Lagarde hopes Europe will 'one day' appreciate IMF

Google –AFP, Jeremy Tordjman (AFP), 28 June 2013

IMF chief Christine Lagarde speaks during an interview with AFP on

 June 27, 2013 at IMF Headquarters in Washington (AFP, Mandel Ngan)

WASHINGTON — IMF chief Christine Lagarde hopes the new Greek government "will hold" and that "one day" the Fund's action in Europe, currently the target of criticism, will be appreciated, she said in an exclusive interview Thursday with AFP.

In a climate of fierce opposition to austerity measures in Europe, Lagarde said that only time will allow the merits of the International Monetary Fund's role in the region, where it is engaged in four state bailouts, to be understood.

"It's natural that the IMF is perceived during its intervention as negative, prescriptive and controlling because it always intervenes in a crisis situation," she said.

She acknowledged there are certain "painful" remedies, but that the results of IMF financial programs should be judged over the long term, noting the IMF's work during the Asian crisis in the late 1990s.

"In Asia, the countries which bitterly criticized the IMF are today grateful to have been pushed to enact reforms. I hope that one day the IMF action in Europe will be appreciated" in the same way, she said.

She voiced hopes that the recently weakened government in Greece, the epicenter of the eurozone crisis, would be able to hold up, as international creditors continue to press for reforms.

"It's a thinner majority in parliament than they had before. I hope it will hold," she said.

"I'm convinced that Prime Minister (Antonis) Samaras and his colleagues will be keen to support the program of Greece."

Turning to Egypt, another country in the throes of political instability, Lagarde expressed hope for a potential IMF aid program, evoking the idea of "a long journey" with the authorities that has not reached the destination.

But she said the proposed IMF aid program -- which early this year was put at $4.8 billion -- would not meet the country's needs.

"I very much hope that we can find the ground and the terms under which we can reach conclusion with the Egyptian authorities, where we have efforts on their part to address the key issues, support of the international community to participate in the financing, because the IMF financing will not be enough," she said.

The IMF chief also discussed the recent agreement of the Group of Eight major economies to crack down on tax evasion by multinational companies.

Tax evasion "is very bad for states because it deprives them of needed revenue to combat budget deficits," she said.

"And it's unfair to small and medium-sized companies which do not have the means to evade taxes."

Related Article:

Archangel Michael on the World’s Movement into the Golden Age, March 24, 2013 – Part 2/2

“… GW: Shifting to events that are taking place in Europe at this point in time, it seems that the events in Europe are reaching or about to hit a breaking point of some kind. Several leaders, including Nigel Farage and allegedly Russian Prime Minister Medvedev have suggested that people should be removing their money from their accounts as the cabal may attempt a last ditch grab for money.

Now, I know, and perhaps many know, that the current system is corrupt and that there will have to be a degree of change in the current system before people will be willing to embrace the new system.

I don’t wish this question to sound alarmist to people, but is what is happening now one of the final, if not the final, straw that will help expose the banking cabal and allow the new system to be implemented? Is this new system ready? Or is it already being implemented? Or is it still only limited to preparatory work?

AAM: No, it is already underway. It is already being implemented. And yes, we do not wish to sound alarmist either, and so we also wish people to know that their resources, what they think of as their money, for those who have saved and put their faith in banking systems, they will be protected to a certain extent. So do not think that you have need to run out and remove all your monies, or that it will be completely gone. But yes, this is the beginning of a transition.

The expression of the lack of faith in particularly the European banking system causes enormous disruption, more significant perhaps than anywhere else. And so yes, it does have a domino effect, but it is not one simply shutting down [the old system] and a new system emerging. It is coming into balance with the new emerging as the old simply fades away.

Is it a last ditch effort on the part of those who have clung to the old paradigm of the 3rd, what you call the cabal? Yes, it is. But it matters not, because it is not going to work for them. Seldom are things such as this situation so black and white. There is always room for free choice and free movement and adjustment.

But in this situation it is simply evolution and expansion. And the expansion of the new, of the new paradigm, of what you think of as Fifth-Dimensional financial systems does not allow for systems that are based on greed and theft and control — and unfairness, basic unfairness, usury.

So, it is rather clearly defined. You have an expression that you use on Earth, “Out with the old.” And this is one of those situations where it is, in fact, the truth.

