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| Sunday October 12th 2014 |
Syria: Kobane situation remains 'dangerous' says US
The situation in Kobane in northern Syria remains "dangerous" says US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Fighting between Islamic State militants and Kurdish
defenders continues, with more than 500 people reported dead in a month
of conflict.Mr Hagel said that US-led air strikes had made progress against the militants, but they still occupied areas on the town's outskirts.
The fight against IS in Syria and Iraq would be a long-term effort, he said.
US aircraft have bombed IS positions as Kurdish fighters cling on to the town's vital border crossing with Turkey.
Mr Hagel, speaking in Chile, said: "We are doing what we can do through our air strikes to help drive back Isil," as IS is also called.
"In fact there has been some progress made in that area,"
Need for arms At least 553 people are said to have died in a month of fighting for Kobane.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based Syrian opposition body which monitors the conflict, counted 298 IS fighters among the total of the dead.
The town's Kurdish defenders say they are outgunned on the ground.
"The supply of fighters is very good..." Kobane official Idris Nassan told Reuters news agency. "But fighters coming without arms, without weaponry, is not going to make a critical difference."
Turkey, wary of its recent long conflict with its own large Kurdish population, has ruled out any unilateral ground intervention.
Mr Hagel said that the US had made "considerable progress" in talks with Turkish officials over plans for Turkey to train moderate Syrian rebels and provide them with equipment for their fight against IS militants.
He said US military teams would hold more talks in Turkey in the coming week.
But he declined to comment further, saying he was waiting for Turkey to make its own announcement.
Despite airstrikes, ISIS forces draw nearer to Baghdad
Despite airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition, Islamic State militants are in a position to wreak havoc on Baghdad after making gains in nearby territories, adding to the sense of siege in the Iraqi capital.Yet some military experts believe that the terror group, who now control a large territory along the border of Iraq and Syria, won’t be able to defeat the forces now massed around the capital.
"It's not plausible at this point to envision ISIL taking control of Baghdad, but they can make Baghdad so miserable that it would threaten the legitimacy of the central government," Richard Brennan, an Iraq expert with RAND Corporation and former Department of Defense policymake told The Associated Press.
The siege fears in Baghdad stem from recent gains made by the Islamic State group in the so-called Baghdad Belt -- the final stretch between Anbar province, where the group gained ground in January, and Baghdad. The group has had a presence in the Baghdad Belt since spring, Iraqi officials say, but recent advances have sparked new worries.
The Islamic militants have reportedly infiltrated the Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib, not far from the runway perimeter of Baghdad's international airport.
Islamic State’s proximity to the airport is especially worrisome, because they are now armed with shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles with a 20-mile range, according to the Iraqi Defense Ministry. The weapons, which Islamic State has grabbed up along with tanks, helicopters and fighter planes as it has seized up vast territory in northern Syria and Iraq, could allow the militants to shut down the airport.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said Saturday it launched an airstrike north of the town of Tal Afar, hitting a small Islamic State fighting unit and destroying an armed vehicle. It said two other airstrikes northwest of Hit in Anbar province targeted two small militant units.
Car bomb attacks in Shia areas kill 38 people in Baghdad
No claims of responsibility yet reported following blasts in Khazimiyah and Shula districts which also left dozens wounded
Protests escalated late last month, after Beijing's decision on Aug. 31 to impose conditions that effectively would have stopped pro-democracy candidates from contesting an election of the city's chief executive set for 2017.
The occupation movement suffered a noticeable dip in support over the past week, but strong crowds of over 10,000 on Friday for rallies in the former British colony.
By Saturday evening, thousands of protesters had returned to join the stalwarts, including parents and children in a more relaxed, festival-like atmosphere. Scores more brought tents, foam and ground sheets to form a kind of sprawling urban campground hemmed in by towering skyscrapers.
"Hong Kong is my home, we are fighting for Hong Kong's future, our future," said Lawrence Chan, a 23-year-old media studies student, who has taken part in the protests from the outset.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, who announced the postponement of talks with the students on Thursday because of their persistent calls to escalate action, said on Saturday that she hadn't given up hope of getting them on track again.
"It's most important that we must make clear the aim and nature of the meeting," she told reporters during a weekend trip to China, stressing that the dialog should center on Beijing's proposed framework for electoral reform in 2017.
Since taking to the streets around two weeks ago, the activists have blocked major roads around the government precinct in Admiralty, as well as the shopping districts of Central and Causeway Bay.
At Friday's rallies, protest leaders urged demonstrators to prepare for a protracted struggle instead of expanding the protests geographically. The protests have led to some resentment among the public because of traffic jams and loss of business. A few street fights have broken out that pitted the students against anti-occupy mobs and local gangsters or triads.
It was unclear how long Hong Kong authorities will tolerate the occupation or how the standoff might be resolved. For now, however, police presence remains thin with authorities seemingly reluctant to risk fresh flare-ups.
Riot police had cracked down on protesters massing near the government headquarters on Sept. 28, but the authorities have taken a softer line since. Police on Saturday again warned the protesters to leave.
Over one hundred colorful tents were sprinkled across the eight-lane Harcourt Road highway, among scores of red and blue portable marquees serving as supply and first aid stations; stocked with water, biscuits, noodles and cereals.
"We have tents here to show our determination that we're prepared for a long-term occupation," said Benny Tai, one of the leaders of the movement, who emerged bleary-eyed from a tent pitched outside the Hong Kong government's headquarters.
A series of car bomb attacks in Iraq’s capital killed 38 people in Shia areas Saturday, authorities said.
Police officials said the first bombing happened Saturday night when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a security checkpoint in Baghdad’s northern district of Khazimiyah, killing 13 people, including three police officers, and wounding 28.
The second car bombing, targeting a commercial street in Shula district in northwestern Baghdad, killed seven people and wounded 18, police said. The blast damaged several shops and cars.
Also in Shula, police said a suicide car bomb attack on a security checkpoint killed 18 people and wounded dozens others.
Hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures for the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief journalists.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attacks, yet Sunni insurgents frequently target the Shia population they deem as being heretics. That includes the Islamic State group, which now holds a third of the country in its sway.
The Palestinian Authority is appealing for a total $4bn (£2.5bn) to rebuild Gaza after the 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas.
