearing. "This is a core value for Washingtonians," said Melanie Smith, a lobbyist for NARAL Pro-Choice Washington. "We should protect it while we still have it and not leave access to basic health care up to an insurance company."
http://news.yahoo.com/wash-weighs-1st-ab...25495.html
8. IMF blocks Cyprus bailout agreement, insists on bank merger
NICOSIA/BRUSSELS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is blocking a bailout agreement for Cyprus by insisting the merger of the Mediterranean island's two largest banks, the official Cyprus News Agency reported on Saturday. The agency quoted a senior official of the Cypriot side in the negotiations with international lenders as saying that "we are not even near an agreement with the troika."
The official was also quoted as saying that lack of an agreement is entirely due to the inflexible stance of the IMF representative. She is raising new issues every half an hour, the official said, referring to Delia Velculescu, who heads the IMF delegation.
The official familiar with the negotiations said, on condition of anonymity, that Velculescu is sticking to directions by IMF chief Christine Lagarde that the Bank of Cyprus be treated in the same way as the Cyprus Popular Bank. The European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Commission have accepted the Cypriot position for the Bank of Cyprus to continue its operations after 20 percent of deposits over 100,000 euros (about 129,000 U.S. dollars) be exchanged with bank stock.
The IMF insists that the bank be split in a good bank to take over guaranteed deposits of under 100,000 euros and good loans and the bad section to be left with deposits of over 100,000 euros and the bad loans be liquidated after some years. The same official said the IMF also insists that the good sections of the two banks be merged
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/...257411.htm
You're welcome, EY. Take note of the conflicting reports concerning Cyprus. Gotta love the fantastic amount of inherent risk built into fractional reserve banking systems. /sarc. off