Greece Fuels Fears of Contagion in U.S. : Crisis Would Likely Spread in Europe Before Crossing Atlantic, Economists Say; Wary Investors Monitor Credit Markets
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Investors and policymakers are starting to worry that the economic crisis in Greece could cross the Atlantic and undermine the U.S. economic recovery, in the same way that U.S. housing woes in 2008 battered Europe.

"What we have seen is that contagion"—economist-speak for a spreading crisis—"has gone global," says Harvard University economist Jeffrey Frankel.

Early credit-market indicators of contagion to the U.S. aren't yet flashing red, but investors are keeping a wary eye on them. "This is like we've agitated a colony of prairie dogs, and everybody is looking out of their hole to see what's going on," said Howard Simons, bond strategist at Bianco Research in Chicago. "But it's no crisis, yet." >>> Bob Davis and Mark Gongloff | Wednesday, May 05, 2010

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Merkel Plea to Save Europe as Contagion Hits Iberia
THE TELEGRAPH: Europe's debt markets are flashing danger signals after spreads on Iberian debt reached the highest level since the launch of the euro and investors rushed for safety into German notes, prompting warnings from German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the European Project itself is at risk.

"Contagion pressures continue to rage unabated," said Marco Annunziata, Europe economist at UniCredit. "The flames have rushed through the firewall of the IMF/EU programme for Greece and now threaten other peripheral countries."

"While the sell-off on sovereign bond markets so far remains discriminating, the risk that it might suddenly mutate into irrational panic can no longer be ignored. Eurozone policymakers need to take further steps quickly," he said.

Mrs Merkel made a moving plea to the Bundestag to support the €110bn (£93bn) rescue for Greece. "Nothing less than the future of Europe is at stake. The happy tale of German history since World War Two and our emergence as a free, united, and strong country cannot be separated from the European Union. We owe decades of peace and prosperity to the understanding of our neighbours," she said.

"Europe today is looking to Germany. As the strongest economy in Europe, Germany has a special responsibility and it takes this responsibility to heart.

"Immediate help is needed to ensure the financial stability of the eurozone. This must be done to avoid a chain-reaction to the European and international financial system, and contagion to other eurozone states. There is no alternative."

Belated support from Berlin has failed to stop the crisis escalating. Spreads on Portuguese 10-year bonds soared to a post-EMU record of 290 basis points above Bunds; Spanish spreads rose to 131. Bank shares in Madrid slid again, with falls of 4.9pc for Banco Popular, 3.6pc for BBVA, and 2.5pc for Santander[.]

Bundesbank chief Axel Weber said there was a "grave threat of contagion", echoing the formula now being used by German officials to justify the rescue. Berlin hopes the wording will head off a legal challenge at the constititional court. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Nigel Farage. Photo: Google Images
Ukip's Nigel Farage Injured in Plane Crash
THE TELEGRAPH: Nigel Farage, who is contesting Speaker John Bercow’s seat in Buckingham, has been injured in a light plane crash.

Mr Farage was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries following the crash at Hinton-in-the-Hedges airfield, near Brackley in Northamptonshire.

The light aircraft was pulling a Ukip banner and it is believed it may have been caught up in the engine. The banner reportedly carried the slogan "Vote for your country - Vote Ukip".

The plane went down just after 8am, also injuring the pilot, who reportedly had to be cut out the cockpit and was taken to Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry.

Mr Farage was taken to Horton General Hospital in Banbury. A Ukip spokesman said: "We've had unconfirmed reports that either the banner got snagged up or there were cross-winds and it was unfamiliar airfield to the pilot, who had to be cut out of the plane. >>> Ben Leach | Thursday, May 06, 2010

Mumbai Attack Gunman Sentenced to Death
THE TELEGRAPH: The only gunman to survive the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai has been sentenced to death by an Indian court.

Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, a 22-year-old Pakistani citizen, was found guilty on Monday of 86 charges, including waging war against India, murder and terrorism offences for his role in the attack on India's financial capital that left 166 dead.

Judge M.L. Tahaliyani said the man described by prosecutors as a "killing machine" should be hanged.

"I don't find any case for a lesser punishment than death in the case of waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts," the judge said. >>> | Thursday, May 06, 2010

Accordion Players and Ice Skaters Get EU Farm Subsidies
THE TELEGRAPH: European Union farm subsidies were paid out last year to Swedish accordion musicians, Danish snooker players, Dutch ice skaters and an Estonian society for old school classmates, official figures show.

Unusual payments included almost £600,000 paid to the daughter of the Bulgarian minister responsible for administering EU farm subsidies.

As well as the £51,000 paid to a Swedish accordion club was £27,000 handed out to Danish billiard players, payments were made of £139,000 to ice skaters and £303,000 to footballers in the Netherlands.

In what may involve cases of people who died after qualifying for aid, payments were made to two 100-year-old Swedes who are now deceased.