GW: Okay. So, along the lines of the leadership, or at least some of the leadership of what’s taking place in the financial sector globally, it has been reported that the apartment of the IMF managing director Christine Lagarde was raided last week.

Was this an attempt to expose her as part of the banking cabal, or was it an attempt to stop her from fulfilling the reforms that she is allegedly trying to bring to the international banking system?

AAM: It was an attempt to gather information and perhaps even destroy documentation that she is trying to bring forth for the reform of the financial situation. It was an unsuccessful raid.

GW: Okay. So what I’m hearing in your answer, then, is that Christine Lagarde is working for, I guess, the forces of light to bring the greater change to the IMF. Am I correct?

AAM: Yes. This one has had a real turn-around. No, we do not ever categorize individuals or groups or people as light or dark. But this one has truly committed herself to reformation.

She sees and she has the experience very clearly of knowing what does not work. And therefore she has committed her mission, her purpose to this reformation.

GW: Okay. And could the same be said about the new US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew? Is he on board with all the changes and working for the reformation as well with Lagarde?

AAM: He is an agent and an angel of change. He could not be simply on board. He is a moving force. ‘…‘’

EU finance ministers reach draft deal on bank bailouts

BBC News, 27 June 2013

Eurozone crisis

• Bank staff fear for jobs and savings
• Is Cyprus's euro membership viable?
• Q&A: Cyprus deal
• German gamble

German Finance Minister Wolfgang
 Schaeuble: "The talks were lengthy,
quite difficult and intense"

European Union (EU) finance ministers have agreed an outline plan on how to rescue troubled banks - without leaving taxpayers to face the bill.

The banks' creditors and shareholders will take the first hits, followed by savers with deposits of more than 100,000 euros (£85,000).

If that is not enough, government help will be called upon and taxpayers will be among the last to shoulder losses.

EU taxpayers have had to pay for a series of bank rescues in recent years.

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the outline deal marked a big change in the way that troubled banks are bailed out.

"If a bank gets in trouble we will now, throughout Europe, have one set of rules on who pays the bill," he said.

"The financial sector itself will now to a very, very large extent become responsible for dealing with its own problems."

The next step is for EU governments to negotiate over the legislation with the European parliament.

'The new rule'

The global financial crisis coupled with the sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone has hit the region's banking sector severely.

Countries from across the EU - such as Cyprus, Spain and Ireland - have pumped tens of billions of euros in to try and prop up their ailing banks over the past few years.

In each case, the national government had to foot the bill for rescuing its banks, leading to market fears that the losses at the banks may be more than the government could absorb.

The problem was compounded by the fact that most eurozone governments rely on their own banks to lend them the money they need.

However, things changed earlier this year after Cyprus was asked to raise money through a levy on all Cypriot bank deposits - including those below 100,000 euros - as a condition for securing a loan package worth 10bn euros (£8.4bn; $13bn) from its EU partners and the International Monetary Fund.

But that proposal caused panic in financial markets and was quickly withdrawn.

On Thursday Ireland's Finance Minister Michael Noonan, who chaired the latest talks, said that the new plan aimed to establish clarity on who paid to rescue ailing banks.

"Our aim is to have a common approach throughout Europe so our taxpayers no longer have to shoulder the burden," he said.

"This establishes 'bail-ins' as the new rule," he added, referring to a term used to describe losses being shouldered by a bank and its stakeholders instead of "bailouts" which use public funds.

Earlier this month, ministers agreed guidelines on how the eurozone's emergency bailout fund can inject money directly into struggling banks.

The fund will be able to inject a total of 60bn euros into troubled lenders but the bank's national government, and its lenders and depositors, will still have to share the burden of any rescue.

Related Articles:

EU shifts bailout burden to banks

Archangel Michael on the World’s Movement into the Golden Age, March 24, 2013 – Part 2/2

“… GW: Shifting to events that are taking place in Europe at this point in time, it seems that the events in Europe are reaching or about to hit a breaking point of some kind. Several leaders, including Nigel Farage and allegedly Russian Prime Minister Medvedev have suggested that people should be removing their money from their accounts as the cabal may attempt a last ditch grab for money.

Now, I know, and perhaps many know, that the current system is corrupt and that there will have to be a degree of change in the current system before people will be willing to embrace the new system.