At least 100,000 Gazans lost their homes in the war and much of the territory's infrastructure was damaged.
Earlier the Palestinian and Egyptian presidents called on Israel to commit to a long-term peace initiative.
Mahmoud Abbas and Abdul Fattah al-Sisi urged Israel to give up land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and accept a fair solution for Palestinian refugees in exchange for full recognition.
The seven-week Gaza conflict, which ended in a truce on 26 August, killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, the UN says, along with 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel.
Cycle of conflict US Secretary of State John Kerry said that with winter approaching, the thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes needed urgent help.
"The people of Gaza do need our help desperately, not tomorrow, not next week, but they need it now" he said at the conference.
He added that anything other than a long-term commitment to peace would be a "band-aid fix".
Related: Qatar Pledges $1 Billion For Gaza Strip Reconstruction
Dmitry Peskov told Russian news outlets late Saturday in Sochi that Putin had ordered approximately 17,600 troops to return home from Rostov, a southern region that borders east Ukraine, where pro-Russian insurgents have been battling government troops since April.
The Kremlin has said that troops stationed in Rostov were participating in drills, but Ukraine and the West have repeatedly accused Russia of fueling the insurgency with arms, expertise, and fighters, and have slapped Moscow with sanctions in response to its moves in the region.
Previous Russian claims of troop withdrawals have been countered by
NATO. In March, Russia announced a troop withdrawal of only one
battalion — a unit of about 500 — while NATO insisted that tens of
thousands remained near the border.
In the spring, the U.S. and NATO said that Russia had deployed about 40,000 troops near the border, though Putin ordered the troops back to their home bases in late May. While the U.S. and NATO did confirm those moves, in August they said Russia was again bolstering its forces in the region and that Russia had allowed troops and vehicles to cross the border to assist the separatists.
The withdrawal may be a sign of good will ahead of Putin's trip to Milan on Thursday, where he is set to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Union leaders.
As EU and U.S. sanctions against Russia begin to bite and economic growth falters, Moscow may also hope that a troop withdrawal will bolster the chance that Western nations will revoke those measures. Late last month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the EU was still not considering removing the sanctions because of ongoing fighting in east Ukraine.
In Donetsk, the city center was quiet but explosions still rang out in the direction of the airport, where fighting between government troops and pro-Russian forces has waged despite a cease-fire declared Sept. 5.
Tensions between Bosnia's main ethnic groups - Muslims (Bosniaks), Serbs and Croats - remain high, and some groups have called for secession.
The country is one of the poorest in Europe, with joblessness at 44% and youth unemployment even higher.
Polls will close on Sunday afternoon and the first results are expected later on Sunday evening.
It is the seventh election since the US-brokered Dayton peace agreement ended the 1992-1995 war between the main ethnic groups.
In February, mass violent protests broke out in Bosnia, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with political elites and the high levels of corruption in the country.
Analysts say protests could return if the new government does not tackle corruption and the spluttering economy.
'Referendums and divisions' Bosnia is split into two "entities", the Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) and the Muslim-Croat Federation, which are both under international supervision.
The elections are for the regional parliaments of each entity, as well as for the state of Bosnia as a whole.
Voters will also choose the three members of Bosnia's joint presidency, which will be made up of a Croat, a Muslim and a Serb.
Police officials said the first bombing happened Saturday night when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a security checkpoint in Baghdad’s northern district of Khazimiyah, killing 13 people, including three police officers, and wounding 28.
The second car bombing, targeting a commercial street in Shula district in northwestern Baghdad, killed seven people and wounded 18, police said. The blast damaged several shops and cars.
Also in Shula, police said a suicide car bomb attack on a security checkpoint killed 18 people and wounded dozens others.
Hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures for the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief journalists.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attacks, yet Sunni insurgents frequently target the Shia population they deem as being heretics. That includes the Islamic State group, which now holds a third of the country in its sway.
Rebuilding Gaza: Donors pledge millions at Cairo summit
The US has committed $212m (£132m) in aid while Qatar has promised $1bn (£622m). The UK will give $32m (£20m).The Palestinian Authority is appealing for a total $4bn (£2.5bn) to rebuild Gaza after the 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas.
At least 100,000 Gazans lost their homes in the war and much of the territory's infrastructure was damaged.
Earlier the Palestinian and Egyptian presidents called on Israel to commit to a long-term peace initiative.
Mahmoud Abbas and Abdul Fattah al-Sisi urged Israel to give up land seized in the 1967 Middle East war and accept a fair solution for Palestinian refugees in exchange for full recognition.
The seven-week Gaza conflict, which ended in a truce on 26 August, killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, the UN says, along with 67 Israeli soldiers and six civilians in Israel.
Cycle of conflict US Secretary of State John Kerry said that with winter approaching, the thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes needed urgent help.
"The people of Gaza do need our help desperately, not tomorrow, not next week, but they need it now" he said at the conference.
He added that anything other than a long-term commitment to peace would be a "band-aid fix".
Related: Qatar Pledges $1 Billion For Gaza Strip Reconstruction
The Observer view on Palestine
Formal British recognition would be a powerful, progressive step in the right direction
MPs will be offered a rare opportunity tomorrow to further the cause
of peace and justice in the Middle East, a part of the world sorely
lacking in both. They should seize it with both hands. Passage of a backbench motion calling
on the British government to recognise the state of Palestine, though
symbolic in nature and non-binding, would send a powerful message to a
region where unseeing violence often usurps legitimate political action.
The message, in its simplest form, is that in even the most
long-running and intractable disputes (and the Israel-Palestine conflict
certainly qualifies on that score), positive progress is possible when
democrats of all parties and persuasions find the courage to fight for
the principles they were elected to uphold.
That formal British recognition of Palestinian statehood would be a powerful progressive step in the right direction cannot be sensibly disputed, even by Israel’s hardiest supporters. In one sense, Britain would simply be honouring its longstanding commitment, shared with most of the international community, to a two-state solution. And even though the government, ever mindful of strong American and Israeli opposition, is likely to resist such an action at present, parliament’s backing for recognition may have a number of beneficial effects. One might be to give a shot in the arm to the moribund peace process, which faltered earlier this year over settlements and prisoner exchanges and all but died in a hail of bullets and rockets during the summer’s Gaza hostilities. Grahame Morris, the Labour MP tabling the statehood resolution, made the point succinctly: “Not only is statehood the inalienable right of the Palestinian people, but recognising Palestine will breathe new life into a peace process that is at an impasse.”
