Europe : Deadly freezing weather...[ 2665 ]

Deaths in Ukraine and Poland in freezing Europe weather

 

Emergency shelters have been set up in the Bulgarian capital Sofia after days of freezing weather

BBC.,   30 January 2012 Last updated at 14:52 GMT

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At least 18 people have died in Ukraine and 10 in Poland after heavy snow fall and a sudden drop in temperatures across east Europe.

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Three deaths were also reported in Serbia and one in Bulgaria.

Ukrainian officials said nearly 500 people had sought treatment for frostbite and hypothermia in just three days.

And over that time, more than 17,000 people had sought refuge in some 1,500 shelters, Ukrainian media reported.

Temperatures have plunged to -16C (3F) during the day and -23C (-10F) at night, the Associated Press reports.

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Twelve of the dead were homeless people, whose bodies were discovered on the streets, Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry said.

Poland had been having a relatively mild winter, until temperatures dropped last Friday from just below freezing to -26C (-15F).

Malgorzata Wozniak of Poland's interior ministry told the AP that elderly people and the homeless were among the dead.

Polish forecasters have warned that temperatures could fall further during the week, to below -20C during the day and -30C at night.

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In Serbia, police reported that the snowy conditions had led to the deaths of a woman and two elderly men. Two other men, in their 70s, are believed to be missing in the south of the country.

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The freezing conditions also claimed a life in neighbouring Bulgaria.

Emergency shelters offering food and heat are being set up in the Bulgarian capital Sofia and the Czech capital Prague, according to AP.

Australia: Bikie member shot dead...[ 2664 ]

Comanchero member Giovanni Focarelli shot dead

• By Thomas Conlin and Derek Pedley
• AdelaideNow
• January 30, 2012 12:35AM

Video far below

Gunfight in Cafe strip

South Australian Police have confirmed the gunfight in O'Connell Street and the shooting of Vincenzo Focarelli are related.

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Anguished friends and family at the scene of the shooting. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

A COMANCHERO bikie gang member has been shot dead and his father and club president has survived a fourth attempt on his life.

Police at the scene confirmed that Giovanni Focarelli's body was in the back seat of a car on Prospect Rd, just outside Adelaide's Prospect Village Shopping Centre.

An SA ambulance spokeswoman said that a man with multiple gunshot wounds had been taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital.

She said he was in stable condition and walking when ambulance crews arrived at the scene.

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Police confirmed the man was Giovanni's father Vince who has been the target of three previous assassination attempts.

Ten police vehicles sealed off Prospect Rd within minutes of the first reports about 9pm.

A blue sedan with West Australian registration plates was parked on Prospect Rd outside the shopping centre and Giovanni's body was inside. The cars headlights and hazard lights were on.

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A group of people who arrived at the scene at 9.35pm had to be restrained by police from entering the crime scene. One woman had to be tackled by three officers.

Minutes earlier, paramedics had gathered around the rear of the vehicle and they were believed to be checking a body for signs of life.

There were reports that an ambulance had earlier rushed a person to hospital.

Giovanni, in his early 20s, was stabbed in the stomach and chest outside his father's Hindley Street tattoo parlour Ink Central on May 22, 2010.

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Vince, who survived a gunman's ambush on December 15 at Munno Para and whose alleged associates engaged in a gunfight at a North Adelaide cafe, broke his silence to counter rumours that the Comanchero Motorcycle Club is plagued by infighting.

In a statement signed by him and released by him earlier this month, he called for privacy.

"Mr Focarelli denies there is any disharmony or in-house fighting within the Comancheros Motorcycle Club," the statement said.

VIDEO: Gunfight in Cafe strip

Fitch..downgrades...[ 2663 ]

Italy, Spain downgraded by Fitch

Poated January 29, 2012 
By Chris Isidore @CNNMoney January 27, 2012: 2:46 PM ET

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti. Italy was one of five eurozone countries to have its debt downgraded by Fitch on Friday.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Fitch downgraded the sovereign debt ratings Friday of five European countries, with Italy and Spain taking the biggest hit.

Italy, the third largest economy in the eurozone, had its rating cut two levels to A- from A+. Spain was cut two levels to A from AA-.

Slovenia was also cut two levels to A, while Cyprus and Belgium were each cut one notch, Belgium to AA and Cyprus to BBB-, the lowest possible level before hitting junk bond status.

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All the downgraded countries remained on negative outlook, meaning they at risk of being downgraded again in the future.

Fitch also confirmed the already-weak BBB+ rating for Ireland, and said the country also remains on negative outlook. 

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"The intensification of the eurozone crisis in the latter half of last year...highlighted the financing risks faced by eurozone sovereign governments in the absence of a credible financial firewall against contagion and self-fulfilling liquidity crises," said Fitch's statement. 

Greece Rejects to Cede Budget Control...[ 2662 ]

Greece Rejects Proposal to Cede Budget Control

Topic: Global financial crisis

Greece Rejects Proposal to Cede Budget Control//© AFP/ Aris Messinis/20:48 29/01/2012

MOSCOW, January 29 (RIA Novosti)

Greece has rejected suggestions it should cede control over its own budget to an EU outsider, the BBC reported on Sunday.

Culture Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos told the BBC it would be “impossible” for Greece to accept such a deal.

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He was responding to a leaked German proposal for a European Union budget commissioner to take control over the country’s tax and spending powers.

“We have been giving up quite a bit, but I think sovereignty is a red line that no-one would dare cross,” Yeroulanos said.

“I would rather resign as a minister than allow anybody to tell us the way we should be spending our money,” he added.

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Meanwhile, Greece and creditors who own its bonds are said to be close to a deal to significantly reduce the country’s debt, paving the way for it to receive much-needed further bailout funds from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The deal could be finalized next week.

Brazil:.17 killed in building collapse..[ 2661 ]

17 killed in Rio building collapse

17 killed in Rio building collapse//© AFP/ Ari Versiani //11:18 28/01/2012

RIO-DE-JANEIRO, January 28 (RIA Novosti)

Rescue workers have uncovered the bodies of 17 people killed in the January, 25 building collapse in Rio-de-Janeiro, the state's Civil Defense agency said on Saturday.

Officials believe unauthorized construction work inside a 20-story, 72-year-old building damaged its structure and caused it to crumble, wrenching down two neighboring office buildings of approximately the same age about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

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The buildings housed offices that had mostly closed for the day and few people were on the normally busy street at the time.

The head of Rio state's Civil Defense agency said the hunt for survivors will continue until Sunday.

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City officials said the accident should not cast doubt on Rio's ability to organize and host the upcoming 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

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"This was an isolated incident that occurred on private property," the mayor's office said in a statement. "The case is entirely unrelated to the preparations for the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympic Games and other events that are already part of the city's calendar."