The situation in Syria is heating up drastically, as it became public knowledge, that President Bashar al Assad’s brother in law, Asef Shawkat, and Syria’s defense minister, were killed in an elaborate suicide bomb attack, carried out by a bodyguard, assigned to protect Assad’s inner circle. The Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for planning this attack, and also stated they were acting in collaboration with informer Republican Guard soldiers, as well as security personnel of the national security building, where a meeting was held at the time, of the attack. Asef Shawkat was married to President Bashar al Assad’s sister and acted as the head of Syria’s military intelligence. President Bashar al Assad has not issued a statement yet, but apparently he was not present at this meeting. Mr. Shawkat and the defense minister, were considered the heads behind the anti dissent movement, and their demise is a major coup for the opposition leaders. Even Russia agrees, that the civil war in Syria has now reached a decisive point. Looks like Kofi Annan’s attempt to talk some sense into this situation, came a little too late, unfortunately.
A surprise twist has developed in the Credit Suisse versus Switzerland’s Central Bank dispute. Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second biggest bank, was warned by the Central Bank, that it was not strong enough to survive a major financial crisis. Credit Suisse denied this criticism, claiming they are one of the world’s best capitalized banks, but investors chose to listen to the Central Bank and started unloading their shares in a frenzy, eliminating over 2 billion dollars of the company’s market cap. CEO Brady Dougan stated that he finds the discussion about Credit Suisse’s insufficient capital a bit surreal, given its stable profitability, but nevertheless decided to reassure investors and appease the Central Bank, by raising a total of 8.7 billion francs in capital, through bond sales, that will convert into shares to existing investors, and other measures. Looks like UBS might have to go through some capital raising of its own, under the Central Bank’s watchful eye.
A recent study suggests, that the act of inactivity, is killing as many people around the world as the act of smoking does. The study suggests, that the lack of enough physical activity, is causing 5.3 million deaths a year, and is a serious enough issue, to be viewed as a pandemic. Researchers suggest that individual governments, have to do more to inform the public of the dangers of inactivity and provide more options for safe and affordable ways to exercise. The study recommends, that adults put in at least 150 minutes of exercise each week. Turns out that people in high income societies tend to be less active, with the UK right there at the fore front of inactivity.
The situation in Syria is heating up drastically, as it became public knowledge, that President Bashar al Assad’s brother in law, Asef Shawkat, and Syria’s defense minister, were killed in an elaborate suicide bomb attack, carried out by a bodyguard, assigned to protect Assad’s inner circle. The Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for planning this attack, and also stated they were acting in collaboration with informer Republican Guard soldiers, as well as security personnel of the national security building, where a meeting was held at the time, of the attack. Asef Shawkat was married to President Bashar al Assad’s sister and acted as the head of Syria’s military intelligence. President Bashar al Assad has not issued a statement yet, but apparently he was not present at this meeting. Mr. Shawkat and the defense minister, were considered the heads behind the anti dissent movement, and their demise is a major coup for the opposition leaders. Even Russia agrees, that the civil war in Syria has now reached a decisive point. Looks like Kofi Annan’s attempt to talk some sense into this situation, came a little too late, unfortunately.
A surprise twist has developed in the Credit Suisse versus Switzerland’s Central Bank dispute. Credit Suisse, Switzerland’s second biggest bank, was warned by the Central Bank, that it was not strong enough to survive a major financial crisis. Credit Suisse denied this criticism, claiming they are one of the world’s best capitalized banks, but investors chose to listen to the Central Bank and started unloading their shares in a frenzy, eliminating over 2 billion dollars of the company’s market cap. CEO Brady Dougan stated that he finds the discussion about Credit Suisse’s insufficient capital a bit surreal, given its stable profitability, but nevertheless decided to reassure investors and appease the Central Bank, by raising a total of 8.7 billion francs in capital, through bond sales, that will convert into shares to existing investors, and other measures. Looks like UBS might have to go through some capital raising of its own, under the Central Bank’s watchful eye.
A recent study suggests, that the act of inactivity, is killing as many people around the world as the act of smoking does. The study suggests, that the lack of enough physical activity, is causing 5.3 million deaths a year, and is a serious enough issue, to be viewed as a pandemic. Researchers suggest that individual governments, have to do more to inform the public of the dangers of inactivity and provide more options for safe and affordable ways to exercise. The study recommends, that adults put in at least 150 minutes of exercise each week. Turns out that people in high income societies tend to be less active, with the UK right there at the fore front of inactivity.