A parliamentary vote in favour of statehood would put Israel on notice that while its right to exist in peace and security as an independent state remains a fundamental, undisputed tenet of British and western policy, its apparently endless foot-dragging on the question of equivalent Palestinian rights is no longer acceptable to a growing segment of British and European opinion. It is no longer good enough to say, if it ever was, that a full, negotiated settlement of all the complex problems separating the two sides must precede recognition. If key issues such as mutual security, the delineation of the borders of a Palestinian state embracing Gaza and the West Bank, the future of Jerusalem as a shared capital, continued illegal settlement building, water resources and the right of return of Palestinian refugees are to be settled fairly, it is essential that the partners to such negotiations enjoy an equality of status and respect.
Nor would it be wise for Israel to ignore the reality that tangible momentum is building behind the Palestinian quest for recognition. At the UN general assembly in 2012, 138 countries voted to afford Palestine, until then described as an “entity”, the enhanced standing of a “non-member observer state”. Only eight countries joined Israel in voting against, including the US, Canada, Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Forty-one abstained, including Britain.
Of the EU countries, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary already recognise Palestine as a state. Now Sweden, too, is to join their ranks, following its election of a centre-left government. Recognition would also strengthen the moderate forces around Mahmoud Abbas, the resourceful Palestinian president. Abbas has been pushing for membership of international agencies and has asked the UN security council to set a binding 2016 deadline for ending Israel’s occupation. If thwarted by the US or others, Abbas says he will take Israel’s leaders before the International Criminal Court
That formal British recognition of Palestinian statehood would be a powerful progressive step in the right direction cannot be sensibly disputed, even by Israel’s hardiest supporters. In one sense, Britain would simply be honouring its longstanding commitment, shared with most of the international community, to a two-state solution. And even though the government, ever mindful of strong American and Israeli opposition, is likely to resist such an action at present, parliament’s backing for recognition may have a number of beneficial effects. One might be to give a shot in the arm to the moribund peace process, which faltered earlier this year over settlements and prisoner exchanges and all but died in a hail of bullets and rockets during the summer’s Gaza hostilities. Grahame Morris, the Labour MP tabling the statehood resolution, made the point succinctly: “Not only is statehood the inalienable right of the Palestinian people, but recognising Palestine will breathe new life into a peace process that is at an impasse.”
A parliamentary vote in favour of statehood would put Israel on notice that while its right to exist in peace and security as an independent state remains a fundamental, undisputed tenet of British and western policy, its apparently endless foot-dragging on the question of equivalent Palestinian rights is no longer acceptable to a growing segment of British and European opinion. It is no longer good enough to say, if it ever was, that a full, negotiated settlement of all the complex problems separating the two sides must precede recognition. If key issues such as mutual security, the delineation of the borders of a Palestinian state embracing Gaza and the West Bank, the future of Jerusalem as a shared capital, continued illegal settlement building, water resources and the right of return of Palestinian refugees are to be settled fairly, it is essential that the partners to such negotiations enjoy an equality of status and respect.
Nor would it be wise for Israel to ignore the reality that tangible momentum is building behind the Palestinian quest for recognition. At the UN general assembly in 2012, 138 countries voted to afford Palestine, until then described as an “entity”, the enhanced standing of a “non-member observer state”. Only eight countries joined Israel in voting against, including the US, Canada, Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. Forty-one abstained, including Britain.
Of the EU countries, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary already recognise Palestine as a state. Now Sweden, too, is to join their ranks, following its election of a centre-left government. Recognition would also strengthen the moderate forces around Mahmoud Abbas, the resourceful Palestinian president. Abbas has been pushing for membership of international agencies and has asked the UN security council to set a binding 2016 deadline for ending Israel’s occupation. If thwarted by the US or others, Abbas says he will take Israel’s leaders before the International Criminal Court
Fighting between rival militias in northwestern Libya kills at least 23 people
CAIRO – A hospital official says fighting between Islamist militias and rival groups in western Libya has killed at least 23 people.
Emad Khalifa Abdul-Salam of Gharyan hospital, south of the capital Tripoli, said an ongoing, intense battle continued Sunday in the nearby town of Kikla. It also left 43 people injured including ten in critical condition — mostly from shrapnel wounds.
The
fighting over Kikla is part of a power struggle between an Islamist
militia that seized control of the Tripoli airport from anti-Islamist
groups, finally driving them out of the capital.
Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 NATO-backed toppling of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Violence and rivalry between political groups deeply split the country which currently has two rival governments and parliaments.
Emad Khalifa Abdul-Salam of Gharyan hospital, south of the capital Tripoli, said an ongoing, intense battle continued Sunday in the nearby town of Kikla. It also left 43 people injured including ten in critical condition — mostly from shrapnel wounds.
Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 NATO-backed toppling of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Violence and rivalry between political groups deeply split the country which currently has two rival governments and parliaments.
Putin Orders Troops Away From Ukraine Border
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered thousands of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border to return to their usual bases, according to his spokesman.Dmitry Peskov told Russian news outlets late Saturday in Sochi that Putin had ordered approximately 17,600 troops to return home from Rostov, a southern region that borders east Ukraine, where pro-Russian insurgents have been battling government troops since April.
The Kremlin has said that troops stationed in Rostov were participating in drills, but Ukraine and the West have repeatedly accused Russia of fueling the insurgency with arms, expertise, and fighters, and have slapped Moscow with sanctions in response to its moves in the region.
In the spring, the U.S. and NATO said that Russia had deployed about 40,000 troops near the border, though Putin ordered the troops back to their home bases in late May. While the U.S. and NATO did confirm those moves, in August they said Russia was again bolstering its forces in the region and that Russia had allowed troops and vehicles to cross the border to assist the separatists.
The withdrawal may be a sign of good will ahead of Putin's trip to Milan on Thursday, where he is set to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and European Union leaders.
As EU and U.S. sanctions against Russia begin to bite and economic growth falters, Moscow may also hope that a troop withdrawal will bolster the chance that Western nations will revoke those measures. Late last month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the EU was still not considering removing the sanctions because of ongoing fighting in east Ukraine.
