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Georgia Baby Buggy Shooting: Two Arrested

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 23 Maret 2013 | 16.15

Two teenage boys have been arrested after a 13-month-old baby was shot dead as his mother pushed him in a buggy.

The two suspects - aged 14 and 17 - have been charged with murder over the death in the coastal community of Brunswick, Georgia, on Thursday.

The 17-year-old, identified as Demarquis Elkins, was charged as an adult, while the 14-year-old was not named because he is a minor.

Sherry West told police that two boys approached her and demanded money as she walked with 13-month-old Antonio in his buggy.

She said she told the muggers she had no money and tried to shield her boy, but one of them pushed her aside and shot the baby.

De'Marquise Elkins Demarquis Elkins is jointly accused of fatally shooting the baby

"I put my arms over my baby and he shoves me, and then he shot my baby right in the head," Ms West said.

She was shot in the leg and said her ear was grazed by a bullet.

The boy's father, Luis Santiago, told WAWS TV: "He was special ... He had the bluest, bluest eyes."

Police said before the arrests that they had been looking at school attendance records as part of their investigation.

Brunswick police spokesman Todd Rhodes asked the public for any tips or information that could lead to an arrest, and announced a $10,000 (£6,500) reward.


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyprus Bailout: MPs Stumble Towards Deal

Cyprus Bailout: Threat To Savings

Updated: 7:36am UK, Saturday 23 March 2013

By Ashish Joshi, Sky News Correspondent

Finally late into Friday night - an agreement on Plan B, meaning Cyprus has moved one giant step towards securing a Brussels bailout.

It includes a solidarity fund pooling together state assets and the granting of power to the Government to control bank capital.

The latter move is to prevent a run on the banks when their doors finally open on Tuesday.

There will also be a restructuring of the country's banks and a savings tax on Cypriot savers.

The details of the tax have still to be finalised, but the framework is in place.

It could mean savings over 100,000 euros held in Bank of Cyprus accounts being taxed up to 20%, according to one source close to the negotiations.

The same source said if that proposal is rejected there will be a plan to impose a tax of around 10% on all Cypriot bank accounts over 100,000 euros.

The threat of savers being hit hangs over the heads of people like Loizos Michael.

The 60-year-old tailor worked hard for 35 years, building up a good business.

He was looking forward to a wealthy retirement. Not anymore. Times are hard.

Speaking from his small tailor's shop in central Nicosia, Mr Michael said: "With the banks being closed, it is hard because I don't have a credit card and so cash flow is a problem.

"Even filling your car with petrol needs thinking about.

"Cypriots have always been workers by nature and nobody could have imagined that unemployment would be so high.

"This has hit us hard in the pockets."

Cyprus is weathering a storm - the likes of which this Mediterranean island has never faced in her young history.

Mr Michael said he knew things were getting bad, but expected solutions to be found to avoid ordinary people having to suffer.

"I expected something better. But now, it looks like the problem has been brewing for some time," he said.

"There used to be some people talking about the crisis, but now everyone's talking about it.

"I think things are harder now than just after the war. After the war of '74 people could still find work. Now, there is just no work so people have no money. What can we do?"

In the 1990s, Cyprus boasted a dynamic, booming economy, but it grew and unchecked.

An overbloated banking sector exposed to Greek debt has crippled the country's economy.

Now people like Loizos Michael must pay the price. He and the rest of Cyprus will soon find out exactly how much that is going to be.


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Obama To End Mid East Tour With Petra Visit

Barack Obama is closing his four-day trip to the Middle East with a trek around the ancient Jordanian city of Petra.

The US President is expected to fly to Petra by helicopter from Jordan's capital Amman.

A sudden sandstorm in the region threatened some of his travel plans on Friday, leading him to state the trip to Petra was "weather permitting".

The 24-hour visit to Jordan is Mr Obama's final stop in his Middle East visit - the first foreign trip of his second term as president.

Mr Obama arrived in Jordan on Friday for talks with King Abdullah II. The talks focused on the Syrian war and the influx of refugees into the country.

More than 400,000 Syrian refugees have crossed into Jordan to escape two years of bloodshed at home, crowding refugee camps and overwhelming aid agencies run by the US ally.

A tourist boy takes a picture of a camel at the Red Rose ancient city of Petra A young tourist takes a photo in the ancient city of Petra in 2012

The bulk of Mr Obama's time during his Middle East tour has been spent in Israel, where he sought to reassure an anxious public he is fully committed to their security.

He also made a brief stop in the West Bank city of Ramallah for meetings with Palestinian leaders.

In Israel, Mr Obama paid respects to the nation's heroes and to victims of the Holocaust. He also solemnly reaffirmed the Jewish state's right to exist.

After touring the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, he declared it illustrates the depravity to which man can sink but also serves as a reminder of the "righteous among the nations who refused to be bystanders".

Mr Obama was criticised in Israel for a speech in Cairo in 2009 in which he gave only the example of the Holocaust as reason for justifying Israel's existence.

