Now Italy's turn: Thousands protest money moves
ITALY - Tens of thousands of students and workers rallied across Italy on Saturday to protest against austerity measures imposed by Prime Minister Mario Monti's technocrat government. Appointed a year ago when Italy came close to a Greek-style debt crisis, Monti has pushed through painful tax increases and spending cuts to try to rein in public finances at a time when schools and universities say they desperately need more support.
Hurricane Sandy: Make or break for the US economy
USA - Hurricane Sandy is expected to bring the US economy an economic boost with up to $240 billion in reconstruction and replacement purchases and add 0.5% to the country's GDP next year, surpassing the $50 billion loss it caused. “Construction costs to rebuild all that was lost will be more than simply replacement because a lot of the work will also involve fortifying structures,” Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at Economic Outlook told Bloomberg. “We’ll see construction ramped up, and that’s going to bring in jobs and an increase in demand for material of all sorts, and that’s going to further stimulate the economy.”
Egypt's Mursi faces judicial revolt over decree
EGYPT - Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi faced a rebellion from judges who accused him on Saturday of expanding his powers at their expense, deepening a crisis that has triggered violence in the street and exposed the country's deep divisions.
The Judges' Club, a body representing judges across Egypt, called for a strike during a meeting interrupted with chants demanding the "downfall of the regime" - the rallying cry in the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak last year. Mursi's political opponents and supporters, representing the divide between newly empowered Islamists and their critics, called for rival demonstrations on Tuesday over a decree that has triggered concern in the West.
Issued late on Thursday, it marks an effort by Mursi to consolidate his influence after he successfully sidelined Mubarak-era generals in August. The decree defends from judicial review decisions taken by Mursi until a new parliament is elected in a vote expected early next year. It also shields the Islamist-dominated assembly writing Egypt's new constitution from a raft of legal challenges that have threatened the body with dissolution, and offers the same protection to the Islamist-controlled upper house of parliament.
Egypt's highest judicial authority, the Supreme Judicial Council, said the decree was an "unprecedented attack" on the independence of the judiciary. The Judges' Club, meeting in Cairo, called on Mursi to rescind it.
New software that predicts when laws are about to be broken
USA - An artificial intelligence system that connects to surveillance cameras to predict when people are about to commit a crime is under development, funded by the US military. The software, dubbed Mind's Eye, recognises human activities seen on CCTV and uses algorithms to predict what the targets might do next - then notify the authorities. The technology has echoes of the Hollywood film Minority Report, where people are punished for crimes they are predicted to commit, rather than after committing a crime.
Cameron tells EU leaders to impose big cuts on 'outrageous' pay and perks
BRUSSELS, EUROPE - David Cameron today slammed EU leaders for only 'tinkering' with the Brussels budget, as the second day of crunch talks began with little sign of a deal being reached. As talks went into the night at a crunch budget summit, Mr Cameron produced a list of proposals for billions of pounds-worth of cuts to the pay and pensions of the 40,000-strong Brussels workforce.
He told Mr van Rompuy and Mr Barroso they could save almost £5 billion by raising the retirement age for staff from 65 to 68, cutting 10 per cent from the pay bill and capping pensions at 60 rather than 70 per cent of final salary. EU bosses were said to have reacted ‘very defensively’ to his proposals. They claimed it would be ‘legally difficult’ to change employees’ terms and conditions, even though similar reforms have been implemented in many member states.
‘These are not dramatic changes,’ said one senior British official. ‘The terms and conditions people are currently on are extremely generous. The Commission and others are telling the Greeks, the Italians and others to raise their retirement age. It’s not too much to ask them to do the same.’
The European Commission wants to increase its budget by a staggering 350 per cent – from £6.5 billion to £29 billion. Britain said that at most it should be doubled to £13 billion, saving £16 billion.
Mr Cameron said: ‘Clearly at a time when we are making difficult decisions at home over public spending it would be quite wrong – it is quite wrong – for there to be proposals for this increased extra spending in the EU.’ Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg agreed: ‘What we want from the European Union is just common sense. There is not enough money to go around at the moment. Everyone is tightening their belts - let’s make sure it is reflected in the EU budget.’
