The head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development claimed that to survive the euro needs to boost its financial firewall to at least €1 trillion to return to growth. Angel Gurria, the secretary-general of the Paris-based international development body, said current commitments to the rescue funds, which are limited to €500 billion ($664 billion), are not enough to restore market confidence in the eurozone.

Europe needs "the mother of all firewalls," he said at a news conference in Brussels, where he was flanked by Olli Rehn, the EU's economic affairs commissioner, who has also been pushing for a larger bailout fund. Germany yesterday signaled its intent to come to the aid of ailing eurozone countries such as Spain and Italy in order to keep the euro afloat. Both Spain and Italy are struggling to keep up with debt repayments which together have more than 2.5 trillion euros worth of debt.

The Book of Exodus describes the miraculous splitting of the Red Sea to allow the Jews to cross it while walking on dry land, thereby escaping the Egyptians. "In our lifetimes, we have witnessed some of the most remarkable miracles of Jewish history," the Rabbi said. "After the devastation of the Holocaust, a rational observer could have said, 'that is a death blow for the Jewish people. They're finished. What sort of future can there be?'"

"Yet within three years of that, Jewish sovereignty is established in the land of Israel. In 1948, on a tiny strip of land, six hundred thousand Jews joined by millions of Holocaust survivors had to ward off ferocious attacks by enemies on all sides - and did so in one military victory after another. With great miracles and signs and wonders... The reunification of Jerusalem, the recapture of the Temple Mount. And in the midst of all of these military dangers, absorbing millions of immigrants from all over the world... from Russia, from Ethiopia."

“Building a thriving economy… becoming leaders in technology and medicine – and all fields of human endeavor,” Rabbi Goldstein proclaims, "What a remarkable divine miracle from Hashem before our very eyes!"

The 17-country eurozone is under pressure to raise the firewalls to boost confidence in the struggling countries, despite uncertainty over the ability of Rome and Madrid to repay their debts. Finance ministers are due to meet to discuss their next move in Copenhagen on Friday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking in Berlin, said her country could be willing to temporarily increase the eurozone's bailout funds to €700 billion.

But, it is questionable whether a temporary increase to €700 billion - of which some €200 billion have already been committed to previous bailouts - will be enough to convince the rest of the world that the eurozone is doing enough to stop its debt crisis from spreading.

However, funding costs for Spain in particular have gone up again over the past weeks amid doubts whether the recession-ridden country can cut its large deficits. FxPro economist Simon Smith said: “The relative calm that has emerged in the eurozone fiscal situation has been shattered.”

“The data highlights the knife-edge that the eurozone is operating on, with even core countries struggling to grow at a sufficient pace to compensate for the ongoing recessions in several peripheral nations.” ING economist Peter Vanden Houte warned: “THE DEBT CRISIS COULD COME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE.”

The controversial measure, the latest in a long line of interfering legislation from the EU, is being driven by a so-called fight against pollution. The European Commission will take the first step to a total ban next month by publishing a report on plastic packaging. One of the key proposals will be a recommendation for mandatory charging for plastic shopping bags.

The proposals were met with fury last night by retailers and politicians and added to the GROWING SUPPORT FOR OUR CRUSADE TO GET BRITAIN OUT OF THE EU. Writing in the Daily Express today, UKIP MEP Paul Nuttall said it would alienate consumers and do little to boost the EU’s stuttering economic growth.

“Whether anybody in Brussels has noticed or not, the economy, both here in the UK and across the continent, is hardly surging forward,” he says. “Millions have lost their jobs and millions have never had a job. Businesses are closing down and those lucky enough to be in work are having to tighten their belts as prices rise and salaries stagnate. So you would think that now would not be the time to introduce a new tax on commerce.”

Fears over Europe’s debt crisis were heightened by the region’s purchasing managers’ survey, which showed manufacturing in decline in powerhouses Germany and France. With China’s manufacturing sector also shrinking in March, investor confidence which had built up following the European Central Bank’s injection of more than €1 trillion (£830 billion) into the eurozone banking system evaporated. The FTSE 100 fell 46.3 to 5845.6, while leading European stock markets were down by more than 1.5 per cent.

“The data highlights the knife-edge that the eurozone is operating on, with even core countries struggling to grow at a sufficient pace to compensate for the ongoing recessions in several peripheral nations.”

The federal government in Berlin has denied a warning from the president of Germany's Ifo economics institute, Hans-Werner Sinn, that the German central bank, the Bundesbank, may face hidden risks of half a trillion euros ($660 billion) in the form of claims amassed under the Target2 European interbank payments system. Sinn and other critics have been arguing that the Bundesbank has extended that sum in loans to southern countries within the euro zone and that the bank could be left with claims on its books if a country like Greece were to leave the euro zone.