In clear response to the criticism, whilst at Yad Vashem, he said: "Here on your ancient land, let it be said for all the world to hear. The state of Israel does not exist because of the Holocaust, but with the survival of a strong Jewish state of Israel, such a holocaust will never happen again."


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Syria Bombing Kills Pro-Assad Cleric Al Buti

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 22 Maret 2013 | 16.15

A suicide bombing at a Syrian mosque has killed a senior cleric and supporter of President Bashar al Assad, state television has said.

Mohammed al Buti - imam of the historic Ummayyad Mosque - was killed when a bomber blew himself up during packed evening prayers at the Iman Mosque in Damascus.

The Syrian health ministry said 42 people died in the bombing and 84 were injured.

Map of Damascus, Syria The attack took place at a mosque in Damascus

It is unclear if the explosion was caused by a car bomb or a mortar shell.

TV footage showed wounded people and bodies with severed limbs on the blood-stained floor of the mosque, which has since been sealed off by the military.

The Sunni preacher's death is a big blow to Syria's embattled minority Alawite leader, who is fighting mainly Sunni rebels who want to oust him.

The 84-year-old imam has been a vocal supporter of the Assad regime since the early days of his father and predecessor, the late President Hafez Assad.

In recent months, Syrian TV has carried his sermons from mosques in Damascus live every week.

He also has a regular religious TV programme.

In one of his televised speeches, Dr Buti had described the opposition to Mr Assad as "scum".

He also used his position to call on Syrians to join the armed forces and help Mr Assad defeat his rivals in the country's two-year-long rebellion.

He was remembered for a sermon he gave early in the conflict, in which he told the president he had had a vision that Syria would "receive God's wrath", but would survive.


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China: President Xi In Russia On First Trip

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent

The new Chinese president is in Russia for his inaugural foreign trip.

Xi Jinping will hold meetings with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin as part of a two day visit to Moscow.

President Xi, who was made Communist Party leader in November and installed as the country's president last week, will also hold meetings with the Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev.

He will attend the opening celebrations to mark 'Chinese Tourism Year' in Russia and will deliver a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

A meeting has also been scheduled with officials from the Russian Defence Ministry.

Since November there has been plenty of speculation over which country would be chosen for the first foreign trip.

Russia and China are historically allied together in a union which has countered western global interests.

Russian President Putin looks on during a news conference following EU-Russia summit in Brussels Vladimir Putin will meet the Chinese leader in Moscow

The two countries continue to share views on key global issues including Syria and Iran.

Moscow and Beijing both vetoed key UN resolutions on the Syrian crisis.

The two countries stand together, against the US-led stance on both Syria and Iran's disputed nuclear programme.

However, economics is the critical motivation for this trip.

Last year, just before his re-election to the presidency, Mr Putin said that he wanted to "catch the Chinese wind in our economic sail".

Russia is the world's largest energy producer. China is the world's largest user of energy and needs more of it.

Given the downturn in Europe, Russia needs a new customer. China wants to sign an agreement on a new natural gas pipeline with the Russians.

Peng Liyaun President Xi's wife Peng Liyuan is a well-known Chinese singer

"We will have some outcomes related to energy, investment and major projects of strategic importance. We expect some breakthrough on these pragmatic cooperation fields," Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told a press conference in Beijing.

Geo-politically, America's so-called pivot to Asia may also have prompted the Russia trip.

According to the Chinese Xinhua state-run news agency, President Xi has said that China and Russia should "strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs to safeguard world peace, safety and stability".

Xinhua said the pivot, which will see America re-focus its attention and its military to the Asia-Pacific region, represented a "strategic mistrust" of China.

Chinese-US relations are tense with Washington accusing Beijing of industrial-level state-sponsored computer hacking.

Despite that though, the new Chinese premier Li Keqiang insisted at a press conference last weekend that both countries were committed to closer ties.

"China and the United States have their own distinctive cultures but we must learn from each other to maintain strong ties," Premier Li said.

One other issue is the source of significant anticipation. In a marked departure from the style of his predecessor Hu Jintao, President Xi's wife is expected to play an active role in the trip.

Peng Liyuan is a well-known and glamorous Chinese singer.

In a move which will position her as a Chinese "first lady", Peng is expected be photographed with her husband and attend engagements in the Russian capital.

On Sunday, President Xi will travel from Moscow to Tanzania, South Africa and Congo; a sign of the vital connection China has with the African continent.


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Nicolas Sarkozy Faces Charges Over Corruption

Preliminary charges have been filed against Nicolas Sarkozy over allegations he took financial advantage of an elderly L'Oreal heiress.

The move means the former French president is under formal investigation, accused of accepting envelopes stuffed with cash from Liliane Bettencourt to illegally finance his 2007 election campaign.

The 90-year-old was declared in a state of dementia in 2006 and was placed under the guardianship of her family in 2011.

The preliminary charges were issued after Mr Sarkozy was questioned for several hours in a Bordeaux courthouse, according to the prosecutor's office. 

