Global
economy
CHINA
last night cut interest rates for the first time since 2008, stepping
up efforts to combat a deepening economic slowdown as Europe's
worsening debt crisis threatens global growth.
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was ready to act to ensure
stability in the euro zone as Spain's credit rating was cut by
three notches on Thursday amid expectations it may soon seek EU
help for banks beset by bad debts.
Spain
holds successful bond sale
Auction
helps treasury raise 2.074bn euros, comfortably beating its own
target range of 1.0-2.0bn euros.
The
European Commission is pressing Greece to wind down certain
banks, possibly including its fifth-largest lender ATEbank,
EU sources said.
Car
sales grinding to a halt (Greece)
New
cars on Greek roads posted a dramatic 46.9 percent decline in May on
a yearly basis, as few are willing to buy a new vehicle in the midst
of the crisis.
Military/intelligence
CHINA
and Russia vowed to step up joint military exercises yesterday,
raising fears of a regional arms race after Washington declared the
US Navy was bolstering its presence in the Asia-Pacific.
Hillary
Clinton has put forward a new plan to remove Syrian president Bashar
al-Assad from power. Echoing recent US threats to take action on
Syria independently of the UN, the plan’s announcement coincides
with yet another tragic massacre.
Only
days after US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta admitted that American
troops are engaged in a war in rural northwest Pakistan, the
Pentagon’s top-dog says that the United States is losing patience
with their once amiable ally.
A
deadly bomb blast outside a school in Pakistan’s southwestern
Baluchistan province has claimed the lives of at least 15 people
and wounded 35 others, Press Tvreports.
Brzezinski:
Don’t be emotional about Syria
Former
US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski has warned
against an “emotional” response by the West to the Syrian
crisis, saying any foreign intervention in the Arab state could
have grave repercussions.
Russian
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that the UN Security
Council would not allow a mandate on the intervention into Syria.
Environmental/disasters
Tornado
tears through Perth suburbs (Australia)
Europe
Young
Spanish jobless face decades of hardship
A
severe shortage of jobs has young people unable to live their
lives, Oliver Staley writes from Madrid.
A
STRIKE by Greek municipal employees is threatening to derail the
crucial June 17 national election, which could determine whether the
debt-crippled country continues to use the euro.
As
Euro 2012 nears kickoff, a gracious city's beauty is
being compromised.
The
chief executives of major British retailers J Sainsbury and
Marks & Spencer have both taken cuts in their bonuses
after failing to meet targets and as recession forces them
to scale back growth plans.
A
series of vicious slaps and a glass of water to the face were
unleashed on two left-wing female deputies by the spokesman for
Greece’s neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party during a live TV debate. A
warrant for the politician’s arrest has been issued.
Golden
Dawn spokesman attacks two MPs on live TV (The
Athens News)
The
kettle calling the pot black!
USA
NDAA
unconstitutional: Federal judge bans Obama from indefinitely
detaining Americans
Sorry,
Mr. President. A US Federal judge has clarified a decision made last
month with some news sure to upset the Obama administration: the
White House cannot use the NDAA to indefinitely detain American
citizens.
Boxcar-size
dock from Japan tsunami washes up on US beach (PHOTO, VIDEO)
A
70ft dock has drifted thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean to
end up on the of the Oregon beach. It’s the latest in a growing
wave of debris from the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in
March 2011.
Australia/NZ
Thousands
of jobs face axe (Australia)
TEN
thousand more jobs will be cut from the public service and speeding
fines will rise by 12.5 per cent to help drag the NSW budget
back into surplus from a forecast deficit of more than $800 million
next financial year.
Asset-sales
law 'being rushed' to dodge poll (NZ)
Opposition
parties say contentious asset-sales legislation could be passed
under urgency because the Government fears the momentum that a
citizens-initiated referendum is gaining – and the Government
isn't ruling it out.
Media/internet
Right
to copy vs. copyright: FBI accused of ‘stealing’ Megaupload
evidence
While
the owners of the Megaupload.com
website are locked in lawsuits over illegal data sharing, the FBI is
suspected of removing evidence against them without permission. The
Bureau claims there was no violation: the obtained evidence
is “digital.”
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