This morning's key headlines from
GenerationalDynamics.com:
- ECB plans to save the euro exacerbates Europe's North/South fault line
- Greece and European officials fail to reach agreement
- Greece closes border with Turkey over Syrian refugees
- Postal Service expected to go into default on Wednesday
- Ebola virus epidemic reaches capital of Uganda
- Pressure builds for international military intervention in Mali
ECB plans to save the euro exacerbates Europe's North/South fault line
Last week's off the cuff remarks by European Central Bank (ECB)
president Mario Draghi that the ECB would do "whatever it takes to
preserve the euro" caught the other ECB governors by surprised, and
has increased discord with representatives of several of the northern
countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland.
Draghi's remarks were not the result of any resolutions, and his plan
to provide a roundabout way for the ECB to bail out a country by
purchasing its debt is generating an increasing amount of hostility,
confusion and controversy. Spiegel
Greece and European officials fail to reach agreement
Financial officials from the "troika" -- the European Commission (EC),
European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary fund (IMF)
-- arrived in Greece last week to hammer out a deal to allow Greece to
continue receiving bailout loans, so Greece won't have to return to
the drachma currency. The IMF has already recently threatened to cut
off Greece's bailout loans simply because Greece has failed, time
after time, to meet its past austerity commitments. Greek and troika
officials were supposed to have reached a new agreement on Monday, but
they failed to do so. It's doubtful that anyone serious believes any
more that Greece has any hope of digging itself out of the whole it's
in, which is why many people, especially the Germans don't want to
waste any more money on Greece. Spiegel and Kathimerini
Greece closes border with Turkey over Syrian refugees
In the last few days, some 200,000 people have fled Syria's largest
city, Aleppo, out of its population of 3 million, as a climactic
battle develops between the Syrian army and the opposition Free Syrian
Army. Many of them are fleeing to Turkey, whose border is just 30
miles (50 km) away. Greece has responded adding 2000 border guards to
its borders with Turkey out of fear of a potential influx of Syrian
refugees. In addition, Greece is placing a total of 26 floating
barges or barriers along the Evros River that separates the two
country. The Evros Rive is thought to be the main entry point for
illegal immigrants trying to reach the European Union through Greece.
Greece has already started an 8-mile razor-wire-topped 13-foot-tall
fence along part of its border with Turkey. AP and Ria Novosti
Postal Service expected to go into default on Wednesday
The U.S. Postal Service will fail to make two legally required
payments for future postal retirees' health benefits -- $5.5 billion
due Wednesday, and another $5.6 billion due in September. The default
will not affect day to day operations. AP
Ebola virus epidemic reaches capital of Uganda
Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, has banned all physical contact
between citizens of Uganda in a desperate attempt to stop the spread
of an outbreak of the Ebola virus. Fourteen people have already died
from the disease, which kills nine out of ten people who become
infected. This is the fourth outbreak of Ebola in Uganda since 2000,
when the disease killed 224 people. Ebola was first reported in 1976
in Congo and is named for the river where it was recognized. Telegraph
Pressure builds for international military intervention in Mali
With al-Qaeda linked Islamist terrorists in control of northern Mali,
Alassane Ouattara, the president of Ivory Coast, says that military
intervention in Mali is "inevitable" within weeks. Ouattara is the
head of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), a regional
bloc that has become increasingly alarmed by the Islamist takeover of
northern Mali. According to Ouattara, about half the intervention
force would be made up of soldiers from Mali itself, with the
remainder from Niger, Nigeria and possibly Chad. France and the
United States would be asked to provide "logistical help," which would
include material support and combat aircraft. AP
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