I don’t wish this question to sound alarmist to people, but is what is happening now one of the final, if not the final, straw that will help expose the banking cabal and allow the new system to be implemented? Is this new system ready? Or is it already being implemented? Or is it still only limited to preparatory work?

AAM: No, it is already underway. It is already being implemented. And yes, we do not wish to sound alarmist either, and so we also wish people to know that their resources, what they think of as their money, for those who have saved and put their faith in banking systems, they will be protected to a certain extent. So do not think that you have need to run out and remove all your monies, or that it will be completely gone. But yes, this is the beginning of a transition.

The expression of the lack of faith in particularly the European banking system causes enormous disruption, more significant perhaps than anywhere else. And so yes, it does have a domino effect, but it is not one simply shutting down [the old system] and a new system emerging. It is coming into balance with the new emerging as the old simply fades away.

Is it a last ditch effort on the part of those who have clung to the old paradigm of the 3rd, what you call the cabal? Yes, it is. But it matters not, because it is not going to work for them. Seldom are things such as this situation so black and white. There is always room for free choice and free movement and adjustment.

But in this situation it is simply evolution and expansion. And the expansion of the new, of the new paradigm, of what you think of as Fifth-Dimensional financial systems does not allow for systems that are based on greed and theft and control — and unfairness, basic unfairness, usury.

So, it is rather clearly defined. You have an expression that you use on Earth, “Out with the old.” And this is one of those situations where it is, in fact, the truth.

GW: Okay. So, along the lines of the leadership, or at least some of the leadership of what’s taking place in the financial sector globally, it has been reported that the apartment of the IMF managing director Christine Lagarde was raided last week.

Was this an attempt to expose her as part of the banking cabal, or was it an attempt to stop her from fulfilling the reforms that she is allegedly trying to bring to the international banking system?

AAM: It was an attempt to gather information and perhaps even destroy documentation that she is trying to bring forth for the reform of the financial situation. It was an unsuccessful raid.

GW: Okay. So what I’m hearing in your answer, then, is that Christine Lagarde is working for, I guess, the forces of light to bring the greater change to the IMF. Am I correct?

AAM: Yes. This one has had a real turn-around. No, we do not ever categorize individuals or groups or people as light or dark. But this one has truly committed herself to reformation.

She sees and she has the experience very clearly of knowing what does not work. And therefore she has committed her mission, her purpose to this reformation.

GW: Okay. And could the same be said about the new US Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew? Is he on board with all the changes and working for the reformation as well with Lagarde?

AAM: He is an agent and an angel of change. He could not be simply on board. He is a moving force. ‘…‘’

Vatican bank faces review by Pope Francis commission

Pontiff announces panel to bring 'greater harmonisation' between wider church and secretive bank which came under fire in Vatileaks scandal

The Guardian, Lizzy Davies in Rome, Wednesday 26 June 2013

Pope Francis has already appointed a trusted ally to an important role inside
 the Vatican bank, formally known as the Institute for Religious Works. Photograph:
Alessandro Di Meo/EPA

Pope Francis has set up a commission to review the secretive and scandal-dogged Vatican bank in a bid to personally oversee a "greater harmonisation" between its activities and the wider Roman Catholic church.

A panel of five people – including two cardinals and Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard law professor who used to be US ambassador to the Holy See – was announced by the Vatican on Wednesday as Francis showed signs of wanting to extend his belief in ethical financial reform to his own backyard.

Known officially as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), the bank is attempting to shed its image as a mysterious and opaque organisation which has regularly harmed the Vatican's image, with a new German president who says his mission is to introduce greater transparency.

But questions remain over its ability to clean up its record, especially in the wake of embarrassing documents leaked during the so-called Vatileaks scandal, which painted a picture of dysfunctional internal machinations.

Last year, soon after its former president had been ousted in an apparent boardroom coup, a landmark report by Moneyval, a monitoring committee of the Council of Europe, found that although the institution had made progress in some areas, it had a lot of work to do before it could be included on the EU's anti-money laundering "white list".

The bank is due to update Moneyval on its progress by the end of the year. In interviews last month, Ernst von Freyberg, the German financier who has taken over the reins at the institution, said the Vatican had detected seven possible incidents of money laundering so far this year.

