February 14, 2012 

Moody's cuts Europe credit ratings 

Moody's has downgraded its credit outlooks on the triple-A ratings of France, the United Kingdom and Austria to negative and it cut the ratings of Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta. The rating agency said on Monday it was making the changes "in order to reflect their susceptibility to the growing financial and macroeconomic risks emanating from the euro area crisis." The rating outlook of the nine countries was set to negative "given the continuing uncertainty over financing conditions over the next few quarters and its corresponding impact on creditworthiness," Moody's said in a statement. The move follows a similar one by Standard & Poor's last month, when France and Austria lost their triple-A status while Italy, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia were downgraded. After the outlook for its rating was cut, Britain said it must keep its promise to slash its large budget deficit. Britain's finance minister George, Osborne said "this is proof that, in the current global situation, Britain cannot waiver from dealing with its debts" "Moody's are explicit that it is only the government's 'necessary fiscal consolidation' that is stopping an immediate downgrade, which would happen if there were any 'reduced political commitment to fiscal consolidation including discretionary loosening'. This is a reality check for anyone who thinks Britain can duck confronting its debts." The government in Britain has come under increasing pressure to soften its austerity measures to give a stalling economy room to breathe. (Agencies) 

Israel envoys 'target of attacks' in India and Georgia 

Indian TV showed pictures of a burning car outside the Israeli embassy in DelhiIsraeli officials say their diplomats in India and Georgia have been targeted in apparent bomb attacks. An explosion hit an embassy car in Delhi, injuring one diplomat. Police said there had been an "incident" but could not confirm an attack. Israeli and Georgian officials said a bomb had been found beneath a diplomat's car in Tbilisi but was found and defused before it could go off. (BBC - continue reading here)

Syria resumes shelling after rejecting peace force 

(video via France24) 

Russia changes track on Syrian intervention

As the carnage in Syria worsened, Russia signaled a new-found willingness Monday to consider international intervention while the world’s nations planned a United Nations vote aimed at exposing the inaction of the great powers. Syrian guns pounded anti-government strongholds in the opposition stronghold of Homs and the Arab League called for UN blue helmets to “to supervise implementation of a cease-fire.” (Globe and Mail - continue reading here) 

Somalia's Shebab fighters celebrate al-Qaeda alliance 

Shebab fighter (file photo)Gun-toting Shebab insurgents staged rallies across Somalia Monday to celebrate their group’s recognition by Osama bin Laden’s successor as a member of the Islamist Al Qaeda network. “The unification of al-Shebab with al-Qaeda breaks the hearts of the enemy,” Shebab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told a crowd of several hundred in rebel-held Afgoye, just outside Somalia’s war-torn capital Mogadishu. (AlArabiya - continue reading here)

Venezuela opposition chooses Chavez challenger 

Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles won Sunday's poll, after casting his vote early in the capitalIn Venezuela presidential candidate Henrique Capriles a state governor, has won a primary vote to become the single candidate who will challenge Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the nation’s upcoming presidential poll, launching a race to try to dislodge a leader who after 13 years in power still has a loyal following. Teresa Albanes, the opposition election chief, announced the preliminary results, saying that Capriles won about 62% of Sunday's vote, beating Zulia state governor Pablo Perez by a margin of more than 30% points.  (AlJazeera - continue reading here) 

