'Fierce clashes' by Syria airport

29 November 2012 Last updated at 16:46 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The road to the airport in the Syrian capital Damascus has been closed and flights cancelled amid reports of fierce clashes with rebels in the area.

The government appears to be mounting an unprecedented offensive against rebel-held districts in the east of the city, BBC correspondents report.

The clashes came as internet and phone systems in the country went down.

The Syrian government has previously cut off access to the internet during major operations.

However, correspondents say a nationwide switch-off is unprecedented.

But Syria's information minister said "terrorists" had cut off the internet and that engineers were working to repair the fault.

'Passengers trapped'

Emirates airline and Egypt Air have cancelled flights to Damascus.

Government sources said a plane carrying 150 staff from the UN peacekeeping force had taken off from Damascus airport on Thursday evening.

A replacement team had already arrived earlier in the day, the sources said.

Continue reading the main story

The road to Damascus International Airport bears special significance to the family of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad.

In January 1994, the president's older brother, Bassel, was killed on this road when his car hit a roundabout. His death forced Bashar to abandon his job as an ophthalmologist and take his brother's place as heir to their father, Hafez. Now, almost 19 years later, this road once again plays a role in the destiny of the Assad family.

The closure of the airport road, and the cancellation of flights by a number of international airlines, may be a sign that the rebels are now able to inflict damage on pro-Assad forces in crucial areas. In the 20 months of Syria's conflict, President Assad's forces have normally been able to re-assert supremacy by carrying out air strikes.

But in recent days, the government's control of the skies has come into question. On Tuesday, Syrian rebels announced the shooting down of a military helicopter near the northern city of Aleppo. There are reports that rebels have got hold of a number of shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. These weapons may play a part in changing the balance of the conflict.

State TV reported on Thursday evening that the airport road had been "secured" after military intervention. But correspondents say the highway remains closed and there are more reports of fighting.

It is believed that Syrian government reinforcements were sent into the area after rebels fired mortars at the runway, the BBC's Paul Wood in Beirut reports.

A source in the Free Syrian Army told our correspondent the attack on the airport had been planned for a long time and that rebel fighters had been "inching closer and closer" over the past few days and hours.

The aim of the plan was to capture the airport and not just conduct a hit-and-run attack, the source said.

The rebels carrying out the attack were all from Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of the capital, and were well armed after capturing government weapons, including heavy weapons, in recent weeks, the source added.

Our correspondent says there have also been reports of passengers still being trapped inside the terminal and at an airport hotel. No rebels appear to be inside the airport.

UN peacekeepers injured

Despite the communications blackout, the BBC was able to get through to residents in the centre of Damascus, who said they could hear and see what they believed to be the biggest army offensive so far against rebel-held districts.

The offensive appeared to be going on in the east of the city, extending to the airport 27km (17 miles) south-east of the centre.

The main road to the airport passes through rebel-held territory which has regularly been the target of government air strikes.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, also reported a major government offensive, saying clashes were most intense in the suburb of Babbila, near the rebel stronghold of Tadamun.

The group, whose information cannot be independently verified, said there were clashes all along the road.

State TV said government forces were fighting "al-Qaeda elements", mostly in the suburbs of Duma and Daraya.

Two Austrian soldiers from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights were wounded as their convoy came under fire on the road to the airport. Their injuries were not life-threatening, the Austrian defence ministry said.

The Syrian ambassador in Vienna was to be summoned to the foreign ministry to explain what happened, Austrian government officials said in an official statement.

"Syria is responsible for the safety of our [UN] soldiers and must ensure that they can fulfil their international mandate", they said.

Meanwhile the UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said he had "the elements of a peace plan" but could not move ahead without the backing of the Security Council.

"No doubt what is very, very urgently needed is a ceasefire that can hold and that, I believe, will require a peacekeeping mission," he said on Thursday.

"It bears repeating that the situation is bad in Syria and getting worse, that unfortunately the parties themselves are not ready to have an internal solution.

"The region is also not really capable, at this time, of helping for a peaceful solution. The place where a peaceful solution can be initiated is the Security Council."

On Wednesday, two car bombs hit Druze and Christian areas, also to the south-east of Damascus, killing 34 people.

No group has said it was behind the bombings, and there was no immediately obvious military or government target, reports the BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut.

Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Canada 'eco-terrorist' surrenders

29 November 2012 Last updated at 23:49 ET

A Canadian woman accused of involvement in the "largest eco-terrorism case" in the US history has surrendered after a decade on the run.

Rebecca Jeanette Rubin, 39, handed herself over to FBI agents on the Canadian-US border.

She is alleged to have been one of 13 members of a cell - known as The Family - linked to arson attacks in the western United States from 1996-2001.

The group believed their targets were damaging the environment.

The damage to the targets, including forest ranger stations and meat processing plants, ran to more than $40m (£25m).

'Protection oath'

Ms Rubin turned herself in to FBI agents at the Canadian border in Blaine, Washington state.

"Rubin's arrest marks the end of her decade-long period as an international fugitive in the largest eco-terrorism case in United States history," a statement by the Justice Department said.

The reason for Ms Rubin's surrender was not immediately known.

She faces arson and conspiracy charges and is expected to be tried in the state of Oregon.

Ten members of the cell - the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front - pleaded guilty in 2007 to conspiracy and arson charges and were sentenced to between 37 and 156 months in prison.

After Ms Rubin's surrender, two other members remain at large.

The cell members had reportedly taken oaths to protect each other from the authorities - making it a long and difficult investigation.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sixty-day bread could cut waste

30 November 2012 Last updated at 05:00 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News

An American company has developed a technique that they say can make bread stay mould-free for 60 days.

The bread is zapped in a sophisticated microwave array which kills the spores that cause the problem.

They claim it could significantly reduce the amount of wasted bread, which in the UK alone amounts to almost a third of all loaves purchased.

The technique can also be used with a wide range of foods including fresh turkey and many fruits and vegetables.

World of waste

Food waste is a massive problem in most developed countries. In the US, figures released this year suggest that the average American family throws away 40% of the food they purchase - which adds up to $165bn (£102bn) annually.

Bread is a major culprit, with 32% of loaves purchased in the UK thrown out as waste when they could be eaten, according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

One of the biggest threats to bread is mould. As loaves are usually wrapped in plastic, any water in the bread that evaporates from within is trapped and makes the surface moist. This provides excellent growing conditions for Rhizopus stolonifer, the fungus that leads to mould.

In normal conditions bread will go mouldy in around 10 days.

But an American company called Microzap say they have developed a technique that will keep the bread mould free for two months.

At their laboratory on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, chief executive Don Stull showed off the long, metallic microwave device that resembles an industrial production line. Originally designed to kill bacteria such as MRSA and salmonella, the researchers discovered it could kill the mould spores in bread in around 10 seconds.

"We treated a slice of bread in the device, we then checked the mould that was in that bread over time against a control, " he explained.

"And at 60 days it had the same mould content as it had when it came out of the oven."

Question of taste

The machine the team has built uses much the same technology as found in commercial microwaves - but with some important differences, according to Mr Stull.

"We introduce the microwave frequencies in different ways, through a slotted radiator. We get a basically homogeneous signal density in our chamber - in other words, we don't get the hot and cold spots you get in your home microwave."

Continue reading the main story

• 1928: First bread slicing machine, invented by Otto Rohwedder, exhibited in US
• 1930: Large UK bakeries take commercial slicers and sliced bread first appears in shops
• 1933: About 80% of US bread is pre-sliced and wrapped, and the phrase "the best thing since sliced bread" is coined
• 1941: Calcium added to UK flour to prevent rickets
• 1942: The national loaf - much like today's brown loaf - introduced to combat shortage of white flour
• 1954: Conditions in bakeries regulated by the Night Baking Act
• 1956: National loaf abolished
• 1961: The Chorleywood Bread Process introduced

Source: The Federation of Bakers

The company's device has attracted plenty of interest from bread manufacturers - but they are worried that it could add to their costs in an industry where margins are very tight.

And there is also a concern that consumers might not take to bread that lasts for so long. Mr Stull acknowledges it might be difficult to convince some people of the benefits.

"We'll have to get some consumer acceptance of that," he said. "Most people do it by feel and if you still have that quality feel they probably will accept it. "

Mr Stull believes that the technology could impact bread in other ways. He said that bread manufacturers added lots of preservatives to try and fight mould, but then must add extra chemicals to mask the taste of the preservatives. If bakers were able to use the microwave technology, they would be able to avoid these additives.

While a wholesale change in the bread industry might be difficult to achieve, there may be more potential with other foods, including ground turkey.

In 2011, food giant Cargill had to recall 16 million kg of the product after a salmonella outbreak. Mr Stull believes that using microwaves would be an effective way of treating this and several other products ranging from jalapenos to pet foods.