As he outlined one of the Argentinian pontiff's most concrete moves to date, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the new commission – established through a personal decree known as a chirografo – would report directly to Francis.

In a statement, the Vatican's secretariat of state said the idea for the commission had emerged from "the desire of the Holy Father to better understand the judicial position and activities of the Institute in order to allow for greater harmonisation with the mission of the universal church … in a wider context of reform".

Ever since Francis succeeded Benedict XVI in March and announced he wanted a "poor church, for the poor", there has been speculation that he might seek to restructure – or even close – the 71-year-old IOR, which has around 19,000 accounts, mostly belonging to priests, nuns, charities and Vatican employees.

The commission is not the first step Francis has taken to better oversee its operation – he appointed a trusted ally to an important role inside the IOR earlier this month.

The commission, whose members will have powers to obtain documents and data they deem necessary to establish the state of affairs at the bank, is headed by Raffaele Farina, an Italian cardinal.

Also on the panel are Jean-Louis Tauran, the French cardinal who announced Francis's election as pontiff to the world in March; Glendon, an American academic who served from 2008-2009 as US ambassador to the Holy See; a Spanish bishop and an American monsignor.

Related Article:

Pope Francis appoints prelate to oversee Vatican bank

EU to cut subsidies to big farms

BBC News, 26 June 2013

Related Stories

• EU 'millionaire' farm subsidies likely to stay
• Q&A: Reform of EU farm policy
• Resistance to EU green farming plan

French farmers, like this one in Laqueuille,
typically have smaller holdings than in the UK

European Union negotiators have agreed a package of reforms to agricultural subsidies which will see big farms lose up to 30% of their payout.

Ministers reached a deal with Euro MPs and the European Commission.

However, environmentalists say many of the green measures in the original proposals have been swept away.

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and rural development payments account for nearly 40% of the EU's long-term budget.

The plan is to spend about 50bn euros (£42bn; $65bn) annually on agriculture in 2014-2020.

Under the deal reached on Wednesday, some of the money withheld from big industrial farms will be redistributed to smaller farms, with an emphasis on those that use eco-friendly methods.

Sugar shortages

The deal still has to be approved by EU governments and the European parliament.

Officials are confident that that will happen, because ministers and parliamentarians have been involved in the negotiating process, says the BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris, in Brussels.

Negotiators also agreed to end EU sugar production quotas which critics say have distorted the market for years, and created artificial shortages.

The definition of an "active farmer" has also been contentious. The current payments system is largely based on land area and past subsidy levels, meaning that landowners like airports and sports clubs, which do not farm, have been getting subsidies on the basis of their grasslands or other eligible land areas.

The ministers have agreed on a "short mandatory negative list comprising airports, railway services, waterworks, real estate services and permanent sports and recreational grounds".

Our correspondent says the UK agriculture minister abstained in voting on one of four new regulations, arguing that some member states wanted to go back to the days of butter mountains and wine lakes.

In the 1970s and 80s the CAP took up a bigger share of the EU budget because there were more subsidies for farmers simply to produce. That led to wasteful overproduction.

Istanbul bid chief backs Turks right to protest

Google – AFP, Pirate Irwin (AFP), 25 June 2013

A Turkish anti-goverment protester flashes a victory sign during clashes

with riot police in Istanbul, on June 22, 2013 (AFP/File, Ozan Kose)

PARIS — The head of Istanbul's bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games on Tuesday said he was proud of the young protesters who have flooded the streets of Turkish cities in recent weeks and did not think the demonstrations would harm the city's chances of hosting the event.

Turkey has taken a tough stance against the tens of thousands of demonstrators who have been protesting since May 31 against the government, which has been seen as increasingly authoritarian and conservative.

The protests, which have left at least four people dead and nearly 8,000 injured, have infuriated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the heavy-handed government response earning Ankara criticism and raising tensions notably with Germany.

Hasan Arat (left) and Kadir Topbas at the IOC

 headquarters in Lausanne, on January 7, 2013

(AFP, Sebastien Feval)

But bid chief executive Hasan Arat brushed aside concerns that the unrest would harm Istanbul's Olympic chances, assessing that the protests would not last much longer as the people's message had been registered.

"What I believe about the protest situation is that they are now largely peaceful, the violence has subsided," Arat, a former top level basketball player turned successful businessman, told reporters on a conference call.

