Bloomberg:
- Euro Ministers Alarmed as Bloc Shuts Down Greece Plan B. Europe’s
refusal to draw up contingency plans to prepare for the failure of
negotiations with Greece is alarming some euro-area finance ministers.
Slovenian finance chief Dusan Mramor led the calls at a meeting of the
bloc’s 19 finance chiefs on Friday to consider a “plan B” to mitigate
the fallout if negotiations with Greece fail. Several others raised
similar concerns during official talks and in private conversations at a
meeting in Riga, Latvia, on Friday, two people with knowledge of the
discussions said. “What my discussion was about was what we will do if
no new program will be achieved in time for Greece to be able to
refinance itself or improve liquidity,” Mramor told reporters on
Saturday. “A plan B can be anything.”
- What Next Two Weeks Hold in Store in the Greek Crisis Saga. A
euro area finance ministers meeting over the disbursement of bailout
funds ended in acrimony on Friday, as creditors expressed frustration
with the country’s refusal to comply with the terms attached to its
emergency loans. While focus now turns on a May 6 interest repayment to the
International Monetary Fund and the next Eurogroup meeting on May 11 in
Brussels, the country has a number of funding hurdles to clear before
then and beyond.
- Author Alleges Bill Clinton Just Quit Education Company Because of 'Clinton Cash'.
Former president Bill Clinton stepped down from his position at
Laureate International Universities, part of Laureate Education Inc., on
Friday. His five-year term as "honorary chancellor," the company and
Clinton's staff said, had expired. But Peter Schweizer, the conservative author of a forthcoming book examining the Clintons’
financial dealings, suggests a different explanation: Clinton actually
resigned in order to avoid a wave of negative publicity. Bloomberg Politics has obtained a chapter of the book describing what
Schweizer presents as a “troubling” co-mingling of official State
Department business with the private financial affairs of Bill Clinton
and a nonprofit run by Laureate’s chairman, Douglas Becker.
- U.S. Bird Flu Spreads to Egg-Laying Chickens in Minnesota County. Bird flu has spread to egg-laying hens in Minnesota, the top U.S.
turkey producer that’s been battling the disease since early last month. A flock of 175,000 birds in Clay County was confirmed to have the
highly contagious variety of avian influenza, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture said in a statement Friday. This is the first case in the
state for chickens, data from the agency show. The USDA also confirmed
additional cases for turkey flocks in Minnesota and one in Wisconsin.
Fox News:
- At least 1,180 killed as 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Nepal; search for survivors. (video)
A powerful earthquake struck Nepal Saturday, killing hundreds of
people across a swath of four countries as the violently shaking earth
collapsed houses, leveled centuries-old temples and triggered avalanches
on Mt. Everest. It was the worst temblor to hit the poor South Asian
nation in over 80 years. At least 1,180 people were confirmed dead in Nepal, including 181 in
the capital, Kathmandu alone, according to the police. Another 34 were
killed in India, 10 in Tibet and two in Bangladesh. Two Chinese citizens
died at the Nepal-China border.
ZeroHedge:
Business Insider:
Neue Zuercher Zeitung:
- Greek
Default Would Be Manageable, UBS Chairman Weber Says. Consensus at IMF
meeting was increasingly that a Greek default would be manageable
systemically, UBS Chairman Axel Weber said.
Hindustan Times:
ISIS
has built near-impregnable base and mass appeal: New book - See more
at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/europe/story/isis-has-built-near-impregnable-base-and-mass-appeal-new-book-20150205#sthash.TSyXsl7s.dpuf
ISIS
has built near-impregnable base and mass appeal: New book - See more
at:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/europe/story/isis-has-built-near-impregnable-base-and-mass-appeal-new-book-20150205#sthash.TSyXsl7s.dpuf