The only fruit that his device was unable to treat effectively were cantaloupes.

"We've used our tumbler machine to treat them, he says "but you can't tumble cantaloupes because they damage."

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK stops £21m payment to Rwanda

30 November 2012 Last updated at 05:46 ET

The UK has suspended aid to Rwanda, amid concerns about the country's role in the conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ministers said the UK would not now release a payment worth £21m.

An aid payment of £16m was paid to Rwanda in September despite question marks over its alleged support for the M23 militia in DR Congo.

The government also said it would give a further £18m for immediate humanitarian needs in the DR Congo.

International Development Secretary Justine Greening said the money, which was due to be handed over next month, would not be released because President Paul Kagame's regime had breached agreements.

'Credible and compelling'

It follows a controversial decision by Ms Greening's predecessor, Andrew Mitchell, to authorise payment of £16m to the country on his last day in the job in September.

Mr Mitchell, who had previously frozen aid to the country, cited progress at international talks as the reason for making the payment.

President Kagame's regime has been praised for improving the economic and social conditions in the east African country, in which it is estimated more than 800,000 people were killed in ethnic violence during 1994.

But Mr Kagame, in power since 2000, has come under fierce criticism recently for allegedly funding the M23 rebel group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A United Nations document says Rwanda's defence minister is effectively commanding the rebellion.

The violence has drawn international condemnation and the US and some European countries have withheld aid from the Kagame regime.

Ms Greening said: "The government has already set out its concerns over credible and compelling reports of Rwandan involvement with M23 in DRC.

"This evidence constitutes a breach of the partnership principles set out in the memorandum of Understanding, and as a result I have decided not to release the next payment of budget support to Rwanda.

"We are committed to finding lasting solutions to the conflict in this region and will work with the governments of Rwanda and DRC to secure a peaceful resolution to the situation in eastern DRC."

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt assembly backs constitution

30 November 2012 Last updated at 05:51 ET

Egypt's Islamist-dominated constituent assembly has approved a draft constitution, as the judiciary threatens to dissolve it amid a power struggle with President Mohammed Morsi.

The draft will now be sent to Mr Morsi, who is expected to call a referendum.

The Supreme Constitutional Court is due to rule on Sunday on whether the assembly should be dissolved.

Senior judges have been in a stand-off with the president since he granted himself sweeping new powers.

An emergency decree issued last week said Mr Morsi's decisions could not be revoked by any authority, including the judiciary, until the new constitution had been ratified and a fresh parliamentary election is held.

It also stated that the courts could not dissolve the constituent assembly.

The president insists the powers he has taken are meant to be temporary and will protect the transition to a constitutional democracy, but their breadth has raised fears that he might become a new strongman and triggered mass opposition protests across the country.

'A difficult birth'

The process of drafting a new constitution - to replace the one suspended after Hosni Mubarak was overthrown - began in March, but was slowed by a court ruling in April dissolving the first constituent assembly, amid accusations that it was dominated by Islamists.

In June, political parties agreed on the make-up of a new panel, which included a range of politicians, members of the armed forces, police, judiciary and trade unions, as well as Muslim and Christian leaders.

Continue reading the main story

• Sharia remains the main source of legislation
• Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's leading authority, to be consulted on "matters related to Sharia"
• Christianity and Judaism to be the main source of legislation for Christians and Jews
• Religious freedom to be limited to Muslims, Christians and Jews
• Limits president to two four-year terms of office

However, liberals, secularists and Coptic Christians continued to complain about the distribution of seats. Most of their representatives on the assembly boycotted its sessions over the past few months - leaving the majority Islamists with a relatively free hand - and 43 separate legal challenges to its constitutional legitimacy were filed.

Mr Morsi's decree of 22 November gave the 100-member panel until January to complete the draft constitution. But after the Supreme Constitutional Court said it would soon rule on the lawsuits, supporters of the president on the assembly decided to pass a rushed draft to head off the threat of dissolution.

During a marathon session that began on Thursday and continued through the night, the assembly voted on and passed all 234 articles.

Among the historic changes to Egypt's system of government, the draft limits the amount of time a president can serve to two four-year terms.

It also introduces some civilian oversight of the military establishment.

However, the defence minister will still be chosen from the armed forces, they will remain insulated from parliamentary oversight - although a special council that includes officers will oversee military affairs and the defence budget - and military courts will also still be able to try civilians.

The draft keeps in place an article defining "principles of Sharia", or Islamic law, as the main source of legislation. However, a new article says al-Azhar University, one of the leading authorities on Sunni Islam, must be consulted on any matters related to Sharia.

Freedom of worship is also limited to followers of the three Abrahamic religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - which would exclude minorities such as Bahais, who have complained of persecution in Egypt.

The draft calls for freedom from discrimination, but does not specify whether women or religious minorities are protected.

There are also contradictions in the articles protecting freedom of expression and those protecting people or religions from "insults". The draft also provides for "society" to play a role in promoting family values.

President Morsi, who is a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, said on Thursday that he expected to call a referendum very soon on the draft, the creation of which he described as "a difficult birth from the womb of an ancient nation".

"The most important thing of this period is that we finish the constitution, so that we have a parliament under the constitution, elected properly, an independent judiciary, and a president who executes the law," he added.

However, the leading opposition figure, Mohamed ElBaradei, said the draft constitution would be "consigned to the garbage bin of history", and would only exacerbate the current divisions in Egypt.

The Coptic Church's chief negotiator, Kamal Saleh, said it was "not the constitution of Egypt". The Church, whose members make up about 10% of Egypt's population, boycotted the vote.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

German MPs approve Greece payment

30 November 2012 Last updated at 06:25 ET

The German parliament has approved a eurozone bailout payment of 44bn euros (£32bn; $51bn) for Greece by a large majority despite unease about the cost.

The Bundestag voted by 473 in favour to 100 against, with 11 abstentions, after conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel urged cross-party support.

Finance ministers of the 17 eurozone states agreed on Monday to make the new payment to Greece on 13 December.

German sensitivities over euro debt are growing as an election year approaches.

Before Friday's vote, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned German MPs that the fate of the eurozone was at stake in Greece, which has had two huge international bailouts in recent years.

"A Greek bankruptcy could lead to the break-up of the eurozone," he said.

Delayed payment

Despite the fact that Greece's government had carried out reforms and passed a harsh austerity budget, the release of the next round of money was delayed for weeks by a disagreement between its lenders - the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB).

These had agreed to grant Greece a two-year delay in the speed of spending cuts, in order to take some of the pressure off the country's heavily depressed economy.

However, the extension inevitably meant the Greek government would be overspending for longer, and would therefore run up bigger debts than previously anticipated.

This ran into an objection from the IMF, who made clear that it could not lend money to a government whose debts it considered ultimately unlikely to be paid back.

The IMF's litmus test, laid down as a condition of Greece's latest bailout, is that the government's debts should fall to 120% of the country's annual economic output by 2020.

On Tuesday, the IMF and eurozone agreed that, in order to hit a slightly increased target of 124%, the Greek government's debts would have to be alleviated in three ways:

• by requiring Athens to back some of its existing debts from private sector lenders at current depressed market prices

• by the ECB passing back to Greece the profits it has made on Greek government debts it owns

• by cutting the interest rate Greece must pay on existing bailout loans

Germany and other eurozone governments opposed cutting Greece's debts by simply writing off some of the 150bn euros (£122bn; $195bn) of bailout loans already extended.

The German broadcaster ARD says the deal brings a direct cost to the German federal budget - 730m euros next year and 660m euros in 2014.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Palestinian UN vote 'hurts peace'

30 November 2012 Last updated at 06:49 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Mark Regev: "This is negative political theatre because it takes us out of a negotiating process"

Israel says a vote upgrading the Palestinian status at the United Nations is "negative political theatre" that will "hurt peace".

Government spokesman Mark Regev said the move had taken Palestinians and Israelis out of a negotiating process.

The General Assembly voted resoundingly to recognise the Palestinians as a non-member observer state on Thursday.

The Palestinians can now take part in UN debates and potentially join bodies like the International Criminal Court.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it was the "last chance to save the two-state solution" with Israel.

There were celebrations on the streets of Ramallah in the West Bank as the result was announced.

But Mr Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, denounced Mr Abbas' bid as "litany of libellous charges against Israel".

"This is negative political theatre that takes us out of a negotiating process. It's going to hurt peace," Mr Regev told the BBC.

'New ball-game'

Some 138 members of the assembly, including many EU states, Russia, China, India and Brazil voted in favour of recognising the Palestinians as a non-member observer state.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

President Mahmoud Abbas: "The last chance to save the two state solution"

Israel the US and seven other states, including Canada, the Marshall Islands and Panama, voted against the resolution. Forty-one nations including the UK and Germany abstained.