"Turkey's youth is exercising its democratic rights to stage peaceful protests."

Arat was speaking after a generally positive report had been released by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission on Istanbul's ability to host the Games.

He added that it was important for the youth of Turkey to express their disagreements with the authorities.

"I am actually very proud of young people standing up for their beliefs," he said.

"I don't think it will continue for a long time because the message has been very well received and that is very good.

"There have been some pictures which would have been better not to have been seen but they happened."

Turkish protesters flee as riot police deploy

 a water cannon during clashes in

 Istanbul, on June 22, 2013 (AFP/File,

 Bulent Kilic)

The official, whose 19-year-old daughter plays volleyball and 23-year-old son is a member of Turkey's waterpolo squad, added that good could come from the protests.

"We look forward to a better Turkey, to better understanding and better democracy," he said.

"These people (the protesters) care about their country and stand up for their beliefs."

Despite the protests, Arat said he had noticed any concern within the IOC and said he was confident going into the final run-in to the vote in Buenos Aires on September 7 where the 100 IOC members will decided where to award the Games.

Istanbul is up against Tokyo and Madrid.

"I think this report shows we are really on track. I feel confident for our bid for the next 75 days," he added.

Related Article:

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Inside Anglo: the secret recordings

Exclusive: Tapes reveal the lies and deception that led to the bank bailout

Independent.ie, Paul Williams, Special Correspondent, 24 June 2013

TAPE RECORDINGS from inside doomed Anglo Irish Bank reveal for the first time how the bank's top executives lied to the Government about the true extent of losses at the institution.

The astonishing tapes show senior manager John Bowe, who had been involved in negotiations with the Central Bank, laughing and joking as he tells another senior manager, Peter Fitzgerald, how Anglo was luring the State into giving it billions of euro.

Mr Fitzgerald had not been involved in the negotiations with the Central Bank and has confirmed he was unaware of any strategy or intention to mislead the authorities. Mr Bowe, in a statement last night, categorically denied that he had misled the Central Bank.

The audio recordings are from the bank's own internal telephone system and date from the heart of the financial crisis that brought the State to its knees in September 2008.

Anglo itself was within days of complete meltdown – and in the years ahead would eat up €30bn of taxpayer money. Mr Bowe speaks about how the State had been asked for €7bn to bail out Anglo – but Anglo's negotiators knew all along this was not enough to save the bank.

The plan was that once the State began the flow of money, it would be unable to stop.

Mr Bowe is asked by Mr Fitzgerald how they had come up with the figure of €7bn. He laughs as he is taped saying: "Just, as Drummer (then-CEO David Drumm) would say, 'picked it out of my arse'."

He also says: "If they (Central Bank) saw the enormity of it up front, they might decide they have a choice. You know what I mean?

"They might say the cost to the taxpayer is too high . . . if it doesn't look too big at the outset . . . if it looks big, big enough to be important, but not too big that it kind of spoils everything, then, then I think you have a chance. So I think it can creep up."

Mr Fitzgerald, the Director of Retail Banking, is heard saying: "Yeah. They've got skin in the game and that is the key." 

Mr Bowe's comments in the audio recording reveal that Anglo's strategy was to lure the State in, leaving taxpayers with no choice but to continue to provide loans to "support their money".

The recording also shows Mr Bowe and Mr Fitzgerald laughing as they say how there is no realistic chance of ever repaying the loans.

For the first time, taxpayers get an exclusive insight into the banking shenanigans that cost Ireland our sovereignty.

Related Article

Irish PM promises probe against bankers who duped government with figures 'picked from their arse' - New

Snowden elusive, Germany queries Britain's Tempora tapping program

Deutsche Welle, 24 June 2013

US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden remains elusive after missing his aircraft booking from Moscow to Cuba. Germany, meanwhile, wants answers from Britain on an alleged spy program called "Tempora."

Aeroflot flight SU150 left Moscow on Monday bound for Cuba without Edward Snowden, the fugitive intelligence whistleblower, who had a seat on the flight reserved in his name.

Washington claimed that the American, who it wants for exposing a huge US Internet surveillance program several weeks ago, remained in Russia and again demanded his extradition.

Meanwhile, Germany sent questions to the British embassy in Berlin on an alleged British eavesdropping program called "Tempora". According to two German media outlets, it tapped telephone and data traffic on a glass-fiber undersea cable linking northern Germany, Britain and the United States.

