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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
October 1 - 7, 2011
World News EU ‘faces its greatest challenge’ – Head of EU THE HEAD of the European Commission has told Euro MPs that Greece will stay in the eurozone, but warned that the EU was facing its “greatest challenge”. Appealing for patience over the Greek debt crisis in his annual State of the Union address, Manuel Barroso said: “This is not a sprint but a marathon.” Proposing a controversial financial transactions tax and eurobonds, he urged greater economic integration. There were new protests in Athens ahead of a visit by international lenders. The so-called troika, made up of the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF), are assessing Greece’s eligibility for further bailout money. A key obstacle to the payment was removed on Tuesday when the Greek parliament passed a controversial new property tax bill, first announced earlier this month, that aims to boost revenues. Outside parliament, on Syntagma Square, riot police fired tear gas, and reportedly used truncheons, to break up a protest by about 1,000 demonstrators. Greek tweeters complained that local media were playing down the use of force by police to disperse anti-austerity protesters from the “indignant” movement. “Strategy of police and government is obviously not to let people gather and demonstrate peacefully in Syntagma,” tweeted one leading blogger, @irategreek. ‘EMOTIONAL ARGUMENTS’ Mr Barroso’s comments about Greece remaining in the eurozone were met with applause in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “Greece must implement its commitments in full and on time,” Mr Barroso added. “In turn, the other euro area members have pledged to support Greece and each other.” Speaking about the scale of the crisis, the European Commission
Police and protesters clashed in Athens on Tuesday evening.
chief said: “We are today faced with the greatest challenge our union has known in all its history.” However, he argued, it was both “possible” and “necessary” to overcome it. He urged stronger EU central government, saying the alternative was “more fragmentation”. “I think this is going to be a baptism of fire for a whole generation,” he added. Commentators noted that Mr Barroso, who at one point quoted Nelson Mandela saying “it always seems impossible until it is done”, had delivered an impassioned defence of the the EU and euro. “At last some emotional arguments in the defence of European Union,” tweeted Belgian EU official Rolf Falter (@rolfalter). UK OBJECTIONS On the financial transactions tax, Mr Barroso said the financial services sector must “make a contribution”. The European Commission’s support for the measure, analysts note, puts it on a collision course with the UK, where Chancellor George Osborne has warned that such taxes could drive investment out of Europe and threaten the interests of the City of London. A UK Treasury source told the BBC on Wednesday that the British Government would only agree to such a tax if it had been agreed globally. If there was a formal proposal for such a tax on all 27 EU states, “we
would absolutely resist that”, the source said. Mr Barroso also argued that eurobonds would be “advantageous” for the EU. “Once the euro area is fully equipped with the instruments necessary to ensure both integration and discipline, the issuance of joint debt will be seen as a natural and advantageous step for all,” he said. Mr Barroso said monetary union should be completed by economic union, and the Commission would present plans in the coming weeks “It was an illusion to think that we could have a common currency and a single market with national approaches to economic and budgetary policy,” he said. Discussions in Athens between the troika and Greek officials are expected to begin on Thursday. The Commission, ECB and IMF officials will be deciding whether to release about 8bn euros ($11bn; £7bn) from a 110bn bailout package agreed last summer. Anyone who does not pay the new property tax risks having their power cut off. The tax is one of a number of austerity measures Athens is introducing, measures that saw Greece’s budget deficit fall by more than 5 percentage points in 2010, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Tuesday. Speaking in Berlin, he said Greece would fulfill its obligations and hoped to be without a primary deficit from 2012. (BBC)
Strauss-Kahn confronted by rape accuser Banon
Ex-IMF chief Dominique StraussKahn and the French writer who accuses him of attempted rape have confronted each other as part of a police inquiry. Police are investigating Tristane Banon’s complaint before prosecutors decide whether to press charges. Mr Strauss-Kahn is said to admit making “an advance” on Ms Banon, but denies any violence, and is suing for slander.
She made the allegations in June, when Mr Strauss-Kahn was accused of rape in New York; that case was later dropped. The confrontation took place at a Paris police station without lawyers present, but with police officers in the room. Police confrontations are held when two people in a case give different versions of events. Mr Strauss-Kahn left the police station a couple of hours after arriving
without making any comments. Both parties have been interviewed by police over the alleged incident. Ms Banon, 32, has said she is keen to confront her alleged attacker. “I want him in front of me so he can look into my eyes and say to my face that I imagined it.” Ms Banon alleges she had to fight off Mr Strauss-Kahn, 62, “with kicks and punches” when he tried to rip off her clothes during an interview at Paris flat in 2003.
Authorities say Rezwan Ferdaus planned to use a remote-controlled plane similar to the one shown above to attack the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol building.
Possible terrorist arrest in US – Planned to blow up Pentagon and US Capitol with homemade drones A MASSACHUSETTS man with a degree in physics was busted Wednesday for plotting to blow up the Pentagon and the US Capitol with homemade drones, officials said. Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, planned to fill two remote-controlled model airplanes with C-4 explosives and hand grenades and direct them into the iconic Washington buildings, said US Attorney Carmen Ortiz. The feds said he purchased the model airplanes, one a replica of a Navy F-4 Phantom jet with a Playboy logo on its tail, using the name of former Yankee great Dave Winfield. Ferdaus was arrested Wednesday morning after he obtained 25-pounds of C-4 explosives, three grenades and six automatic AK-47 assault rifles from FBI agents posing as Al Qaeda operatives. “The conduct alleged today shows that Mr. Ferdaus had long planned to commit violent acts against our country,” Ortiz said. “Thanks to the diligence of the FBI and our many other law enforcement partners, that plan was thwarted.” Ferdaus had been under surveillance by the FBI since March. The Northeastern University physics grad, an American citizen, had vowed to commit violent “jihad” against the United States as far back as early 2010, according to a federal complaint. In one of several secretly recorded phone conversations, he claimed he targeted the Pentagon and US Capitol because he wanted to “severely disrupt ... the head and heart of the snake,” according to the complaint. Ferdaus of Ashland, Mass, went as far as obtaining cell phones modified to act as bomb detonating devices,
the complaint charges. He provided the phones to the undercover FBI agents along with videotaped instructions on how to use them. When told the phones were used to set off explosives in Iraq that killed three US soldiers and injured up to five others, Ferdaus said, “That was exactly what I wanted,” according to the complaint. “I want the public to understand that Mr. Ferdaus’ conduct, as alleged in the complaint, is not reflective of a particular culture, community or religion,” Ortiz said. “In addition to protecting our citizens from the threats and violence alleged today, we also have an obligation to protect members of every community, race, and religion against violence and other unlawful conduct.” Ortiz said the public was never in danger because Ferdaus was being watched closely. “Today’s arrest was the culmination of an investigation forged through strong relationships among various Massachusetts law enforcement agencies to detect, deter, and prevent terrorism,” said Richard DesLauriers, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office. If convicted, Ferdaus faces up to 15 years in prison. Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, praised the arrest of Fedaus, saying he had been briefed on the investigation over the last several months. “The fact that Ferdaus is a very well-educated physicist should serve as a reminder to us that the threat of Islamic terrorism transcends socioeconomics and does not only emanate from the poor and underprivileged,” King said.