Children 'dumped in streets by Greek parents who can't afford to look after them any more

Children are being abandoned on Greece's streets by their poverty-stricken families who cannot afford to look after them any more.

Youngsters are being dumped by their parents who are struggling to make ends meet in what is fast becoming the most tragic human consequence of the Euro crisis.

It comes as pharmacists revealed the country had almost run out of aspirin, as multi-billion euro austerity measures filter their way through society.

Athens' Ark of the World youth centre said four children, including a newborn baby, had been left on its doorstep in recent months.

One mother, it said, ran away after handing over her two-year-old daughter Natasha.

Four-year-old Anna was found by a teacher clutching a note that read: 'I will not be coming to pick up Anna today because I cannot afford to look after her. Please take good care of her. Sorry.'

And another desperate mother, Maria, was forced to give up her eight-year-old daughter Anastasia after losing her job.

She looked for work for more than a  year, having to leave her child at home for hours at a time, and lived off food handouts from the local church.

She said: 'Every night I cry alone at home, but what can I do? It hurt my heart, but I didn’t have a choice.' She now works in a cafe but only make £16 per day and so cannot afford to take her daughter back.

Centre founder Fr Antonios Papanikolaou told the Mirror: 'Over the last year we've had hundreds of parents who want to leave their children with us. They know us and trust us.

'They say they do not have any money or shelter or food for their kids, so they hope we might be able to provide them with what they need.'

Further evidence of Greeks feeling the pinch of austerity measures is the lack of aspirin and other medicines now available in the country.

Pharmacists are struggling to stock their shelves as the Greek government, which sets the prices for drugs, keeps them artificially low.

This means that firms are turning to sell the drugs outside of the country for a higher price - leading to stock depletion for Greeks.

Mina Mavrou, who runs one of the country's 12,000 pharmacies, said she spent hours each day pleading with drug makers, wholesalers and colleagues to hunt down medicines for clients.

And she said that even when drugs were available, pharmacists often must foot the bill up front, or patients simply do without.

Meanwhile, talks about private sector creditors paying for part of a second Greek bailout are going badly, senior European bankers said tonight.

That raises the prospect that euro zone governments will have to increase their contribution to the aid package.

'Governments are mulling an increase of their share of the burden,' said one banker, while another said 'Nothing is decided yet, but the bigger the imposed haircut the less appetite there is for voluntary conversion.'    

A third senior banker told Associated Press: 'Private sector involvement is going badly.'    

There are suggestions in euro zone government circles that ministers are coming to the realisation they may need to bolster Greece's planned second bailout worth 130 billion euros if the voluntary bond swap scheme, which is a key part of the overall package, falls short of expectations. 

Stumping up yet more money would be politically difficult in Germany and other countries in the northern part of the currency bloc.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2085163/Children-dumped-streets-Greek-parents-afford-them.html

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Iran car explosion kills nuclear scientist in Tehran

Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, an academic who also worked at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, and the driver of the car were killed in the attack.

The blast happened after a motorcyclist stuck an apparent bomb to the car.

Several Iranian nuclear scientists have been assassinated in recent years, with Iran blaming Israel and the US. Both countries deny the accusations.

The US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters she did not have "any information to share one way or the other" on the latest attack.

Iran's Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told state television that the attack against Mr Ahmadi-Roshan would not stop "progress" in the country's nuclear programme.

He called the killing "evidence of [foreign] government-sponsored terrorism".

Local sources said Wednesday's blast took place at a faculty of Iran's Allameh Tabatai university.

Two others were reportedly also injured in the blast, which took place near Gol Nabi Street, in the north of the capital.

'Magnetic bomb'

Mr Ahmadi-Roshan, 32, was a graduate of Sharif University and supervised a department at Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Isfahan province, semi-official news agency Fars reported.

"The bomb was a magnetic one and the same as the ones previously used for the assassination of the scientists, and the work of the Zionists [Israelis]," deputy Tehran governor Safarali Baratloo said.

Witnesses said they had seen two people on the motorbike fix the bomb to the car, reported to be a Peugeot 405. The driver died of his wounds after the attack though the car itself remained virtually intact.

