Bob Welch Dead in an apparent suicide

Former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Bob Welch has been found shot dead at his home in an apparent suicide.

Police said Welch's body was found by his wife with a single gunshot wound to the chest, and he had left a suicide note.

The 66-year-old suffered from health problems, but police did not disclose what those issues were.

"The police are investigating it as a suicide, and there was no evidence of foul play," Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said. Read More

UN Chief Warns Of Civil War Risk In Syria

The danger of civil war in Syria is "imminent and real", the UN's chief has said, as tensions rise over the latest alleged massacre by government forces.

Ban Ki-Moon told reporters the country can "quickly go from tipping point to breaking point" and made a fresh appeal for calm on all sides following the atrocity, which is said to have claimed at least 78 lives.

"The Syrian people are bleeding," he said after addressing the UN Security Council behind closed doors.

"They are angry. They want peace and dignity. Above all they want action."

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan said during the same news conference he was holding talks on bringing key world and regional powers into a contact group on the crisis. Read More

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR THE COAST OF NICARAGUA - 8th June 2012

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake has struck near the Coast of NICARAGUA at a depth of 79 km (49.1 miles), the quake hit at 00:35:02 UTC Friday 8th June 2012
The epicenter was 43 km (26 miles) SSW of MANAGUA, Nicaragua
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.1 Magnitude Earthquake BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake has struck BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA at a depth of 14.5 km (9 miles), the quake hit at 23:19:26 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 137 km (85 miles) Southwest of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.3 Magnitude Earthquake KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake has struck KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA at a depth of 145.3 km (90.3 miles), the quake hit at 22:08:00 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 219 km (136 miles) WNW of Saumlaki, Kepulauan Tanimbar, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake HALMAHERA, INDONESIA - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck HALMAHERA, INDONESIA at a depth of 105.6 km (65.6 miles), the quake hit at 22:02:36 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 246 km (152 miles) Northeast of Ternate, Moluccas, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.9 Magnitude Earthquake WESTERN TURKEY - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake has struck WESTERN TURKEY at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), the quake hit at 20:54:27 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 37 km (22 miles) ESE of Tekirdag, Turkey
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Spiral-like object spotted in skies over Middle East: What is it?

"Zombie" virus: National Geographic says in 2010 that such a mutated form of rabies may indeed exist, capable of making men "zombie-like"

In the zombie flicks 28 Days Later and I Am Legend, an unstoppable viral plague sweeps across humanity, transforming people into mindless monsters with cannibalistic tendencies.

Though dead humans can't come back to life, certain viruses can induce such aggressive, zombie-like behavior, scientists say in the new National Geographic Channel documentary The Truth Behind Zombies, premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/PT. (National Geographic News is part of the National Geographic Society, which part-owns the National Geographic Channel.)

For instance, rabies—a viral disease that infects the central nervous system—can drive people to be violently mad, according to Samita Andreansky, a virologist at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in Florida who also appears in the documentary.

Combine rabies with the ability of a flu virus to spread quickly through the air, and you might have the makings of a zombie apocalypse.

Rabies Virus Mutation Possible?

Unlike movie zombies, which become reanimated almost immediately after infection, the first signs a human has rabies—such as anxiety, confusion, hallucinations, and paralysis—don't typically appear for ten days to a year, as the virus incubates inside the body.

Once rabies sets in, though, it's fatal within a week if left untreated.

If the genetic code of the rabies virus experienced enough changes, or mutations, its incubation time could be reduced dramatically, scientists say.

Many viruses have naturally high mutation rates and constantly change as a means of evading or bypassing the defenses of their hosts.

There are various ways viral mutations can occur, for example through copying mistakes during gene replication or damage from ultraviolet light.

"If a rabies virus can mutate fast enough, it could cause infection within an hour or a few hours. That's entirely plausible," Andreansky said.

But for the rabies virus to trigger a zombie pandemic like in the movies, it would also have to be much more contagious.