"The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine," Mr Abbas told the assembly in New York shortly before the vote.

Opponents of the bid say a Palestinian state should emerge only out of bilateral negotiations, as set out in the 1993 Oslo peace accords under which the Palestinian Authority was established.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote "unfortunate and counter-productive", saying it put more obstacles on the path to peace.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also called for more talks, saying the resolution underscored the need to resume meaningful peace negotiations.

The Palestinians are seeking UN recognition of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, the lands Israel captured in 1967.

Continue reading the main story

The parties began in Yasser Arafat Square long before Mr Abbas made his speech in New York. Crowds of people waving flags gathered around large screens carrying the live feed.

Fireworks erupted in Ramallah with the news of the vote. While Palestinians will see no changes on the ground with immediate effect, the symbolism is all-important.

There is also hope that access to UN bodies will bring new rights. A successful application for membership of the International Criminal Court could be used to accuse Israel of war crimes or make other legal claims against it.

While the move is seen as a symbolic milestone in Palestinian ambitions for statehood, the Yes vote will also have a practical diplomatic effect, says the BBC's Barbara Plett at the UN in New York.

A successful application for membership of the ICC would give the court jurisdiction in the territories, and could potentially be used to accuse Israelis of war crimes.

"This is a whole new ball-game now. Israel will be dealing with a member of the international community, a state called Palestine with rights," the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's Hanan Ashrawi told the BBC.

"We will have access to international organisations and agencies and we will take it from there."

There had been lobbying by Israel and the US to try to delay the vote or change the text to obtain guarantees that no international legal action would be taken against Israel.

Settlement-building

Last year, Mr Abbas asked the UN Security Council to admit the Palestinians as a member state, but that was opposed by the US.

Two decades of on-off negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank have failed to produce a permanent settlement, with the latest round of direct negotiations breaking down in 2010.

In January, several months of indirect "proximity talks" ended without any progress.

Palestinian negotiators insist that the building of Jewish settlements on occupied land must stop before they agree to resume direct talks.

Their Israeli counterparts say there can be no preconditions.

Mr Abbas was much criticised by many Palestinians for remaining on the sidelines of the conflict between the militant Hamas movement and Israel earlier this month in Gaza.

His Fatah movement, based in the West Bank, is deeply split from Hamas, which governs Gaza. Fatah has not been part of any peace talks with Israel and does not recognise Israel's right to exist.

Israel, the US and EU regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

Gaza's Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh said in a statement sent to the BBC that Hamas support for the UN bid "is based on the 'rule of non-recognition of the occupier'... and the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland".

In the aftermath of the latest fighting, both Israel and Hamas have joined the international community in calling for a durable and comprehensive solution to the conflict.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Eurozone jobless rate at new high

30 November 2012 Last updated at 06:52 ET

The eurozone's unemployment rate hit a new record high in October, while consumer price rises slowed sharply.

The jobless rate in the recessionary euro area rose to 11.7%. Inflation fell from 2.5% to 2.2% in November.

The data came as European Central Bank president Mario Draghi warned the euro would not emerge from its crisis until the second half of next year.

Government spending cuts would continue to hurt growth in the short-term, Mr Draghi said.

'Two-speed Europe'

The unemployment rate continued its steady rise, reaching 11.7% in October, up from 11.6% the month before and 10.4% a year ago.

A further 173,000 were out of work across the single currency area, bringing the total to 18.7 million.

The respective fortunes of northern and southern Europe diverged further. In Spain, the jobless rate rose to 26.2% from 25.8% the previous month, and in Italy it rose to 11.1% from 10.8%.

In contrast, unemployment in Germany held steady at 5.4% of the labour force, while in Austria it fell from 4.4% to just 4.3%.

"The real problem is that we have a two-speed Europe," economist Alberto Gallo of Royal Bank of Scotland told the BBC. "The biggest increase in unemployment is being driven by Italy and Spain.

"It is the same as you are seeing in financial markets," he explained. "The periphery [Spain and Italy] is the area where the banks are the least capitalised and need the most help, and the loan rates are the highest."

Spending hit

Data earlier this month showed that the eurozone had returned to a shallow recession in the three months to September, shrinking 0.1% during the quarter, following a 0.2% contraction the previous quarter.

The less competitive southern European economies, such as Spain and Italy - where governments have had to push through hefty spending cuts to get their borrowing under control, and crisis-struck banks have been cutting back their lending - have been in recession for over a year.

But the economies of Germany and France have also begun to weaken. Growth in the eurozone's two biggest economies came in at a disappointing 0.2%.

Continue reading the main story

Country	October 2012	October 2011
Spain	26.2%	22.7%
Greece*	25.4%	18.4%
Portugal	16.3%	13.7%
Ireland	14.7%	15.0%
Eurozone	11.7%	10.4%
Italy	11.1%	8.8%
France	10.7%	9.7%
Netherlands	5.5%	4.8%
Germany	5.4%	5.7%
Austria	4.3%	4.3%

*Greece data for August of each year

Source: Eurostat

And more recent data suggests that both core eurozone economies have continued to skirt recession during the autumn.

Retail sales in Germany shrank 2.8% in October versus the previous month, down 0.8% from a year earlier, according to data released on Friday. Analysts had expected the country to record unchanged or moderately growing sales.

Meanwhile, separate data showed consumer spending in France shrank 0.2% in October versus the previous month, with spending on cars and other durable goods hardest hit.

Calmer markets

The sharp slowdown in the eurozone's consumer price index, to 2.2% in November, is also symptomatic of the weakness of spending.

However, the inflation data may also open the door to further measures by the ECB to boost the economy, as the index fell much closer to the central bank's 2% target rate.

"We have not yet emerged from the crisis," said Mr Draghi, speaking on pan-European radio. "The recovery of the eurozone will certainly begin in the second half of 2013.

"It's true that the budgetary consolidation entails a short-term contraction of economic activity, but this budgetary consolidation is inevitable."

Despite Mr Draghi's warning, and the generally poor state of the eurozone economy, markets have begun to take a far more sanguine view of the single currency's future.

Italy's implicit cost of borrowing in the financial markets has fallen to its lowest level in two years, dropping to an implied interest rate of about 4.5% for 10-year debt.

Spain is able to borrow from markets at a 10-year rate of about 5.5% - far below the 7%-8% rate being demanded over the summer.

Mr Draghi conceded that the announcement of the ECB's willingness to buy up potentially unlimited amounts of government debt had boosted market confidence, even though no eurozone government had actually taken up the ECB's offer yet.

Banking union

However, borrowing costs in southern Europe still remain elevated compared with France and especially Germany. Berlin is currently able to borrow for 10 years at 1.37%, close to an all-time low.

"For now, what the ECB has done is to stop the bleeding," said Mr Gallo at RBS. "The central bank needs to close the gap in loan borrowing costs between the periphery and the core."

However, Mr Gallo said in his view the only way to do this was for the eurozone to move ahead with its "banking union" - which includes putting all eurozone banks under a common regulator, and creating a pan-eurozone scheme for guaranteeing bank accounts.

He was echoing the view of Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, who on Friday said that creating a single deposit guarantee system should be Europe's top priority, more important than getting government budgets under control.

Fears over a possible government default or exit from the eurozone have made it much harder for Spanish and Italian banks to borrow, and put them at risk of a sudden exodus of depositors. This in turn has undermined the banks' role in supporting their respective national economies.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Deadly blasts target Iraqi Shias

29 November 2012 Last updated at 04:51 ET

At least 31 people have been killed in bomb attacks on predominantly Shia Muslim areas south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, officials say.

A double bombing in the city of Hilla killed 26 people and wounded scores more.

A car bomb also exploded in the nearby shrine city of Karbala, killing at least five people.

No group has said it carried out the attacks but Sunni militants have targeted the Shia majority in the past.

Pilgrims flock to Karbala each year for Ashura commemorations, the climax of the holy month of Muharram.

The two bombs in Hilla exploded in a busy commercial area. A roadside bomb is said to have detonated first, followed by a car bomb that caught rescuers who had rushed to the scene.

The dead included two women, three children, two medics and a civil defence member, police and medics said.

Witnesses said Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area of the blasts and set up checkpoints in the city.

In Karbala, a parked car exploded near one of the city gates, a police officer quoted by AP news agency said.

Those who died were civilians but policemen were among more than 20 wounded, he added. The blast also damaged nearby buildings.

A recent upsurge in such attacks has sparked fears of a return to the sectarian conflict that beset Iraq in the years after the 2003 US-led invasion.

Last month twin bomb attacks in Baghdad's mainly Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City killed at least 13 people.

In August, more than 90 people died in a wave of attacks before Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Shakil Afridi 'on hunger strike'

29 November 2012 Last updated at 04:52 ET

The Pakistani doctor jailed for his role in the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden is on hunger strike, sources including a relative told the BBC.