A statement said he had been placed under investigation "for taking advantage of a vulnerable person in February 2007 and during 2007 to the detriment of Liliane Bettencourt".

Under French law, preliminary charges mean the investigating magistrate has reason to believe wrongdoing was committed, but allows more time to investigate. The charges may later be dropped or could lead to a trial.

Mr Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog criticised the decision as "legally incoherent and unfair".

Earlier, the former president was unexpectedly summoned for a face-to-face encounter with Ms Bettencourt's ex-butler Pascal Bonnefoy over the claims.

Jean-Michel Gentil, the judge in charge of the case, was hoping the confrontation would allow him to establish how many times Mr Sarkozy visited Ms Bettencourt during his successful campaign.

The 58-year-old has always maintained he visited her home only once, contrary to testimony from several members of the multi-billionaire's staff.

So far, 17 people have been charged in the case.

Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the L'Oreal fortune leaves the L'Oreal-UNESCO prize for women in Paris Liliane Bettencourt, 90, has been in poor health for years

In November, magistrates decided not to formally charge Mr Sarkozy after a 12-hour interrogation but continued investigating the allegations against him.

Ms Bettencourt's former accountant told police in 2010 that she had handed envelopes filled with cash to the heiress' right-hand man, Patrice de Maistre, on the understanding it was to be passed on to Mr Sarkozy's campaign treasurer, Eric Woerth.

Mr Sarkozy lost his immunity from prosecution when he was defeated in the 2012 presidential election by Socialist Francois Hollande.

Since losing office he has had to contend with a string of allegations relating to his five years in power and various electoral campaigns he has been involved in.

As well as the Bettencourt case, he faces probes into alleged cronyism in the awarding of contracts for opinion polls, an illegal police investigation into journalists and alleged kickbacks on a Pakistani arms deal used to finance the right in 1995, when Mr Sarkozy was budget minister.

He has always denied any wrongdoing and remains popular with right-wing activists despite being regarded as a divisive figure among the swing voters who tend to decide French elections.


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Australia: Julia Gillard Challenge Called Off

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 21 Maret 2013 | 16.15

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has retained the leadership of the Labor party just hours after she was urged to hold a ballot.

Ms Gillard ensured she will lead the party into elections in September after her main rival Kevin Rudd admitted he did not have enough support to defeat her.

The prime minister called the vote after a senior MP said the issue was "killing" the party and needed to be resolved.

The vote was scheduled for 16:30 (05:30 GMT), but minutes before it was due to take place Mr Rudd pulled out, meaning Ms Gillard was elected unopposed, with no actual vote called.

She said: "Today the leadership of our political party, the Labor Party, has been settled and settled in the most conclusive fashion possible.

"The whole business is completely at an end. It has ended now."

Mr Rudd said he was honouring a pledge not to challenge for the top job made after a previous failed bid in 2012.

He said: "I believe in honouring my word... others take such commitments lightly, I do not.

"I have also said that the only circumstances under which I would consider a return to leadership would be if there was an overwhelming majority of the parliamentary party requesting such a return, drafting me to return and the position was vacant.

"I am here to inform you that those circumstances do not exist."

Polls suggest Mr Rudd has more public support than Ms Gillard, who is on course to lose the election to Liberal Party candidate Tony Abbott.

The latest crisis is the third time the prime minister has defeated Mr Rudd for the leadership, but she now faces a tough job to unify a deeply-divided party and turn around public support over the next six months.

"I think they're terminal. There is no way out of this," political analyst Nick Economou told Reuters.

Ms Gillard's leadership has been threatened for most of the past two years as her minority government lumbered from one crisis to another, despite an economy that avoided recession after the 2008 global crisis and has seen 21 years of continuous growth.

She first replaced Mr Rudd in a party coup in June 2010 but the move to oust an elected prime minister angered many voters, who have found it difficult to forgive her for the way she became leader.

Ms Gillard defeated Mr Rudd in a second leadership vote in February 2012, prompting her rival to promise that he would only take on the leadership again with the overwhelming support of his party.


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Mini 'Blood Labs' Can Predict A Heart Attack

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 20 Maret 2013 | 16.15

By Thomas Moore, Health Correspondent

A blood testing laboratory that is so small it can be implanted under the skin has been invented by Swiss scientists.

The device, which is just 1.4cm (0.5in) long, can check up to five different substances in the blood around the clock - and transmit the results to a doctor's computer.

The inventors say the tiny "lab-on-a-chip" could be used to give an early warning of a heart attack, or monitor cancer patients having chemotherapy.

Giovanni de Micheli of the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne said the chip can be "programmed" by coating it with chemicals which react with substances that doctors want to monitor.

"It comes in contact with fluids in the body," he said.

"The sensors react to the presence of particular compounds in the fluids and send the data outside."

Tiny implant to conduct blood tests Reactive chemicals on the chip provide the test results wirelessly

A patch on the surface of the skin powers the chip and transmits the information via Bluetooth to a smartphone or a tablet, which then relays it on to the doctor.