Humans typically catch rabies after being bitten by an infected animal, usually a dog—and the infection usually stops there.

Thanks to pet vaccinations, people rarely contract rabies in the United States today, and even fewer people die from the disease. For example, in 2008 only two cases of human rabies infection were reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A faster mode of transmission would be through the air, which is how the influenza virus spreads.

"All rabies has to do is go airborne, and you have the rage virus" like in 28 Days Later, Max Mogk, head of the Zombie Research Society, says in the documentary. The international nonprofit is devoted to "raising the level of zombie scholarship in the Arts and Sciences," according to their website. more

Note: Will the Walking Dead become a reality? Who knows. At the very least, the uptick in such "zombie" incidents and mutating viruses are things to mull over.

'FBI systematically spreads fears, threats'-News Analysis-06-07-2012

'Russia, China back Iran nuclear rights'

'US ignores feelings of Pakistani people'

'EU onion peeled again by German bank slash'

'Foreign-funded terrorists to blame for Syria atrocities'

China against 'outside armed intervention' in Syria

BEIJING — China said Thursday it was firmly opposed to "outside armed intervention" in Syria or "any attempt to forcibly promote regime change" amid mounting violence in the country, Xinhua reported.

China's UN envoy Li Baodong told the UN General Assembly that China was committed to playing a "positive and constructive role in finding an early peaceful and proper solution to the Syrian question," but made no mention of international envoy Kofi Annan's six-point plan.

"We resolutely oppose the solutions to the Syrian crisis through outside armed intervention or any attempt to forcibly promote regime change" despite the crackdown on dissent by President Bashar al-Assad's regime, Li said, according to the state news agency.

"China has taken a fair, just and responsible position on the issue of Syria," he added.

"We steadfastly safeguard the basic norms governing international relations and strive to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East region. And with our specific actions, we have called for peace and promoted negotiations." Read More

4.8 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck near the Coast of HONSHU, JAPAN at a depth of 30 km (18.6 miles), the quake hit at 18:39:48 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 81 km (50.2 miles) Northeast of Miyako, Honshu, Japan
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Chinese Toddler dangles by head off 4th floor

'Forgotten people' of Egypt's revolution

(CNN) -- From a cracked window, Khaled Gamal looks across a smoggy skyline of drab tenements and hanging laundry. But on this day, something is different.

He watches a voting line form on his street in Manshiyat Nasr, one of Cairo's poorest neighborhoods. After more than 30 years of life under former President Hosni Mubarak's ironclad autocratic rule, it's a sight many didn't think they'd ever see: Egyptians voting -- from among 13 candidates, no less -- in the freest presidential election in its history.

Rhythmic street music rises into the two-room flat he shares with his mother, grandmother and three siblings. His fatigued mother, Umm Ahmed, has hung sepia-toned portraits of relatives and pictures of Islam's holiest city, Mecca.

Gamal, 18 years old, looks down at his freshly purple-inked finger.

He just voted for the first time. He supports Abdelmonen Abol Fotoh, an independent Islamist and former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the world's largest and most influential Islamist movements. Read More

Blast kills 15 at Pakistan religious school

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- A bomb killed 15 people and injured 48 others in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday, a senior police official said.

The bomb was planted on a bicycle outside a madrassa, or Muslim religious school, in the city of Quetta, said Qazi Abdul Wahid, a senior police official in the city.

It exploded as a ceremony was under way at the school, killing at least four students and seven people who were passing by, he said. Five children were among the dead, Wahid said. Read More

Fears of Libya Jihadist threat grow

U.S. rating faces 2013 cut if no credible plan: Fitch

It also said it would immediately cut the credit ratings on Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Portugal if Greece were to exit the euro zone. Additionally, all euro zone nations would have their ratings put on its negative ratings watch list, setting a six-month time frame for a potential downgrade.

Europe's ongoing sovereign credit crisis undermines already below-trend growth seen in the United States, the world's biggest economy.

