BELGIUM
Cyprus secures bailout, avoids bankruptcy
Cyprus secured a package of rescue loans in tense, last-ditch negotiations early today, two EU diplomats said, saving the country from a banking system collapse and bankruptcy. The cash-strapped island nation needs a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout to recapitalize its ailing lenders and keep the government afloat. The finance ministers of the 17-nation eurozone accepted the plan reached in 10 hours of negotiations in Brussels. Under the plan, Cyprus’ second-largest bank, Laiki, will be restructured and holders of bank deposits of more than 100,000 euros will have to take losses, the diplomats said. They spoke on condition of anonymity pending the official announcement. It was not immediately clear whether the holders of large deposits in the remaining Cypriot banks would be forced equally to take losses.
MYANMAR
U.N. envoy visits scene of violence
The top U.N. envoy to Myanmar on Sunday toured a central city wracked by the country’s worst Buddhist-Muslim violence this year, calling on the government to punish those responsible for a tragedy that left dozens of corpses piled in the streets. Vijay Nambiar, the U.N. secretary-general’s special adviser on Myanmar, also visited some of the nearly 10,000 people driven from their homes after sectarian unrest shook the city of Meikhtila for several days last week.
TURKEY
PM: No quick restoration of ties with Israel
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested “normalization” of ties with Israel would take time, hinting that Turkey wanted to ensure the victims of a flotilla raid were compensated and Israel remained committed to the easing of restrictions of goods to Gaza before relations are restored between the two nations. Erdogan’s comments on Sunday came days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Turkish leader to apologize for the botched raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla in 2010 that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American. Erdogan accepted the apology and both leaders said they would begin the work of restoring full relations.
GREECE
Police capture third escaped inmate
Police say a third prisoner who escaped along with 10 fellow inmates after gunmen attacked their holding facility as part of an escape plot has been arrested. A police officer said police consider the arrested individual the mastermind of the escape. The escape from the Trikala Holding Facility west of Larissa on Friday evening involved outsiders attacking the prison with machine guns and hand grenades. Two guards were injured, one seriously; he is still in intensive care. All 11 escapees are Albanian nationals. Two were caught Saturday.
EGYPT
President issues warning after clashes
Egypt’s president delivered a stern warning to his opponents on Sunday, saying he may be close to taking unspecified measures to “protect this nation” two days after supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood and opposition protesters fought street battles in the worst bout of political violence in three months. Nearly 200 people were injured in Friday’s violence, some seriously, outside the headquarters of the Brotherhood, Egypt’s dominant political group. “If I have to do what is necessary to protect this nation I will, and I am afraid that I may be close to doing so,” President Mohammed Morsi said in a speech to the opening session of a conference on women’s rights.
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