Sandro Carrara, another of the inventors, said the chip had huge potential.

"This device can predict a heart attack in advance by several hours thanks to the metabolites released by the heart when it is suffering," he said.

The prototype is being unveiled at DATE 13, (Design Automation & Test in Europe) Europe's largest electronics conference. The scientists hope the device will be commercially available within four years.


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Al Qaeda Says It Beheads French Hostage

Al Qaeda says it has beheaded a French hostage in reprisal for France's military intervention in Mali, according to reports.

Its North African arm claimed responsibility, Mauritania's ANI news agency reported, citing a commander for the group.

A French foreign office spokesman said they were trying to verify the report of the killing of Philippe Verdon, adding that "we don't know at the moment" whether it is reliable.

In a telephone call to the news agency, the group spokesman said Mr Verdon had been beheaded on March 10 "in response to the French military intervention in the north of Mali", ANI reported.

The AQIM commander described Mr Verdon as a French spy and said France's President Francois Hollande "bore the responsibility for the remaining hostages".

Mr Verdon and another Frenchman, Serge Lazarevic, were kidnapped from their hotel room on November 24, 2011, in the northern Mali town of Hombori.

Their families denied that the two men were mercenaries or secret service agents.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar It is not known whether Mokhtar Belmokhtar is dead or alive

The killing, if proved true, would be a worrying development for Mr Hollande.

Another 14 French hostages are detained in Western Africa, including seven believed to be held in the Sahel region by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and its affiliates.

In August last year a video showing Mr Verdon describing the "difficult living conditions" was released on a Mauritanian website.

The hostages' families have in recent weeks expressed growing fears for their loved ones in the light of France's military actions in Mali.

Earlier Tuesday, Mr Verdon's father Jean-Pierre, complained that the families were hearing nothing from the French authorities.

"We are in a total fog and it is impossible to live this way," he told RTL radio. "We have no information."

French soldiers on the ground in Timbuktu French soldiers on the ground in Timbuktu

Asked about France's refusal to pay ransoms to kidnappers, he replied that the families had no say in such "decisions of state".

Terror chief Mokhtar Belmokhtar, an AQIM leader and one of the world's most wanted men, had pledged revenge and vowed to attack western targets in Africa after France launched a campaign to help the country's embattled government drive Islamist militants out of northern Mali.

France now has more than 4,000 troops on the ground in Mali.

It launched a nine-week assault in January to dislodge the group and other Islamist militants who had hijacked a Tuareg rebellion in Sahel and seized the northern half of the country.

They were driven out from the main cities of Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, after which some 1,600 French and Chadian troops began searching for Islamist rebels in their pocket hideouts in the mountainous region of northern Mali.

When asked by the ANI news agency whether Belmokhtar had been killed, the AQIM commander neither denied nor confirmed it.

There have been conflicting reports on whether he was killed in the French military campaign against the rebels.

Soldiers from Chad fighting Islamists in Mali had claimed to have killed Belmokhtar, who is said to have been the mastermind behind the recent Algerian hostage crisis at a remote gas facility in the Algerian desert.

The one-eyed gangster, nicknamed Mr Marlboro because of his involvement in cigarette smuggling, had also been dubbed "The Uncatchable" by French intelligence after being linked to a series of kidnappings of foreigners in north Africa over the past decade.

France has been carrying out DNA tests to determine whether militant leaders Belmokhtar and Abdelhamid Abou Zaid are among those killed in recent fighting in Mali.


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Cyprus Looks To Russia Amid Bailout Chaos

Sacrificing Trust In The Banks

Updated: 8:16am UK, Wednesday 20 March 2013

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

I'm rather glad that the Pope managed to mention Abraham in his inaugural mass.

After all, of all the Old Testament, the tale of Abraham and Isaac is probably about the most comparable to the current imbroglio in Cyprus.

The father and guardian takes his son to the top of the mount, binds him and is on the point of sacrificing him when, at the last minute, God sends down an angel to stop him.

In an analogous way, the Cypriot government, on orders from on high (the eurogroup in this case, not God) has come to the brink of gouging an unprecedented tax out of its peoples' savings, and, at the last minute, seems to have been offered a reprieve.*

Now, if this were the Bible, the story would end there. Abraham's faith was tested, and he passed the test. Conveniently, the ancients glossed over the question of what this incident did to the father-son relationship.

However, this is not the Bible, and so we're left unpicking a relationship that has gone very wrong indeed. There is clearly a widespread sense of betrayal in Nicosia, and one can understand why.

Even if, as is the current plan, small savers with less than 20,000 euros in their accounts are let off the deposit tax, this episode will leave a lasting scar in place.

After all, the Government had spent the past few years insisting to savers that any deposits below 100,000 euros would be safe, protected by its deposit insurance scheme.

That it could subsequently play fast and loose with the bank accounts is unlikely to be forgotten.

Even if the Government were to stop short of a deposit tax, it's hard to see why savers wouldn't simply withdraw all their cash in droves when the banks reopen (whenever that is) – even if it's simply to put it underneath a mattress at home.