Ice and freezing temperatures continue to plague Europe 

A man walks on the deck of an ice breaker ship, trying to free itself from frozen Danube waters, in Giurgiu, southern Romania, Wednesday. (AP)Extreme weather continues across Europe leaving thousands of people stranded without power, halting transportation systems, as the death toll from one of the coldest winters in years continues to rise. Blizzards hit the Western Balkans, while heavy snowfalls and gale-force winds are expected to last until Monday. In the village of Restelica in Kosovo, an avalanche killed a married couple and their son and has left nine others missing the Associated Press reported. In the United Kingdom, temperatures fell below zero on Saturday and were expected to drop even lower throughout the day. For the first time in 25 years, hundreds of miles of Europe’s Danube River, one of the most important river for commerce in Europe, have frozen over, halting transportation and shipping. In northern Bulgaria, trains could not make their way through the deep snow blown on the railways by heavy winds, state radio reported. The Bulgarian section of the Danube was completely frozen on Saturday, the national Agency for Maintenance of the Danube River said. The Bulgarian Maritime Administration has banned all navigation in the Bulgarian section, including ferries to Romania. Montenegro’s capital city of Podgorica saw snow piled to nearly two feet – the most in the city since 1949, according to the A.P.  In Serbia, authorities reported three new deaths, raising the overall death toll for the country to 19. An estimated 50,000 people remain isolated in remote villages. Many villages in the mountainous regions of Bosnia have been cut off for nearly two weeks when the cold spell began. In Croatia an average of 50 centimeters of snow are expected to fall by the end of the weekend, while powerful winds blowing in from the sea have forced local road authorities to close some of the sections of the Adriatic highway. In Poland southern Bieszczady Mountains temperatures dropped as low as -32C, while 8 people perished in house fires, police said. In Romania, the health ministry said that the death toll is up to 65 and tens of thousands of people remain isolated in the south, where the army, police and firefighters were trying to clear access routes and distribute food and water. Italy’s ANSA news agency reports that the snowfall on Friday, across much of central and southern Italy cut off a number of remote towns and said “the snow will continue and intensify in all the regions affected”. The successive snowstorms – considered to be the worst onslaught in the country since the 1980’s – have also devastated much of the country’s agriculture. In the Ukraine, the worst-affected country, over 130 people have died and more than 3,000 have sought hospital treatment, the state news agency Ukrinform said. Due to the ice, more than 120 ships – most of them foreign- are trapped in the Kerch Strait, liking the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. - HUMNEWS, Agencies 

                                 Syria, the new Libya If Syria cannot be the new Libya in the sense of a UN resolution authorizing NATO humanitarian bombing - vetoed by Russia and China - Syria is a new Libya in the sense of unsavory ties between the "rebels" and hardcore Salafi-jihadis brandishing Kalashnikovs. The regime-change agenda in Syria remains the same as for Libya; even Warrior-in-Chief US President Barack Obama says so. By Pepe Escobar

Kashmir: the mental price of conflict More than half of Kashmir's population suffers from mental illness, including severe post-traumatic stress disorder, from witnessing death and horror over 23 years of conflict. The problem is particularly grave among children in orphanages, which doctors say are breeding grounds for psychiatric problems. By Sana Altaf

Leaked report belies Afghan surge 'success'  A leaked and damning assessment of the US military in Afghanistan may have been dismissed by the author's army superiors as "one person's view", but it provides the most authoritative refutation of the official narrative of success since the troop surge began in early 2010. Even a cursory glance proves that the insurgency has gained strength, it concludes. By Gareth Porter

Taiwan fails to lure mainland investors Taiwan has gradually opened up to investments from mainland China since 2009 in spite of concern that the former arch-enemy would use its money as a means to achieve backdoor unification. Yet a noteworthy flow of Chinese foreign direct investments toward Taiwan is conspicuous by its absence. By Jens Kastner

Turmoil deepens bleak Tehran winter As the winter mercury slumps and pollution hovers over Tehran, it's not the smog but deteriorating standards of living and the feeling that the world is conspiring against them that has Iranians most vexed. A currency crisis continues to grip the city and hope is absent - not so the supply of kidneys from financially stricken donors. By Jason Rezaian

The Russian winter of discontent  With Moscow's faith in Washington's "reset" shattered by the Libyan bombing campaign, Russia is strengthening its pivot towards Northeast Asia. China is the important partner in economic and foreign affairs, while regional allies are needed to help extract vital gas supplies from the East Siberian permafrost. However, the key piece to the Eurasian puzzle is North Korea. By Yong Kwon

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