Shakil Afridi reportedly began a strike to protest against conditions in jail, where he is in solitary confinement.

A senior prison official said he had no knowledge of any hunger strike, adding that he was being properly treated.

He was jailed for supporting a militant group, but it is widely believed he is being punished for helping the US.

Correspondents say it is generally acknowledged that the 33-year sentence he received in May for funding and supporting a banned militant group was in retaliation for helping the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its hunt for the al-Qaeda leader.

He is alleged to have used a fake vaccination campaign to try to get DNA samples from the Bin Laden family, but Dr Afridi has been quoted as saying that he was unaware of his role in Bin Laden's death.

He began his hunger strike in Peshawar Central Jail earlier this week, according to his brother Jamil, who says he was told by a source in the prison.

He says Dr Afridi has been ill-treated ever since giving a phone interview to US network Fox News from his prison cell in September, and has not been allowed to see relatives.

Dr Afridi told Fox he had not realised that the CIA was targeting Bin Laden: "I didn't know about a specific target apart from the work I was given to do.

"I was aware that some terrorists were residing in that compound, but I didn't know who. I was shocked. I didn't believe I was associated with his killing," he said.

He also claimed that he had been kidnapped and tortured by Pakistani intelligence.

Bin Laden's killing created a crisis in relations between the US and Pakistan, whose government was seriously embarrassed as it emerged that the al-Qaeda leader had been living in Pakistan.

Islamabad felt the covert US operation was a violation of its sovereignty.

Both US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have said Dr Afridi's arrest was a mistake, and called for his release.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dalai Lama visa delay 'unlawful'

29 November 2012 Last updated at 05:36 ET

South Africa's government acted unlawfully in failing to give the Dalai Lama a visa in time for a planned visit last year, a court has ruled.

Tibet's spiritual leader was forced to cancel plans to attend Archbishop Desmond Tutu's 80th birthday celebrations in October 2011.

The Supreme Court of Appeal said the former home affairs minister had "unreasonably delayed her decision".

The government denied it had bowed to pressure from China to block the trip.

Stalling tactics

The Supreme Court of Appeal was hearing an appeal application by two opposition parties - the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the Congress of the People (Cope) - about the issue.

Earlier, the Western Cape High Court had dismissed the case, the South Africa Press Association reports.

Archbishop Tutu was furious about the visa delay for his fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner and accused the government of behaving "worse than the apartheid government".

According to the AFP news agency, the Supreme Court of Appeal found no evidence that the government had actually made a decision not to grant a visa, but did detect stalling tactics.

"What is justified by the evidence is an inference that the matter was deliberately delayed so as to avoid a decision," the news agency quotes the judgment as saying.

The court said that former Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma "was not entitled to deliberately procrastinate", South Africa's City Press newspaper reports.

Ms Dlamini-Zuma, who is President Jacob Zuma's ex-wife, now heads the Africa Union.

The Dalai Lama eventually delivered a lecture at Archbishop Tutu's birthday celebrations via a video link.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

UN court clears Kosovo's ex-PM

29 November 2012 Last updated at 05:45 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Judge Bakone Moloto: "The chamber finds you not guilty on all counts in the indictment"

A UN tribunal has cleared Kosovo's former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj of war crimes from the 1998-99 conflict, after a retrial in The Hague.

Mr Haradinaj, a rebel commander during the war, was accused of overseeing a campaign of torture and murder against Serbs and suspected collaborators.

But four years after the last acquittal the UN court ruled again that the prosecution had not proved the case.

Serbian officials reacted angrily, denouncing the UN tribunal.

President Tomislav Nikolic said in a statement that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia was formed "to try the Serbian people".

He said the verdict would increase euro-scepticism in Serbia.

Mr Haradinaj's 2008 acquittal was overturned and a retrial ordered after appeal judges ruled that there had been witness intimidation.

But the ICTY's trial chamber once again cleared Mr Haradinaj and co-defendants Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimaj of all charges.

The indictment alleged the three men had been involved in a joint criminal enterprise to establish Kosovo Liberation Army control in western Kosovo through detention camps.

Ethnic Serbs, Roma and Albanians who were deemed to have collaborated with Serbs were allegedly tortured and killed.

Judge Bakone Moloto said the evidence established that Serbs and their suspected supporters were beaten at a KLA compound in Kosovo, and at least one of them died of his injuries.

However, he said there was no evidence Mr Haradinaj or his co-defendants were involved in the attacks or a conspiracy to mistreat civilians.

Political ambitions

Mr Haradinaj, who is the most senior ethnic Albanian indicted by the ICTY, has many supporters among the Kosovo Albanian community.

He served as prime minister for 100 days before he stepped down in early 2005 to deal with his first trial.

Crowds in the capital Pristina watched the latest verdict on a giant screen, and celebrated his acquittal by letting off fireworks and cheering.

Mr Haradinaj's lawyer, Ben Emmerson, said his client now wants to restart his political career.

"With the consent of the people, he will soon be resuming his rightful position as the political leader of the country," Mr Emmerson told reporters at the court.

His face is splashed across vast billboards in Kosovo, accompanied by slogans like "the leader who keeps his word" and "forward with a clean slate".

However, he is still considered a war criminal in Belgrade, and an arrest warrant has been issued against him by Serbia's war crimes prosecutor.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has enlisted the support of ally Russia to block any move for international recognition.

Many Serbs feel there has been little accountability for crimes committed against them during the wars of the 1990s.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan militant leader injured

29 November 2012 Last updated at 06:09 ET

Senior Pakistani militant leader Mullah Nazir has been wounded in a suspected suicide bombing in the tribal area of South Waziristan, officials say.

At least three were killed and six hurt in the blast in the town of Wana.

A teenage boy was among the dead - he may have detonated explosives near Mullah Nazir's car, reports say.

It is not clear who carried out the attack. Analysts say Mullah Nazir has formed an alliance with the government and opposes the Pakistani Taliban.

In the past, he has been accused of sending fighters to support the Afghan Taliban and fight foreign and pro-government troops there, rather than focusing attacks inside Pakistan itself.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Court bans Pussy Riot video clips

29 November 2012 Last updated at 06:37 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Pussy Riot's Yekaterina Samutsevich: "This is a clear case of censorship"

A Moscow court has ruled that websites must remove video clips of the Pussy Riot female punk band, two of whose members are in jail.

The clips include a crude anti-Kremlin song which they performed in Moscow's main cathedral in February, and over which they were convicted.

The "punk prayer" has been viewed nearly 2.4m times on YouTube.

In its ruling, the court called Pussy Riot "extremist". Websites that fail to remove the clips may be blocked.

There were widespread international protests over the Pussy Riot trial.

It was not immediately clear if the court was banning all of the group's clips, which include a song mocking Russian leader Vladimir Putin that was performed on Red Square.

The court listed websites carrying the clips and said they should be blocked, Russian media report.

A representative of Google's Russian office said YouTube would not take any decision regarding the clips until it had received official documents, Russia's Interfax news agency reports.

Appeal doubts

The court said it had based its ruling on conclusions by a panel of experts who studied the footage, showing band members in colourful dresses, tights and ski masks dancing in front of the altar of Christ The Saviour Cathedral.

Judge Marina Musimovich said the video had "elements of extremism".

"In particular, there are words and actions which humiliate various social groups based on their religion," she added.

The Pussy Riot members have said their performance of the "punk prayer" on 21 February was aimed at highlighting support given to Mr Putin by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill.

Their brief, obscenity-laced performance implored the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out".

Any appeal against the verdict has to be made within one month.

Yekaterina Samutsevich, a third member of the group who had her sentence suspended on appeal, said she would try to lodge one, adding: "Today's verdict was to be expected."

However, the court's press secretary suggested Ms Samutsevich was excluded from making an appeal as she had not attended the court's proceedings.

"The prosecutor and the justice ministry of the Russian Federation are considered to be the participants in these proceedings," Yevgenia Pazukhina told the Russian legal news agency Rapsi.

Black list

The two band members now in prison, Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, are serving two-year sentences after being convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred".

Materials deemed to be "extremist" are put on a black list kept by the Russian justice ministry.

Currently the list contains about 1,500 items, mostly related to banned religious and ultra-nationalist groups or those deemed to have a fascist ideology, AFP news agency reports.

A top official of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, welcomed Thursday's court verdict.

"Many similar texts and video content have already been included on the federal list of extremist materials, and it is quite appropriate that this video clip be included on the list, I think," he said.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rush to finish Egypt constitution

29 November 2012 Last updated at 06:44 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

President Morsi's decree has sparked huge protests across Egypt

The assembly writing a new Egyptian constitution says it hopes to vote on a draft version as early as Thursday.

