Margaret Thatcher dies
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died peacefully on Monday morning following a stroke. She was 87 years old. The death of the politician, known as the Iron Lady, was confirmed by her spokesman Lord Bell. “The Queen was sad to hear the news of the death of Baroness Thatcher,”Buckingham Palace said in a [...]
Eurozone finance ministers approve bailout deal for Cyprus
The Eurogroup has approved a deal on a €10 billion bailout for Cyprus, struck early Monday in Brussels. Cyprus avoids exiting the eurozone, but will have its second largest bank closed with heavy losses expected for big depositors. “The size of financial assistance will amount to 10 billion euro,” Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem has announced at a [...]
Thousands march in Paris against same-sex marriage and adoption
Tens of thousands of French families, activists and conservatives have marched in Paris protesting against a bill that if passed would allow same-sex marriage and adoption. Police fired teargas to prevent protesters from entering the Champs Elysees. Demonstrators gathered Sunday in the center of the French capital for a final mass protest against the controversial [...]
Cyprus, Troika agree to 20% tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at Bank of Cyprus
Cyprus and the Troika have agreed to a 20 per cent tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and 4 per cent on deposits held at other banks. A senior Cypriot official told Reuters that a plan to tap nationalized pension funds would not be a part of a plan to [...]
Cypriot parliament approves ‘solidarity fund,’ allows capital controls
In a bid to secure an EU bailout, the Cypriot parliament has adopted laws creating a “solidarity fund” to pool assets as the basis for an emergency bond issue and allowing the government to impose capital controls for the country’s banks. Nicosia introduced emergency legislation in the parliament late on Thursday to secure a bailout [...]
Cypriot parliament votes against deposit levy
The Cypriot parliament has voted against a revised bank deposit levy. The tax was meant to shave 9.9% off any deposits over €100,000 and has since caused uproar in the country. Thirty six deputies voted against the proposal to tax bank deposits in the 56-member chamber, while 19 abstained. One deputy was not present for [...]
Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio named as new Pope, to be called Pope Francis I
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, of Argentina has been elected as Pope. He is the first Pope from Latin America in the history of the Catholic Church. The new Pope was announced by French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran from a balcony over the main doors of St. Peter’s Basilica as thousands of onlookers cheered from the [...]
BERLIN ‘Don’t tear down this wall!’
Plans to remove sections of Berlin’s East Side Gallery, the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall, have struck a raw nerve in the German capital. Opponents see it as an attack on the city’s identity. In the summer of 1987, US President Ronald Reagan gave a landmark speech at the Brandenburg Gate, calling on [...]
Double trouble: French rape case impeded by twins’ identical DNA
Police in Marseille have arrested identical twin brothers for a string of sexual assaults. Officers believe one, if not both men are to blame, but cannot be sure as the pair’s DNA is nearly indistinguishable. Police have charged both men, identified as 24-year old unemployed delivery drivers Elwin and Yohan, over the rapes. Both are [...]
Berlinale 2013: Film Fest Spotlights Women and Eastern Europe
The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival kicks off on Thursday with a martial arts epic from Hong Kong. The festival's director says this year's selection pays particularly close attention to women, indigenous peoples and life in Eastern Europe. The Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale for short) is an operation of superlatives. No other festival in [...]