"It does look odd," admitted a European Commission official. >>> Bruno Waterfield in Brussels | Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Dark Ages: The Disgusting Degeneration of the West
THE GUARDIAN: Russian court convicts men of killing and eating schoolgirl: Two men drowned 16-year-old in bath and cooked parts of her body

A Russian court has convicted two men of murdering and eating a 16-year-old schoolgirl in January. >>> Associated Press | Thursday, May 06, 2010

STUFF.co.nz: 'Vampire' attack on Wellington's Mt Victoria: 3 charged with wounding after alleged bloodsucking assault >>> The Dominion Post | Thursday, May 06, 2010

‘Very Much Opposed to What We Stand For’


NEWSMAX: Franklin Graham: Obama 'Giving Islam a Pass,' Warns of Persecution: Evangelical leader Rev. Franklin Graham issued his toughest remarks yet Monday on the administration's role in revoking his invitation to speak at the Pentagon's National Day of Prayer event, charging that President Obama is "giving Islam a pass" rather than speaking openly about the "horrific" treatment women and minorities receive in many Muslim countries. >>> David A. Patten | Monday, May 03, 2010

Grèce: les syndicats appellent à de nouveaux rassemblements
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Les principaux syndicats grecs ont appelé à de nouveaux rassemblements ce jeudi à 18h (17h suisses) à Athènes, notamment devant le Parlement où sera examiné le plan d'austérité contesté.

Dans un communiqué, la centrale syndicale du secteur privé (GSEE) a condamné les violences de mercredi, les attribuant à des "incendiaires de la violence aveugle et du vandalisme qui en réalité sapent les luttes des travailleurs".

"Nous nous déclarons déterminés à poursuivre et à étendre notre lutte pour satisfaire nos justes revendications", a-t-elle toutefois ajouté. >>> ATS | Jeudi 06 Mai 2010

Arnold Schwarzenegger vole au secours des fumeurs
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Le gouverneur Schwarzenegger a mis son veto à une loi qui visait à interdire la cigarette sur les plages et parcs naturels de l'Etat, estimant qu'elle constituerait une "intrusion du gouvernement dans la vie des citoyens".

Le gouverneur républicain Arnold Schwarzenegger qui avait notamment signé par le passé une loi interdisant de fumer dans une voiture en présence d'un enfant, estime cette fois "qu'il y a quelque chose de fondamentalement gênant dans l'idée que l'Etat puisse empiéter de façon tellement énorme sur (la vie privée) des gens".

Il préfère laisser de telles initiatives à la discrétion des autorités locales qui, pour certaines d'entre elles, interdisent déjà la cigarette. >>> AFP | Jeudi 06 Mai 2010

Greece on Brink of Abyss as Three Bank Workers Killed in Riots
A riot policeman falls after being hit by a molotov cocktail near the Greek parliament in Athens. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: The President of Greece warned last night that his country stood on the brink of the abyss after three people were killed when an anti-government mob set fire to the Athens bank where they worked.

“I have difficulty in finding the words to express my distress and outrage,” President Papoulias said. “The big challenge we face is to maintain social cohesion and peace. Our country came to the brink of the abyss. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we don’t step over the edge.”

Violence flared as tens of thousands of striking workers and civil servants took to the streets of the capital and the northern city of Salonika to protest against the Government’s austerity measures.

The demonstrators gathered as George Papandreou, the Prime Minister, was trying to push through parliament tough budget cuts demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a ¤110 billion aid package.

“We are all deeply shocked by the unjust death of three workers, three of our fellow citizens, who were victims of murderous attacks,” he told MPs. >>> Philip Pangalos in Athens | Thursday, May 06, 2010

BNP Man Punches Asian on Campaign Trail as Online Chief Denounces Griffin
TIMES ONLINE: British National Party's election campaign descends into violence as a top official is filmed attacking an Asian man

The British National Party’s election campaign descended into violence yesterday when one of its top officials was filmed attacking an Asian man. Robert Bailey, the far-right party’s group leader at Barking and Dagenham Council, was shown punching the man and trying to kick him in the head. Mr Bailey had retaliated after he was spat on during canvassing.

Earlier The Times revealed that the head of the party’s online operation had resigned, taking its website down with him. Simon Bennett directed BNP traffic to his personal site, which contained a diatribe against Nick Griffin, the BNP leader, and other senior figures. A day before the election, Mr Bennett, 41, depicted an amateur operation and an organisation that, he claimed, wasted membership fees and donations. He accused Mr Griffin and James Dowson, the BNP election fundraiser, of being “pathetic, desperate and incompetent”.

It is understood that Mr Bennett took the website down briefly on Tuesday afternoon. It was reactivated quickly, but his comments had already gone viral on a number of websites. >>> Fiona Hamilton, London Correspondent | Thursday, May 06, 2010

José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission, Photo: Google Images
Barroso Pledges to Take on Speculators as Euro Hits 14-month Low
TIMES ONLINE: The President of the European Commission lashed out at speculators and threatened more regulation yesterday after the euro plunged to its lowest level for 14 months and stock markets suffered another battering.

Investors dumped stocks and bonds in a mass flight from risk as demonstrators in Athens clashed with police. Three people died after buildings were set alight in protests against cuts to pay and pensions in Greece.