In Donetsk, the city center was quiet but explosions still rang out in the direction of the airport, where fighting between government troops and pro-Russian forces has waged despite a cease-fire declared Sept. 5.
Voting begins in tense Bosnia election
Voting has begun in Bosnia in an election dominated by nationalist rhetoric and a stagnant economy.
It comes nearly 20 years after the end of the devastating Bosnian war in which more than 100,000 people were killed.Tensions between Bosnia's main ethnic groups - Muslims (Bosniaks), Serbs and Croats - remain high, and some groups have called for secession.
The country is one of the poorest in Europe, with joblessness at 44% and youth unemployment even higher.
Polls will close on Sunday afternoon and the first results are expected later on Sunday evening.
It is the seventh election since the US-brokered Dayton peace agreement ended the 1992-1995 war between the main ethnic groups.
In February, mass violent protests broke out in Bosnia, reflecting deep dissatisfaction with political elites and the high levels of corruption in the country.
Analysts say protests could return if the new government does not tackle corruption and the spluttering economy.
'Referendums and divisions' Bosnia is split into two "entities", the Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) and the Muslim-Croat Federation, which are both under international supervision.
The elections are for the regional parliaments of each entity, as well as for the state of Bosnia as a whole.
Voters will also choose the three members of Bosnia's joint presidency, which will be made up of a Croat, a Muslim and a Serb.
Hong Kong Protesters Dig In For Long Haul
Hundreds of student activists camped overnight at major protest sites in Hong Kong as the democracy movement sought to re-gather momentum after the government called off talks on defusing unrest in the global financial hub.Protests escalated late last month, after Beijing's decision on Aug. 31 to impose conditions that effectively would have stopped pro-democracy candidates from contesting an election of the city's chief executive set for 2017.
The occupation movement suffered a noticeable dip in support over the past week, but strong crowds of over 10,000 on Friday for rallies in the former British colony.
By Saturday evening, thousands of protesters had returned to join the stalwarts, including parents and children in a more relaxed, festival-like atmosphere. Scores more brought tents, foam and ground sheets to form a kind of sprawling urban campground hemmed in by towering skyscrapers.
"Hong Kong is my home, we are fighting for Hong Kong's future, our future," said Lawrence Chan, a 23-year-old media studies student, who has taken part in the protests from the outset.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Carrie Lam, who announced the postponement of talks with the students on Thursday because of their persistent calls to escalate action, said on Saturday that she hadn't given up hope of getting them on track again.
"It's most important that we must make clear the aim and nature of the meeting," she told reporters during a weekend trip to China, stressing that the dialog should center on Beijing's proposed framework for electoral reform in 2017.
Since taking to the streets around two weeks ago, the activists have blocked major roads around the government precinct in Admiralty, as well as the shopping districts of Central and Causeway Bay.
At Friday's rallies, protest leaders urged demonstrators to prepare for a protracted struggle instead of expanding the protests geographically. The protests have led to some resentment among the public because of traffic jams and loss of business. A few street fights have broken out that pitted the students against anti-occupy mobs and local gangsters or triads.
It was unclear how long Hong Kong authorities will tolerate the occupation or how the standoff might be resolved. For now, however, police presence remains thin with authorities seemingly reluctant to risk fresh flare-ups.
Riot police had cracked down on protesters massing near the government headquarters on Sept. 28, but the authorities have taken a softer line since. Police on Saturday again warned the protesters to leave.
Over one hundred colorful tents were sprinkled across the eight-lane Harcourt Road highway, among scores of red and blue portable marquees serving as supply and first aid stations; stocked with water, biscuits, noodles and cereals.
"We have tents here to show our determination that we're prepared for a long-term occupation," said Benny Tai, one of the leaders of the movement, who emerged bleary-eyed from a tent pitched outside the Hong Kong government's headquarters.
Ebola crisis: Britain and US step up measures to combat spread of virus
US authorities introduce new border checks at airports while UK stages exercise to test readiness of emergency services
Britain and the United States have stepped up measures to counter the
spread of Ebola as more people were isolated in Europe and Africa to
monitor them for symptoms of the deadly virus.
An eight-hour exercise was being held in various locations across Britain on Saturday to test how the country would deal with a potential outbreak of the virus, which has killed more than 4,000 people worldwide.
Actors have been used to simulate patients with symptoms of Ebola to test the response of emergency services, government ministers and health chiefs. The Department of Health has not disclosed where the exercises are taking place.
Meanwhile, US authorities are introducing new border checks at airports in the wake of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola outside Africa. Duncan had travelled to the US from Liberia, and was only diagnosed with the disease once he arrived in Dallas.
New York’s JFK airport is to start enhanced screening passengers from the west African countries worst affected by Ebola, and checks will begin in the next few days at another four: O’Hare in Chicago, Newark, Washington’s Dulles and Atlanta’s airport.
The move comes amid criticism of the failure to admit Duncan when he first went to the hospital in Texas and told staff of his recent arrival from Liberia, delaying his treatment by at least two crucial days and potentially exposing others to the virus. It took almost a week to clean the apartment where he stayed and health officials briefly lost track of a homeless man whom they were monitoring for Ebola symptoms.
But Dr Michael Osterholm, an expert on infectious disease at the University of Minnesota, warned there was yet no detailed national plan or protocol for Ebola. “Some states are much, much better prepared from a public health perspective to handle [an outbreak] than others,” he said.
The UK government said on Friday that passengers arriving at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the Eurostar rail terminal would also face screening, but the effectiveness of the move has been questioned by health experts.
Meanwhile, three more people are being monitored in a Madrid hospital for signs of Ebola, bringing to total number of those under observation in Spain to 16.
Teresa Romero, a nurse who contracted the virus after caring for two infected priests repatriated to Spain, remains seriously ill in hospital. She is so far the only person who has tested positive for Ebola through a transmission in Spain. But the case has raised concerns about contagion in Europe, and particularly Spain’s emergency planning to contain the spread of the often fatal virus.
If confirmed, this is the first known transmission of Ebola on US soil.
A top federal health official said there had been a clear breach of safety protocol and other cases could follow.
Dr Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said 48 people who may have had contact with Duncan were being monitored for symptoms.
He said a complete investigation would be conducted into how the infection had occurred at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
Duncan, who caught the virus in his native Liberia, died on Wednesday.