The BBC's Mohsen Asgari, in Tehran, says that the explosion was caused by a targeted, focused device intended to kill one or two people and small enough not to be heard from far away.

The latest attack comes almost two years to the day since Massoud Ali Mohammadi, a 50-year-old university lecturer at Tehran University, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb as he left his home in Tehran on 12 January 2010.

Nuclear suspicions

Reports at the time described Dr Mohammadi as a nuclear physicist, but it later appeared that he was an expert in another branch of physics.

There was also confusion as to whether the attack had any domestic political overtones because of reports about his apparent links to an opposition presidential candidate.

However, in August 2011, an Iranian man - Majid Jamali Fashi - was sentenced to death for the killing, with state authorities saying he was paid by Israel's Mossad spy agency. Israel does not comment on such claims.

Of the latest attack, Fars reports that the bombing method appears similar to another 2010 bombing which injured former university professor Fereydun Abbasi-Davani, now the head of the country's atomic energy organisation.

There has been much controversy over Iran's nuclear activities.

Tehran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy purposes, but the US and other Western nations suspect it of seeking to build nuclear weapons.

In a statement quoted on Iranian television on Wednesday, the country's atomic energy agency said its nuclear path was "irreversible", despite mounting international pressure.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16501566

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Fukushima nuclear plant worker in coma after collapsing at site

A worker in his 60s at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is in a coma after collapsing at the site, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has announced.

The man, an employee of a company cooperating with TEPCO, has been in a state of cardiac and respiratory arrest, the utility said on Jan. 9. The worker had been exposed to 52 microsieverts of radiation on Jan. 9 before collapsing and losing consciousness at the crippled plant that day. TEPCO is trying to confirm how long he has been working at nuclear plants and how much accumulated radiation doses he has been exposed to so far.

According to TEPCO, the man had been pouring concrete since the morning of Jan. 9 in order to manufacture a tank to hold radioactive materials following the treatment of contaminated water emanating from the cooling of nuclear reactors at the plant.

At around 2:20 p.m., the worker complained of sickness and was treated at the plant's medical office. However, he did not recover and was later transferred to a hospital in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, at around 4:30 p.m.

Since the outbreak of the nuclear crisis in March last year, three workers have died of sickness and other causes at the disaster-stricken plant.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120110p2a00m0na018000c.html

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U.S. moves toward legal action against Swiss bank: sources

(Reuters) - U.S. authorities are moving toward taking legal action against Wegelin & Co, which could lead to an indictment of one of Switzerland's last pure private banks, on charges that it enabled wealthy Americans to evade taxes, according to two persons with knowledge of the case.

Negotiations in the case have reached a critical stage, with an indictment possible though the bank is seeking a deferred prosecution agreement, which would be less damaging. The outcome depends on how prosecutors, the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Treasury Department agree to treat the matter, the sources said.

Founded in 1741, Wegelin is one of Switzerland's oldest banks. An indictment of it would be a blow to a national tradition of banking secrecy that dates back to the Middle Ages. It would be a step forward for a U.S. crackdown on offshore tax evasion by Americans through Swiss banks.

The crackdown started around 2007 with an investigation of UBS AG, Switzerland's largest bank. It has since spread to the entire Swiss banking industry. Dozens of U.S. clients and at least two dozen Swiss bankers have been charged, in moves that have strained U.S.-Swiss relations.

Albena Bjorck, a spokeswoman for Wegelin, declined to comment on Friday when asked whether the bank was considering the possibility of being indicted. Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, declined to comment.

The latest turn in the Wegelin case comes amid a broad criminal probe by the U.S. Justice Department of 11 Swiss and Swiss-style banks, including Wegelin, suspected of selling offshore tax evasion services to tens of thousands of wealthy Americans. Inquiries, growing out of scrutiny of UBS, are focused on Credit Suisse AG and Basler Kantonalbank among others.

Basler Kantonalbank confirmed a year ago that it was under investigation and in contact with U.S. authorities. Credit Suisse said in July its offshore private banking practices were under investigation and that it would "continue to cooperate with the U.S. authorities."