This episode has fatally undermined the element of trust in the banking system – something which is fundamental to the way capitalist economy functions in its current form.

Whether this triggers chaos elsewhere is difficult to predict. Markets have become more unsteady as the situation in Cyprus has deteriorated, but we haven't yet seen any kind of depositor panic elsewhere, for instance in Portugal and Spain.

However, the story in Cyprus is far from over. Anger is mounting, the parliamentary system is creaking under the weight of the demands coming over from Brussels, and the threats from Frankfurt to cut off emergency funding to the banks if the country doesn't co-operate haven't made them any more willing.

Short of a papal intervention, it's hard to imagine how to get a happy ending out of this story.

*Yes I know there are some inconsistencies. For instance, it's debatable whether the eurocrats have ditched the plan or whether it's simply being rejected by the government, the latter of which would be akin to Isaac breaking free of his bindings and escaping.

Plus, Isaac had not borrowed himself so far into penury that he was facing bankruptcy. Nor had he become a go-between for Russian tax avoiders but let's leave that aside for the time being.


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Cyprus Urged To Protect Savings Under 100k

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 19 Maret 2013 | 16.15

Eurozone finance ministers have urged Cyprus to protect savers with less than 100,000 euros (£86,000) in their accounts from a proposed tax on bank deposits.

Under a bailout deal agreed with the EU, Cyprus planned to impose a levy of 6.7% on all savings below that level.

The scheme was then changed to a 6.7% tax on all savings between 20,000 and 100,000 euros and 9.9% on all savings over 100,000 euros.

But the finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup, said they favoured a higher, 15.6% tax on richer savers in order to protect those with smaller deposits.

A statement from the group's president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said: "The Eurogroup continues to be of the view that small depositors should be treated differently from large depositors and reaffirms the importance of fully guaranteeing deposits below 100,000 euros."

Sparing more modest savers in favour of the higher rate on bigger deposits, would not impact on the overall amount of the bailout - 10bn euros (£8.6bn) - the group said.

Cypriot security guards stand outside the parliament building in Nicosia Protesters gathered outside the parliament in Nicosia

On Saturday the Eurogroup told debt-ridden Cyprus it would not give it a bailout unless it recouped some of the money it needed from savers.

The scheme had the potential to affect thousands of Britons who had either moved to Cyprus to live or had money saved in Cypriot accounts.

Russia, whose citizens are thought to have up to $30bn of their cash tied up in Cypriot accounts, was left furious by the proposal.

Cyprus may still ignore the advice from the Eurogroup and its parliament is expected to vote on a plan to save its economy on Tuesday.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said Britain had been "separated" from contributing towards the bailout, adding that 3,000 Britons in the country would not suffer in the proposed raid on bank savings.

Cyclists look at boats in a marina near Limassol, a coastal town in southern Cyprus Large numbers of Russian millionaires have stashed savings in Cypriot banks

It is believed, however, that many British Cypriots may have millions in accounts that are not protected by UK rules.

It was also unclear whether British troops serving in Cyprus who had set up large savings accounts would be able to escape the tax.

Cyprus had been due to vote on the levy on Sunday but it was first pushed back until Monday and then Tuesday.

Banks were closed in the country on Monday because of a bank holiday, which prevented people withdrawing their money but cash machines across the island were emptied.

Branches will stay shut for another two days - Tuesday and Wednesday - to prevent people removing all their cash while the authorities decide what to do.

CYPRUS-ECONOMY-FINANCE-EU-BANKING A large amount of cash was withdrawn from Cypriot banks on Monday

The decision to target bank accounts stunned Cypriots, and police sealed off parliament as about 400 people staged a noisy protest outside, aggrieved that their small island of one million people should be singled out for such treatment.

It is the first time within the EU that it has been proposed to tax savers in a country to pay for the failings of their government.

The euro and stock markets fell on concern that developments in tiny Cyprus could reignite the financial crisis in the 17-nation eurozone.

If Cyprus does tax large savers heavily there are fears that money could flood out of the country as two thirds of deposits are from abroad.


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India: Bus Plunges Off Bridge Killing Dozens

At least 37 people have been killed after a bus packed with passengers crashed through a barrier and fell several metres off a bridge in western India.

The vehicle was travelling overnight from the beach resort state of Goa to Mumbai when the driver suddenly lost control in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, police said.

Most of the injured, including the driver, suffered head and arm injuries and were being treated at a local hospital.

The cause of the accident, which happened in the Khed area about 125 miles south of Mumbai, was not immediately clear.

Pictures from the scene showed the bus lying on its roof next to a bridge after falling to the banks of the Jagbudi river.

The vehicle had landed on a dried-up patch of land next to low-lying water.

Rescuers and bystanders look at the wreckage of a passenger bus after it fell from a bridge in Ratnagiri district Police said the driver suddenly lost control

It had a capacity of 55 passengers, but police official Mahendra Singh Pardeshi said it was not known how many people were on board.

