Archive
Bailout plan roils Greece’s leaders
Greece was wracked by political turmoil yesterday as the embattled prime minister faced down a party revolt over new austerity measures — a bitter dispute that forced the EU to hint at new loans so Greece can fend off a summer default.
Prime Minister George Papandreou has struggled to garner support for a new package of $39.5 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which last year granted his debt-ridden nation $155 billion in bailout loans.
But the measures have sparked riots on the streets of Athens and open criticism from his own Socialist lawmakers. Papandreou’s desperate efforts to form a coalition government with the opposition conservatives collapsed Wednesday, and the Read more…
Iran launches home-made satellite into orbit
Iran has launched a satellite into earth orbit in a feat that is likely to raise concerns among those who fear Iran’s intentions and nuclear development program.
“Our glorious scientists successfully put Iran’s first image-collecting satellite into orbit,” the TV report said.
Iran has made a series of claims about advances in its ambitious space program in recent years, which has Western powers worried about the possibility of its military applications.
Last year, Iran announced it had successfully launched a rocket carrying a mouse, turtle and worms into space.
Iran’s space program has expressed a goal of putting a man in orbit within 10 years, despite the Read more…
CIA informants’ detention by Pakistan’s spy agency intensifies U.S-Pak edgy ties
The detention of Pakistani informants, who helped the CIA by providing information prior to the raid that killed the Al Qaida leader, by Pakistan’s top intelligence agency has intensified the already tense relationship between the United States and Pakistan.
According to a report that appeared in the New York Times on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) has detained five CIA informers who supplied information to CIA ahead of the raid the previous month in which the Al Qaida leader was killed.
One of the arrested CIA informants was reported to be a currently serving major in the rank of Pakistan Army. According to U.S authorities, the detained major took note of license plates of vehicles stopping over at the compound of Osama Bin Laden.
Meanwhile U.S officials have stated that Read more…
Europe’s Rejection of Nuclear Power a Gift for Russia
Germany will phase out nuclear power by 2022, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced June 3. A week before, Switzerland made a similar decision. Italy followed suit on June 13, voting overwhelmingly to reject nuclear power in a national referendum.
These countries will almost certainly have to replace their nuclear power with natural gas, at least in the short term. It is readily available and less polluting than coal or oil. The International Energy Agency recently predicted a “golden age of gas.”
The only problem is where Europe gets most of its gas from Read more…
China Blocks Web Searches in an Attempt to Halt Protests
China has blocked internet searches after riots and unrest struck its southern province of Guangdong, home to many impoverished migrant workers. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)Anonymous remains silent on Chinese censorship
In China the long dreaded “Jasmine Revolution” might be starting to finally materialize. Outraged and impoverished, migrant workers in Zengcheng, a city in the country’s sea-facing southern Guangdong province, have taken to the streets in protest, clashing with police. The protests and riots began last week when police told two migrant workers to stop selling goods in the street, and then proceeded to knock down one of the migrants who was pregnant. Video of the incident went viral and Read more…
Hike in worldwide food prices forces change in diet as more go hungry
Costs rise 37 per cent in past year; more women, girls negatively impacted
Soaring food prices over the past year have prompted 17 per cent of Canadians to change their diets due to the higher cost of food. But Canadians haven’t yet felt the full impact of raw food price increases, in part because of our strong dollar.
Photograph by: Noah Seelam, AFP, Getty Images, Postmedia News
Soaring food prices and health concerns are prompting people around the world to change what they eat, according to a new 17-nation survey done for Oxfam. And Canadians aren’t exempt from the trend.
Of the 16,421 people surveyed by GlobeScan, 53 per cent said say they’re no longer eating the same foods they did two years ago. Nearly four in 10 of those say some of the food they used to eat is now too expensive, while one-third changed their diets for health reasons.
“The rising cost of food is pushing more Read more…
Volcano ash could turn Australia eclipse blood red
Australian night owls will be treated to a lunar eclipse, and ash in the atmosphere from a Chilean volcano could turn it blood red.
The Sydney Observatory says the eclipse will begin at 3:25 a.m. Thursday (1:25 p.m. EDT, 5:25 p.m. GMT Wednesday) and last until after 5 a.m.
Scientists say the specific phenomenon happening Thursday — known as a “deep lunar eclipse” — often exudes a coppery color. But the intensity of the color depends on the amount of ash and dust in the atmosphere. Luckily for moon-gazers, there’s plenty of ash in the air. Air travelers haven’t been so lucky: The ash has grounded hundreds of flights around the region.
Scientists say the eclipse can be safely observed with the naked eye.
Solar Threat: We’ll Have Minutes to Respond; Government Plans Controlled Blackouts; Elite Contingency Plans
While many will claim that solar storms are an unrealistic threat to our world, the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom aren’t taking any chances.
According to a report put together by Alex Thomas of The Intel Hub, the threat is not only real, but very likely, and could change the world as we know it from one day to the next:
In a stunning announcement, The United States and United Kingdom are likely set to began “controlled” power cuts in preparation of a giant solar storm.
The announcement by Thomas Bogdan, the director of the US Space Weather Prediction Centre, comes a week after a large scale solar flare released a massive amount of radiation and threatened to cause moderate disruption.
The solar flare on June 7th, 2011 was luckily pointed away from Earth but caused Read more…
Nebraska Nuclear Plant: Emergency Level 4 & About to Get Worse
Iran Speeding Up Long-Range Missile Drive: U.N. Experts
A recent U.N. expert review asserts that Iran has increased the rate of activities aimed at producing long-range missiles, Haaretz reported last week (see GSN, June 13).
Iran has tamped down public references to its ballistic missile advancements, possibly in part due to international uncertainty over its capacities in the area as well as over penalties other governments have adopted in a bid to curb Tehran’s disputed nuclear and missile activities, the Israeli newspaper said (see GSN, May 14).
Iran has conducted trial flights of its Shahab 3 and Sajjil ballistic missiles in three instances in less than half a year, and some of the weapons can travel farther than 620 miles, the report says. The Shahab 3 missile has proven in tests its ability to fly as far as 560 miles, and the Sajjil 1 missile has a range of Read more…
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](https://i0.wp.com/www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
crisisboom
CRISISBOOM 
You must be logged in to post a comment.