CHINA - China's central bank deputy governor Yi Gang said: “China is prepared. In terms of both monetary policies and other mechanisms, China will take into full account the quantitative easing policies implemented by central banks of foreign countries.”
UK - A shock contraction in British manufacturing last month dragged the pound below the psychologically important $1.50 mark for the first time since June 2010, as tough conditions both at home and abroad indicated that the sector will drag down growth in the first quarter. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 47.9 from 50.5 in January, well below the 50 level that divides growth from contraction, as employment levels in the sector fell at the fastest pace in more than three years. Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said the data represented a "major set-back to hopes that the UK economy can return to growth in the first quarter and avoid a triple-dip recession".
ITALY - Beppe Grillo, the former comedian who holds the balance of power in Italy, has suggested the country may have to abandon the euro and return to the lire.
ITALY - Pier Luigi Bersani, the ex-Communist Party leader who now heads the Democratic Party, scored a narrow victory in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Parliament, but was unable to come up with a majority in the upper house, the Senate. Bersani is now scrambling to fashion a workable coalition with opponents. Unless and until he does that, Italy, the eurozone’s third largest economy and the world’s eighth largest economy, is faced with a “hung parliament,” without a prime minister and without a government. Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist known as "Dr Doom," said the election results “make Italy ungovernable. It is political, economic and financial chaos.”
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.
“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!
Read online or contact email to request a copy