The current Ebola outbreak, concentrated in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, has resulted in more than 8,300 confirmed and suspected cases, and at least 4,033 deaths.
'High-risk procedures' No details of the health worker's identity or position at the hospital were given, in accordance with family wishes.
Dr Daniel Varga, of the Texas Health Resource, said she had worn a gown, gloves, mask and shield when providing care to Duncan during his second and final hospital admission.
All signs point to phishing. The hackers wormed their way into 90 servers. Their presence wasn't discovered for weeks. Given the length of the infiltration and the fact that not one of the 83 million accounts affected got drained, it seems unlikely that theft of funds was the immediate goal of the breach. Large financial institutions are constantly on the lookout for that kind of frontal attack.
The more likely scenario is that we are watching a multi-layered crime unfold in real time.
Step One Is Over. What's Step Two?
Much of the media coverage of the breach focused on the kind of information exposed -- names, addresses, emails, phone numbers -- as if that were good news, but in reality, it's a disaster waiting to happen.
Increasingly, the most expeditious way to drain money from a bank account is to get permission from the person whose name is on it. An expert forgery of a bank email, text message, website or courtesy phone call to elicit account details can effectively make the victim an unwitting aider and abettor in the theft of his or her own savings or identity. And these phishing attacks are increasingly nuanced, making discernment from legitimate bank correspondence no easy matter. That, my friends, is Step Two.
A weekend of peaceful daytime protests and nightly police standoffs
in St Louis was expected to continue on Sunday, after reported
disturbances in the suburb of Ferguson overnight.
On Saturday, a crowd organisers estimated at 3,000 marched through downtown St Louis to protest Brown’s death and other fatal police shootings of black males in the St Louis area and nationwide. Police reported no arrests or violent incidents as of late Saturday, when the protests fanned out to Ferguson.
But early on Sunday morning, several protesters made their way to the south St Louis neighborhood where another black 18-year-old was killed by a white police officer just days earlier. Protesters occupied a Quicktrip gas station convenience store and staged a sit-in, some sitting outside.
St Louis police chief Sam Dotson posted on Twitter that protesters were “attempting to storm” the business. He later posted that protesters were “throwing rocks at the police” and “arrests have been made for continued illegal behavior”.
WSOC-TV reported that First Sgt. Albert Marle was boarding US Airways Flight 1930 between Portland, Ore. and Charlotte Thursday when he asked the attendant if she could hang up his jacket to keep it from wrinkling. The flight attendant refused, claiming that the closet was for first-class passengers only.
An airline spokesman initially claimed that there was not enough space in the closet for the jacket, but passengers disagreed.
"She kept saying it was against company policy…it wasn't against company policy," first-class passenger Cliff Autrey told "Fox & Friends" Saturday. He said enlistees like Marle deserve everyone's support.
Another first-class passneger told WSOC that her "I was really appalled at not only the way she looked at him but the way she spoke to him in an angry type of attitude."
The station reported that Marle took his seat, declining offers to swap places with first-class passengers.
Marle's parents told the station that their son has been wearing his uniform at job interviews around the country and say his dream is to become a doctor.
Late Friday, US Airways apologized for the incident and said it was reviewing the incident. "We have a long and proud history of serving our military members and hold the men and women who serve our country in the highest regard," the airline's statement said, in part.
A spokesman also said the airline was trying to get in touch with Marle and thank him for his service.
On Sept. 4, Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna dismissed charges against Christopher Cleveland who was accused of taking pictures up women's skirts without their consent or knowledge at the Lincoln Memorial. Judge McKenna ruled that no person could "have a reasonable expectation of privacy" when "clothed and positioned" in the manner in which these women were in a public space (sitting on steps in a skirt).
Cleveland, a Virginia-native, was arrested in June 2013 when police found him taking pictures of women sitting on the steps of the memorial who were wearing dresses or skirts. After police arrested Cleveland, they found multiple upskirt photos of women's crotches and butts on his camera. Unfortunately, McKenna's ruling removed these images from being used as evidence.
“This Court finds that no individual clothed and positioned in such a manner in a public area in broad daylight in the presence of countless other individuals could have a reasonable expectation of privacy," McKenna wrote in her ruling.
She cited that the photographs "were not 'incidental glimpses' and in fact were images that were exploded to the public without requiring any extraordinary lengths, or in fact any lengths whatsoever, to view."
Although McKenna admitted that Cleveland's actions were "repellent and disturbing" she was not convinced that his actions of "photographing publicly exposed areas of women's clothed and unclothes bodies, including the upper portion of their buttocks and breasts visible through their clothing" was sufficient enough for officers to arrest him.
FYI: Just because women's bodies are in public, doesn't mean they're public property.
"The deployment of the Theatre Activation Team is a key step in arranging the initial preparations for the CAF units that will deploy in support of Operation IMPACT," Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said Saturday.
The team, comprising members from across the country, will depart from Trenton, Ont., next week.
Earlier this week, the House of Commons voted in favour of an air combat mission in Iraq.
The mission will see six CF-18s sent to war-torn Iraq to help protect civilians from the brutality of ISIS fighters.
Up to 600 supporting crew members will also be sent, along with two surveillance aircraft and a refuelling tanker.
Islamic State, as it now calls itself, is an extremist Sunni Muslim group commonly referred to by its former acronyms ISIS and ISIL. It is trying to establish its own state in eastern Iraq and parts of Syria.
The last time the Conservative government sent Canadian personnel into combat was in Libya in 2011.
Both the NDP and the Liberals voted with the government in favour of that mission.
The increases came in the final weeks of tight Senate races in each state that could decide whether Republicans can take Senate control from Democrats, according to the story by The Daily Caller.
In Louisiana, 2015 plans will be much costlier, according to The Times-Picayune.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, the exchange’s largest insurer, is
increasing prices 18.3 percent to 19.7 percent for three different
plans. More than 50,000 customers are currently covered by those plans.
However, the insurer isn’t hiking rates on customers with narrowed
networks in New Orleans, Baton Rouge or Shreveport.
Humana will up its exchange premium rates by 9.9 percent, after backing down from its initial proposal of 15.5 percent. Vantage Health Plan, like Blue Cross Blue Shield, is going ahead with its initial proposal, a 15.89 percent hike.