On a parallel track, Swiss government officials and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service are trying to negotiate a civil settlement for more than 300 other Swiss banks - the remainder of the Swiss banking industry - on the matter of private banking services that may have enabled tax evasion.

THREE BANKERS INDICTED

Wegelin confirmed on Wednesday that three of its employees had been indicted by U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan for selling tax evasion services to wealthy Americans. The charges outlined the sales role of senior unnamed partners at the bank.

The office of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney said on Tuesday that the indictment of the three bankers charged them with trying to "capture business lost by UBS AG and another large international Swiss bank in the wake of widespread news reports that the Internal Revenue Service was investigating UBS" in 2008 and 2009.

In 2009, UBS paid $780 million to settle Justice Department criminal charges that it helped thousands of U.S. clients hide $20 billion. UBS later turned over 4,450 American client names, on top of an initial 255 at the time of the settlement. It was a watershed breach in Swiss bank secrecy, which protects client confidentiality under law and does not consider tax evasion a crime.

If Wegelin could negotiate a deferred prosecution deal, it could resemble the one struck by U.S. authorities with UBS. Under such an arrangement, Wegelin would admit to criminal wrongdoing with its offshore private banking services, pay an undisclosed fine and agree to be monitored for a period of time.

Bjorck said in an emailed statement on Thursday that "Wegelin & Co. acknowledges the U.S. justice authorities' decision to press charges against three of its employees. Since April 2011, both external and bank internal experts have, in minute detail, examined its entire banking business with U.S. clients over the last 10 years.

"The bank and its U.S. lawyers have prepared their legal assessment of the matter in anticipation of the expected proceedings."

She declined on Friday to elaborate what she meant by "expected proceedings." Wegelin is based in St. Gallen, in northeastern Switzerland.

NO U.S. OFFICES

Wegelin is a small bank where eight partners hold unlimited liability for its operations. It has no U.S. offices or branches and it conducted its tax evasion business in part through correspondent banking accounts at UBS in Stamford, Conn., according to the indictment of the three Wegelin bankers.

One of Wegelin's eight top managing partners, Konrad Hummler, a leader in Swiss financial circles, has publicly lambasted the U.S. crackdown on Swiss private banking.

In a 2009 "investment commentary" entitled "Farewell America", which is on Wegelin's website, Hummler chastised the United States for "breathtaking moral duplicity in maintaining enormous offshore tax havens in Delaware, Florida and others of its states" and "for waging wars" in foreign countries "and at home (according to reliable sources, the tentacles of the narcotics mafia now reach well into political circles)."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/09/us-swiss-bank-wegelin-idUSTRE80808X20120109

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Iran Is Now Gearing Up For Its 'Greatest Wargames Ever' In The Strait Of Hormuz Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/iran-new-naval-exercises-strait-of-hormuz-2012-1#ixzz1ihMZ1j1d

Just two days after finishing up its 10 day naval drills, Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced they will hold new military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Associated Press reports the Guard's naval commander Admiral Ali Fadavi says the seventh annual drill will be called "The Great Prophet" and be "different" from the previous exercises (via USA Today).

Scheduled for the month of Bahman, around February, the announcement comes on the heels of new oil sanctions against Iran.

Last month Tehran took a stand against the proposed sanctions, claiming that if they were passed Tehran would shut down the Strait of Hormuz and choke the world's oil supply from the Persian Gulf.

Fadavi tells PressTV that the Iranian Navy is "in full control of the Strait of Hormuz and monitors all moves in the area."

In RiaNovosti the admiral is quoted as the upcoming Naval exercise will be "its greatest naval war games."

The new drills may occur as the US and Israel prepare for their largest ever joint missile defense drill. Conflicting reports have come out saying both that the drills will be held in early spring and in a few weeks.

Iran announced yesterday it believes the drills will be launched in January, and finds them to be the precursors for war.

The Iranian Navy, the smallest branch of the country's military, is traditionally tasked with protecting Iran's coastline and ports; but last week's naval exercises seemed to illustrate that the Navy may be taking a more aggressive stance in the Gulf following the most recent round of sanctions imposed by the U.S.

