At Telegraph UK , ” Syria releases the 7/7 ‘mastermind’ “: The alleged terrorist mastermind behind the July 7 London bombings is reported to have been freed from a Syrian jail by President Bashar Assad’s regime . Abu Musab al-Suri had been held in Syria for six years after being captured by the CIA in 2005 and transported to the country of his birth under its controversial extraordinary rendition programme. But he is now said to have been released as a warning to the US and Britain about the consequences of turning their backs on President al-Assad’s regime as it tries to contain the uprising in the country. Al-Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, was al-Qaeda’s operations chief in Europe and has been accused of planning the London bombings, in which four British-born terrorists detonated three bombs on the Underground and another on a bus, killing 52 people and injuring more than 700 others in 2005. More at the link .
Read the original here:
Syria Releases Abu Musab al-Suri, Mastermind of London’s 7/7 Terrorist Attacks
Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning: This week, markets will look to extend their gains to date. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will release policy news and throughout the week look for a barrage of corporate earnings reports. News from Europe could affect this week’s market on news from Greece’s debt-swap talks and Monday’s European Union finance ministers meeting. They will talk about the recent fiscal-pact draft, according to MarketWatch. Over in the Asian markets, many markets will be closed for holidays but there will be news from Japan and Thailand’s central banks. Markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen will be closed from Monday through Wednesday; the Taipei market will be closed on Thursday. South Korea’s market will be shut down on Monday and Tuesday. Australian markets are closed on Thursday. On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India will make its policy announcement. In December, it did not have any interest rate hikes and suggested it was done with doing so and was ready to focus on growth. The Bank of Japan will also announce its policy news on Tuesday. On the following day, look for news nuggets of the bank’s moves in its policy statement. The Bank of Thailand will report its policy move on Wednesday. Back in the U.S. get ready for earnings. Lots of earnings. Chevy Volt is “safe”: U.S. regulators ended an investigation into why Chevrolet Volt electric cars caught fire, and said electric vehicles do not pose a greater risk of fire, according to Bloomberg. The conclusion by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came two weeks after General Motors Co. told owners to bring the vehicles to dealerships for repair. “Based on the available data , NHTSA does not believe that Chevy Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles,” the agency said in an e- mailed statement today. EU vs Iran: The European Union formally adopted an oil embargo against Iran on Monday and froze the assets of Iran’s central bank, part of sanctions to pressure Tehran into resuming talks on its controversial nuclear program. Two Iranian lawmakers, stepped up threats that their country would shutter the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude flows, in retaliation for the EU oil sanctions on Tehran. Lawmaker Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, deputy head of Iran’s influential committee on national security, said Monday the strait “would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way.” Tensions over the strait and the potential impact its closure would have on global oil supplies and the price of crude have weighed heavily on consumers and traders. Both the U.S. and Britain have warned Iran not to disrupt the world’s oil supply. Many analysts doubt that Iran could set up a blockade for long, but any supply shortages would cause world oil supplies to tighten temporarily. For its part, the United States has enacted, but not yet put into force, sanctions targeting Iran’s central bank and, by extension, the country’s ability to be paid for its oil. Economic Numbers and Fed Speak Monday: Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers. Tuesday: Ecofin meeting of EU finance ministers, Day One of FOMC meeting, and President Obama’s State of the Union address. Wednesday: Pending Home Sales index for December,FOMC policy announcement and Ben Bernanke Press Conference. Thursday: Durable Goods orders for December, Weekly jobless claims, December new home sales and leading indicators. Friday: Fourth-quarter GDP report and University of Michigan consumer sentiment for January. [ Editor’s note: the above is a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet. ] The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Read the original post:
Morning Market Roundup: EU Adopts Iran Embargo, Volt Investigation Closed
(The Blaze/ AP) Britain’s broadcast advertising body has given the go-ahead for private abortion clinics to advertise their services on television. The Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice says there is no justification for barring private clinics that offer post-pregnancy services, including abortions, from advertising on television. Nonprofit post-pregnancy services are already allowed to advertise on television, and their for-profit counterparts are allowed to advertise in all other media. Conservative lawmaker Nadine Dories said the move would desensitize people to the seriousness of getting an abortion. But committee spokesman Matt Wilson said the new rules would not allow companies to say: “Come to us to get an abortion.” He said clinics would have to promote an “array of services.” Video of the first UK nonprofit abortion ad aired in May 2010: Mark Bhagwandin, from the pro-life charity Life, told The Telegraph : “This is an extremely disappointing decision. “The abortion industry has a lot of money behind it and these companies will have the means to run prime time television and radio advertising campaigns. “This will trivialise and commercialise the decision to terminate a baby, putting it on the same footing as choosing other products advertised on television. “I have no doubt that we will see a rise in abortions as a result of this.”
See the rest here:
Private Abortion Clinics Given the OK to Advertise Services on British TV
Care to guess? Was it all those radical Christians out there issuing kill-on-sight orders? This headline from CNN seems to be missing something: ‘Satanic Verses’ author pulls out of literary festival over death threats Hmm. What could it be? Let’s find out the source of the threats: British author Salman Rushdie on Friday canceled his appearance at the Jaipur literary festival in India following warnings of threats to his life. “I have now been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to ‘eliminate’ me,” Rushdie said in a statement. … The writer rose to international notoriety with his 1980s novel, “The Satanic Verses,” which stirred protests throughout the Muslim world. Rushdie lived under protection in Britain for nearly 10 years after a fatwa, a death sentence, was issued against him by Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.Khomeini considered lines in the book as blasphemous against Islam. Aah. It’s just another threat from radical Islamists. Nevermind. Nothing to see here. Move along. UPDATE: CNN has now updated and changed its headline and story.
Original post:
Author skips literary festival due to death threats from . . .
At Los Angeles Times , ” Will and Kate light up ‘War Horse’ London premiere .” And at Telegraph UK , ” Steven Spielberg ‘honoured’ to meet Royals .” I saw ‘War Horse’ over the weekend. I liked it, although it I had some unexpected thoughts about it. I’ll update on this later. It was a magnificent movie.
Go here to see the original:
Royal Premiere of ‘War Horse’
An excellent essay, from Professor Michael Curtis, at American Thinker : The principle [of universal jurisdiction] seems eminently reasonable on the premise that such crimes are so serious that they should be prosecuted everywhere. It provided the rationale for the trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1962. The Israeli court held that the crimes committed by Eichmann, one of the major Nazi figures responsible for the Holocaust, not only bore an international character but also that their widespread harmful effects shook the international community to its very foundation.
Well, that’s the spirit. At Telegraph UK , ” The Duke of Edinburgh is discharged from hospital and heads straight for a shooting party .”
See more here:
Prince Philip Leaves Hospital After Heart Surgery
Well, that’s the spirit. At Telegraph UK , ” The Duke of Edinburgh is discharged from hospital and heads straight for a shooting party .”
Visit link:
Prince Philip Leaves Hospital After Heart Surgery
I saw this at Theo’s earlier, and now at SDA, ” Military Wives Choir: Wherever You Are “: And see Melanie Phillips, ” Military Wives’ single tunes into our highest ideals .”
Continued here:
My Love Will Keep You Safe
I saw this at Theo’s earlier, and now at SDA, ” Military Wives Choir: Wherever You Are “: And see Melanie Phillips, ” Military Wives’ single tunes into our highest ideals .”
See the original post here:
My Love Will Keep You Safe