Iowa also approved large rate hikes Thursday. CoOportunity adjusted its premium hikes up to 19 percent on average. The other top exchange insurer, Coventry will increase rates by 8.7 percent.
The race for Iowa’s open Senate seat in November has pitted Republican Joni Ernst, who’s been heavily critical of the health-care law, against Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley, who supports ObamaCare.
To read more, click here:
On October 3 President Obama touted a milestone, the U.S. 5.9 percent unemployment rate. Under the Obama administration, the economy has experienced 55 months of job growth and added 10.3 million private sector jobs. Some experts predict that the U.S. will reach full employment by late 2016.
Nonetheless, U.S. voters aren't convinced. The October 1 AP-GfK poll found that 92 percent of likely voters called the economy, "an extremely or very important issue." Only 38 percent of likely voters described the economy as good. When asked which Party would do the best job handling the economy, 36 percent said Republicans versus 31 percent supporting Democrats.
In 2012 the Republican economic message was: "Where are the jobs?" In 2014 they've struggled to find a message other than: "Blame Obama." When asked about what seemed good to be economic good news, the 5.9 percent unemployment rate, House Speaker John Boehner quipped, "Instead of trying to convince Americans that things are great, Washington Democrats ought to show they're serious about helping middle-class families get ahead, not just get by." On October 2nd Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus unveiled 11 principles "for American renewal." The GOP economic principle was: "Start growing America's economy instead of Washington's economy so that working Americans see better wages and more opportunity."
Three reasons explain why Democrats have had difficulty gaining traction with a positive economic message.
An eight-hour exercise was being held in various locations across Britain on Saturday to test how the country would deal with a potential outbreak of the virus, which has killed more than 4,000 people worldwide.
Actors have been used to simulate patients with symptoms of Ebola to test the response of emergency services, government ministers and health chiefs. The Department of Health has not disclosed where the exercises are taking place.
Meanwhile, US authorities are introducing new border checks at airports in the wake of the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola outside Africa. Duncan had travelled to the US from Liberia, and was only diagnosed with the disease once he arrived in Dallas.
New York’s JFK airport is to start enhanced screening passengers from the west African countries worst affected by Ebola, and checks will begin in the next few days at another four: O’Hare in Chicago, Newark, Washington’s Dulles and Atlanta’s airport.
The move comes amid criticism of the failure to admit Duncan when he first went to the hospital in Texas and told staff of his recent arrival from Liberia, delaying his treatment by at least two crucial days and potentially exposing others to the virus. It took almost a week to clean the apartment where he stayed and health officials briefly lost track of a homeless man whom they were monitoring for Ebola symptoms.
But Dr Michael Osterholm, an expert on infectious disease at the University of Minnesota, warned there was yet no detailed national plan or protocol for Ebola. “Some states are much, much better prepared from a public health perspective to handle [an outbreak] than others,” he said.
The UK government said on Friday that passengers arriving at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the Eurostar rail terminal would also face screening, but the effectiveness of the move has been questioned by health experts.
Meanwhile, three more people are being monitored in a Madrid hospital for signs of Ebola, bringing to total number of those under observation in Spain to 16.
Teresa Romero, a nurse who contracted the virus after caring for two infected priests repatriated to Spain, remains seriously ill in hospital. She is so far the only person who has tested positive for Ebola through a transmission in Spain. But the case has raised concerns about contagion in Europe, and particularly Spain’s emergency planning to contain the spread of the often fatal virus.
Ebola: Health care worker tests positive at Texas hospital
A Texan health worker who
treated Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan before he died is also infected
with the virus, according to a preliminary test.
The unnamed woman, who is in a stable condition in an
isolation ward, wore full protective gear while treating Duncan,
officials in Dallas say.If confirmed, this is the first known transmission of Ebola on US soil.
A top federal health official said there had been a clear breach of safety protocol and other cases could follow.
Dr Tom Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said 48 people who may have had contact with Duncan were being monitored for symptoms.
He said a complete investigation would be conducted into how the infection had occurred at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital.
Duncan, who caught the virus in his native Liberia, died on Wednesday.
The current Ebola outbreak, concentrated in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, has resulted in more than 8,300 confirmed and suspected cases, and at least 4,033 deaths.
'High-risk procedures' No details of the health worker's identity or position at the hospital were given, in accordance with family wishes.
Dr Daniel Varga, of the Texas Health Resource, said she had worn a gown, gloves, mask and shield when providing care to Duncan during his second and final hospital admission.
The Real JPMorgan Data Breach Danger Is Still on Its Way
The olive branch after the deluge of news about the JPMorgan data breach that exposed the personally identifiable information of 83 million customers was that no bank account information, or more sensitive personal information like Social Security numbers, had been compromised. What got lost in that torrent of stories was the fact that the information that did get exposed could unleash the mother of all phishing attacks.All signs point to phishing. The hackers wormed their way into 90 servers. Their presence wasn't discovered for weeks. Given the length of the infiltration and the fact that not one of the 83 million accounts affected got drained, it seems unlikely that theft of funds was the immediate goal of the breach. Large financial institutions are constantly on the lookout for that kind of frontal attack.
The more likely scenario is that we are watching a multi-layered crime unfold in real time.
Step One Is Over. What's Step Two?
Much of the media coverage of the breach focused on the kind of information exposed -- names, addresses, emails, phone numbers -- as if that were good news, but in reality, it's a disaster waiting to happen.
Increasingly, the most expeditious way to drain money from a bank account is to get permission from the person whose name is on it. An expert forgery of a bank email, text message, website or courtesy phone call to elicit account details can effectively make the victim an unwitting aider and abettor in the theft of his or her own savings or identity. And these phishing attacks are increasingly nuanced, making discernment from legitimate bank correspondence no easy matter. That, my friends, is Step Two.
St Louis protests to continue after arrests made in Ferguson
- Protesters occupy gas station and stage sit-in early Sunday
- Police say arrests made for ‘continued illegal behavior’
On Saturday, a crowd organisers estimated at 3,000 marched through downtown St Louis to protest Brown’s death and other fatal police shootings of black males in the St Louis area and nationwide. Police reported no arrests or violent incidents as of late Saturday, when the protests fanned out to Ferguson.