About 110,000 people were killed in Indian road accidents in 2011 - more than 300 every day - according to figures from the National Crime Records Bureau.

Bad roads, speeding vehicles and poor driving were among the contributing factors, and bus crashes with death tolls in double figures far from rare.

The Ratnagiri crash came a day after a senior official revealed over 800 people have died in accidents on the Mumbai-Goa highway in the last three years.

Maharashtra's home minister R R Patil said 828 people died and 2,411 were seriously injured between 2010 and the end of 2012, the Press Trust of India reported.


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Pope Francis Officially Starts Papacy

Francis has officially begun his ministry as the 266th pope, receiving the ring and pallium symbolising his new papal powers at a grand ceremony at the Vatican.

The pallium is a strip of lambswool that represents the Pope's role as a shepherd and the Fisherman's Ring is named in honour of the first pope St Peter, a fisherman by trade.

A cardinal intoned the rite of inauguration at the start of the Mass, saying: "The Good Shepherd charged Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep; today you succeed him as the bishop of this church."

Pope Francis The Pope kissed several babies as he toured the square

The ceremony is being held in sun-drenched St Peter's Square before tens of thousands of people, including 132 world leaders. The Queen and Prime Minister David Cameron are absent.

During the Mass, six cardinals approached the Argentine-born pope to vow their obedience.

Before the lavish ceremony started, Francis toured a crammed St Peter's Square, where he kissed babies and blessed a disabled man.

The Fisherman's Ring of Pope Francis The Fisherman's Ring

In another sign of the informality that is already a mark of his papacy, Francis abandoned the bullet-proof popemobile frequently used by his more formal predecessor Benedict, to tour the sprawling square in bright sunshine.

"Go Francis! We Will Be With You Wherever You Go!" read a sign held up by a group of Brazilian nuns in St Peter's Square.

Sister Rosa, an elderly Italian nun, said she expected the pope would be "another St Francis on Earth for love, goodness, poverty and humility".

Crowds had been pouring into the square and surrounding streets since before dawn.

Francis stopped frequently to greet the crowd and kiss babies held up to him. He got out of the vehicle at one point to bless a disabled man.

Pope Francis arrives in Saint Peter's Square for his inaugural mass at the Vatican The crowds had begun gathering from the early morning

The Mass, which started at 8.30am, GMT, formally installed  Francis as the new leader of the world's 1.2bn Roman Catholics.

The former archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the surprise choice at a conclave of cardinals to find a successor to 85-year-old Benedict XVI, who last month brought a sudden end to a papacy, saying he was too old to carry on.

He was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages.

Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner is among those present for the inauguration.

She met the Pope at the Vatican on Monday in what had the potential to be a tense meeting.

Pope Francis abandoned the bullet-proof popemobile

She and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner, defied church teaching to push through a series of measures with popular backing in Argentina, including mandatory sex education in schools, free distribution of contraceptives in public hospitals and the right for transsexuals to change their official identities on demand.

In 2010, Argentina became the first Latin-American country to legalise same-sex marriages.

But today those differences appear to have been brushed aside. Kirchner gave the Pope a mate gourd and straw to hold the traditional Argentine tea that the new leader of the Catholic church loves. To her surprise, she got a kiss in return.

"Never in my life has a Pope kissed me!" Ms Fernandez said afterward.


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Five Arrested Over Tourist Gang Rape In India

Written By Unknown on Senin, 18 Maret 2013 | 16.15

Five villagers in India have confessed to the gang rape of a Swiss tourist, according to police.

The woman was on a cycling holiday with her husband in the impoverished state of Madhya Pradesh state when they were attacked.

The five men were all arrested after they admitted to the crime.

Senior police officer D K Arya said detectives were searching for two more men involved in the attack.

The couple told police that the woman had been raped by seven or eight men, but that it was dark and they could not be sure of the exact number, Mr Arya said.

The alleged rapists live in a village near the forested area where the couple had stopped to camp for the night.

They were en route to the popular tourist destination of Agra in northern India.

"They were passing by, noticed the couple putting up their tent and saw an opportunity to attack and rape the woman,"  local police official M S Dhodee said.

It is believed the man was beaten and tied to a tree while his wife was sexually assaulted.

The woman, who is thought to be around 39, was treated in hospital but released on Saturday.

Security official at scene after Swiss tourists gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh state, India Police at the scene of the attack

The Swiss embassy said it was in touch with local authorities in Madhya Pradesh and has urged a "swift investigation and for justice to be done".

The attack comes just a few days after the man accused of leading the fatal gang rape of a student on a New Delhi bus was found hanged in his prison cell.

Police say Ram Singh took his own life in the high-security Tihar jail, where he had been on suicide watch in an isolated cell.

The case made headlines around the world and raised the issue of sexual violence against women in India.

The student's internal injuries were so horrific she died two weeks later in a hospital in Singapore despite surgery to try to save her.

Four other men and a juvenile are on trial for that attack.