"The United States is the only country (of four major AAA-rated countries) which does not have a credible fiscal consolidation plan," and its debt-to-GDP ratio, or how much debt it has relative to the size of the economy, is expected to increase over the medium term, Ed Parker, sovereign ratings analyst, told a Fitch conference in New York.

Lower credit ratings typically lead to higher borrowing costs, putting more strain on government balance sheets already straining to cut spending without sending their economies into a tailspin. Read More

Merkel says EU ready to act as Spain downgraded

(Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was ready to act to ensure stability in the euro zone as Spain's credit rating was cut by three notches on Thursday amid expectations it may soon seek EU help for banks beset by bad debts.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he would wait for the results of independent audits of the banking system before talking with Europe about how to recapitalize troubled lenders.

An International Monetary Fund report due out next Monday is expected to show Spanish banks need at least 40 billion euros ($50 billion), financial sector sources said.

Without waiting for a widely expected EU rescue, credit ratings agency Fitch cut Spain's sovereign rating to BBB from A with a negative outlook, saying Madrid was especially vulnerable to a worsening of the euro zone debt crisis. Read More

2 Dead, 30 poisoned in northern Colombia

Two girls died and at least 30 other people were sickened by an unidentified chemical in two communities outside the northern Colombian city of San Jacinto del Cauca, health officials said.

The first girl was dead when she arrived at the city's hospital on Tuesday, while the second girl died a day later at the medical facility, municipal health secretary Catherine Atencio Avila told Efe by telephone.

The large number of patients with similar symptoms overwhelmed the hospital in San Jacinto del Cauca, which is in Bolivar province, the health official said.

Several patients were transported to hospitals in Cartagena, the capital of Bolivar, which is 10 hours away by road.

Other patients were taken to Monteria, the capital of neighboring Cordoba province, Atencio said.

"We have 20 patients, who are in stable condition, at our hospital," the health official said, adding that all the patients were suffering from poisoning. Read More

Syria: western powers close to abandoning UN peace plan

Britain and America came close to writing off the United Nations peace plan for Syria on Thursday after the latest massacre of as many as 78 villagers triggered international outrage.

The bloodshed in Qubeir on Wednesday night bore a strong resemblance to the mass killing of 108 Sunnis in the town of Houla on 25 May, which prompted 13 states, including Britain, to register their revulsion by expelling Syrian diplomats. A further incident would, said officials, cause the international community to review its entire approach towards handling the conflict, based on a peace plan devised by Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, yesterday declared that this proposal was "not working" and urged President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to surrender power and go into exile after the "unconscionable" killings. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said that Mr Annan's proposals had "clearly failed so far". Read More

Merkel seeking long-term answer as Europe burns: analysts

BERLIN — As the eurozone turmoil mounts, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying to regain the upper hand with calls for long-term political integration but she continues to resist emergency action.

"We need more Europe ... a budget union ... and we need a political union first and foremost," Merkel told German public television Thursday. "We must, step by step, cede responsibilities to Europe."

However her proposals fall far short of the kind of bold measures to douse the raging fires that were demanded this week by US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Speaking later Thursday with students in Berlin, alongside Cameron and Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, Merkel reiterated that there was no such thing as a magic solution to the euro crisis.

"Calling for this one big bold stroke and then the euro crisis will be gone. This won't work," she insisted. Read More

Carlotta Brett-Pierce Jailed as Brother, 5, of girl starved to death brought food to her funeral... 'so his little sister could eat in Heaven'

The five-year-old brother of a girl who was beaten and starved to death by their mother brought food to her funeral so she would have enough to eat in heaven, it was revealed.

'Monster mom' Carlotta Brett-Pierce was found guilty of murder last month and sentenced to 32 years to life in prison yesterday.

Her four-year-old daughter Marchella died covered in bruises and open wounds and weighing only 19 pounds in September 2010. She was found drugged and beaten, tied to her SpongeBob SquarePants bed at the Brooklyn home.