But early on Sunday morning, several protesters made their way to the south St Louis neighborhood where another black 18-year-old was killed by a white police officer just days earlier. Protesters occupied a Quicktrip gas station convenience store and staged a sit-in, some sitting outside.
St Louis police chief Sam Dotson posted on Twitter that protesters were “attempting to storm” the business. He later posted that protesters were “throwing rocks at the police” and “arrests have been made for continued illegal behavior”.
US Airways slammed after flight attendant refuses to hang up Army Ranger's uniform jacket
US Airways has apologized after a flight attendant reportedly refused to hang an Army Ranger's uniform jacket in the aircraft's closet.WSOC-TV reported that First Sgt. Albert Marle was boarding US Airways Flight 1930 between Portland, Ore. and Charlotte Thursday when he asked the attendant if she could hang up his jacket to keep it from wrinkling. The flight attendant refused, claiming that the closet was for first-class passengers only.
"She kept saying it was against company policy…it wasn't against company policy," first-class passenger Cliff Autrey told "Fox & Friends" Saturday. He said enlistees like Marle deserve everyone's support.
Another first-class passneger told WSOC that her "I was really appalled at not only the way she looked at him but the way she spoke to him in an angry type of attitude."
The station reported that Marle took his seat, declining offers to swap places with first-class passengers.
Marle's parents told the station that their son has been wearing his uniform at job interviews around the country and say his dream is to become a doctor.
Late Friday, US Airways apologized for the incident and said it was reviewing the incident. "We have a long and proud history of serving our military members and hold the men and women who serve our country in the highest regard," the airline's statement said, in part.
A spokesman also said the airline was trying to get in touch with Marle and thank him for his service.
Upskirt Photos Don't Violate A Woman's Privacy, Rules D.C. Judge
Women can add public peeping toms to the long and ongoing list of things they need to protect themselves from.On Sept. 4, Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna dismissed charges against Christopher Cleveland who was accused of taking pictures up women's skirts without their consent or knowledge at the Lincoln Memorial. Judge McKenna ruled that no person could "have a reasonable expectation of privacy" when "clothed and positioned" in the manner in which these women were in a public space (sitting on steps in a skirt).
Cleveland, a Virginia-native, was arrested in June 2013 when police found him taking pictures of women sitting on the steps of the memorial who were wearing dresses or skirts. After police arrested Cleveland, they found multiple upskirt photos of women's crotches and butts on his camera. Unfortunately, McKenna's ruling removed these images from being used as evidence.
“This Court finds that no individual clothed and positioned in such a manner in a public area in broad daylight in the presence of countless other individuals could have a reasonable expectation of privacy," McKenna wrote in her ruling.
She cited that the photographs "were not 'incidental glimpses' and in fact were images that were exploded to the public without requiring any extraordinary lengths, or in fact any lengths whatsoever, to view."
Although McKenna admitted that Cleveland's actions were "repellent and disturbing" she was not convinced that his actions of "photographing publicly exposed areas of women's clothed and unclothes bodies, including the upper portion of their buttocks and breasts visible through their clothing" was sufficient enough for officers to arrest him.
FYI: Just because women's bodies are in public, doesn't mean they're public property.
Canadian Armed Forces team to leave for Iraq next week
About 120 Canadian Armed Forces members will join the fight against ISIS next week, the government announced Saturday."The deployment of the Theatre Activation Team is a key step in arranging the initial preparations for the CAF units that will deploy in support of Operation IMPACT," Defence Minister Rob Nicholson said Saturday.
The team, comprising members from across the country, will depart from Trenton, Ont., next week.
Earlier this week, the House of Commons voted in favour of an air combat mission in Iraq.
The mission will see six CF-18s sent to war-torn Iraq to help protect civilians from the brutality of ISIS fighters.
Up to 600 supporting crew members will also be sent, along with two surveillance aircraft and a refuelling tanker.
Islamic State, as it now calls itself, is an extremist Sunni Muslim group commonly referred to by its former acronyms ISIS and ISIL. It is trying to establish its own state in eastern Iraq and parts of Syria.
The last time the Conservative government sent Canadian personnel into combat was in Libya in 2011.
Both the NDP and the Liberals voted with the government in favour of that mission.
End the U.S. Embargo on Cuba
Scanning
a map of the world must give President Obama a sinking feeling as he
contemplates the dismal state of troubled bilateral relationships his
administration has sought to turn around. He would be smart to take a
hard look at Cuba, where a major policy shift could yield a significant
foreign policy success.
For
the first time in more than 50 years, shifting politics in the United
States and changing policies in Cuba make it politically feasible to
re-establish formal diplomatic relations and dismantle the senseless
embargo. The Castro regime has long blamed the embargo for its
shortcomings, and has kept ordinary Cubans largely cut off from the
world. Mr. Obama should seize this opportunity to end a long era of
enmity and help a population that has suffered enormously since
Washington ended diplomatic relations in 1961, two years after Fidel
Castro assumed power.
In recent years, a devastated economy has forced Cuba to make reforms — a process that has gained urgency with the economic crisis in Venezuela, which gives Cuba heavily subsidized oil. Officials in Havana, fearing that Venezuela could cut its aid, have taken significant steps to liberalize and diversify the island’s tightly controlled economy.
They have begun allowing citizens to take private-sector jobs and own property. This spring, Cuba’s National Assembly passed a law to encourage foreign investment in the country.
With Brazilian capital, Cuba is building a seaport, a major project
that will be economically viable only if American sanctions are lifted.
And in April, Cuban diplomats began negotiating a cooperation agreement
with the European Union. They have shown up at the initial meetings
prepared, eager and mindful that the Europeans will insist on greater
reforms and freedoms.
Louisiana, Iowa ObamaCare premiums rise by double digits
State regulators approved significant premium hikes on Louisiana and Iowa’s ObamaCare exchanges this week, with average increases in each state reaching double digits.The increases came in the final weeks of tight Senate races in each state that could decide whether Republicans can take Senate control from Democrats, according to the story by The Daily Caller.
Humana will up its exchange premium rates by 9.9 percent, after backing down from its initial proposal of 15.5 percent. Vantage Health Plan, like Blue Cross Blue Shield, is going ahead with its initial proposal, a 15.89 percent hike.
