France, Germany clash on reform ahead of EU summit

France, Germany clash on reform ahead of EU summit

European Union leaders arrived in Brussels on Thursday for talks on how to support the bloc’s struggling banking industry, with France and Germany already making it clear that they disagree on any proposed reforms.

By Yuka ROYER (video)FRANCE 24 (with wires) (text)

European leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday to discuss how to save the euro currency from collapse and support countries that are facing too much debt and not enough growth.
But the two-day summit promises to be just a small pit stop on the road to recovery, with few decisions expected. The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union are set to focus on how to support their banking sectors.

Merkel pledges support for Greece on Athens visit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens on Tuesday that the “tough path” of punishing spending cuts will pay off, while thousands took to the streets to protest her visit.

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece on Tuesday that the "tough path" of painful spending cuts will pay off, as tens of thousands of protesters massed in the capital in a show of anger against her visit to the eurozone's most indebted nation.

Iran says EU new sanctions are futile

Iran says EU new sanctions are futile

Tehran says EU's new sanctions will not force any retreat on the country's suspect nuclear programme. Last Modified: 16 Oct 2012 18:45 inShare2 Email Print Share Feedback

Analysts say that EU sanctions will hit the value of the rial, but Iran will continue to trade internationally [Reuters]

Stringent new sanctions imposed by the European Union will not force Iran back into negotiations over its nuclear programme, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says. European Union governments imposed sanctions on Tuesday against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry, and strengthened restrictions on the central bank, increasing financial pressure over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Portugal unveils harsh austerity budget

Portugal revealed details of its draft 2013 budget on Monday, which included a raft of tax hikes and spending cuts. The budget, considered one of the harshest in recent history, comes just days after mass street protests against austerity.

 

The Portuguese government pushed ahead on Monday with a draft 2013 budget that includes massive tax rises and spending cuts, just two days after mass street protests against further austerity.
"The proposed budget is the only one possible ... we don't have any room for manoeuvre," Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar told journalists after submitting the budget bill to lawmakers.

Turkish Stocks, Currency Fall on Growing Tension With Syria

Published: Thursday, 4 Oct 2012 | 9:55 AM ET

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By: Reuters

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Turkish assets weakened on Thursday on investor concerns about increasing tension with Syria, after a mortar bomb hit a residential district in southeast Turkey, killing five people.

STR | AFP | Getty Images

Market sentiment deteriorated after Turkish artillery hit targets near the Syrian border late on Wednesday and early on Thursday afterartillery shelling from Syria killed five Turkish civilians.

The government won parliamentary approval to send soldiers to foreign countries if necessary.

LATEST UPDATE: 02/10/2012 

- CAUCASUS - ELECTIONS - GEORGIA - MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI

Opposition, ruling party claim victory in legislative vote

With some exit polls showing Bidzina Ivanishvili's opposition leading the parliamentary vote on Monday and others putting it in a dead heat with President Mikheil Saakashvili's party, Georgia’s legislative election may be headed for a stalemate.

By Kate Moody / Katerina VITTOZZI (video)

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ruling party and an opposition coalition both claimed victory in a parliamentary election in the former Soviet republic on Monday, raising the prospect of a post-election standoff.
Any signs of instability in the Caucasus country of 4.5 million would worry the West because of its role as a conduit for Caspian Sea energy supplies to Europe and its pivotal location between Russia, Iran, Turkey and central Asia.

Spanish PM says bailout not imminent

Mariano Rajoy denies reports that Madrid is on verge of seeking a bailout while meeting leaders of country's regions. Last Modified: 02 Oct 2012 20:59

New jobless figures suggest one in every four in the Spanish workforce are now unemployed [Reuters]

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has said that a new bailout for his country is not yet imminent. Rajoy made the comment on Tuesday after a meeting in the capital Madrid with the 17 leaders of Spain's regions. In response to a report by the Reuters news agency that Spain could apply for European aid as soon as this weekend, Rajoy said: "If a news agency reports that we'll ask for aid this weekend, there can only be two explanations: that the agency is right, and knows more than I do, which is possible, or that they are not right.

Mohamed Morsi goes to UN general assembly with independence in mind

Egypt's first democratically elected and Islamist president takes first trip to US keen to redefine international relations

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• Abdel-Rahman Hussein in Cairo
• The Guardian, Sunday 23 September 2012 13.16 EDT

Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian president, will be under the spotlight during his trip to the UN general assembly in New York. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

The UN general assembly, which opens in New York this week, is notable for the cast of leaders it draws to the city. This year, it is Mohamed Morsi, who will be the most closely watched, as he embarks on his first visit to the US as president, at a delicate time in relations between America and the Islamic world.