EU budget deal unlikely, says Angela Merkel
BRUSSELS, EUROPE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she doubts an agreement can be reached on the European Union's next budget at the summit taking place in Brussels. She spoke after negotiations on the 2014-2020 budget were adjourned until midday on Friday (11:00 GMT). The opening of the summit was delayed for three hours because of stark differences over the budget plans.
Most EU members support an increase in the budget but several countries say it is unacceptable at a time of austerity. Earlier, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy circulated a revised proposal for the new budget and said he believed that a compromise was possible. "I think we're advancing a bit, but I doubt that we will reach a deal," Mrs Merkel said. She has previously said that another summit may be necessary early next year if no deal can be reached now.
The UK is the most vocal of EU member states seeking cuts in the budget to match austerity programmes at home. "No, I'm not happy at all," Prime Minister David Cameron said about Mr Van Rompuy's offer to cap spending at €973 billion (£783 billion; $1.2 trillion). "Clearly, at a time when we're making difficult decisions at home over public spending, it would be quite wrong - it is quite wrong - for there to be proposals for this increased extra spending in the EU."
Detroit to go bankrupt in less than a month
USA - The city of Detroit, facing a serious cash crisis, is set to go bankrupt by the end of this year and would put city workers on furlough unless it strikes a deal with the city council that would bring in $30 million before December 14. Detroit has been in financial turmoil for years, losing a quarter of its population in the past decade and facing a shrinking auto industry that has reduced tax revenues. The Detroit City Council gave the mayor the option to hire a financial advisor and in return receive $30 million by the end of the year.
'Direct assault on sovereignty'?
BRUSSELS, EUROPE - The European Parliament has voted through a resolution calling for national militaries to ramp up their might. The EU believes economic downfall must not become a pretext to give up defense and security efforts.
MEPs in Brussels have approved a resolution saying the EU must respond to growing geostrategic changes and threats to global security and make full use of all existing means, including military, to secure peace and security for its citizens. This means a new EU operational headquarters is on the cards, and that Brussels will have the authority to jump into different crises, including what it calls “high intensity conflicts” – otherwise known as wars.
It is a question of business as well. European MPs stressed that building up Europe’s capabilities would save and even create jobs, pumping more investment into the military industry. Not all EU member states are going to be jumping for joy over the plans. The more ambitious EU common security and defense policy could leave Britain between a rock and a hard place. The UK could end up getting dragged into military campaigns that it has no interest in joining.
MEP David Campbell Bannerman from the UK Conservative Party voted against the move and slammed it. Bannerman told RT that Brussels is encroaching on the sovereignty of its members, with Britain relinquishing control of its own defense and security decisions.
California city issues homeless sleeping permits
USA - In an effort to manage the growing homeless population in Nevada City, California, Police Chief Jim Wickham has advocated a new law that would hand out permits to a small group of homeless giving them permission to sleep in public. “It just basically means you can’t set up a tent. You can’t live in your vehicle. You can’t live in the woods in Nevada City,” Wickham told CBS Sacremento of the new ordinance which the city council has adopted the first reading of. Wickham says the goal of the new law is to keep out homeless who come to Nevada City to commit crimes or have a criminal history. Those without permits will be arrested.
Dozens of campuses witness anti-Israel protests
USA - Students at dozens of universities across the US held anti-Israel protests this week as the Israeli military pursued operation Pillar of Defense in the Gaza Strip. More than ten students, for example, held a spirited demonstration on Columbia University’s campus on Tuesday, brandishing signs reading “stop Israeli terrorism” and “Gaza has a right to self-defense.” There appeared to be no signs condemning the targeting of civilians by Gaza’s ruling party of Hamas, which is defined by the US government as a terrorist organization.
UN summit 'threatens free and open Internet'
UNITED NATIONS - A forthcoming United Nations-organised conference on communications poses a grave threat to the freedom of the internet, Google has warned. The Silicon Valley search giant said the December gathering of the UN's International Telecommunications Union comes amid 'a growing backlash on Internet freedom'.