The little girl, who was force-fed allergy pills, was often beaten in front of her brother Tymel.

Prosecutor Jacqueline Kagan revealed that Tymel, now seven, was deeply traumatized by the events he witnessed at home and still grieves for his sister.

When he attended her funeral, he had brought food with him so that he could help his sister. Read More

4.8 Magnitude Earthquake TONGA - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake has struck TONGA at a depth of 29.2 km (18.1 miles), the quake hit at 18:02:42 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 251 km (156 miles) Southwest from APIA, Samoa
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Chinese driver in hospital after 6ft deep sinkhole swallows his minibus

As fears grow over the Government's plans to privatise Britain's already battered roads, this picture shows just how hairy potholes can be in communist China.

As the driver of this minibus cruised through the city of Guilin, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, the last thing he would have expected was drive headlong into a sinkhole.

Without warning, the 2m-deep pit opened up and engulfed his vehicle as he drove along the Fuxing Road in the city's Qixing district.

The driver - the only person in the vehicle - was rushed to hospital, where the extent of his injuries are unknown, an officer from Giulin's traffic management department said.

According to reports the pit, which was about 13ft long, 8ft wide and 6ft deep, came after heavy rains weakened the eroded the road's asphalt surface. Read More

Ilias Kasidiaris a spokesman for Golden Dawn Hits Liana Kanelli, a prominent Communist party member on Live TV

5.2 Magnitude Earthquake JUJUY, ARGENTINA - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake has struck JUJUY, ARGENTINA at a depth of 255 km (158.1 miles), the quake hit at 17:06:47 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 53 km (32.8 miles) Southwest from Villazon, Jujuy, Argentina
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Anthony Hill caught stealing 50 times but is never jailed is spared AGAIN after theft of £190 designer handbag....What does it take to get locked up?

A prolific shoplifter who has been caught stealing 50 times has been spared jail once again.

Anthony Hill, 32, was caught trying to steal a £190 ladies handbag from upmarket fashion and jewellery boutique Folli Follie in Regent Street in April.

It was the heroin addict's 37th conviction for 63 separate offences, including 50 for theft.

He already has a three-month suspended prison sentence hanging over him following another bout of shoplifting in September last year.

But Hill, appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, begged to be given one more chance.

Paul Brooks, chair of the magistrates, said: 'We have listened very carefully to the representations made on your behalf, and today we are not going to send you to prison. Read More

Muhammed Niazi bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend to death with a hammer two months after he ASKED to be deported

A Pakistan national bludgeoned his ex-girlfriend to death with a hammer two months after he had asked police to deport him from Britain, a court heard today.

Muhammed Niazi told officers he wanted to return to his native country after splitting up with the mother of his two-year-old daughter and becoming depressed.

But he was turned away and told to contact the Home Office.

Weeks later the 28-year-old went on to carry out the brutal killing of Charito Cruz in front of their young girl last September.

Niazi had savagely murdered his 37-year-old ex-partner after discovering she was flirting with an ex-boyfriend on Facebook, an Old Bailey murder jury were told today.

The court heard that Niazi said his Filipino partner, who he had met on an online dating site, 'deserved' to die because she had been cheating on him. Read More

Thomas Puxty who murdered neighbour was TWICE turned away by police when he tried to confess

A former Marine who murdered his neighbour was twice turned away by police after handing himself in and confessing to the crime, a court heard.

Killer Thomas Puxty had to demand an interview after officers refused to believe him when walked into a police station to admit to brutally torturing and murdering his neighbour five years earlier, it was said.

Last year, Puxty, 31, was sentenced to life, with a minimum of 28 years, for the savage killing of Lee Clement at his home in Woolwich, south London, in March 2006.

However, the details of his confession have only just been heard during an appeal to reduce his sentence.