One woman is raped every 20 minutes in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

But police estimate only four out of 10 rapes are reported, largely due to victims' fear of being shamed by their families and communities.


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Cyprus Bailout: Savings Tax Could Be Cut

Officials in Cyprus are reportedly trying to renegotiate a eurozone bailout deal in order to soften the impact of a levy on smaller savers.

Authorities had planned a 6.7% tax on deposits under 100,000 euros (£85,454), triggering queues at cash machines as people in Cyprus rushed to withdraw their money.

But the country's government is thought to be discussing cutting the tax rate to 3% while raising the rate for deposits over 100,000 euros from 9.9% to 12.5%.

In exchange for the levy, Cyprus will receive 10bn euros (£8.54bn) in aid to help recapitalise banks.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades held talks with his cabinet

World markets have reacted negatively this morning, with many losing more than 2% and the FTSE dropping 1.6%.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who was elected just three weeks ago, said the island had to accept a painful compromise or face bankruptcy.

In a televised address, he said the bailout "will eventually stabilise the economy and lead it to recovery".

Monday is a national holiday in Cyprus and measures need to be approved before banks open again on Tuesday.

Depositors in the eurozone's weaker economies have been unnerved by the levy, with investors fearing it will set a precedent that could reignite market turmoil.

Their uncertainty could be reflected when European markets open later, with the euro having already seen sharp falls in Asia.

British government and military personnel in Cyprus will be protected from any levy on their bank deposits.

Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News that Britain had been "separated" from contributing towards the bailout, adding that 3,000 Britons in the country would not suffer in the proposed raid on bank savings.

The tax on deposits in Cyprus, which accounts for only 0.2% of the eurozone's economy, is expected to raise up to 6bn euros (£5bn).

Tho logo of the Bank of Cyprus is seen at one of its branches in Athens Savers have queued to withdraw their money from cash machines across Cyprus

Those affected will include rich Russians with deposits in Cyprus and Europeans who have retired to the island, as well as Cypriots themselves.

The size of foreign deposits in Cyprus - estimated at 37% of the total - was one reason the eurozone agreed to the tax on savings.

It will apply to all deposits held in banks within Cyprus, including an estimated 2bn euros (£1.75bn) of British money, according to the European Central Bank.

It will not affect deposits held in the UK branches of Cypriot banks, such as Bank of Cyprus, whose UK subsidiary is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

However, Laiki Bank UK said on its website: "Your eligible deposits with Laiki Bank UK are protected up to a total of 100,000 euro (£87,000) by the Cyprus Deposit Protection Scheme and are not protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

"Any deposits you hold above the 100,000 euro limit are not covered."

Cypriot banks lost 4.5bn euros (£3.8bn) - equal to a quarter of the island's gross domestic product - when eurozone leaders decided to write off Greek debt last year.

As part of its bailout deal, corporate tax will rise from 10% to 12.5%, while state assets will be sold off to help balance the public finances.

Cuts to government worker salaries and pensions have already been approved.


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Canada: Helicopter Used In Movie-Style Jailbreak

Two inmates climbed up a rope into a hijacked helicopter as they staged a Hollywood-style prison break in Canada.

Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36, and 33-year-old Danny Provencal made their escape from Quebec's Saint Jerome jail northwest of Montreal - but were recaptured hours later.

The pair were arrested along with two others around 30 miles away, with Provencal eventually surrendering peacefully after barricading himself inside a building.

Quebec Provincial Police Sgt Benoit Richard said wardens told officers that Hudon-Barbeau and Provencal had grabbed a rope dropped from the helicopter to make their getaway.

He said helicopter used in the escape on Sunday afternoon was tracked to Mont Tremblant, around 53 miles away from the jail, but that only the pilot was still at the scene.

He added that the pilot - who he described as "an important witness" - was taken to a local hospital and was treated for shock.               

A Montreal radio station, 98.5 FM, said it received a call on Sunday from a man claiming to be Hudon-Barbeau, who said he was "ready to die" as he tried to evade police.

"The way they're treating me in there, it's unreal," the man told the radio station.

"They won't let me be. They put me back in prison for nothing."

Authorities did not immediately respond to the claims made in the radio station interview.

Police say Hudon-Barbeau was arrested in November on two firearm-related charges and associating with people who have a criminal record.

The arrest came as part of an investigation of a double murder in Quebec.

Yves Galarneau, the correctional services manager who oversees the jail, said he had never seen anything like the dramatic escape in more than three decades on the job.

"As far as I know, it's a first in Quebec," he said. "It's exceptional."


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China President Calls For 'Great Renaissance'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 17 Maret 2013 | 16.15

China's new president Xi Jinping has said he will fight for a "great renaissance of the Chinese nation" in his first speech as head of state of the world's most populous country.

Mr Xi called for "arduous efforts for the continued realisation of the great renaissance of the Chinese nation and the Chinese dream" in a speech to delegates at the National People's Congress (NPC) parliament meeting in Beijing.