The news came as the constitutional court indicated it would rule on Sunday whether to dissolve the assembly.

The assembly is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists who back President Mohammed Morsi. It is being boycotted by other members.

Egypt's judiciary is in a stand-off with President Morsi after he granted himself sweeping new powers.

Mr Morsi's decree last week has sparked huge protests across the country.

Officials at the constituent assembly said on Wednesday they were finishing the draft constitution, even though Mr Morsi recently extended its deadline until February.

A vote was expected on Thursday and Egyptian TV said it would broadcast the event live.

The BBC's Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says issuing a constitution in these circumstances would be a deeply inflammatory move.

Opposition figure and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa told Reuters news agency: "This is nonsensical and one of the steps that shouldn't be taken, given the background of anger and resentment to the current constitutional assembly."

'Sacred mission'

Egypt's state-run news agency Mena said on Thursday it had obtained details of the draft constitution.

Mena said it includes a clause on press freedom and says that only courts can suspend or close newspapers.

The assembly also aims to set up a national security council led by the president and consisting of key officials such as the prime minister, defence minister and intelligence chief, Mena said.

Liberal, left-wing and Christian members have boycotted the assembly, accusing the Islamists of trying to impose their vision.

Continue reading the main story

• Reopen investigations into killings of protesters; retrials of those accused
• No appeals against constitutional decrees made since Morsi came to power
• President to appoint the public prosecutor (must be aged at least 40)
• Constituent assembly to get two months extra to draft new constitution
• No judicial authority can dissolve the constituent assembly or the upper house of parliament (Shura Council)
• President authorised to take any measures to preserve the revolution or safeguard national security

Its latest move appeared to be aimed at dodging a ruling by the constitutional court on Sunday on whether the assembly should be dissolved.

The constitutional court's deputy chairman, Maher Sami, said in a televised speech that the ruling would go ahead.

"The court is determined to rise above its pain and continue its sacred mission until the end, wherever that takes us," he said.

The court has already dissolved the lower house of Egypt's parliament, which was led by the Muslim Brotherhood.

The declaration that sparked protests gave Mr Morsi powers to take any measures to protect the revolution, and stated that no court could overturn his decisions.

It is valid until a new constitution is in place.

Critics accuse Mr Morsi of trying to seize absolute powers.

Supporters say the decrees were needed to protect the gains of the revolution against a judiciary with deep ties to overthrown President Hosni Mubarak.

On Wednesday, Mr Morsi told Time magazine that he would surrender his new powers once a new constitution was in place.

"If we had a constitution, then all of what I have said or done last week will stop," he said.

"I hope, when we have a constitution, what I have issued will stop immediately."

On Monday, Mr Morsi told senior judges that the decrees would be restricted to "sovereign matters" designed to protect institutions.

But judges said they were not satisfied and wanted the measure completely withdrawn.

On Wednesday, judges called a strike, saying appeals courts and the court of cassation would halt work until the decree was revoked.

There have been running protests since the decree was issued, often spilling over into violent clashes between protesters and riot police.

The Muslim Brotherhood and the more radical al-Nour party have called for a counter-protest in Cairo on Saturday.

If approved by the constituent assembly, the draft constitution would then be put to a national referendum.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Burma targets copper mine protest

29 November 2012 Last updated at 06:56 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Jonathan Head in Burma: "It's become a test case for how old injustices will be addressed"

Police in Burma have used water cannon and tear gas to break up a protest against a vast Chinese-backed copper mine in the north-west of the country.

Protesters said dozens were injured and their camps set alight in Monywa town.

Local farmers, monks and activists have been protesting against what they say are forced evictions to allow for the mine's expansion.

The mine, Burma's largest, is owned by the military and Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco.

The BBC's Jonathan Head, who recently visited the mine, says this is now being seen as a test case for how Burma's new government will handle growing protests around the country over land grabs that took place under military rule.

The farmers started their protest in June, saying they were forced to accept a deal two years ago under which they gave up their land in return for new housing and financial compensation. The company has said that the deal was voluntary, and that only a small minority of farmers rejected it.

The mine's billion-dollar expansion project covers several thousand hectares of land in Burma's Sagaing region.

Squads of riot police arrived at the camps early in the morning, witnesses say.

Continue reading the main story

When the government issued its ultimatum to the farmers and activists camped outside the Monywa copper mine, no-one could have guessed what would happen next. The rules have changed in post-military Burma, but no one is quite sure what they are.

When I was there last Saturday the police guarding the mine entrance were shocked to see a solitary monk walking past the gate and its intimidating "Restricted Area" sign, towards them. One officer shouted at him to leave - the others resorted to holding hands, like children in a playground, in a line across the road.

Eventually, the police relented and allowed a group of nuns to enter the site. It seemed then that we were witnessing a new era in Burma, one where violent repression is no longer an option for the security forces.

Today we saw something of the old Burma, in the rough way the police broke up the farmers' sit-in, using water cannon and something else that seems to have set the protest camps alight.

The government says it is still committed to a full inquiry into the farmers' complaint, that they were forced to accept the deal with the mining company under which they gave up their land for modest financial compensation and new but very basic housing.

The Burmese parliament is now asserting itself, and there will surely be aspiring politicians there who will see backing the farmers' grievances against a Chinese- and military-backed mine as a vote-winner. This conflict is not over, and from what I saw and heard from the farmers, they will not give up their struggle easily.

"They shot some sort of canisters that caused fire at the camp. We just don't know what sort of weapon it was," Shin Oattama, a Buddhist monk, told Reuters news agency.

"We are now seeking refuge at a nearby village. There's no ambulance, no doctor to take care of the injured."

Of the 22 injured, many are monks, and they are mostly suffering from burns, our correspondent reports.

It is not clear what caused the burns, but he says it is possible that it was incompetence, more than ruthlessness, that caused the injuries.

President Thein Sein's office said in a statement that police had used water cannon, tear gas and smoke bombs to disperse the crowds. A spokesman denied that chemical weapons were used.

Opposition lawmaker Aung San Suu Kyi, greeted by supporters who lined the streets, has arrived in the area to meet protesters about their grievances.

Laws on public protests in Burma have been relaxed amid a series of democratic reforms. But this week the government gave the protesters an ultimatum to leave the site.

Meanwhile, China has defended its joint mining project with Burma.

"The relocation, compensation, environmental protection and other issues involved with this project were jointly settled through negotiations by the Chinese and Myanmar [Burma] sides and meet Myanmar's laws and regulations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said during a regular press briefing in Beijing.

"We hope all levels of Myanmar society can provide an environment beneficial to the project's development."

In an editorial published on Thursday, state-run Chinese newspaper Global Times said that halting the project would be a "lose-lose situation" for both countries.

"Only third parties, including some Western forces, will be glad to see this result," it said.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Saudi diplomat killed in Yemen

28 November 2012 Last updated at 07:06 ET

A Saudi diplomat and his bodyguard have been shot dead in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, officials say.

Gunmen opened fire on the diplomat's car, causing it to flip over, security officials said.

Arabic broadcaster al-Arabiya said the gunmen were dressed as members of the security services.

Saudi Arabia is deeply involved with its unstable and impoverished southern neighbour. Yemen is battling Islamist militants with US assistance.

"Gunmen opened fire at the Saudi diplomat's car in a neighbourhood in southern Sanaa, killing him and his Yemeni bodyguard," a Yemeni security official was quoted by Reuters as saying.

He said the diplomat was the assistant military attache at the Saudi embassy.

Saudi Arabia has been battling al-Qaeda-inspired militants and it is well known that supporters of the Islamist group are exploiting the lawlessness in Yemen to set up bases there.

Correspondents say a number of Saudi jihadists are believed to have crossed the border to join al-Qaeda and similar groups in southern Yemen.

Earlier this year, Saudi Arabia's deputy consul in Yemen was kidnapped by al-Qaeda.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Strauss-Kahn court ruling delayed

28 November 2012 Last updated at 04:03 ET

A French court has delayed a ruling on whether former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn will stand trial on pimping charges.

Prosecutors said the appeals court in French town of Douai said the decision would be made on 19 December.

The charges relate to sex parties held in a luxury hotel in the northern city of Lille.

Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyer wants the case dropped, saying his client did not know some of the women were prostitutes.

It is the only outstanding case the former IMF head faces in France.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, 63, was widely expected to become the Socialist presidential candidate before he was arrested in May 2011 in New York, accused of trying to rape a hotel maid.

US prosecutors later dropped criminal charges, though the alleged victim, Nafissatou Diallo, is pursuing a civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault.

'Insufficient grounds'

The Lille case has become know as the Carlton affair, after the name of the hotel in which the alleged orgies took place.

