1 Who’s being bailed out in the Greece bailout? (BBC) It’s called the Greek "bailout" or the "Greek rescue package". But, who, exactly, is now being rescued? Is it the Greeks? Or is it international investors - and the euro? In a traditional IMF "bailout", a lot of the money lent to the country in trouble will almost inevitably flow right out again. In a sense, that is what the rescue money is for: the country needs the IMF because it has a load of international obligations that, for one reason or another, it finds itself unable to meet. The IMF steps in to help bridge the gap, while the country sorts out how to re-win the confidence of lenders, and live within its means.
So, it's always unpleasant for the country being rescued. And the "rescue" money often goes to bond investors rather than widows and orphans. But, again, in the Greek crisis it's all a lot more extreme - and the pros and cons, for the Greeks, are getting more complicated by the day. German and French banks will lose from the proposed "voluntary" write-down of a large part of their Greek bond holdings. But they would lose even more from a disorderly default. Likewise, eurozone ministers may be tempted to think that life would be easier for the area with a Greek default.
But many wise heads in the financial markets would tell the Europeans to think long and hard about the potential fall-out from a default before they push Greece out the door. Sure, Greece would have a terrible time after a messy default. But then, the life they are signing up to under the terms of the deal is going to be pretty terrible too. And if eurozone ministers get their way, it's a life that Greek voters are not going to be allowed to reject.
2 Greeks grin and bear it (BBC) Greece's parliament has passed a controversial package of austerity measures, demanded by the eurozone and IMF in return for a 130bn-euro ($170bn) bailout to avoid default. The vote came amid violent scenes in capital, Athens, and elsewhere, with protesters outside parliament throwing stones and petrol bombs. PM Lucas Papademos urged calm, saying violence had no place in a democracy.
Lawmakers have also approved a related deal to write off 100bn euros of Greek debt held by private banks. There is mounting public anger in Greece and a feeling that the impact on ordinary people is beyond the value of the bailout. The austerity measures include: 15,000 public-sector job cuts, liberalisation of labour laws, lowering the minimum wage by 20% from 751 euros a month to 600 euros, and negotiating a debt write-off with banks.
3 A general’s retreat (Dawn) Although it has been a while since we separated, Pakistanis cannot help but peep into Indian territory to find out what is cooking there. Routinely, what we see there leads to comparisons with our own little broth here. It is almost natural then for the episode involving the executive, the army chief and the judiciary in India to have been closely followed this side of the Wagah. It was intriguing to find a serving army chief going all the way to the court when all he wanted was a one-year extension of his tenure.
The issue at the base of the affair was itself no less mystifying, given the sub-continental habit of forgetting birthdays. Gen VK Singh contested the papers had wrongly recorded his date of birth as May 10, 1950, claiming this amounted to pushing back the auspicious occasion by a year. He believed he was born on May 10, 1951 and therefore would attain the age of retirement (62 under Indian law), not in May 2012 but in May 2013. The court ruled that Gen Singh’s words and the facts were not the same thing. The executive has welcomed the gesture. This should ensure 60-odd birthday bumps for the general on his big day.
4 Facebook and fatwa (Dawn) Saudi Arabia’s top cleric, Abdul Aziz Al Shaikh, says that Twitter is a platform for “promoting lies.” Two years ago, Al-Azhar’s Abd Al-Hamid Al-Atrash said that Facebook “breaks up families.” Social media doesn’t lure a person to flirt with someone, spread a lie about someone, or harness envy, jealousy and hate. Though it is a grandiose statement, it is fair to say that we, human beings have been lying since time immemorial. Infidelity is nothing new either.
Perhaps it is easier to issue a fatwa (religious edict) against inanimate websites than to tell people to their faces “you’re promoting lies,” or “you’re enviously staring at pictures of people in your network.” The Egyptian cleric, who later denied having issued a fatwa against Facebook, had allegedly blamed the site for the increasing divorce rate. The clerics probably mean well, but the strategy that they have adopted will never bear the intended fruits. There seems to be a gulf between the clerics and their audience; the one factor that I feel is constantly missing is goodwill between the two. The reasons for accusing social networking sites epitomises deep ethical and moral flaws that cannot be easily amended through a fatwa or a Friday sermon.