Calls for such a revival in the world's second-largest economy have been a motif of Mr Xi's speeches since he took the top post in China's ruling communist party in November, but he has not given a detailed account of the phrase's meaning.

He called for the armed forces to strengthen their ability to "win battles and ... firmly protect national sovereignty and security".

The speech also touched on corruption, which he has called a threat to the Communist Party's grip on power, and Mr Xi urged delegates to "oppose hedonism, and flamboyant lifestyles, and firmly fight against negative and corrupt phenomena".

Mr Xi stressed continuity with previous Chinese leaders, thanking outgoing president Hu Jintao and celebrating the past achievements of the ruling party.

The speech formally brought the almost two-week long NPC meeting to a close, and was followed by China's new premier, Li Keqiang, stepping into spotlight for a rare news conference.

Mr Li, who has taken over day-to-day running of the government and is number two in the ruling party, pledged to strengthen economic reforms.

"What the market can do, we should release more to the market, what society can do well, we should give to society. The government should be in charge of and manage well the issues that it ought to govern."

But he did not give any specific examples of planned changes.

Mr Li went on to say "practising frugality in government affairs" across the country would help "win" the trust of the people.

Public discontent over China's unequal wealth distribution is commonly directed towards officials, who are often viewed as being corrupt, and is a key concern for authorities anxious to avoid social unrest among China's 1.35 billion people.


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Pregnant Lacrosse Coach Killed In Bus Crash

A lacrosse coach who was six months pregnant has been killed in a crash in Pennysylvania after her team bus veered off the road and hit a tree.

Katrina Quigley, 30, and her unborn child were both killed in the accident as well as the bus driver.

The Seton Hill University team players and coaches were among 23 people on the bus when it veered off the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Ms Quigley, from Greensburg, was flown to a hospital but died of her injuries. Authorities said her unborn child also did not survive.

The bus driver, Anthony Guaetta, 61, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, died at the scene.

The collision appeared to have shorn away the front left side of the bus, which rested upright about 70 yards (65m) from the road at the bottom of a grassy slope.

No other vehicle was involved and the cause was not immediately clear to detectives.

The team was heading to an afternoon game at Millersville University, around 50 miles from the crash site in central Pennsylvania.

Saturday's game and a Sunday home game were cancelled after the crash, which is now being investigated by police.

Seton Hill, a Catholic school of about 2,500 students near Pittsburgh, said a memorial Mass was planned for Sunday night on campus.

Ms Quigley, a native of Baltimore, was married and had a young son, according to the school.


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Cyprus Postpones Vote On Savings Raid Bailout

Cyprus's parliament has postponed its decision on whether savers must pay a levy on bank deposits under terms for an international bailout to avert bankruptcy.

The vote which was due to take place later this afternoon has been pushed back to Monday.

The eurozone demand that savers pay up to 10% of deposits as a condition for the 10bn euro (£8.6bn) bailout has drawn criticism and anger in the eastern Mediterranean island.

Queues of people gathered at its cash machines on Saturday as they tried to withdraw their money ahead of the move.

And the country's cooperative banks had to shut their doors after seeing a rush of savers keen to protect their money.

Savers could apparently withdraw money but were not able to carry out electronic transfers.

Newly-elected Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said refusing the bailout would have led to the collapse of the island's two largest banks, badly burnt by their exposure to bailed out neighbour Greece.

The tax on deposits in Cyprus, which accounts for only 0.2% of the eurozone's economy, is expected to raise up to 6bn euros (£5bn) as a condition for the bailout, mainly needed to recapitalise banks.

Those affected will include rich Russians with deposits in Cyprus and Europeans who have retired to the island as well as Cypriots themselves.

Cyprus' President Anastasiades and Germany's Chancellor Merkel speak at a European Union leaders summit in Brussels Nicos Anastasiades with Angela Merkel in Brussels

The size of foreign deposits in Cyprus - estimated at 37% of the total - was one reason the eurozone agreed to the tax on savings, to take effect when banks reopen on Tuesday.

The tax will apply to all deposits held in banks within Cyprus, including an estimated 2bn euros (£1.75bn) of British money, according to the European Central Bank.

However, it will not affect deposits held in the UK branches of Cypriot banks, such as Bank of Cyprus, whose UK subsidiary is regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The country has a large British expatriot community, among them David Symonds who lives in Limassol.

He told Sky News: "Everybody was surprised. We were assured only a few days ago that the haircut on the deposits was a red line for the government.

"When we learned that it might become a possibility we were told it would only be on deposits above 100,000 euros. Now of course we know it affects everybody."

Cyprus was badly hit by the Greek financial crisis because of its close links to the country.

Its two largest banks saw combined losses of 4.5bn euros (£3.8bn) - equal to a quarter of the island's gross domestic product.

The rescue package was agreed after 10 hours of talks in Brussels and was significantly less than the 17bn euros (£14.7bn) asked for.

As part of the deal, the government will also have to hike corporate tax to 12.5% from 10% and sell off state assets to help balance the public finances.


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