Continue reading the main story

• Criminal case on sexual assault charge in New York - dropped August 2011
• Criminal investigation on attempted rape claims in Paris - dropped October 2011
• Investigation on "gang rape" claims in Washington - dropped October 2012
• Civil case on sexual assault charge in New York - ongoing

Consorting with prostitutes is not against the law in France, and Mr Strauss-Kahn has acknowledged that he was at some of the parties with the women.

But Mr Strauss-Kahn's legal team says he had no idea they were prostitutes, and that there is no evidence to support a formal charge of pimping.

"We are requesting that this investigation be annulled on account of the fact that there are insufficient grounds to support it," said defence lawyer Richard Malka.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, who is reportedly taking steps to reinvent himself as a highly paid consultant and conference speaker, says the authorities are trying to "criminalise lust".

Other cases against him have already been dropped.

Last month, French prosecutors ended an investigation into allegations of "gang rape" at a hotel in Washington after the woman who made the claim retracted her evidence.

Magistrates also dropped a sexual assault case brought by French author Tristane Banon on the grounds that the alleged 2003 incident had taken place too long ago.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Poland outlaws ritual slaughter

28 November 2012 Last updated at 05:47 ET

Poland's top court has outlawed the ritual slaughter of animals weeks before the EU is due to allow the practice on religious grounds.

The Constitutional Tribunal said it was against Polish law to allow animals to have their throats cut and bleed to death without first being stunned.

Poland has small Muslim and Jewish communities who use such methods.

However, it is unclear whether the ruling will be superseded by a new EU law allowing ritual slaughter.

On 1 January, a new regulation takes effect in the EU allowing the practice and setting common standards.

Poland's Agriculture Minister Stanislaw Kalemba told Polish radio the EU law took precedence, and would remove any doubt about the legality of the practice.

His ministry has awarded licences to at least 17 slaughterhouses to carry out ritual killing of animals.

But campaigners against cruelty to animals believe the EU law allows for individual countries to set their own rules.

Before the Polish ruling, Sweden was the only state in the EU which banned the ritual slaughter of animals.

'Up to us'

The court considered the case following a petition by Polish animal welfare groups, Polish radio reports.

Attorney General Andrzej Seremet argued that a 2004 amendment allowing ritual slaughter on religious grounds was unconstitutional in that it contravened animal rights legislation dating back to 1997.

Continue reading the main story

It appears there is a legal contradiction here and it is too early to tell what this means"

End Quote Piotr Kadlcik Union of Jewish Communities of Poland

Under the 1997 laws, slaughter should only "follow the loss of consciousness" after a farm animal is stunned.

Animal welfare campaigners argue that the incoming EU regulations allow individual member states to request an exception.

"It's up to us to decide whether we want a law authorising this kind of slaughter or not," Dariusz Gzyra of the campaign group Empatia told AFP news agency.

But critics fear the court's ruling will send a message of intolerance to religious minorities in Poland, a bastion of Roman Catholicism in Europe.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski has defended ritual slaughter as an ancient practice.

Last year, following a similar debate in the Netherlands, he said a Dutch bill to outlaw ritual slaughter targeted "the Muslim and Jewish community" and represented "a crisis of tolerance" in Europe.

Responding to the ban in Poland, Piotr Kadlcik, president of the country's Union of Jewish Communities, said the ruling appeared to contradict a 1997 Polish law on relations between his Union and the Polish state.

"It appears there is a legal contradiction here and it is too early to tell what this means," he was quoted as saying by The Times Of Israel.

"We are seeking legal advice on this right now."

Big business

Kosher meat (slaughtered according to Jewish practice) has particular significance in Poland because the country was Europe's Jewish heartland before the Nazi Holocaust.

Some 90% of Poland's Jewish population of three million were murdered. Today just 6,000 Jews remain in a country of 38.3 million, according to the European Jewish Congress.

Poland's Muslims can be numbered in the tens of thousands.

However, Poland is now a producer of both kosher and halal (slaughtered according to Islamic practice) meat for export, selling to Arab countries, Turkey and Israel, the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza reports.

The value of exports from Poland's kosher and halal abattoirs last year is estimated at 200m euros (£162m; $259m), AFP reports.

The new EU regulation notes that the EU allows a "derogation from stunning in case of religious slaughter taking place in slaughterhouses".

"It is important that derogation from stunning animals prior to slaughter should be maintained, leaving, however, a certain level of subsidiarity to each Member State," it says.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egyptian protesters vow defiance

28 November 2012 Last updated at 05:50 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

The BBC's Bethany Bell says Mr Mursi has tried to defuse the crisis by promising his new powers would be limited in scope

Egyptian protesters have vowed to continue defying President Mohammed Mursi's wide-ranging new powers.

Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the country on Tuesday, in one of the largest protests since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Mursi has said the decree will be limited in scope, but has refused continuing demands to overturn it.

Hundreds remain in Cairo's Tahrir Square - centre of protests since last year - with smoke bombs being thrown.

Mr Mursi's opponents have called for a mass rally on Friday.

The Muslim Brotherhood, to which Mr Mursi belongs, postponed a rally on Tuesday saying it wanted to avoid "public tension".

But it said it was capable of mobilising "millions" in support of the president.

Mr Mursi's backers say the decree was needed to protect the gains of the revolution against a judiciary with deep ties to the Mubarak era.

Protesters who have taken to the streets since the decree was issued last Thursday say the Brotherhood has hijacked the revolution.

Egypt's prime minister is to chair a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the situation, the Mena news agency said.

'Playing with fire'

Anti-decree protesters continue clashed with police overnight in Tahrir Square.

"The people want to bring down the regime," some shouted, repeating a chant that was used in the same square last year during the protests that led to former President Mubarak's fall.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Next Friday will be decisive"

End Quote Islam Bayoumi Cairo protester

"We don't want a dictatorship again," said 32-year-old Ahmed Husseini. "The Mubarak regime was a dictatorship. We had a revolution to have justice and freedom."

Protests were also held in Alexandria, Suez, Minya and other Nile Delta cities on Tuesday.

In the city of el-Mahalla el-Kubra, medical officials said more than 100 people were wounded as rival protesters threw stones and petrol bombs.

Several regional offices belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood were attacked.

"Next Friday will be decisive," Cairo protester Islam Bayoumi told the Associated Press news agency.

"If people maintain the same pressure and come in large numbers, they could manage to press the president and rescue the constitution."

But Saad Emara, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member, told AP: "The story now is that the civilian forces are playing with fire. This is a dangerous scene."

He said the president would not make any more concessions.

Sunday flashpoint?

The president's decree - known as the constitutional declaration - said no authority could revoke his decisions.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Mursi has split the country down the middle"

End Quote Ayman Qenawi Cairo

There is a bar on judges dissolving the assembly that is drawing up a new constitution. The president is also authorised to take any measures to preserve the revolution, national unity or safeguard national security.

Critics say the decree is an attack on the judiciary.

On Monday, Mr Mursi told senior judges that the scope of the measure would be restricted to "sovereign matters", designed to protect institutions.

But judges who attended the meeting have said they are not satisfied.

Another possible flashpoint could be Sunday, when Egypt's constitutional court could rule to disband the constituent assembly in defiance of President Mursi's decree.

The assembly is dominated by the Brotherhood and its Islamist allies.

The courts have already dissolved the lower house of parliament, which was led by the Brotherhood.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Germany moves to ban bestiality

Ringkasan ini tidak tersedia. Harap klik di sini untuk melihat postingan.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Major overhaul for Spanish banks

28 November 2012 Last updated at 06:25 ET

The European Commission has approved the Spanish government's plans to restructure four troubled banks.

Bankia, Banco de Valencia, NCG and Catalunya Banc were nationalised after experiencing heavy losses on loans to homebuyers and property developers.

Banco de Valencia is to be sold to Caixa Bank, a privately owned lender.

The other three must cut the total size of their loans and investments by more than 60% over the next five years under their restructuring plans.

"Our objective is to restore the viability of banks receiving aid so that they are able to function without public support in the future," the European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

Shrinking banks

The Commission's approval opens the way for Spain's government to draw on a 100bn-euro (£81bn; $129bn) loan made available by the eurozone's bailout fund specifically for the purpose of cleaning up the country's banks.

Shrinking the size of the three banks remaining in state ownership will allow them to repay the rescue loans they have received from the European Central Bank, via the Spanish central bank.

They will do this in part by selling their most problematic loans to Sareb - the Spanish government's "bad bank", which will be responsible for seeking to recover as much of their value as possible in order to mitigate the cost to taxpayers of rescuing the banks.

The banks will no longer be allowed to lend to property developers, and must refocus their business on loans to Spanish households and to small and medium-sized businesses.

During the restructuring period, the banks will be banned from making interest payments to certain investors or from acquiring other companies, and employee pay at the banks will be capped.

The three banks remaining in government ownership are meant to be sold off by Madrid before the end of the five-year period.

