Six In The Morning

Meltdown fears for euro as G20 makes plans for Athens to default on debt

Finance Minister signals Greece may opt for 50 per cent

 writedown on bonds as top economist warns Spain and 

Italy could be forced out of single currency

By Ben Chu in Washington and Margareta Pagano in 

London

Sunday, 25 September 2011

The world's leading economic powers are moving towards an acceptance that Greece will default on up to half of its €350bn sovereign debts, according to reports from meetings in Washington yesterday. They are believed to be working on concrete plans to deal with these huge losses and their repercussions.

This news – almost regardless of any words of qualification that emerge this weekend – will have a resounding effect on the febrile markets when they open on Monday.

Libya's NTC troops renew assault on pro-Gaddafi Sirte

National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters had regrouped overnight after making major gains on Saturday.

Troops entered from both west and east and, at one stage, were within 1km (0.5 miles) of the city centre, after weeks of stalemate.

Sirte is Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's birthplace, but it is not known if he is in the city.

The city has always been a hugely symbolic target for the NTC, and it seems close to being won, reports the BBC's Alastair Leithead, who is with anti-Gaddafi forces in Sirte.

Deadlier than the Taliban? Meet Afghanistan's version of the Sopranos

The Haqqani network is a ruthless crime family that built an empire out of kidnapping, extortion, smuggling and trucking

 By MARK MAZZETTI, SCOTT SHANE and ALISSA J. RUBIN

WASHINGTON — They are the Sopranos of the Afghanistan war, a ruthless crime family that built an empire out of kidnapping, extortion, smuggling, even trucking. They have trafficked in precious gems, stolen lumber and demanded protection money from businesses building roads and schools with American reconstruction funds.

They safeguard their mountainous turf by planting deadly roadside bombs and shelling remote American military bases.

Wave of riots over China land grabs

Andrew Jacobs, Beijing

September 25, 2011

RIOTERS in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have besieged government buildings, attacked police and overturned riot squad vehicles during protests against the seizure of farmland.

According to a government website, hundreds of people last Wednesday blocked an important highway while others mobbed the local headquarters of the Communist Party and a police station in the city of Lufeng, injuring a dozen officers. Some witnesses, posting anonymous accounts online, put the number of rioters at more than 1000.

Israel ponders response to Palestinian U.N. statehood bid

Israel officials are weighing calls for swift retaliation against fears that tough measures could be counterproductive, perhaps causing the Palestinian Authority to collapse.

By Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times 

Reporting from Jerusalam— 

As Israel considers its reaction to the Palestinian drive for recognition of statehood at the U.N., officials are weighing calls for swift retaliation against fear that tough measures could be counterproductive.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is evaluatingIsrael's next step. But key members of his right-wing coalition are pushing for a firm response, which they say would discourage Palestinians from pursuing their strategy of gaining United Nations recognition or taking other unilateral steps away from the negotiating table.

Ry Cooder takes on the bankers

By Nicola StanbridgeToday Programme

The guitarist Ry Cooder is most famous for his Buena Vista Social club recording, which he used to highlight his opposition to America's trade embargo on Cuba.

In his new album he continues his political stance, claiming he will use his music to take on bankers and give voice to "ordinary working people".

Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down completes the circle with the musician's first albums, which covered songs by Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly that evoked the desperate times of The Great Depression.