TOP 100 NEWS SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Yemen warns West on terror threat The West is not helping enough against al-Qaeda, Yemen says, as details emerge of the alleged US jet bomber's time there. news.bbc.co.uk |
The fallout from Iceland's financial meltdown The Icelandic banking crisis resulted in diplomatic rows, the overthrow of the government and a fierce debate over compensation6 October 2008 Threatened with national bankruptcy, Icelanders give the government sweeping powers, including wide-ranging authority over its banks.7 October The government dismisses the board of directors of Landsbanki, the island's second largest bank by value, and puts the bank into receivership.8 October The government takes control of Glitnir, the third largest bank, buying a 75% stake for €600m (£534m).9 October The financial crisis deepens as Iceland also takes control of Kaupthing, its biggest bank. A diplomatic row breaks out between Iceland and Britain over how to deal with hundreds of millions of pounds of British deposits trapped in collapsed Icelandic banks. Gordon Brown threatens to use anti-terror laws to reclaim British assets.15 October Iceland shores up its ravaged economy by slashing borrowing costs; the central bank cuts its main interest rate to 12% from 15.5%.24 October Iceland asks the IMF for €€.4bn in aid to help fix the economy and restart currency trading.25 October Protesters demand the resignation of conservative prime minister Geir Haarde.28 October The government raises interest rates by a massive 6 percentage points to 18%, a surprise move that aims to please the IMF and restore trust in the shattered currency.19 November The IMF approves a €1.5bn loan for Iceland. The deal is complemented by more than €2bn in loans from Nordic countries, Russia and Poland and around €3.5bn from Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, making the whole package worth about €7bn.2 December The government announces debt relief and investment measures for its ailing business sector and says it will settle debts with foreign creditors by offering stakes in the new Icelandic banks.26 January 2009 Iceland's ruling coalition falls apart when Haarde quits and five days later an interim centre-left government is formed with Johanna Sigurdardottir as prime minister.6 June Iceland agrees to reimburse Britain and the Netherlands by compensating people holding Icesave accounts at Landsbanki.29 June Parliament approves a government plan to raise taxes and slash spending to tackle a ballooning budget deficit.17 July Iceland applies to join the EU a day after parliament narrowly backed government plans to begin talks on joining.28 August Parliament approves "Icesave" bill, having added conditions such as linking payment to GDP development. The revisions will need the approval of the governments of Britain and the Netherlands.18 October A new deal to repay Britain and the Netherlands is agreed, paving the way for new aid from international lenders.30 December Parliament approves an amended bill to repay more than €3.5bn lost by savers in Britain and the Netherlands.5 January 2010 Iceland's president refuses to sign the bill, meaning a referendum on the issue will be held and jeopardising foreign aid to the stricken nation.IcesaveBankingIcelandFinancial crisisCredit crunchGlobal recessionSavingsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Italy: world's 'only white town' after ethnic cleansing Authorities remove all remaining immigrants out of Rosarno for own protection after locals unleash bloody ethnic cleansingRosarno in southern Italy had, by last night, been turned into what one politician termed the world's only entirely white town after a bloody ethnic cleansing that produced scenes reminiscent of the old American deep south.As bulldozers got to work to obliterate shacks belonging to the itinerant crop-pickers who had fled, the last of more than 1,000 such workers were being removed from the area for their own protection.After two days and nights of violence that began with the apparently motiveless shooting of two African workers, the number of injured stood at 53, comprising 18 police, 14 local people and 21 immigrants, eight of whom were in hospital.Some of the crop-pickers had been shot; others had been beaten with metal bars or wooden clubs as local people took indiscriminate vengeance after a riot of Thursday in which more than 100 Africans caused extensive damage in the town to protest at the shootings.Those who fled included several hundred people who had agreed to be taken to government-run centres after reportedly being given assurances they would not be deported if found to be illegally in Italy.But Silvio Berlusconi's interior minister, Roberto Maroni, said yesterday that they would, in fact, be expelled. "The law is implemented and nothing else can be done," he told a television interviewer.A centre for asylum seekers near Bari took 324 immigrants, mostly Ghanaians. The city's prefect said that more than half of those whose cases had been examined had temporary residence permits. The others were destined for internment at a so-called centre for identification and expulsion.In his traditional Sunday sermon to the crowd in St Peter's square yesterday, the pope said: "Immigrants are human beings, different in culture and traditions, but nevertheless to be respected. Violence ought never to be the way for anyone to resolve the difficulties."Addressing his parishioners in Rosarno, the local priest, Father Pino Varra, said the immigrants had erred. "But that does not give us the right to beat them, chase them, kill them or drive them out."Maroni criticised local authorities for turning a blind eye to the widespread, irregular use of immigrant labour, adding that they had created communities of foreigners that were "bombs primed to go off".A junior minister in the previous, centre-left government, Luigi Manconi, commented ironically that Rosarno was now "the only wholly white town in the world. Not even South African apartheid obtained such a result." And he asked: "Who now will pick the oranges?"But, perhaps explaining the crop-pickers' frustration and the eagerness of some locals to get rid of their immigrant workforce, the Calabrian citrus industry has been in crisis due to a fall in prices, according to Antonio Lupini, vice-president of the local farmers association. He told the daily Corriere della Sera that 800m kilograms of citrus fruit were rotting on the trees.ItalyRace issuesJohn Hooperguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Senegal offers land to Haitians Senegal's president says he will offer free land, or "repatriation", to people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. news.bbc.co.uk |
France to Prosecute Angola Rebel France said it seeks to prosecute an Angolan rebel for inciting violence, opening a new chapter in France's struggle to redress its messy past in Africa. online.wsj.com |