The World Conference on International Communications in Dubai will update global telecom rules for the first time since 1988, and some countries see this as an opportunity to set up new rules for the Internet. There are fears proposals made by China, Russia and other nations could threaten the open model of Internet governance by giving the UN a greater role. Oversight of the net's domain name system and technical specifications is currently undertaken by US-based bodies, but some countries want an international organisation to take responsibility.
Google's statement said 'the ITU is the wrong place to make decisions about the future of the Internet' because 'only governments have a voice at the ITU,' including some 'that do not support a free and open Internet.' 'The ITU is also secretive,' Google said. 'The treaty conference and proposals are confidential.' Google said some proposed treaty changes 'permit governments to censor legitimate speech — or even allow them to cut off Internet access'.
NSA Refuses To Release Secret Obama Directive On Cybersecurity
USA - The National Security Agency has refused to release details of a secret presidential directive which experts believe could allow the military and intelligence agencies to operate on the networks of private companies, such as Google and Facebook.
As we reported last week, an article in the Washington Post, cited several US officials saying that [Mr] Obama signed off on the secret cybersecurity order, believed to widely expand NSA’s spying authorities, in mid-October.
“The new directive is the most extensive White House effort to date to wrestle with what constitutes an “offensive” and a “defensive” action in the rapidly evolving world of cyberwar and cyberterrorism.” the report states.
In response to the move, lawyers with the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding that the Obama administration make public the text of the directive.
The NSA responded to the FOIA request this week with a statement arguing that it does not have to release the document because it is a confidential presidential communication and it is classified.
Thanksgiving - 43 million Americans hit the road
USA - An estimated 43 million Americans are travelling on Thanksgiving eve, amid bad weather and transport union action. Fog in Chicago grounded 200 flights, heavy rainfall drenched the US Pacific Northwest, and train services were disrupted in New York City. In Los Angeles, union workers staged a protest near the city's main airports, with some arrests reported.
Thanksgiving, a hugely popular holiday, celebrates the Pilgrims' first harvest in what is now Massachusetts state. For the 39 million Americans travelling in vehicles, heavy traffic was expected in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Reasons for turkeys to be nervous
Americans will gobble 46 million of the poultry at Thanksgiving, almost 3lb (1.4kg) per person
At an average weight of 16lb each, last year's Thanksgiving turkeys weighed 736 million lb in total.
Americans spend about $875 million (£550 million) buying turkeys for Thanksgiving
About 31% of turkeys scoffed during the year in the US will be consumed on the holiday
Turkey Terrorists
BROOKLINE, USA - Neighbors are on the offensive in Brookline after what some residents are describing as aggressive turkeys. Complaints to Brookline Police about wild turkeys have doubled in the past two months. “Some people are going to work and they’ve been chased by turkeys,” said Brookline Animal Control Officer Pierre Verrier. He spends nearly every morning trying to keep the animals away from students at Brookline High School. There are two turkey hunting seasons a year in Massachusetts. But in metropolitan areas, with firearm restrictions, that doesn’t help.
Holiday shopping marathon starts
USA - Forget that Turkey trot. Thanksgiving is now the start of the annual holiday shopping endurance race, as more stores open on Thursday's national holiday to seek a bigger share of spending that is expected to grow slowly this season.
Traditionally, retailers enticed shoppers with "doorbuster" deals early Friday morning. Then they shifted to midnight following Thanksgiving.
Now Walmart's US discount stores, which will already be open during the day, will offer some "Black Friday" deals at 8 pm and special deals on some electronics at 10 pm. Target has moved its opening from midnight to 9 pm on Thursday and Toys R Us is opening at 8 pm. Other retailers, like JC Penney Co Inc are holding out and will not open until Friday morning, so shoppers trying to get all the deals will need a lot of stamina. The stakes are high for US retailers, which can earn more than a third of their annual sales in the holiday season.
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