A threat by Moody’s rating agency that it might downgrade Portugal fuelled the market mayhem. In London, leading shares joined the rout and the FTSE 100 index shed 70 points, its second day of decline. Madrid suffered worse pain, with the Ibex index of leading shares down 2.25 per cent as money fled to havens, such as the dollar and US Treasury bills.

José Manuel Barroso, the Commission President, said that it would act swiftly with further market regulation and accused credit rating agencies of pandering to the market mood. “The Commission will do whatever is necessary to ensure that financial markets are not a playground for speculation,” he said.

Michel Barnier, the Internal Market Commissioner, has already threatened regulation of rating agencies, and Mr Barroso joined the attack. He called the agencies’ working methods deficient and said that they were “too cyclical, too reliant on the general market mood rather than on fundamentals — regardless of whether market mood is too optimistic or too pessimistic”.

Investors raced to the exit, ignoring pleas from politicians to support the €110 billion rescue package for Greece. Instead they scoured the market for indications that Greece’s insolvency virus might spread to other Mediterranean eurozone states burdened with high debt, excessive spending and low growth. >>> Carl Mortished, Ian King | Thursday, May 06, 2010

The Outsider Says He’s Ready for One Hell of a Job
Illustration: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: Nick Clegg tells The Times that, despite his opposition to a like-for-like replacement for Trident, he still wants Britain to punch above its weight. And he wishes he’d taken a bet on shortened odds on his occupying No 10

Nick Clegg does not appear to be a betting man. If he were, he might have taken a punt on the rank outsider that no one saw coming. What appeared a reckless bet a couple of weeks ago now looks interesting; what would have been an absurd question is now just a straight-forward one. Is he worried about becoming Prime Minister? The odds on such an outcome from May 6 are down from 100-1 to 10-1.

“Really?” He looks surprised. “I should have put a bet on.”

Instantly, the brow furrows as he calculates how off- message he has just veered. “Joking aside, joking aside . . .” Equally quickly, he relaxes. “More to the point, why didn’t I put any money on earlier?”

With one fence to go, the self-styled outsider is, remarkably, in with a shout. If this debate-dominated campaign is a three-act play, the first saw Mr Clegg storm the stage; in the second he showed he was there to stay. The third, tomorrow in Birmingham, will help to dictate the shape of the next government in which it is anything but fanciful to expect him to be playing a part.

The scale of his insurgency, or Cleggmania to give it its official title, is such that there is more than one scenario that would see him addressing the nation from in front of the door to Number 10.

Is he ready for it, the immensity of it? “I honestly wouldn’t have put myself forward and put my family, with everything it implies to have a politician as a husband and a father, if I didn’t genuninely feel that what I believe or what I represent are big changes that would genuinely make a big difference.” But it’s a hell of a job >>> Roland Watson and James Harding | Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tories Scent Victory as Poll Lead Widens
David Cameron at his final camapign rally in Bristol. Photograph: Times Online
TIMES ONLINE: David Cameron has the keys to No 10 almost within his grasp, with the final poll of the campaign for The Times indicating that the Conservatives will make sweeping gains from Labour.

But the Conservatives cannot yet be sure of winning an overall Commons majority unless they perform even better in key Labour marginals to compensate for the likelihood of a strong Liberal Democrat showing.

The Populus poll of 2,250 voters puts the Tories on 37 per cent, up one point on a week ago. Labour is up one point at 28 per cent and the Lib Dems down one point at 27 per cent.

This would represent a swing since the 2005 election of just over 6 per cent — the biggest to the Tories since 1945 and second only to Labour’s advance in 1997. The findings point to an additional 91 Tory MPs, 25 seats short of an overall majority.

A key obstacle to the Conservatives’ ambitions may be the success of the Liberal Democrats, who are on course, despite a small last-minute squeeze, to turn in the best performance for a third party since the 1920s. >>> Peter Riddell, Jill Sherman and Roland Watson | Thursday, May 06, 2010

Christian Preacher Arrested for Saying Homosexuality Is a Sin
THE TELEGRAPH: A Christian street preacher was arrested and locked in a cell for telling a passer-by that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of God.

Dale McAlpine was charged with causing “harassment, alarm or distress” after a homosexual police community support officer (PCSO) overheard him reciting a number of “sins” referred to in the Bible, including blasphemy, drunkenness and same sex relationships.

The 42-year-old Baptist, who has preached Christianity in Workington, Cumbria for years, said he did not mention homosexuality while delivering a sermon from the top of a stepladder, but admitted telling a passing shopper that he believed it went against the word of God. >>> Heidi Blake | Sunday, May 02, 2010

Barack Obama Wants to Overhaul US Immigration System
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama wants to begin working this year on legislation overhauling the US immigration system following the controversial law passed in Arizona.

Mr Obama's comments at a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the White House reaffirmed his long-held support for immigration reform. He went a step further than he has in the past by calling for the work to begin this year.

Latino groups have been urging Mr Obama to deliver on his campaign promise of making immigration reform a top priority, with some activists and lawmakers in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus complaining he was not doing enough.

Mr Obama acknowledged immigration reform would be difficult to achieve and would require bipartisan support, which is lacking in the Senate right now. And he made no commitment to finishing the process this year. >>> | Rgursday, May 06, 2010