Tehran's Navy is made up largely of domestically produced vessels with ships from North Korea, China, and Russia thrown in as well.

Its three largest destroyers are more than 50 years old and have been in service since Iran rebuilt its Navy following Word War II.

http://www.businessinsider.com/iran-new-naval-exercises-strait-of-hormuz-2012-1

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China finds $84bn local government debt irregularities

The National Audit Office said breaches included "irregular credit guarantees", "irregular collateral" and "fraudulent and underpayment of registered capital".

There are growing concerns about the amount of bad loans being held by local governments.

Official figures show they held debt of 10.7tn yuan ($1.7tn; £1.1tn) in 2010.

"The State Council is studying proposals to enhance local government debt management and to address fiscal and financial risks," the audit office said in the report.

'Again and again'

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

A lot of the local debt will be absorbed by the central government”

Michael PettisPeking University

Local governments have been borrowing money from Chinese banks to fund projects aimed at maintaining economic growth.

According to the China Banking Regulatory Commission, local governments took up 80% of total bank lending in China at the end of 2010.

However, analysts said that although the lending had helped to spur investment and boost growth, it was now weighing on local governments.

"Whenever you look at lending that spurs growth miracles, it starts off with an increasing ability to pay the debt," Professor Michael Pettis of Peking University told the BBC.

"But in every case that ability fades. That is the process that is happening in China," he explained. "We are going to see stories like this again and again."

Easing burden?

In October last year, China allowed four local governments to sell bonds for the first time in 17 year. It was hoped the sale would help them pay their loans.

However, the central government put a limit on the amount of bonds the local governments could issue despite the fact that there was a lot of interest among investors.

According to the Xinhua news agency, Shanghai's bond sale received bids for three times the amount of bonds on offer.

As a result, many of the local governments still have sizeable debts and while the central government may let them raise money, it may also have to take further measures to solve the problem, analysts said.

"A lot of the local debt will be absorbed by the central government," said Mr Pettis of Peking University.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16405253

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China's city dwellers to breathe unhealthy air 'for another 20-30 years

Millions of city dwellers in China will be breathing unhealthy air for at least another 20 years despite recent moves to tighten controls on the most harmful form of pollution, one of the country's leading experts has warned.

The cautionary note comes at the start of a year when Beijing, Shanghai and several other Chinese metropolises will begin publicly releasing data on tiny particulates known as PM2.5, which account for more than half of the country's air-borne contaminants and have the most damaging impact on human health.

The promise of more transparency has been welcomed as an important step towards a clear-up of the foul smogs that plague urban China, but environment officials stress that more time is needed to turn grey skies to blue.

"It took the US and Europe 50 years to deal with their problem. Even if we cut that [PM2.5] in half, it will still take 20 to 30 years," said Wu Dui, a haze expert at the Guangdong Meteorological Agency.

His comments, which were carried by the Beijing Times, come as the government tries to massage down public expectations ahead of the release of politically sensitive PM2.5 data, which will show just how far China is from global health standards.

The government says about 70% of the air in Chinese cities meets existing national standards, which include measurements of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and bigger PM10 particulate matter.

But deputy environment minister Zhang Lijun has warned that 70% will fall below acceptable levels if PM2.5 is added to the index.

Health campaigners insist the inclusion of PM2.5 is crucial because smaller particulates can enter the bloodstream and do far more damage to the respiratory system than bigger matter.

Several cities have been quietly monitoring this data for several years. US embassy officials noted in 2006 that China was failing to release data on PM2.5 and ozone because the levels were unsafe and politically sensitive, according to a US diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks.

China's omission has been made more glaring by real-time data on PM2.5 released via the @Beijingair Twitter account by the US embassy in Beijing. It has revealed that pollution is often hazardous, contrary to the municipality's claims of 286 "blue sky days" (the term used for days on which the air meets the government's lax standards) in both 2010 and 2011.

Following a public outcry, the government recently promised to change the index this year in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and the Yangtze River and Pearl River deltas. The new system will be implemented nationwide by 2016.

(Additional reporting by Cecily Huang)  

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jan/03/china-unhealthy-air-pollution

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