US program secret since 2004

On Monday, former US vice president Dick Cheney told a forum in Washington that he had briefed Republican and Democrat Congress representatives in 2004 on a program set up by the National Security Agency, and said they told him they wanted it kept secret.

The news agency Associated Press quoted Cheney as saying the NSA program had delivered "phenomenal results" in preventing terrorist attacks in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington by al-Qaeda hijackers.

"There was a time when it was a very, very close hold [secret]," Cheney said, referring apparently to Prism, one of the schemes operated by the NSA. "Unfortunately it's become public."

US presses for extradition

The spokesman for President Barack Obama's administration, Jay Carney, demanded on Monday the Russia use "all options" to locate and extradite Snowden back to the US, adding that Snowden probably remained in Russia.

Carney also slammed China for allowing Snowden to fly from its semi-autonomous territory Hong Kong on Sunday to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, where Snowden spent the night in a transit zone hotel.

"'That decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship," Carney said.

Ecuador receives asylum request

Visiting Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said his country had received an asylum request from Snowden and had been in touch with Russian authorities.

Patino said Ecuador would make its asylum decision based on the principles of "freedom of expression and with the security of citizens around the world."

Visiting New Delhi, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that China and Russia risk damaging relations with the US.

"He is an indicted individual, indicted on three felony counts," Kerry said, referring to Snowden. "Evidently he places himself above the law, having betrayed his country."

Germany demands answers from Britain

The claim made last week by the Guardian newspaper that Snowden had also exposed a British intelligence service scheme called "Tempora," prompted the German government on Monday to send a list of questions to Britain's embassy in Berlin.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Berlin wanted explanations "on what legal basis and to which extent" surveillance had been conducted.

The Guardian said documents from Snowden showed that Britain's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) began "Tempora" 18 months ago to tap and store world phone calls and Internet data traffic for 30 days "without any form of public acknowledgement or debate."

Seibert said an operation called "Tempora" was unknown to the German government.

Undersea cable 'tapped'

The northern German public broadcaster NDR and the Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported late on Monday that "Tempora" tapped into a 15,000-kilometer-long (9320 miles) undersea cable called TAT-14, running between northern Germany via Britain to the United States.

The head of the Bundestag parliament's intelligence supervisory committee, Thomas Oppermann of the opposition Social Democrats, said EU-wide data privacy legislation - currently being drafted - was urgently needed.

Veteran opposition Greens party parliamentarian Hans-Christian Ströbele demand that Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government disclose "how much and which data of German citizens and companies had been secretly accessed by the Anglo-American intelligence services NSA and GCHQ, for example by tapping glass fiber cables?"

A senior German interior ministry official, Ulrich Weinbrenner, told a Bundestag committee that it was known "in general form" that programs of these types existed.

ipj/jr (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

Related Article:

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Berlusconi sentenced to jail in sex trial

Google – AFP, Ella Ide (AFP), 24 June 2013

This combo image shows former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi and

nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug (AFP/File, Giuseppe Cacace)

ROME — An Italian court on Monday sentenced Silvio Berlusconi to seven years in jail and banned the former premier from public office after convicting him of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power.

The judges handed down a sentence that went beyond the request of prosecutors, who had called for the 76-year-old billionaire to serve six years.

The sentence is "completely illogical. The judges even went beyond the prosecutors' request," Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told journalists after the verdict was read out.

A small group of protesters cheered and applauded outside the courtroom, and sang the national anthem.

The verdict brings to a climax a two-year trial which sparked a media frenzy amid allegations of strippers dressed as nuns and erotic party games with topless girls.

The sentence will be suspended until all appeals have been exhausted, a process likely to take years.

Berlusconi's age also means he is unlikely to ever see the inside of a prison cell because of lenient sentencing guidelines in Italy for people over the age of 70.

The trial relates to crimes committed in 2010 when Berlusconi was prime minister, and revolves around what prosecutors have described as erotic parties held at his luxury residence outside Milan.

Berlusconi was accused of paying for sex on several occasions with Moroccan-born Karima El-Mahroug, a then 17-year-old exotic dancer and busty glamour girl nicknamed "Ruby the Heart Stealer".

