Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Thursday, 31 July 2014

The European Union Times


Posted: 30 Jul 2014 03:24 PM PDT

Argentina’s credit rating was downgraded to “selective default” by Standard & Poor’s as the South American country missed Wednesday’s deadline for a grace period during ongoing negotiations with holdout debt holders.
Wednesday is the cutoff for Argentina to make good on a $539 million payment to bondholders, which was placed on hold by US judge Thomas P. Griesa’s order tying that payment to ongoing litigation by vulture funds which refused the country’s original cents-on-the-dollar debt restructuring offer.
Analysts generally do not believe that a default by Argentina will have the same consequences as in 2001.
“An Argentina default is expected to be short-lived at this point and shouldn’t have any major implication for the country,” said Mauro Roca to Bloomberg, a senior Latin America economist at Goldman Sachs in New York.
“There’s the expectation that a deal with holdouts will be worked out soon.”
The country’s Economy Minister Axel Kicillof arrived in New York this week to engage in negotiations with holdout creditors. The talks have been overseen by a mediator appointed by the US judge who placed its payment on hold.
Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday evening Kicillof told reporters that the so-called vulture funds had refused a new offer proposed by Argentina.
Kicillof further stated that upon the country’s request for a stay to process the existing payment to 90%-plus of bondholders, the judge responded that only the holdout vulture funds could grant that request. The Argentinian minister said that the hedge funds did not comply to a stay.
“We will not sign anything that puts at risk the future of the Argentinian people,” said Kicillof. “Argentinians can rest easy. The country will continue forward. But have no doubt that we are open to further dialogue, just as long as it is under reasonable conditions.”
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Posted: 30 Jul 2014 03:17 PM PDT
An Israeli artillery gun fires a 155mm shell towards the Gaza Strip from a position near the border on July 30, 2014.
Bolivia has declared Israel a “terrorist state” and revoked a visa exemption agreement with Tel Aviv in protest at the ongoing Israeli attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip.
The move “means, in other words, we are declaring (Israel) a terrorist state,” President Evo Morales said during talks with a group of educators in the city of Cochabamba on Wednesday.
Morales added that the Israeli offensive shows “that Israel is not a guarantor of the principles of respect for life and the elementary precepts of rights that govern the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of our international community.”
Signed in 1972, the visa exemption agreement has allowed Israelis to travel freely to Bolivia without a visa.
Earlier this month, the Bolivian president called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prosecute Israel for “crimes against humanity.”
The move came as a fresh Israeli airstrike on a busy market near Gaza City killed at least 17 people and injured dozens of others earlier in the day.
More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed and thousands of others injured by the Israeli regime’s offensive against the coastal sliver since July 8.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, has been launching retaliatory attacks against Israel.
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Posted: 30 Jul 2014 02:43 PM PDT

Illegal immigrants arriving from as far away as China pay up to $30,000 to be smuggled into the U.S. through Mexico, a Border Patrol agent has revealed, highlighting the fact that people from all over the world, not just Central America, are penetrating the southern border due to lackadaisical enforcement of immigration laws.
Federal agents in South Texas apprehended two groups of Chinese illegal immigrants yesterday, some of whom were suffering from heat exhaustion after making the perilous trek through Mexico’s harsh terrain.
Agents greeted the dazed and confused Asian immigrants with water bottles, and despite immense language barriers, were able to communicate to them that they had indeed reached “America.”
Taking a cue from the current surge, agents say people from more than 143 countries have attempted to illegally bypass the southern border. Over the weekend, for instance, agents apprehended a diverse group of immigrants from countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
“Most people think that it’s just people from Mexico or Central America, but we get people from China, from Europe, from a whole bunch of different places,” Border Patrol Agent Joe Gutierrez told KRGV reporters, also disclosing that “people from China sometimes pay up to $30,000 to get into the United States illegally.”
One former smuggler told My Fox Houston recently that what mainly drives the multi-million dollar human trafficking trade is greed.
“20 years ago, crossing from Central America to Mexico cost about 350 dollars, and possibly another 300 dollars from Mexico City to the United States,” reports My Fox Houston’s Maria Corrales.
Today, smugglers can charge anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 to shepherd Central Americans via Mexico to the southern US border. “If the immigrant is a child, the price could double,” Corrales says.
Besides the possibility that so-called “coyotes” may sexually abuse or rob immigrants, the former smuggler also told Fox that traffickers will often lie to get immigrants to embark on the expensive and dangerous journey.
“They’re fooling them telling them there is opportunity over here for their kids. That’s why there’s a wave of children coming, he said, indicating greedy smugglers have contributed greatly to the current influx.
Federal agents agree smugglers are an unpredictable, ruthless bunch. “You can’t trust a smuggler,” Gutierrez told KRGV. “He lies to you from the beginning. He tells you it’s going to be a two- to three-hour walk and it turns into two or three days.”
In an interview with Breitbart News, National Border Patrol Council Local chapter 3307 spokesman Albert Spratte warned that, though uncommon, Americans should be aware immigrants from countries other than Central America are being escorted into the US.
“This should be a reminder to the public,” Spratte said, “that unaccompanied minors and family units are not the only ones crossing into the U.S. illegally. On the same day, I also witnessed 3-4 Chinese females at the processing station. The media are concentrating on the Central American families and minors and they are not covering the fact that we are still getting people, often adult males, who are coming from other nations.”
The NBPC 3307 vice president Chris Cabrera also told KRGV he believes even more foreign nationals will try to enter the US “soon” due to its current shaky footing on immigration, even more incentive for smugglers to continue at it.
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Posted: 30 Jul 2014 02:37 PM PDT