Iowa also approved large rate hikes Thursday. CoOportunity adjusted its premium hikes up to 19 percent on average. The other top exchange insurer, Coventry will increase rates by 8.7 percent.
The race for Iowa’s open Senate seat in November has pitted Republican Joni Ernst, who’s been heavily critical of the health-care law, against Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley, who supports ObamaCare.
To read more, click here:
It's Still the Economy, Stupid!
A month before the November 4 mid-term elections, the competition for control of the Senate is neck-and-neck. The improving U.S. economy hasn't increased Democratic prospects. What explains this?On October 3 President Obama touted a milestone, the U.S. 5.9 percent unemployment rate. Under the Obama administration, the economy has experienced 55 months of job growth and added 10.3 million private sector jobs. Some experts predict that the U.S. will reach full employment by late 2016.
Nonetheless, U.S. voters aren't convinced. The October 1 AP-GfK poll found that 92 percent of likely voters called the economy, "an extremely or very important issue." Only 38 percent of likely voters described the economy as good. When asked which Party would do the best job handling the economy, 36 percent said Republicans versus 31 percent supporting Democrats.
In 2012 the Republican economic message was: "Where are the jobs?" In 2014 they've struggled to find a message other than: "Blame Obama." When asked about what seemed good to be economic good news, the 5.9 percent unemployment rate, House Speaker John Boehner quipped, "Instead of trying to convince Americans that things are great, Washington Democrats ought to show they're serious about helping middle-class families get ahead, not just get by." On October 2nd Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus unveiled 11 principles "for American renewal." The GOP economic principle was: "Start growing America's economy instead of Washington's economy so that working Americans see better wages and more opportunity."
Three reasons explain why Democrats have had difficulty gaining traction with a positive economic message.
World stock markets slide as bad news mounts up
Fears of a global economic slowdown, tensions in the Middle East and the spread of the Ebola virus weighed on world shares
Global stock markets came under renewed pressure on Friday
in a widespread sell-off prompted by fears of a global economic
slowdown, tensions in the Middle East and the spread of the Ebola virus.
After another volatile week, the FTSE 100 slumped to its worst level since 9 October last year, falling 91.88 points or 1.4% to 6,339.97. The index fell for the third week in succession for the first time since March.
Since its recent peak of 6,878 in September, the FTSE has dropped about 8%, close to the 10% level which stock market analysts label as a correction.
Meanwhile Germany’s Dax dropped 2.4% on Friday to 8,788 and France’s Cac closed 1.6% lower at 4,073. After European markets had closed, Finland was stripped of its top-notch triple A rating and France warned it faced the risk of further downgrade to its AA rating. S&P was the first of the major ratings agencies to cut Finland’s prized rating because of its fear the country could suffer “protracted stagnation” and its exposure to Russia and the eurozone. Only Germany and Luxembourg remain triple A rating in the eurozone.
On Wall Street the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 334 points or nearly 2% on Thursday, made an uncertain start and closed down 0.69% on the previous day.
Emphasising the uncertainty facing US investors, the Vix volatility index jumped 8% to its highest level since December 2012.
Jasper Lawler, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said European markets had been hit by US investors liquidating their holdings. He said: “This week has seen the biggest weekly US outflow from European stocks in two months and total European assets held by US funds have dropped to $40bn (£25bn) down from nearly $50bn in June, according to Lipper data.”
While campaigning in Des Moines, Iowa Friday for Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Braley, she referred to him multiple times as “Bailey” before she was corrected by someone shouting from the audience.
The flub came despite a huge array of signs in the hall where she was speaking, all spelling Braley’s name correctly.
The first lady also referred to Braley as a Marine Corps veteran, which he is not. Braley’s staff said she meant to refer to his late father, Byard Braley, a Marine who fought at Iwo Jima.
Braley’s opponent in the Senate race, Republican Joni Ernst, is a member of the Army reserve and National Guard.
After being corrected on her candidate’s name, Obama said contritely, “I’ve been travelling too much.” When she did pronounce it correctly, she drew a cheer from the audience.
It didn’t take long for web pranksters to capitalize on Obama’s error. Clicking on the website votebrucebailey.com immediately redirects the user to Ernst’s campaign site.
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After another volatile week, the FTSE 100 slumped to its worst level since 9 October last year, falling 91.88 points or 1.4% to 6,339.97. The index fell for the third week in succession for the first time since March.
Since its recent peak of 6,878 in September, the FTSE has dropped about 8%, close to the 10% level which stock market analysts label as a correction.
Meanwhile Germany’s Dax dropped 2.4% on Friday to 8,788 and France’s Cac closed 1.6% lower at 4,073. After European markets had closed, Finland was stripped of its top-notch triple A rating and France warned it faced the risk of further downgrade to its AA rating. S&P was the first of the major ratings agencies to cut Finland’s prized rating because of its fear the country could suffer “protracted stagnation” and its exposure to Russia and the eurozone. Only Germany and Luxembourg remain triple A rating in the eurozone.
On Wall Street the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost 334 points or nearly 2% on Thursday, made an uncertain start and closed down 0.69% on the previous day.
Emphasising the uncertainty facing US investors, the Vix volatility index jumped 8% to its highest level since December 2012.
Jasper Lawler, a market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said European markets had been hit by US investors liquidating their holdings. He said: “This week has seen the biggest weekly US outflow from European stocks in two months and total European assets held by US funds have dropped to $40bn (£25bn) down from nearly $50bn in June, according to Lipper data.”
Michelle Obama repeatedly flubs candidate's name while campaigning for him
What’s in a name? For Michelle Obama, a whole lot of confusion.While campaigning in Des Moines, Iowa Friday for Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Braley, she referred to him multiple times as “Bailey” before she was corrected by someone shouting from the audience.
The first lady also referred to Braley as a Marine Corps veteran, which he is not. Braley’s staff said she meant to refer to his late father, Byard Braley, a Marine who fought at Iwo Jima.
Braley’s opponent in the Senate race, Republican Joni Ernst, is a member of the Army reserve and National Guard.
After being corrected on her candidate’s name, Obama said contritely, “I’ve been travelling too much.” When she did pronounce it correctly, she drew a cheer from the audience.
It didn’t take long for web pranksters to capitalize on Obama’s error. Clicking on the website votebrucebailey.com immediately redirects the user to Ernst’s campaign site.
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