IRELAND - Ireland's trade union chief has accused the EU-IMF troika in charge of Irish austerity policies of tipping the economy into downward spiral and acting as an imperial oppressor. "The Troika has done more damage to Ireland than Britain ever did in 800 years," said David Begg, head of the Irish Confederation of Trade Unions. Mr Begg said the image of Ireland as the poster-child of EU recovery was a myth cultivated by EU creditors whose only interest is to recoup their money. "At least the IMF officials are willing to admit they have been wrong but the EU officials are total ideologues."
PORTUGAL - Hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Portuguese cities protesting austerity measures that the government hopes will help to avoid the bailout and lift the country out of recession. Protests, coordinated through social media by nonpartisan groups, have swept across the country with the biggest mass demonstration taking place in the capital Lisbon. According to rally coordinators, some 500,000 protesters filled a Lisbon boulevard leading to the Finance Ministry. Many of them were carrying placards and chanting "It's time for the government to go!" and "Screw the Troika, we want our lives back," referring to the lenders from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
USA - Even as the frail former pontiff exits the world stage, the “big three” broadcast networks have gone overboard with tacky coverage and liberal agenda, at Pope Benedict XVI’s expense. And someone has counted the incidents, one by one.
VATICAN - With Pope Benedict XVI now officially in retirement, Catholic cardinals from around the world begin on Friday the complex, cryptic and uncertain process of picking the next leader of the world's largest church. Some details are still unclear, owing to Benedict's break with the tradition that papacies end with a pope's death, so these "princes of the Church" will first hold an informal session before traditional rounds of talks begin on Monday. Benedict ended his difficult eight-year reign on Thursday pledging unconditional obedience to whoever succeeds him to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics at one of the most problematic periods in the Church's 2,000 year history.
USA - The US Congress has adjourned for the weekend without reaching a deal to avert steep automatic budget cuts. The cuts, worth $85 billion (£56 billion), are due to take effect on Friday. Democrats and Republicans are blaming each other for the deadlock. President Barack Obama has invited congressional leaders to the White House for negotiations. Mr Obama warned that the cuts will harm the economy. The IMF said they could have a global impact on growth.
LONDON, UK - David Cameron was warned last night by the president of the European Council that he may not be able to claw back powers from Brussels. In a confrontational speech, Herman Van Rompuy suggested no other EU leaders are likely to support plans to rewrite the terms of Britain's membership in the EU then put the changes to a referendum.
UK/GERMANY - Some British troops could come home from Germany faster than expected as defence cuts make it easier to house the whole of the British Army in the UK.
ARGENTINA - Wild bees and other insects twice as effective as honeybees in producing seeds and fruit on crops. The decline of wild bees and other pollinators may be an even more alarming threat to crop yields than the loss of honeybees, a worldwide study suggests, revealing the irreplaceable contribution of wild insects to global food production.
UNITED NATIONS - The Simon Wiesenthal Center decried UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s silence at a UN conclave in Vienna as Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan charged that Zionism is "a crime against humanity," lumping it together with racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
ISRAEL - IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz spoke to commanders as they completed two days of training in response to violent riots. “The reality we live in is dynamic and ever-changing,” Gantz said. “We need to predict events in various arenas and put things in the right proportion. On any given day, events take place on some scale that have the potential to develop… We must not compromise on our readiness or on troops’ preparedness at every moment,” he declared. A total of 1,200 commanders took part in the training. They practiced responding to a wide-scale escalation of violence in Judea and Samaria, with an emphasis on riot training.
USA/ARGENTINA - Some countries default on their performing debt because they no longer have the ability to pay it. Other countries default on their performing debt because they no longer have the willingness to pay it.
ARGENTINA - Argentina has signalled to a US court that it will resist demands by a group of investors to repay them in full 11 years after its huge debt default. A New York appeals court was hearing arguments after a previous ruling that Argentina should pay $1.3 billion (£857 million). Argentina refuses to pay anything to investors who declined to participate in a previous debt reduction deal involving most of the nation's lenders. Argentina was not minded to obey the previous court order, lawyers said. Argentina defaulted on some $100 billion of debts in 2002, and has since restructured its debt twice, cancelling around 75% of the nominal value of the bonds.
ROME, ITALY - Two distinguished Italian theologians have called on Benedict XVI to withdraw his resignation, one arguing he ought not to resign, the other claiming a pope cannot resign. In the latter case, when the cardinals proceed to elect a successor they are, according to Enrico Maria Radaelli, electing an antipope, an impostor on the chair of St Peter.
AUSTRALIA - Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic, has criticised the Pope on his last day, describing his historic resignation as destabilising, while questioning his political prowess.
UK - The Bank of England was last night accused of ‘crushing’ savers as the row over negative interest rates intensified. Charlie Bean, deputy governor at the central bank, admitted ‘there is nothing to stop us’ reducing rates to below zero to kick-start the economy – although he insisted there was no plan to do it ‘immediately’. His views emerged just a day after fellow deputy governor Paul Tucker said sub-zero rates should be considered to boost lending to businesses and households. But the proposal was greeted with disbelief by savers.
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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