According to the European Commission, some 10bn euros of the restructuring cost must be borne by investors in the banks - which is expected to include the requirement that some lenders to the banks accept a reduction in the amount owed to them.

The allocation of losses to these investors is controversial in Spain, as they include many ordinary Spaniards who were sold "subordinated" or higher-risk debts of their banks as a savings product.

Banco de Valencia was in the worst shape of the four, meaning that a sale to another bank was the only way of recovering any value from the business.

Bankia, the biggest of the four banks, was created in 2010 from the merger of seven troubled regional savings banks.

The plans had also been approved by the Spanish central bank on Tuesday.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Afghan bank inquiry 'was tainted'

28 November 2012 Last updated at 06:39 ET

Afghanistan's politicians interfered in a criminal inquiry into a $900m (£560m) banking fraud, a watchdog has said.

The Afghan-based anti-corruption body claimed politicians had amended the list of suspects to be charged over the collapse of Kabul Bank.

Separately a US firm's audit, leaked to US media on Tuesday, said the money had been funnelled to 19 firms and people linked to the Afghan political elite.

Some of the money was said to have been smuggled out on airline food trays.

The Kabul Bank scandal has enmeshed some of the biggest names in Afghan public life, and raised huge doubts about the strength of the country's institutions.

Allegations of corruption led to thousands of Afghans rushing to withdraw their money from the bank in 2010, forcing international lenders to bail it out.

A US audit found that much of the bank's money had been channelled into dummy companies and foreign accounts in the form of zero-interest loans that were never paid back.

International donors have described it as a ponzi scheme.

Earlier this month a trial began of more than 20 people accused of involvement in the fraud.

'Not political'

The report released on Wednesday pointed out that the bank's failure represented about 5% of Afghanistan's GDP, making it "one of the largest banking failures in the world".

The bank had allegedly kept two sets of financial records, one for the regulators and one documenting the corrupt payments.

Continue reading the main story

• 2004: Founded by international poker player Sherkhan Farnood
• September 2010: Taken over by central bank after a run on the bank
• February 2011: Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, central bank governor, tells BBC those involved should be prosecuted
• February 2011: IMF report recommends the bank be put in receivership
• April 2011: Mr Fitrat names prominent Afghan figures in connection with the scandal in address to parliament
• May 2011: Report by anti-corruption office shows $467m (£290m) of outstanding loans were made without appropriate collateral

Prosecutors investigating the fraud were called to a high-level political committee to discuss the inquiry in spring 2011, according to the report by the Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee.

The final list of suspects to be indicted, which was not released until early 2012, was then altered to conform to the politicians' demands, the report says.

"The indictment did not include officials from accounting firms that created false documents for Kabul Bank, airline employees that smuggled money out of Afghanistan, or shareholders who received funds from loans at zero interest, apparently without the intention of repayment," the 87-page report said.

The anti-corruption committee, a panel of three Afghans and three foreigners set up with funds from the UK and Denmark, compiled the report to inform international donors about what had happened.

Earlier Basir Azizi, a spokesman for the attorney general's office, had denied that the case had been treated as a political issue.

"We strongly reject any comments that the attorney general's office dealt with this case as a political issue," he said on Tuesday.

President Hamid Karzai's brother, Mahmoud, has several times been linked to the fraud, but he has not been prosecuted and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The judge in charge of the inquiry told Reuters news agency that Mahmoud Karzai had returned $22m earlier this year.

Under a government amnesty, those who returned money by June were given immunity from prosecution.

The bank was put into receivership last April, and so far more than $300m in cash and assets has been recovered.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Twin blasts shake Damascus suburb

28 November 2012 Last updated at 07:12 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blasts

At least 34 people have been killed and many injured by two car bomb explosions in a south-eastern district of Syria's capital, Damascus, state media report.

State television said "terrorists" were behind the blasts in Jaramana and broadcast pictures showing several charred vehicles and damaged buildings.

The district is predominantly Druze and Christian, two communities which have so far not joined the uprising.

Earlier, there were clashes between security forces and rebels in Jaramana.

There has been fierce fighting in recent days in eastern parts of the countryside around Damascus, known as the Ghouta.

'Suicide attacker'

The pro-government TV channel, Addounia, said the car bombs exploded in Jaramana shortly after 06:40 local time (04:40 GMT).

Continue reading the main story

The car bombs exploded in an area which is predominantly Druze and Christian - two minorities which President Bashar al-Assad's government says it is protecting from "terrorist extremists".

These are not the first attacks in Jaramana to have been blamed on those seeking to overthrow the government. But in the past, the armed opposition has denied any involvement and repeatedly said it is targeting Mr Assad's forces and not minority groups. Areas like Jaramana are heavily guarded by pro-government militia known as Popular Committees.

The conflict in Syria is rapidly taking on a sectarian dimension. Earlier this month, similar attacks took place in pro-government Alawite districts like Mezzeh 86 and Woroud.

Meanwhile, government forces continue to bombard rebel-held areas in Damascus and elsewhere in the country that are predominantly Sunni. The opposition says the decisive battle to overthrow Mr Assad will be in Damascus. The city has become heavily fortified, with security forces personnel and checkpoints all over. Many people here feel the tension of further escalation yet to hit the capital.

"Terrorists blew up two car bombs filled with a large amount of explosives in the main square," the official Sana news agency reported.

State television quoted a source at the interior ministry as saying that 34 people had died and 83 had been seriously injured.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based activist group, put the death toll at 38.

"Activists and residents in the town said most of the victims were killed when a suicide attacker blew up his car, just after an explosive device was used to blow up another car," it said.

Two smaller bombs also exploded in Jaramana at around the same time as the attack, Sana said, adding that nobody was killed by them.

No group has said it was behind the bombings, and there was no immediately obvious military or government target.

"What do they want from Jaramana? The town brings together people from all over Syria and welcomes everybody," one resident told the AFP news agency.

The population of Jaramana is mainly Christian and Druze, a heterodox offshoot of Islam. It is also home to many Palestinian and Iraqi refugees.

Few members of Syria's minority groups have supported the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad. They are fearful for their future if the country's majority Sunni Muslim community chooses an Islamist leadership to replace decades of secular rule.

Supporters of the government in Jaramana and other Damascus suburbs have set up armed vigilante groups - known as Popular Committees - to prevent attacks such as Wednesday's. On 29 October, 11 people were killed in a car bombing in Jaramana.

Elsewhere on Wednesday, witnesses told AFP that rebel fighters had captured the pilot of a warplane shot down over Darat Izza, in the northern province of Aleppo. One of the agency's reporters earlier saw a large explosion as the jet crashed near the town.

Fighter jets earlier bombarded rebel positions in the western Damascus suburb of Darayya, the SOHR said.

The government army also reportedly shelled Zabadani, a town in the mountains north-west of the capital. The Syrian Revolution General Commission, an opposition activist network, said more than 50 shells had fallen on the town in 30 minutes, injuring several people.

The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC), another activist network, reported that at least 50 people had been killed across the country on Wednesday, most of them in Jaramana.

Activists say more than 40,000 people have been killed since the uprising against President Assad began in March 2011.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Mursi tries to ease Egypt crisis

26 November 2012 Last updated at 18:06 ET

Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi has sought to defuse a crisis over efforts to extend his own powers, during talks with senior judges.

Mr Mursi told them that a decree banning challenges to his decisions would stand, but that it would be limited in scope, his spokesman said.

The decree has led to violent unrest, and opponents will hold new protests on Tuesday to demand its withdrawal.

However, Mr Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood has called off its own rival rally.

'Public tension'

After Mr Mursi's five-hour meeting with members of the Supreme Council for the Judiciary on Monday, presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said the president had told the judges he respected judicial independence.

Mr Ali made it clear the president would not withdraw the decree, but said Mr Mursi had reassured the judges that its scope would be restricted to "sovereign matters", designed to protect institutions.

Continue reading the main story

President Mursi may have been guilty of a degree of over-confidence, or political naivety"

End Quote

There is no word so far from the judges, but the BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo says this is a formula the judges have previously indicated they would accept.

The presidential spokesman also said there would be no further retrials of officials who worked under President Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in last year's revolution, unless new evidence were presented.

Opposition protests against the decree will go ahead on Tuesday.

Mona Amer, a spokesman for the opposition movement Popular Current, told Reuters: "We asked for the cancellation of the decree and that did not happen."

However, the Muslim Brotherhood said it was postponing its demonstration in support of Mr Mursi to avoid "public tension".

The group had called for a million-man march to take place outside Cairo University.

Our correspondent says the postponement is another sign that the government wants to defuse a dangerous confrontation, but it remains to be seen whether it ends the days of angry and sometimes violent protests.

Several prominent opposition leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, have said they will not engage in dialogue until the president rescinds the measure, known as the constitutional declaration.