He was also accused of having called a police station to pressure for El-Mahroug's release from custody when she was arrested for theft.

His defence claimed he believed El-Mahroug was the niece of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and wanted to avoid a diplomatic incident, but prosecutors insisted it was a bid to conceal their liaison.

While abuse of office was the more serious of the charges, it was the sex with the pole dancer after racy "bunga bunga" evenings in a basement room of his mansion that mesmerised the public.

El-Mahroug described the "bunga bunga" sessions of erotic dancing to interrogators in 2010, saying Berlusconi had picked up the custom from former Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Both the flamboyant billionaire and El-Mahroug denied having had sex.

Prosecutor Ilda Boccassini told the court in her summing up speech last month that El-Mahroug was "part of a prostitution system set up for the personal sexual satisfaction of the defendant".

She said the dancer quickly became the premier's "favourite" and had not admitted the relationship with him only because she had received as much as 4.5 million euros ($5.8 million) from him.

El-Mahroug proved an unreliable witness, admitting in May that she had lied to investigators about the parties -- going back on an earlier claim that strippers had "bodily stimulated" Berlusconi -- and saying she had invented the vast sum of money.

She still admitted to receiving tens of thousands of euros for attending parties and set up a beauty salon.

The former cruise ship singer has long blamed his legal woes on persecution by "Communist" judges, and any perceived "victory" on the part of the left could spark an explosive reaction from loyalists.

A Milan court last month upheld his conviction for tax fraud, confirming the punishment of a year in prison and a five-year ban from public office which is frozen pending a second appeal.

China, Britain signs agreement on currency swap

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-06-23

Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England and Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, have signed an agreement to establish a reciprocal three year sterling/renminbi currency swap line, according to an announcement on the Bank of England's website on Saturday night.

The maximum value of the swap is 200 billion yuan/20 billion pounds (US$32 billion). The swap line may be used to promote bilateral trade between the two countries and to support domestic financial stability, the British bank said. Governor Mervyn King said that it is a testament to the outstanding working relationships between the two banks that this swap line has now been signed.

The establishment of a sterling/renminbi swap line will support Britain's domestic financial stability. In the unlikely event that a generalized shortage of offshore renminbi liquidity emerges, the Bank will have the capability to facilitate renminbi liquidity to eligible institutions in Britain. "On behalf of the Bank, I am grateful to governor Zhou and the staff at the People's Bank of China, with whom it has been a pleasure to work," King said.

The agreement follows the announcement of discussions between the Bank of England and the People's Bank of China on 22 February.

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China, EU willing to solve PV dispute through negotiation: minister

Want China Times, Xinhua 2013-06-22

A worker inspects a solar panel that will be shipped to Europe. (Photo/CFP)

China and the EU both hope to solve an ongoing trade dispute involving photovoltaic products through price undertaking talks, China's commerce minister Gao Hucheng said on Friday.

Gao made the remarks at a press conference following a session of the China-EU Trade and Economic Joint Committee held on the same day. Issues concerning bilateral trade and economic cooperation were discussed at the meeting, including the PV issue, according to Gao.

"Both sides are sincerely engaged in working towards an amicable solution," EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht said at the press conference.

Earlier this month, the EU imposed an interim anti-dumping duty of 11.8% on imports of all Chinese solar panel products, including panels, cells and wafers. The duty may be raised to an average of 47.6% two months after going into effect if both sides fail to come to an agreement.

Gao said China and the EU have been in close communication regarding issues related to the PV trade dispute. Technical-level discussions have been positive and constructive, he added.

Gao said he hopes both sides can adopt a pragmatic and flexible approach and strengthen coordination and collaboration in order to arrive at a balanced, reasonable and mutually acceptable price undertaking deal.

"It's early in the negotiation process and this kind of issue is rarely solved overnight," De Gucht warned.

Since the EU's preliminary ruling, the Chinese government and PV enterprises have kept close contact with the European Commission regarding price undertaking talks.

Beijing has urged the EU to keep overall China-EU cooperation in mind and take a pragmatic attitude.

Apart from trade remedies, the two sides also discussed a wide range of topics at the annual meeting, including a possible bilateral investment treaty, trade in goods, trade in service and intellectual property protection.

Gao said both sides have agreed to deepen information exchanges in order to open negotiations for the bilateral investment treaty as soon as possible.

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