Morsi, who will meet David Cameron and French president François Hollande but not Barack Obama – has left the US leadership in no doubt that relations have entered a new era. America was angered by his dilatory response to the attack on the US embassy two weeks ago.

On his official Facebook page the president said: "Egyptian foreign relations are now about a balance with other nations based on mutual respect and interests. We open doors and do not close others."

An MP from Egypt's dissolved parliament for the Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, Mahmoud Helmy, told the Guardian, "The president's visit is primarily about Egypt's interests, and we trust Morsi to do that. He's trying to set foundations for mutual interests and improving relations to a level that was lost with the previous regime, which was more of a stooge."

Elijah Zarwan, a Cairo-based fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said: "Morsi and Obama have compelling shared interests in keeping the Egyptian-US relationship strong, and have already moved to mend fences after last week's tensions, which I suspect will be a flash in the pan. US relations with Mubarak were sometimes prickly. Relations with Egypt's first democratically elected and Islamist president may also be, but for different reasons."

Morsi is catering to public opinion in Egypt by making it clear that he is his own man when it comes to foreign relations. Choosing to visit Iran, the first visit by an Egyptian leader in 30 years, he then went on to publicly criticise the Syrian regime, in Tehran to the chagrin of its staunchest regional ally.

And in the wake of the embassy attacks, he also had to contend with local uproar at the American film which triggered the anger.

"The embassy events are not the first nor the last flash points that may happen, and they will not influence relations between two countries so markedly," Helmy said. "We announced that we don't accept the offense to the Prophet Mohammed and we also condemn the violence and attack on the embassy. Any foreigner in your country is your guest and you are responsible for his safety."

And despite the events in Cairo having implications on the US presidential race, Morsi does travel to the US with a merit of goodwill, according to Bassel Adel, member of the secular liberal Free Egyptians party. "Morsi goes to the US with a card up his sleeve that the Brotherhood didn't participate in the embassy protest, for the first time in their history. Also events in Libya [where the US ambassador was killed after an attack on the consulate] overshadowed the events in Cairo."

However, Adel alluded to a unique relationship that the Brotherhood has with the US administration, going back to the early days of the revolution that ousted Mubarak. "Egyptians not belonging to the Brotherhood feel there is a special relationship between the Brotherhood and the US, adirect line of communication that began with the onset of the revolution. This is something that needs to be looked into."

Russia boots out USAID

By the CNN Wire Staff

September 19, 2012 -- Updated 2007 GMT (0407 HKT)

Russia's President Vladimir Putin addresses supporters in Manezhnaya Square on election night, March 4, 2012.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The State Department says itis "extremely proud" of the work USAID did in Russia
• Russia says it was undermined by the U.S. Agency for International Development
• USAID had worked in Russia for two decades

(CNN) -- Russia has thrown out the United States Agency for International Development, the U.S. State Department said, claiming that the aid agency has undermined Russia's sovereignty.

"We have recently received a decision of the Russian Government to end USAID activities there," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said this week. "The United States is extremely proud of what USAID has accomplished in Russia over the last 20 years, and we will work with our partners and staff to responsibly end or transition those programs."

At APEC Russia and the U.S. look east

Senior Russian officials have said that some of the agency's programs, such as some human rights groups and election monitoring, have undermined Russia's sovereignty, according to the state news agency RIA Novosti.

Russian protesters defy Kremlin with anti-Putin rally

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched though Moscow on Saturday to demand an end to President Vladimir Putin’s long rule and show their protest movement remains strong, despite increasingly tough Kremlin measures against the opposition.

By Clementine LOGAN / Marie NORMAND (video)

The first major protest against President Vladimir Putin after a summer lull drew tens of thousands of people, determined to show that opposition sentiment remains strong despite Kremlin efforts to muzzle dissent.
The street protests broke out after a December parliamentary election won by Putin’s party through what observers said was widespread fraud, and they grew in strength ahead of Putin’s effectively unopposed election in March to a third presidential term.
Huge rallies of more than 100,000 people even in bitter winter cold gave many protesters hope for democratic change. These hopes have waned, but opposition supporters appear ready to dig in for a long fight.