ATHENS — Financial markets turned on Greece again on Thursday, driving up its borrowing costs to record levels on rising doubt that the EU will provide a debt rescue, and the euro plunged further. The yield on Greece’s 10-year sovereign bond soared to 7.423 percent Thursday, the highest since the country adopted the euro in 2001, amid mounting fears it might be unable to repay huge debts falling due soon. The Greek financial turmoil also heightened pressure on the euro, which fell to 1.3299 dollars from 1.3339 Wednesday. The single European currency at one point plunged to 1.3283 dollars. Meanwhile financial markets awaited an expected statement from the head of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, after an ECB rate meeting later in the day. Their attention focused on the extension of exceptional loan collateral measures that the ECB adopted during the global financial crisis. The measures have the effect of minimising critical pressure that could arise on Greek banks, heavily dependent on ECB funding, towards the end of the year. Related article: Greece will ‘continue to borrow’ The rise of Greek debt bond yields, or rates, by the minute on Thursday revived talk that […]
BAIKALSK, Russia — The future of 20 percent of the world’s supply of pure fresh water is in jeopardy because a surprise decree by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will allow a heavily polluting pulp mill to reopen on the southern shore of Lake Baikal in southern Siberia. Magnificent, almost pristine Lake Baikal, the ‘Pearl of Siberia,’ is a source of national pride and awe, an icon for the Russian environmental movement, a World Heritage Site and the only natural area in Russia that’s protected by its own law. Many locals consider the enormous lake - at 12,248 square miles, it’s the size of Maryland and Delaware combined - sacred. Between its size, its 5,380-foot depth and its remarkable biodiversity, the lake’s fate has global significance. The Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill is the only industrial enterprise that dumped waste directly into the lake, and the fight against its construction gave birth to the Russian environmental movement and emboldened public figures to speak out against the Soviet state. Using chlorine to produce bleached cellulose, BPPM discharged as much as 4 million cubic feet of toxic waste into Lake Baikal annually. More than 6 million tons […]
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s advisers plan to remove terms such as ‘Islamic radicalism’ from a document outlining national security strategy and will use the new version to emphasize that the U.S. does not view Muslim nations through the lens of terrorism, counterterrorism officials say. The change would be a significant shift in the National Security Strategy, a document that previously outlined the Bush Doctrine of preventive war. It currently states, ‘The struggle against militant Islamic radicalism is the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century.’ The officials described the changes on condition of anonymity because the document is still being written and is unlikely to be released for weeks, and the White House would not discuss it. But rewriting the strategy document is the latest example of Obama putting his stamp on U.S. foreign policy, as with his promises to dismantle nuclear weapons and limit the situations in which they can be used. The revisions are part of a larger effort about which the White House talks openly, one that seeks to change not just how the U.S. talks to Muslim nations, but also what it talks to them about, from health […]
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican heatedly defended Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, claiming accusations that he helped cover up the actions of pedophile priests are part of an anti-Catholic ‘hate’ campaign targeting the pope for his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. Vatican Radio broadcast comments by two senior cardinals explaining ‘the motive for these attacks’ on the pope. ‘The pope defends life and the family, based on marriage between a man and a woman, in a world in which powerful lobbies would like to impose a completely different’ agenda, Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, head of the disciplinary commission for Holy See officials, was quoted as saying. Herranz didn’t identify the alleged lobbies, but ‘defense of life’ is Vatican shorthand for anti-abortion efforts. Also rallying to Benedict’s side was Italian Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, who heads the Vatican City State’s governing apparatus. The pope ‘has done all that he could have’ against sex abuse by clergy of minors, Lajolo said on the radio, decrying what he described as a campaign of ‘hatred against the Catholic church.’ Sex abuse allegations, as well as accusations of cover-ups by diocesan bishops and Vatican […]
LONDON — Demand for free medicines in the US has increased sharply following the 2008 economic crisis, highlighting continued difficulties by Americans in gaining access to medical care. Millions have lost their medical benefits along with their jobs in the downturn, underscoring the challenge for President Barack Obama in overhauling healthcare after signing reforms into law last month. Organisations helping people find free drugs have reported increases of up to 50 per cent in requests in recent months, while pharmaceutical companies say they have expanded donations through ‘patient assistance programmes by typically 15 to 25 per cent. Rich Sagall, who created NeedyMeds.org, a phone and web-based clearing house near Boston helping patients find free medicines, says he is receiving 14,000 inquiries a day, up from 10,000 in late 2008. ‘We’re exceedingly busy. I’m upset that this many people need access. There’s definitely more need and more queries. US pharmaceutical companies provide some medicines free to many poorer Americans through ‘patient assistance programmes. Since launching its Partnership for Prescription Assistance to co-ordinate these programmes in 2005, PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry trade association, says it has provided 6m patients with $16bn (ââ¬11.8bn, ã10.5bn) of drugs valued at wholesale prices, […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