5 Whitney Houston broke records, barriers and hearts (The Straits Times) Pop legend Whitney Houston, who was found dead Saturday, was the vocal star of a generation whose soaring voice broke records and inspired millions of fans before substance abuse sent her on a downward spiral.
'She was a legend. These people don't come around often,' British television host and producer Simon Cowell, of American Idol and Britain's Got Talent fame, told CNN television. 'No one could sell a song like Whitney.' She was a trailblazer who proved that a female artist could dominate the pop market, Cowell said. With a ferociously powerful voice and a dazzling range, Houston achieved stardom as a pop-soul singer known as 'the Voice' and the 'Queen of Pop' in the 1980s and 1990s. Her fantastic success - and that of fellow pop icon Michael Jackson - was propelled by a brand new device at the time: the pop music video.
6 The NRI who dresses Mrs Obama (The Wall Street Journal) It’s hardly surprising that Rachel Roy’s name graces the list of 23, big-league American fashion designers behind “Runway to Win”, a fund-raising venture directed towards President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. The 38-year-old designer, of Bengali and Dutch descent, joins the ranks of heavy-hitters like Vera Wang and Diane von Furstenberg, creating an exclusive range of limited-edition merchandise, unveiled on Feb 7. While The First Lady regularly relies on a cluster of South Asian designers, including Naeem Khan and Prabal Gurung, Ms. Roy remains an easy favorite, having dressed Mrs. Obama nearly 20 times.
Influenced by Gandhian rhetoric from a young age –“in high-school, I had his quotes on my wall,” she said—the avant-garde designer is particularly taken with the notion of quiet, dignified action. “Gandhi is the perfect example of being powerful from the inside and that graceful power is one of the most life-changing things,” explained Ms. Roy. “The more peaceful you are, the more confident you will be,” she continued. “I love that juxtaposition.”
7 Sixty years of Queen Elizabeth II (Al Jazeera) Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating 60 years on the throne. She is a figure of global stature, ruling over the United Kingdom and 15 other countries, including Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Furthermore, she is only the second monarch to reach that milestone, after Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901. When she began her reign, the world was a very different place. Manchester United were English champions, as they are today, but almost everything else has changed.
Her first prime minister was wartime leader Winston Churchill. Britain was then a global power at the centre of a large empire. Singapore, Uganda, Kenya and Fiji were among the countries yet to gain their independence from colonial rule. At home, basic staples such as butter, tea and sugar were rationed. This applied to everyone, so even the Royal Family had ration books. Like other children, infant Prince Charles was limited to 55 grams of sweets each week.
In the UK, Queen Elizabeth's personal popularity prevents serious questions being asked about the monarchy, but she is 85 years old and, although she appears to be in robust health, she can't go on forever. After six decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth is on her twelfth prime minister. Her supporters say that she has been a source of continuity, unity and wise advice. For others, the fact that they are subjects and not citizens makes a powerful statement about inequality. They ask: "How can Britain be fully democratic when the highest office in the land is chosen by accident of birth?"
8 Freight index crashes 66% in two months (Business Standard) Freight rates for dry bulk cargo, as reflected by the benchmark Baltic dry bulk index, have crashed in the past two months. The index, at 1,930 on December 12, fell 66.5% to 647 in early February and moved up marginally, to 695, in the past few days. Industry leaders say the crash was due to lower demand, along with new capacity having been added in the segment recently. The crash was echoed by the wet bulk index, down 17% in the past two months.
Vishal Ajmera, deputy manager, research, at rating agency CARE, said, "While the demand for cargo was lower, what added to that was the constant flow of vessel deliveries during 2010 and 2011. Vessel deliveries in this segment globally aggregated 13.1 million gross tonnage during 2011.” Meanwhile, the Baltic tanker index was at 939 prior to the Christmas holidays and is currently at 795 — a drop of a little over 15%.
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