A recent study has shown that less than one out of two working-age Italians held a job last year, amid a decade-long employment crisis, Press TV reports.
The study conducted by Bruno Trentin Association, linked to the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), found that Italy’s employment rate stood at almost 49 percent in 2013.
The report also found that even though the country’s unemployment rate was in line with the eurozone’s average of around 12 percent, Italy’s employment rate was eight percentage points lower compared to the 18-member group.
In addition, the report said the number of working-age Italians listed as inactive, meaning those who were not searching as they felt no regular job was available, reached a record 20 million last year.
The study also revealed that the percentage of inactive Italians also rose last year to over 44 percent, which was higher than the Europe’s average of 36 percent during the same time.
Some Italians argue that returning to jobs connected to the country’s agricultural sector would be an effective way to tackle the employment crisis.
This comes as a recent report by National Institute of Statistics for Italy, Istat, has revealed that over six million Italians lived in absolute poverty in 2013, meaning they were unable to afford the goods and services to meet a minimum standard of living.
Over the past decade, Italy has been the slowest-growing economy in the eurozone as tough austerity measures, spending cuts, and pension changes have stirred serious concerns for many people already grappling with the ailing economy of the country.
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Posted: 30 Jul 2014 02:24 PM PDT

The Ebola virus poses “a serious threat” to Britain, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has warned.
The statement came as the foreign secretary was to chair an emergency COBRA meeting on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.
Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Hammond said that COBRA would assess the situation and “look at any measures that we need to take either in the UK, or in our diplomatic posts abroad in order to manage the threat.”
“We are very much focused on it as a new and emerging threat which we need to deal with,” he added.
The UK Department of Health has reassured the public that they are not at risk, and that it has the resources to diagnose people with symptoms of Ebola within 24 hours.
“We are well-prepared to identify and deal with any potential cases of Ebola, though there has never been a case in this country,” a spokesperson said.
Hammond’s warning comes after the deaths of 670 people in West Africa, who were infected by Ebola, including Sheik Umar Khan, a doctor in Sierra Leone treating people infected by the disease.
While no British national has been diagnosed with Ebola so far, a man who traveled from Nigeria to Birmingham was tested on Tuesday. However, results showed no sign of infection.
Earlier this week, Public Health England, a branch of the Department of Health, warned UK doctors about the possibility of Ebola symptoms.
Ebola, which until now has been largely contained in Liberia and Sierra Leone, is transmitted between humans via body fluids, such as blood and sweat. While initial symptoms include fever and muscle pains, the virus can develop into nausea, severe vomiting and internal bleeding.
Ebola has a 90 percent mortality rate and there is currently no known cure.
As a result of the outbreak, several West African airlines, including Asky, have stopped flying to Liberia and Sierra Leone, although no Western airline has made similar announcements.
Since its identification in 1976, Ebola has killed 2,371 people, with this year having the highest number of recorded fatalities.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 08:39