USA - A new study carried out by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (CLF) has found that millions Americans who consume soda every day are putting themselves at risk of developing cancer as a result of an ingredient contained in many soft drinks.
SAUDI ARABIA - "The Saudi authorities are completely coordinated with Israel on all matters related to Iran," Channel 2 reported the unnamed European official as saying on Tuesday, reported The Jerusalem Post. "The Saudis have declared their readiness for the Israeli Air Force to overfly Saudi airspace en route to attack Iran if an attack is necessary," the report said. Saudi Arabia's eastern Persian Gulf border is only about 100 miles from Iran's Bushehr nuclear site.
GREECE - Greece's Left-wing Syriza government has vowed to block plans to privatise strategic assets and called for sweeping changes to past deals, risking a fresh clash with the eurozone's creditor powers just days after a tense deal in Brussels. "We will cancel the privatisation of the Piraeus Port," said George Stathakis, the economy minister. "It will remain permanently under state majority holding. There is no good reason to turn it into a private monopoly, as we made clear from the first day."
VATICAN - German Chancellor Merkel visited the Vatican over the weekend. Consistent with the diplomatic practice, they exchanged gifts. The Chancellor gave the Pope a Johann Sebastian Bach CD set and a donation for refugee children. Pope Francis gave Merkel a medal with an image on it. It is a picture of Saint Martin cutting his coat to give it to the poor.
USA - Janet Yellen is very alarmed that some members of Congress want to conduct a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve for the first time since it was created. If the Fed is doing everything correctly, why should Yellen be alarmed? What does she have to hide? During testimony before Congress on Tuesday, she made “central bank independence” sound like it was the Holy Grail. Even though every other government function is debated politically in this country, Yellen insists that what the Federal Reserve does is “too important” to be influenced by the American people. Does any other government agency ever dare to make that claim?
GERMANY - A closely watched indicator of the German economy has come in weaker than analysts had anticipated, dampening hopes for the country's revival. The Ifo business climate index - an influential survey of German businesses - ticked up by just 0.1 points to 106.8 in February, the smallest increase possible.
UK - Power supplies could drop suddenly next month when the UK is plunged into darkness with an eclipse of the sun. Energy experts warned there could be possible blackouts in the biggest solar eclipse since 1999. Nearly 90 per cent of the sun's rays will be blocked out in parts of Europe on March 20.
UK - This morning the BBC published details of a major poll of the attitudes of Britain’s Muslims. The headline on the front of the BBC website linking to the research states: “Muslims ‘oppose cartoon reprisals'”. This of course relates to attitudes within the Muslim community towards the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks. It’s a reassuring headline. It’s also wrong.
USA - A new study has found that long-term exposure to the threat of terrorism can elevate people’s resting heart rates and increase their risk of dying. The study of more than 17,000 Israelis is the first statistics-based study, and the largest of its kind, that indicates that fear induced by consistent exposure to the threat of terrorism can lead to negative health consequences and increase the risk of mortality, according to researchers at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
CHINA - Philippine authorities have released satellite pictures of six reefs in the Spratly archipelago that indicate that the Chinese are building artificial structures in the disputed territories of the South China Sea. According to some observers, these features could allow China to extend the range of its navy, air force, coastguard and fishing fleets into the disputed areas. In response, the US and the Philippines announced they would further strengthen their alliance to increase their military capacity.
CHINA - Seen from the Chinese capital as the Year of the Sheep starts, the malaise affecting the West seems like a mirage in a galaxy far, far away. On the other hand, the China that surrounds you looks all too solid and nothing like the embattled nation you hear about in the Western media, with its falling industrial figures, its real estate bubble, and its looming environmental disasters. Prophecies of doom notwithstanding, as the dogs of austerity and war bark madly in the distance, the Chinese caravan passes by in what President Xi Jinping calls “new normal” mode.
USA - Climate Depot’s Morano statement on Pachauri’s resignation: ‘The IPCC is quietly popping champagne corks today. Pachauri gone can only be good news for the UN IPCC’ – Marc Morano: ‘If Pachauri had any decency, he would have resigned in the wake of the Climategate scandal which broke in 2009. Climategate implicated the upper echelon of UN IPCC scientists in attempting to collude and craft a narrative on global warming while allowing no dissent.’
UK - Food manufacturers add thousands of different chemicals to processed food. The majority are safe but some are controversial - despite being officially approved for use in the UK. And it's not just iffy ingredients that consumers should look out for - food labels and packaging contain other red flags you may be unaware of.
EUROPE - The International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank have warned that Greek government reforms are not enough to unlock the vital funding needed to keep the country afloat. In order to prevent a bankruptcy and default on March 1, eurozone finance ministers approved a six-page list of proposals from Athens as a “valid starting point” for negotiations to take place over the next five weeks.
GERMANY - Within the past two weeks, a temporary deal to keep Greece in the eurozone was reached in Brussels, a cease-fire roadmap was agreed to in Minsk and Iranian negotiators advanced a potential nuclear deal in Geneva. Squadrons of diplomats have forestalled one geopolitical crisis after another.