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.
VATICAN - The Coptic Church has acclaimed the 21 victims as martyrs by inserting them into their liturgical calendar (February 15), much like our own equivalent canonisation. Pope Francis has informally though publicly called them martyrs. Theologians need urgently to investigate the possibility of an ecumenism by (or in) blood, as well as an absolution by blood.
USA - The number of foreign-born residents has increased drastically over the last four decades. In 1970, roughly 18 percent of New Yorkers were foreign-born. In 2010, that figure was up to 37 percent, according to the Census and the NYC Department of City Planning. Roughly half of the city’s residents speak a language other than English at home. A quarter of New York City residents -- 1.8 million – are not English proficient, according to the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Affairs.
UK - The NHS crisis could be solved if doctors used astrology, a Tory MP has claimed. David Tredinnick claimed medics should look to the stars to take the 'pressure' off struggling hospitals. The MP for Bosworth in Leicestershire argued that astrology should 'have a role to play' in healthcare.
GERMANY - Old copies of the offending tome are kept in a secure “poison cabinet,” a literary danger zone in the dark recesses of the vast Bavarian State Library. A team of experts vets every request to see one, keeping the toxic text away from the prying eyes of the idly curious or those who might seek to exalt it. “This book is too dangerous for the general public,” library historian Florian Sepp warned as he carefully laid a first edition of “Mein Kampf” — Adolf Hitler’s autobiographical manifesto of hate — on a table in a restricted reading room.
USA - The world's biggest banks are still reeling from the consequences of the Libor and foreign exchange scandals, but US authorities are now investigating the possibility of more rigging. Several banks are being scrutinised over how they set influential benchmarks in the markets for gold, silver, platinum and palladium in London, with at least 10 under investigation from the Department of Justice (DoJ) and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to reports.
UK - Britain's benchmark index has surpassed the peak it reached just before the dotcom bubble burst. The FTSE 100 has broken a record that had stood for more than 15 years and hit a new all-time high, boosted by investor optimism about Greece and reassurance from the US Federal Reserve on interest rate rises.
GREECE - Greece has unveiled an outline summary of reforms demanded by eurozone leaders in order to secure a bailout extension. The measures include plans to combat tax evasion and tackling fuel and tobacco smuggling. Government officials said they were releasing the summary before formally submitting it to guard against leaks to the press.
GREECE - Greek leaders scrambled on Sunday to come up with a list of proposed changes to the nation’s austerity program that would be acceptable to their creditors by a Monday deadline, even as they faced a revolt by members of their own radical-left party, angered that the government had bent to demands by Brussels. An 11th-hour deal reached on Friday by Greece and eurozone finance ministers did nothing immediately to reduce the obligations Greece must fulfill to keep a lifeline of cash coming and avoid insolvency for the heavily indebted government.
EUROPE - Islamic State militants in Libya have vowed to attack Europe. Meanwhile, boatloads of migrants flee the collapsing state for European shores. Could the Mediterranean migration mask an influx of militants? Italy and Egypt have warned that Islamic State (IS) militants could hide among thousands of migrants rescued by European patrols.