The decree, issued last week, said no authority could revoke presidential decisions.

There is a bar on judges dissolving the assembly drawing up a new constitution. The president is also authorised to take any measures to preserve the revolution, national unity or safeguard national security.

Critics said the decree was an attack on the judiciary and placed the president above the law.

It has sparked violent protests in Cairo and across the country. Many judges and prosecutors went on strike.

On Sunday, teenager Islam Fathy Massoud died and 60 people were injured in clashes in the Nile Delta town of Damanhour between the president's supporters and opponents.

His funeral was held on Monday, while in Cairo thousands of people marched through Tahrir Square for the funeral of another young activist killed in recent clashes with police.

Egypt's stock market, which had seen a fall of almost 10% on Sunday, recovered some ground on Monday morning.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sao Paulo accused on human rights

27 November 2012 Last updated at 04:08 ET By Luis Kawaguti & Gary Duffy BBC Brasil

Authorities in Brazil's Sao Paulo state are failing to provide security or justice for victims of human rights violations, Amnesty International says.

It says reports of police involvement in revenge killings have not been investigated properly for "many years".

The claim comes amid a wave of violence in which more than 90 police officers have died this year. In October alone 571 civilians were killed.

A public security spokesman said the state always acted on police abuses.

"The state does not condone criminal police officers," he said, adding that Sao Paulo authorities rigorously enforced the law by arresting and expelling offenders in all sections of the police.

Amnesty's Brazil researcher Tim Cahill told BBC Brasil the state had been negligent in ensuring public security and guaranteeing justice for victims of violence committed by "agents of the state".

Attacks on the police should be condemned, but there was also a need for an independent body with sufficient power to investigate human rights violations, he said.

'Violent backlash'

Since May this year there has been a growing conflict across Brazil's most populous state between the police and a criminal faction known as the PCC, or First Command of the Capital.

Analysts say attempts by the police to deal aggressively with the PCC provoked a violent backlash, with many officers killed, often while off duty.

In response, unidentified gunmen have been carrying out a wave of shootings in poor neighbourhoods, amid claims that rogue policemen have taken the law into their own hands.

A senior police officer has said that the criminal records of some of those killed were checked on police computers shortly before the attacks, but later changed his statement to say this had been a problem "in the past".

Mr Cahill said Amnesty International had followed the issue of violence in Sao Paulo for decades.

"For many years there has been a high number of killings committed by police that are not being investigated," he told BBC Brasil.

"We believe that this has contributed not only to the corruption of the police but to the actual involvement of officers in criminal acts."

In May 2006 the PCC briefly brought the city of Sao Paulo to a halt, killing almost 50 prison and police officers. In the aftermath almost 400 civilians also died.

Police chiefs replaced

Mr Cahill said there was a strong suspicion that the same pattern of events is being repeated now, although he admitted Amnesty did not have "concrete evidence".

"As in 2006, there are indications that the notably high increase in the level of murders in the state of Sao Paulo includes the strong involvement of police officers," he said.

Amnesty says there must be an independent process of investigation and the creation of a national institute of human rights that is independent of the state and has the power to investigate police actions.

The spokesman for Sao Paulo's public security department said while Amnesty International was a respectable organisation, its statement to the BBC was "equivocal".

He said Public Security Secretary Fernando Grella was determined to strengthen and give priority to investigations of recent murders, considering all possible motives in the continuing investigations.

Mr Grella was appointed only four days ago, and has already replaced a number of senior police chiefs.

He has also announced closer working practices between all sections of the police, and more officers on the streets to reassure the public.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Eurozone deal on Greece bailout

27 November 2012 Last updated at 04:51 ET

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

Olli Rehn and Christine Lagarde say Greece has kept its commitments

Eurozone finance ministers and the IMF have reached a deal on an urgently needed bailout for debt-laden Greece.

They have agreed to cut debts by 40bn euros ($51bn; £32bn) and have paved the way for releasing the next tranche of bailout loans - some 44bn euros.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras welcomed the deal, saying "a new day begins for all Greeks", but it was condemned by the main opposition party.

European and Asian shares and the euro all climbed on news of the agreement.

The German Dax and French Cac 40 indexes each rose by 0.8% at the start of trading on Tuesday, while in London the FTSE 100 gained 0.6%, reversing losses from Monday.

In Asia, the MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.3% to its highest level in more than two weeks. Australian shares rose 0.7%, while South Korea's benchmark Kospi index was up nearly 0.9%.

The euro reached its highest level against the dollar since 31 October, up about 0.2% to $1.30.

'Credibility test'

The breakthrough came after more than 10 hours of talks in Brussels. It was the eurozone's third meeting in two weeks on Greece.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

The deal has prompted mixed reactions here. Many Greeks will see only the price tag attached: years of crippling austerity, with no sign yet of growth. And targets may still be missed, given the deep recession.

But the government - and its supporters - are immensely relieved. The prime minister had laid his survival on the line. Securing the money and more time to cut Greece's debt will be seen as a vital vote of confidence from its lenders - a commitment to its continuing membership of the euro. The daily Ta Nea calls it the "first smile for Greece".

One senior banker told me recently two things drive the markets: fear and greed. For now, fear of a "Grexit" still drives away investors. But with the bailout cash, perhaps that fear may recede, greed may return, and investment may slowly dribble back to Greece. But it'll be a long, hard road ahead.

The deal opens the way for support for Greece's teetering banks and will allow the government to pay wages and pensions in December.

The leader of the eurozone finance ministers' group, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Greece would get the next instalment of cash on 13 December.

Greece has been waiting since June for the tranche, to help its heavily indebted economy stay afloat.

European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said the bailout would "strengthen confidence in Europe and in Greece".

For his part, Mr Juncker said the deal did not just have financial implications.

"This is not just about money. It is the promise of a better future for the Greek people and for the Euro area as a whole."

Greece's international lenders have agreed to take steps to reduce the country's debts, from an estimated 144%, to 124% of its gross domestic product by 2020.

These include cutting the interest rate on loans to Greece, and returning 11bn euros to Athens in profits from ECB purchases of Greek government bonds.

Ministers have also agreed to help Greece buy back its own bonds from private investors.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Greece has been granted another breathing space. There will be no "Grexit" - no Greek exit. The markets should like that"

End Quote

So far the ECB, IMF and the European Commission have pledged a total of 240bn euros in rescue loans, of which Greece has received around 150bn euros.

In return, Greece has had to impose several rounds of austerity measures and submit its economy to scrutiny.

The European Union's commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Olli Rehn, said it was crucial that a deal had finally been reached.

"For the eurozone this was a real test of our credibility, of our ability to take decisions on the most challenging of issues.

"And it was a test that we simply could not afford to fail."

However, the Greek radical left opposition party Syriza - who came close to winning elections earlier this year - rejected the deal.

"It's a half-baked compromise, a band-aid on the gaping wound of Greece's debt," said Syriza deputy Dimitris Papadimoulis, who claimed that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel had blocked attempts to cut Greece's debt in half.

'Matter of weeks'

"This is a good deal, but I think a good deal was long overdue for Greece," Gerard Lyons, chief economist of Standard Chartered Bank, told the BBC.

Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.

"The most significant thing is the fact that about 20% of Greek debt has been written off," he said. "The lesson of all crises elsewhere is that unless you start to write down debt you don't really start to make inroads."

However, Mr Lyons cautioned that while the deal mitigated the risk of Greece leaving the euro, it did little to help the Greek economy recover.

"What Greece really needs is to reverse [its] austerity measures," he added. Spending cuts by Athens - a pre-condition for its bailout - have been blamed for significantly worsening a multi-year contraction of the Greek economy.

The sentiment was echoed by Konstantinos Michalos, president of Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"[The deal] has to be seen as a major vote of confidence to the country," Mr Michalos told the BBC, while affirming that "it's simply extending the lifeline".

Both agreed that Germany's coming parliamentary elections played a role in making the deal possible.

"Six months ago the feeling in Europe generally was that they could sacrifice Greece," said Mr Lyons. "That thinking has now changed, particularly in Germany."

A new sense of caution has descended on Berlin ahead of the elections.

But while that has increased Germany's willingness to head off the broader eurozone crisis that might be sparked by a Greek exit from the single currency, according to Mr Michalos it has also made the German government less willing to grant Greece the greater leniency needed to ensure a stronger economic recovery.

Mr Michalos said the onus was now on his own government to push through structural reforms - such as reducing protections for existing workers - in order to boost competitiveness and confidence in the economy, and achieve positive growth.

"We need to progress with these structural reforms immediately," he said. "It is not a question of years or months. It is a matter of weeks."

The Greek economy is projected by Eurostat to have shrunk by a fifth by the end of this year since the crisis began in 2008.

19.15 | 0 komentar | Read More