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Eight out of 90 European banks have failed stress tests designed to ensure they can withstand another financial crisis. tiffany rings on sale The European Banking Authority (EBA), which carried out the healthcheck, said another 16 banks were in the danger zone. The EBA called on national financial regulators to ensure that capital shortfalls would be quickly resolved. Five Spanish banks failed, as well as one in Austria and two in Greece. On Wednesday, Germany's Helaba pulled out of the stress tests, effectively making it the ninth bank to fail. Eight banks named In Austria, the Oestereichische Volksbank failed the test, while in Greece two state-controlled banks - ATEbank and EFG Eurobank - fell at the hurdle. cheap tiffany necklace In Spain, Catalunya Caixa, Pastor, Unnim, Caja3 and CAM failed, with seven others just scraping through the test. However, Bank of Spain governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said there was no need to inject further capital into the banks as the sector was already undergoing a fundamental restructuring. The EBA added that 16 banks only just passed the tests. All the banks should "promptly" take steps to strengthen their financial cushion, the EBA said. After the EBA announcement, the Bank of Portugal said two of the country's banks would immediately begin bolstering their finances. tiffany necklace online Banco Comercial Portugues, the country's largest listed bank, and Espirito Santo Financial Group, will strengthen their balance sheets within three months. Debt-heavy Portugal took a 78bn euro (£68bn) bail-out earlier this year. Its economy is forecast to contract 4% over the next two years. The news came just as Italy's parliament approved a 70bn euro austerity package. The country's central bank said that all Italian banks had passed the tests with "an ample margin". Default As expected, the four UK banks passed the test - Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group. tiffany outlet The Financial Services Authority said: "The results support our own stress tests and we are pleased that the major UK banks have capital above the minimum required in the test, reflecting the work we and the banks have undertaken to improve resilience since the crisis." Stringent The tests are a key element in fighting Europe's debt crisis, intended to identify weak banks and ensure they are made robust enough to survive a possible default on government bonds by heavily indebted countries such as Greece. However, the tests did not consider the impact of Greece defaulting, something some analysts believe is increasingly likely. There have been concerns, including from the ratings agency Standard & Poors, that the tests were not strict enough. However, the EBA said they were more stringent than those it carried out last year. tiffany bracelet online In 2010, both Irish banks tested, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank, were given a clean bill of health. But just months later, AIB needed a government bail-out. Each country's national banking regulators carried out a test that simulated what would happen to a bank's finances during a recession where growth falls more than 4 percentage points below EU forecasts. On Wednesday, German bank Helaba withdrew from the stress tests to avoid public failure. It said it would have passed the test if regulators counted a debt-equity hybrid, called "silent participation", as a capital reserve, but the EBA, having initially said it would accept this, then changed its mind. Pandora Bracelet Charms "Under the EBA conditions the bank failed, that is clear," Helaba spokesman Wolfgang Kuss told the AFP news agency on Friday. "From our point of view we were successful," he added. Meanwhile, the leaders of the 17 eurozone countries will hold an emergency summit next week in a bid to agree a deal on a second bail-out for Greece, the EU president announced Friday night. Herman Van Rompuy called the meeting after disagreement over the contribution of banks and other private investors to a second rescue package. The disagreement has overshadowed the financial markets, prompting some of the biggest share price falls for months. cheap tiffany rings

Kenya has agreed to open a new refugee camp near its border with Somalia, as thousands of people flee the region's worst drought in 60 years. tiffany silver necklace Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the Ifo II camp, which can fit up to 80,000 people, would open within 10 days. Some government ministers had feared opening the camp would encourage more Somalis to cross the border. Announcing the move, Mr Odinga said: "Although we consider our own security, we can't turn away the refugees." Mr Odinga had earlier visited the nearby Dadaab refugee camp, where he said the situation was unacceptable. Aid workers say conditions at the camp - which is made up of three settlements - are desperate. About 370,000 people are crammed into an area set up for 90,000 people, they say. Government 'victim not accused' tiffany bracelet online But the prime minister rejected criticism that Kenya should have opened Ifo II earlier. He said Kenya had lived with the refugee crisis for 20 years and had been asking the international community for help all that time. "They are only now responding when they see people are dying. The international community is always very later in acting. So the Kenyan government is a victim, not the accused." Mr Odinga said Kenya would not take responsibility for the logistics of opening the Ifo II camp. "It's up to the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] to work on the modalities and how they can move into Ifo II," Mr Odinga said. tiffany and co outlet The UNHCR had been urging Kenya to open the camp for the past two years but the government stopped work on it earlier this year, citing security concerns as one of the reasons. UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres on Monday held talks with Kenya's Internal Security Minister George Saitoti to appeal to him to open the camp. The BBC's Kevin Mwachiro says the announcement the camp will open could not come at a better time. He says more than 1,300 refugees are crossing into Kenya from war-torn Somalia every day. 