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Obama warns Republicans to stop using “extortion” and
pledges talks once budget is approved
http://www.euronews.com/2013/10/08/obama-warns-republicans-to-stop-using-extortion-and-pledges-talks-once-budget-is-approved/
President Obama has held a news conference about the US government
shutdown.
He warned Republicans to stop using what he called extortion
and threats. He added that American people don’t demand a ransom for doing
their jobs, so neither should Republicans.
Obama said he would be willing to talk about any issues once
Congress voted to reopen government and then to raise the debt ceiling.
“I will sit down and work with anyone of any party not only
to talk about the budget, I’ll talk about ways to improve the healthcare
system, “ Obama declared.
He added that ordinary Americans would suffer if the debt
ceiling wasn’t raised and the country defaulted.
“A decision to actually
go through with it, to actually permit default according to many CEOs and
economists would be and I’m quoting here insane catastrophic chaos , these are
some of the more polite words. Warren Buffet likened default to a nuclear
bomb.”
Obama said that if Congress refused to raise the debt
ceiling, America
would not be able to meet its financial obligations for the first time in 225
years.
The US
has until October 17th to raise its borrowing limit before it risks defaulting.
More about: American budget, Barack Obama, Health reform, USA
Copyright © 2013 euronews
Turkey
lifts 90-year ban on Islamic veils in the workplace
http://www.euronews.com/2013/10/08/turkey-lifts-90-year-ban-on-islamic-veils-in-the-workplace/
For the first time in 90 years, women in Turkey are now
allowed to wear the Islamic head scarf in the workplace or at university.
Although wearing the veil on the streets was allowed, it had
been outlawed in all public institutions since 1925.
The founder of the secular Turkish republic, Mustafa
Ataturk, passed the decree banishing overt symbols of religious affiliation for
civil servants.
Many women, particularly Kurds, had been unable to study or
join the workforce.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the new law would
bring greater democracy: “The old regulation included restrictions on women and
men’s appearances and this was a violation and discrimination against the
freedom of religion and consciousness, it was discriminatory,” Erdogan said.
The prime minister’s critics see the move as evidence of a
“secret Islamic agenda” that his AK party is trying to push through.
The change is part of a package of reforms including greater
freedom for Kurdish minorities and the lifting of a ban on using letters such
as “q”, “w” and “x”, part of minority languages, but not in the official
Turkish alphabet.
There will also be an end to Turkish primary school children
having to recite a vow of national allegiance each week.
More about: Islamists, Tradition,
Turkey, Women’s
rights
Copyright © 2013 euronews
Argentine President Christina Fernandez comfortable after
brain surgery
http://www.euronews.com/2013/10/08/argentine-president-christina-fernandez-comfortable-after-brain-surgery/
Argentine President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner has
undergone surgery to treat bleeding of the brain. The operation took two hours
and is considered low risk.
The president is expected to remain in intensive care for
the next 48 hours and stay in hospital until the end of the week.
Her spokesperson Alfredo Scoccimarro addressed the crowds
outside the hospital in Buenos Aries: “The surgery went very, very well. The
president is already in her room. She is in good spirits and says hello to
everyone.”
She went into hospital on Saturday for checks after
complaining of headaches and an irregular heartbeat.
Medics then carried out a scan, which uncovered a subdural
haematoma-bleeding between the brain and skull.
More about: Argentina,
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Copyright © 2013 euronews
Argentina’s
President Fernandez: ‘harder for me, a woman, but I have the strength’
http://www.euronews.com/2013/10/08/argentina-s-president-fernandez-harder-for-me-a-woman-but-i-have-the-strength/
Cristina Fernandez, married with President Nestor Kirchner,
preferred to call herself First Citizen rather than First Lady. Then in 2007,
she was elected President in her own right. She now held the power in Argentina.
When she was inaugurated, she said: “I know it will be
harder for me because I am a woman. One can be a worker, a professional, or
entrepreneur, but it’s always more difficult for us. I’m convinced of that. But
I believe I have the strength to do this.”
The couple came from the south: her a senator, him a
provincial governor. She had a reputation of being better at politics than he
was. They were among the foremost members of the Peronist Justicialist Party.
She helped her husband win the national presidency in 2003,
when Argentina
was still on its knees from a financial hell it had been through. Kirchner
proposed neo-Keynesian policies, halfway between social democracy and social
liberalism. Tabbed “Kirchnerism”, this slowly nudged the country back towards
growth and confidence.
The couple were as united in politics as they were in
conjugal life. They’d met at law school. Kirchner’s sudden death in 2010
shocked the country, shattered Cristina.
She was fiercely independent over her image. Nobody told her
how to look or behave.
She lost popularity going head to head with the powerful
agricultural sector. It fought her policy of higher taxation on exports.
She was reelected in 2011. Among her notable achievements,
she passed Argentina’s
gay marriage law, and ended impunity from prosecution for crimes against
humanity committed during the military dictatorship.
On the international stage, President Cristina Fernandez led
her country as Latin America turned politically left, generally, and at the
same time she got Argentina
into the G20.
More about: Argentina,
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Copyright © 2013 euronews