The judge ruled that his sentence should be cut by two years after hearing Puxty had ‘put himself behind bars'. Read More

6.0 Magnitude Earthquake SOUTHERN PERU - 7th June 2012

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake has struck SOUTHERN PERU at a depth of 99.7 km (62 miles), the quake hit at 16:03:18 UTC Thursday 7th June 2012
The epicenter was 119 km (74 miles) WNW from Arequipa, Peru
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Jailed for a total of 136 years: Gangsters who shot at police officers and force helicopter after 'luring' them to scene by firebombing a pub

Six gang members who shot at police officers and even a helicopter during last summer's riots were given sentences of up to 30 years today for what a judge described as a 'concerted attack on the police'.

The men, aged between 17 and 27, 'lured' officers to into the area by firebombing the Bartons Arms pub in Aston, Birmingham before firing at least 12 shots from four different guns.

Today Judge William Davis jailed all six at Birmingham Crown Court for a range of offences including rioting, reckless arson and firearms possession.

Nicholas Francis, 26, who was described by the judge as 'clearly a dangerous man', received 30 years.

Jermaine Lewis, 27, was jailed for 23 years, Tyrone Laidley, 20, was also jailed for 23 years while Renardo Farrell, 20, and Wayne Collins, 25, were both jailed for 18 years.

A 17-year-old, who can now be named as Amirul Rehman after the judge lifted an order, was jailed for 12 years.

The court heard that the defendants were part of a group of 41 men - mostly masked and wearing hoods - who were rioting outside The Bartons Arms on the evening of August 9. Read More

Somali family on benefits handed keys to £2million luxury 'council'....Yay seems the Benefit Scams are still in Full Swing.

A Somali family living on benefits has moved into a luxury £2million townhouse just a stone's throw from where ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair used to live, it was revealed today.

The council-owned property Georgian townhouse, underwent £100,000 worth of renovations in 2011, including creating two new bedrooms.

The occupants of the house, a Somali family, on housing benefit and income support told The Sun: 'We are from Somalia. I don’t know how we got the house. We were lucky.' Read More

Giant Squid eaten by Blue Shark off south coast of Australia

Reporters are meant to write the news - not make it.

But there must be something in the water, because - for the second time in a month - a fishing writer has stumbled across something extraordinary.

The Australian Daily Telegraph fishing columnist - and big-game fisherman - Al McGlashan was sailing off the coast of New South Wales, Australia, at the weekend when he came across the carcass of a 13-foot squid.

And when McGlashan got into the water to explore the carcass, he found he was not the only interested party - a large blue shark came and made himself known, before devouring parts of the carcass.

Just weeks ago, the tackle editor for the Angling Times came across 'Frankenfish' in a pond in Camdridgeshire - which seemed to be part-roach, part-goldfish, and part-bream.

McGlashan, also writer of a book called the Fishing Bible, discovered the squid yesterday - but it was so big he could not bring it onto the boat. Read More

We must quit the EU and be free of its 'shackles' or face joining a 'single country called Europe', says former Labour Foreign Secretary Lord Owen

Britain has the perfect opportunity to break from the 'shackles' imposed by Brussels as members like Germany close ranks to form a 'single country called Europe', Former Labour Foreign Secretary Lord Owen has said.

And to ensure Britain looks after itself, the electorate must be asked two simple questions, would the UK be better off leaving the EU, or staying and joining the euro, he said.

As the eurozone faces its biggest ever crisis, he said now is the perfect time to act decisively over the UK's future in Europe.

'A referendum on the future of Europe is inevitable at some point between 2013 and 2016 at the latest,' he wrote in The Times.

It came as Chancellor George Osborne again resisted calls for a snap in-out referendum.

Today Britain's Foreign Secretary from 1977-79 said the UK would be better off cutting links with Brussels to join a wider single market to include non-EU members like Turkey and Iceland, which he calls the 'European Community'. Read More

UN Monitors 'Shot At' in Syria

The UN says its observers have been attacked with small arms fire as they attempted to get to the scene of an alleged Syrian massacre, amid calls for new international action to end the bloodshed.