But Spiegel has learned that the German government doesn't see the Target2 liabilities as a problem. "The German government doesn't share this view," the German Finance Ministry said in a written response to a question submitted by Peter Gauweiler, a euroskeptic member of parliament with the conservative Christian Social Union party, the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union.

The claims were listed as items to balance the accounts of the European Central Bank, the ministry said. Its statement also contradicted the view of the Bundesbank which recently described the claims as a "symptom of the financial crisis." Government experts argue that the Target system claims would remain even if a country were to leave the euro zone and introduce a new currency. In addition, the claims are secured by collateral.

This means getting a renminbi-denominated bank account, in addition to a dollar account, could be an advantage for African businesses that seek to do business in the emerging markets. THE MOVE IS SET TO CHALLENGE THE SUPREMACY OF THE US DOLLAR. This, experts say, is the latest salvo in THE GREATEST WORLDWIDE CURRENCY WAR SINCE THE 1930S.

In the 30s, several nations competitively devalued their currencies to give their domestic economies an advantage over others. And this led to a worldwide decline in overall trade volumes at the time. The north will be pitted against the entire south in a historic competitive currency battle – whose terrain has moved to the Indian capital New Dehli – where the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India China and South Africa) nations will assemble next week. China seeks to find new markets for its currency and to lobby to internationalise it throughout the Brics states.

For China this is not a new game. In 2009, senior Chinese banking officials issued a statement that the international monetary system was flawed owing to an unhealthy dependence on the US dollar and called for a “super-sovereign” international reserve currency. Experts say Beijing’s first step is to internationalise its currency (by expanding its reach beyond China), liberalise it (to allow its value to be determined by the market instead of actively managing it as they currently do) and then make it a reserve currency for many nations in the developing world.

Indeed, the government has decided on perpetual bailouts for the too big to fail banks.

Some of the ongoing stealth bailouts include:

• Obama’s erroneously-labelled “jobs” act

• The mortgage settlement (indeed, settling prosecutions for pennies on the dollar is always a backdoor bailout)

• Interest rate swaps

• The Transaction Account Guarantee program, an extension of FDIC insurance coverage to all transaction balances

These are just a few of the secret bailout programs the government is giving to the giant banks. There are many other bailout programs as well. If these bailouts and subsidies are added up, they amount to many tens – or perhaps even hundreds – of trillions of dollars.

And then there is the cost of debasing the currency in order to print money to fund these bailouts. The cost to the American citizen in less valuable dollars could be truly staggering. From another perspective, running up our national debt to pay for the bailouts is costing us dearly by reducing our economy’s growth.

Army drivers are being trained to deliver fuel to petrol stations in case of a walkout by tanker drivers. Unite said there had been "unrelenting attacks" on drivers' conditions. In an interview with the BBC's Hardtalk programme, the general secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey, refused to rule out the possibility that any strike would be held over Easter. About 2,000 drivers at seven distribution depots took part in the ballot in what was the first national industrial action campaign for more than 10 years.

One of the companies involved, Hoyer, said its safety standards were very high. A Hoyer spokesman said: "Hoyer has one of the highest health, safety and training standards in the petroleum distribution sector." The firm said that pay and conditions for Hoyer drivers were among "the best in the industry", adding that the company's drivers earned on average £45,000 a year.

Hoyer said Unite had walked away from discussions designed to settle the dispute. The UK has 7,900 petrol stations. Widespread protests against fuel prices in 2000 caused disruption across the UK. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the government had "learnt the lessons" of the past and stood "ready to act" in case of a walkout.

The daily Express reports:- The Unite union has not given a date yet but it is widely expected to be during the Easter weekend beginning on Good Friday, April 6.

The plant closures were hailed as a victory by activists who had argued that the product was unappetizing, but tempered their jubilance due to the temporary loss of about 650 jobs at a time when the economy was showing signs of recovery. Rich Jochum, corporate administrator for the South Dakota-based company, said that the temporary closure could become "a permanent suspension."

"This is a direct reaction to all the misinformation about our lean beef," Jochum told Reuters. The closures are because of the recent outcry by food activists over its lean finely textured beef, Jochum said. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) and industry experts say the meat was safe to eat. Jochum said the company would continue to address the public's concerns, and blamed media reports and an organized campaign for "bullying" retailers into discontinuing the use of the beef product.

BPI, founded in 1981, began as a processor of frozen beef products. In 2001, the company emerged as a key player in the nation's ground beef industry after federal regulators approved the firm's process of using ammonia in the beef processing to remove food-bourne pathogens such as salmonella and E.coli O157:H7. The product is made out of scraps and fatty trimmings that, for years, typically had been sold off to make pet food or cooking oils because it was too difficult to remove the meat and was somewhat susceptible to contamination.

