Greece adopts ‘anti-poverty’ law despite alleged EU row  (france 24)

© Aris Messinis, AFP file picture | People gather for a meal distributed by the municipality of Athens to help the homeless and the poor, December 25, 2014

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2015-03-18

The Greek parliament overwhelmingly adopted a "humanitarian crisis" bill on Wednesday aimed at helping its poorest people, ignoring apparent pressure from the European Union to halt the legislation.

France unveils ‘snooping bill’ in wake of Paris attacks  (france 24,reuters)

Kurdish militant leader urges congress on peace with Turkey   (france24, reuters)

© YASIN AKGUL , AFPI Men flash the 'V for Victory' sign near banner bearing a portrait of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan as they celebrate Newroz, in the Turkish town of Suruc on March 17, 2015.

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2015-03-21

Ukraine to receive $17.5bn from IMF to save economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to extend $17.5bn in loans to Ukraine in an effort to pull back the country from the verge of economic collapse.

Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, said on Wednesday that the new four-year extended arrangement will support economic stabilisation and wide-ranging reforms in Ukraine.

"The plan is to disperse about $10bn worth of financing during the first year," she said.

Natalie Jaresko, Ukraine's finance minister, said earlier in the day that the government expected to receive $5bn from the IMF in the "coming days".

Credit is being extended on condition that the government in Kiev implements deep structural reforms and slashes government spending.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed off on legislative measures to drastically reduce spending and also approved changes to the tax system.

"This fully carries out Ukraine's side of the agreements that were reflected in a memorandum with the IMF," Poroshenko said Wednesday at a joint press conference in Kiev with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

Lagarde hailed Ukraine's "strong commitment to reform".

"They have maintained fiscal discipline in very difficult conditions, allowed the exchange rate to adjust, and have increased retail end-user prices for gas," she said in a statement.

Lagarde said measures would be taken to help cushion the poorest from the impact of adjustments.

US support

In Washington, the White House welcomed the IMF's decision.

"The United States is working alongside international partners to provide Ukraine with the financial support it needs as it continues to take steps that will transform the Ukrainian economy and strengthen its democracy," Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, John Kerry, the US State Secretary, said on Wednesday the United States would provide an additional $75m of non-lethal assistance to Ukraine.

The US will also send 30 heavily armoured Humvees and 200 other regular Humvees, as well as radios, counter-mortar radars and other equipment.

All of the aid is non-lethal, and the drones are not armed.

UK trade deficit narrows in January on oil price falls

• 1 hour ago
 
• From the section Business

The narrowing of the deficit was mostly due to declining oil exports and imports

The UK trade deficit has narrowed to £616m in January from a five-year high of £2.1bn in December, latest figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed.

Imports decreased by £2.5bn from December 2014, the largest monthly decrease since July 2006.

The large decrease in imports was mainly due to a £1.3bn fall in the imports of fuels, specifically oil.

Imports of oil were £2.2bn in January, their lowest level since May 2009.

Excluding the impact of falling oil prices on the trade deficit, which also led to a decline of UK fuel exports, the balance of trade in goods excluding oil also narrowed to a deficit of £7.8bn.

That was the lowest monthly deficit in goods since June 2013.

The UK's goods trade deficit with the 28 EU nations narrowed slightly to £6.67bn.

The pound was ahead against the dollar after the ONS data announcement, with sterling strengthening by 0.44% against the greenback.   BBC. 

Hungary's governing Fidesz party loses supermajority

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© AFP | Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2015-02-23

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party on Sunday lost the two-thirds supermajority it held in parliament since 2010, which allowed it to pass a new constitution and other legislation without input from the opposition.

The National Election Office said that Zoltan Kesz, an independent supported by the left-wing opposition parties, defeated Fidesz candidate Lajos Nemedi in a district centered on the city of Veszprem. With 98 percent of the votes counted, Kesz led Nemedi by 42.6 percent to 33.6 percent. A candidate for the far-right Jobbik party was third with 14.1 percent.

Kesz said the result was a warning from voters to the governing parties, “because they will no longer accept the plundering of the country ... and millions being driven into poverty.”

The election was needed because Fidesz’s Tibor Navracsics, who won the seat in April, has since become a European Union commissioner.

Orban’s Fidesz party and a much smaller ally have also used their supermajority in the 199-seat legislature to dominate institutions including the state media authority and the constitutional court by electing only government-backed nominees.

While “this result is totally unexpected for Fidesz,” the opposition victory was largely symbolic because the government parties will be only one vote short of the supermajority, said Tamas Boros, an analyst at Policy Solutions.

Fidesz easily won three elections last year - parliamentary, local elections and for the European parliament - but unpopular proposals and laws since October have seen it drop substantially in opinion polls.

The government abandoned a plan to tax Internet use after huge national protests but since adopted unpopular measures including forcing most shops to close on Sundays and greatly expanding the toll system for most roads.

The government also rejected investigating alleged corruption at the national tax office, though some of its officials have been banned from entering the United States because of the allegations.

“Fidesz now seems like a fragmented party burdened by corruption scandals,” Boros said. “Fidesz has started to meddle in the people’s lifestyle and it was its own voters who became hesitant and stayed at home.”

(AP) France 24

Pro-Russia rebels 'to withdraw weapons from Ukraine frontline’

Latest update : 2015-02-22

A senior pro-Russian rebel commander said separatist forces were due to begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline in east Ukraine on Sunday, a step towards implementing an internationally brokered peace deal.

Eurozone approves Greek bailout extension

© Louisa Gouliamaki, AFP I Greek and EU flags near the Acropolis in Athens on February 19

Text by NEWS WIRES

Latest update : 2015-02-24

Greece secured a four-month extension of its financial rescue on Tuesday when its euro zone partners approved a reform plan that backed down on key leftist measures and promised that spending to alleviate social distress would not derail its budget.

Ukraine crisis: Renewed fighting 'catastrophic' says UN

A house burns in the city of Donetsk after shelling on Tuesday

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Britain to allow world’s first ‘three-parent’ babies

Britain on Tuesday became the first country to allow a “three-parent” IVF technique which doctors say will prevent some inherited incurable diseases but which critics see as a step towards creating designer babies.

UN court dismisses Croatia, Serbia genocide claims

The United Nations’ highest court ruled on Tuesday that neither Croatia nor Serbia had committed genocide against each other’s populations during the wars that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.