Ban Ki-Moon called the latest atrocity, which is said to have claimed at least 78 lives, was "shocking and sickening" and an "unspeakable barbarity".

He told the UN General Assembly that President Bashar al Assad had "lost all legitimacy".

UN envoy Kofi Annan then told delegates at the meeting that the situation in the country could result in all-out civil war and that his six-point peace plan - earlier agreed to by Mr Assad - was not clearly not working.

He called for a "new level" of international action to halt the bloodshed.

"For the sake of the people of Syria who are living through this nightmare, the international community must come together and act as one," he said. Read More

Avian Influenza found at large poultry facility in Russia

Avian influenza has recently been identified during the study of pathological material, selected from major Russian poultry producer company, Amur broiler, the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor, has stated.

The virus was identified as low pathogenic avian influenza type A subtype H9. According to preliminary expert estimations the virus came from China.

"There is reason to suppose that among poultry stock in the facility [of Amur Broiler] an infectious process caused by the specified agent of bird flu is taking place. When low pathogenic virus is circulating among non-immune poultry stock, its pathogenicity could increase” stated Rosselkhoznadzor in an official statement.

Rosselkhoznadzor has said it considers it necessary to warn of a possible outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza and actions in accordance with the current regulations for the prevention and elimination of avian influenza must be enforced. Read More

Second dead whale washes ashore in Maine in 3 Weeks

SCARBOROUGH – For the second time in three weeks, a dead Minke whale has washed ashore in the area.

According to Linda Doughty, executive director of Portland-based Marine Mammals of Maine, the whale found Sunday on Pine Point Beach in Scarborough is not the same one that was discovered May 17 on rocks near Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth.

Although Doughty estimated both “juvenile-to-adult” carcasses to weigh about 8,000 pounds, the Cape Elizabeth whale measured 27 feet long, while the one is Scarborough dressed out at “just under 25 feet.” Fully grown Minke whales can approach 33 feet long, said Doughty on Monday.

Because the Cape Elizabeth whale was “difficult to access” on the rocks, it was towed “about 10 or 12 miles out to sea,” said Doughty. That, and the coincidence of two beachings within a month, prompted some, including Scarborough Fire Chief Michael Thurlow, to say the two whales were one and the same. Read More

LinkedIn, eHarmony both claim password security breach

LONDON — Business social network LinkedIn and online dating service eHarmony said Wednesday that some of their users' passwords were stolen and millions appear to have been leaked onto the Internet.

LinkedIn Corp. did not say how many of the more than six million passwords that were distributed online corresponded to LinkedIn accounts. In a blog post Wednesday, the company said it was continuing to investigate.

Graham Cluley, a consultant with U.K. Web security company Sophos, recommended that LinkedIn users change their passwords immediately.

LinkedIn has a lot of information on its more than 160 million members, including potentially confidential information related to jobs being sought. Companies, recruiting services and others have accounts alongside individuals who post resumes and other professional information.

Later Wednesday, eHarmony said the passwords of a "small fraction" of its users had been compromised. The site, which says it has over 20 million registered online users, did not say how many had been affected. But tech news site Ars Technica said it found about 1.5 million passwords leaked online that appeared to be from eHarmony users.

The dating service said on its blog that it had reset the passwords of the affected users, who would receive an email with instructions on how to set new passwords. It recommended all its users adopt "robust" passwords. Read More

China unexpectedly cuts interest rates

(Reuters) - China's central bank cut benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points in a surprise move on Thursday to shore up slackening economic growth, its first rate cut since the depths of the 2008/09 financial crisis.

The consensus view of economists had been that the PBOC would refrain from an outright cut to interest rates in 2012 and instead cut the required reserve ratio (RRR) of the country's banks.

"Obviously the Street likes it. It shows that they are looking to stimulate, which is good. When I talk to some guys, they think China has the potential to become a problem down the road. Read More