"Both are very small (under 10 meters) and pose no risk," the scientists wrote in a Twitter update. The first object, called asteroid 2012 FP35, came within 96,000 miles (154,000 km) of the Earth when it passed by earlier today, the scientists wrote. Asteroid 2012 FP35 is just under 30 feet (9 meters) wide, making it about the size of a tour bus.

The second asteroid is dubbed 2012 FS35 and crept even closer to Earth, coming within 36,000 miles (58,000 km) when it whipped by the planet. Asteroid 2012 FS35 is even smaller than its predecessor; at nearly 10 feet (3 meters) wide, it's only the size of a small car.

NASA's Asteroid Watch project is part of the agency's Near-Earth Objects program based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. NASA scientists and other teams of astronomers regularly scan the sky for larger, potentially dangerous asteroids in order to determine if they pose a risk of impacting the Earth.

A team of scientists led by geochemist Zunli Lu from Syracuse University in New York state, has found that contrary to the ‘consensus’, the ‘Medieval Warm Period’ approximately 500 to 1,000 years ago wasn’t just confined to Europe. In fact, it extended all the way down to Antarctica – which means that the Earth has already experience global warming without the aid of human CO2 emissions.

At present the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) argues that the Medieval Warm Period was confined to Europe – therefore that the warming we’re experiencing now is a man-made phenomenon.

According to The Independent, both a Monsanto source and a Monsanto spokesperson revealed that the aspartame creation process did in fact involve genetically modified bacteria. “We have two strains of bacteria – one is traditionally modified and one is genetically modified,” said the source. “It’s got a modified enzyme. It has one amino acid different.” The process of genetic modification is one that leads to unpredictable consequences. When manipulating the very genetic coding of an organism, of which we do not even fully understand, it is foolish to think that there will be no adverse reactions. Genetically modified food has already been linked to sterility, infant mortality, and allergies.

“Increasingly, chemical companies are using genetically engineered bacteria in their manufacturing process without telling the public,” said Dr Erik Millstone, of Sussex University and the National Food Alliance. Today we see that companies are hiding the fact that their products are genetically modified more than ever before. With the FDA allowing genetically modified salmon to go unlabeled, and new genetically modified potatoes creeping in, the people are under a heavy health assault.

It is truly astounding that genetically modified ingredients have found their way into such a wide variety of products over the last few years, despite research highlighting its negative effects. The ultimate way to take a stand against genetically modified food is to simply not purchase it. Non-GMO is the fastest growing retail brand, which is a clear message to food manufacturers. Big brands will have to change their ingredient list if they want to maintain sales.

Read Original article:- http://www.independent.co.uk/news/worlds-top-sweetener-is-made-with-gm-bacteria-1101176.html

Guido Westerwelle's goals sound impressive. The German foreign minister wants to encourage the Palestinians to work toward a two-state solution in negotiations, say ministry officials in Berlin, noting that this dovetails with "the efforts to support direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians." It sounds as if the German foreign minister were bringing about peace in the Middle East.

The reality will be more mundane when Westerwelle and some of his fellow cabinet members receive a group of their Palestinian counterparts for consultations in Berlin on Wednesday. At the meeting of the so-called German-Palestinian steering committee, the German government will pledge €72.5 million ($96 million) for education, police and development projects - more of a drop in the bucket than a major diplomatic offensive.

But the reason for this isn't just the difficult situation in the Middle East. It is also partly the result of disagreement between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Westerwelle over how the German government should respond to it. Their conflict, which is hardly secret anymore, weakens German foreign policy in one of the world's most dangerous regions.

The discord is also dangerous because Berlin could possibly soon find itself confronted with a more precarious situation. If Israel attacks Iran to prevent the country from gaining nuclear weapons, the German government will have to take a position quickly. And if that happens, Germany will not be able to afford a feud between its chancellor and its foreign minister.

“We are studying measures such as tracking and shooting down [parts] of a North Korean missile in case it strays out of its normal trajectory” and violates South Korean airspace, said Yoon Won-shik, a spokesman at the South's Defense Ministry. He described the launch as a “reckless and provocative act that undermines peace on the Korean peninsula.”

Japan has also rattled the saber, saying it will shoot down the missiles with AEGIS warships if the rocket threatens their country. The international community has condemned the launch amid calls from the US and South Korea to abort the mission immediately. According to a UN resolution, ballistic missile launches by North Korea for any purpose are outlawed. Both the US and South Korean military are currently monitoring the situation for developments. Recent reports say that the rocket has been moved to the village of Tongchang-ri and is prepping for launch.

US President Barack Obama has called on Beijing, North Korea's only major ally, to try and persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Talking on the sidelines of an international nuclear summit in Seoul, Obama said that China's actions of "rewarding bad behavior (and) turning a blind eye to deliberate provocations" were obviously not working.