'Security threat' On Wednesday, Kenya's Assistant Internal Security Minister Orwah Ojodeh told the BBC a new camp would not be a solution to the hunger crisis. discount tiffany rings Instead, food relief should be provided inside Somalia as hunger, not insecurity, was the reason most refugees were heading for Kenya, he said. But Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang said he was embarrassed that the government was refusing open the Ifo II camp. This was despite the fact that the UN had given Kenya tens of thousands of dollars for the camp, he said. Mr Kajwang blamed the failure to open the camp on security chiefs and officials in President Mwai Kibaki's office. "The problem is that our provincial administration [officials based in Mr Kibaki's office] and our security officers look at the huge influx as a threat to national security," he said. Pandora Jewelry "On the other hand, we see it as a crisis that must be managed. It is our responsibility under international law and our own law." Mark Bowden, the UN humanitarian affairs co-ordinator for Somalia, told the BBC that Somalia was not yet facing a famine, but was "close" to one. "The next few months are critical," he said. 'Breadbasket' The BBC's Will Ross in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, says the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is exploring every possibility to increasing its presence in Somalia. tiffany sterling silver However, the WFP says it will not be able to return to areas controlled by the militant Islamist group al-Shabab unless it receives security guarantees. Last week al-Shabab said it was lifting its ban on foreign aid agencies, provided they did not show a "hidden agenda". Our reporter says there is clearly a desperate need for more food distribution in Somalia. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is reporting a dramatic rise in malnutrition rates even in the part of Somalia normally considered to be the breadbasket of the country, our reporter says. tiffany bracelets on sale Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told the BBC a refugee camp has opened in the capital, Mogadishu. The government had set aside money to help drought victims, but it had "meagre" resources. "We are appealing to the international community to take the matter seriously and to act quickly to save as many lives as we can," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme. Some 10 million people are said to be affected by the Horn of Africa's worst drought in 60 years. Somalia, wracked by 20 years of conflict, is worst affected. Some 3,000 people flee each day for neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya which are struggling to cope. tiffany online

Thousands have joined Afghan President Hamid Karzai to mourn at the funeral of his half-brother near Kandahar. tiffany diamond neckalce Ahmad Wali Karzai, a controversial but key figure in Nato's battle against the Taliban, was gunned down at home by his bodyguard on Tuesday. The weeping president climbed into the grave to kiss his brother's forehead before appealing to Taliban militants to stop their violent uprising. Reports suggest an explosion hit an official car after the funeral. AP news agency reported two of Helmand provincial governor Gulab Mangal's entourage were injured when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb outside Kandahar. tiffany & co necklace Security was tight, with helicopters overhead and many troops deployed. Karzai was shot twice by his family friend and long-time head of security, Sardar Mohammed, who was himself killed almost immediately, in an attack claimed by the Taliban as one of their top achievements in 10 years of war. Corrupt warlord? Bus-loads of mourners followed the body from the provincial governor of Kandahar's compound to his family village of Karz, some 20km (12 miles) away. tiffany & co. necklace At the graveside, Hamid Karzai wept and kissed his dead half-brother's face as senior politicians looked on, before appealing to the militants to stop the bloodshed. "My message for [the Taliban] is that my countryman, my brother, stop killing your own people," said Mr Karzai. "It's easy to kill and everyone can do it, but the real man is the one who can save people's lives." Tuesday's killing was the latest and most high-profile in a series of assassinations of senior politicians and security commanders across the country. cheap tiffany charms It has raised questions about how to ensure the security of Afghanistan's top officials, while leaving a political vacuum in the country's south that many fear will play into Taliban hands. "The reality in the south is that we have the drug problem, we have the insurgency problems, we have weak governance and we have a disaffected population," said former MP Daoud Sultanzoy. "So when you look at all these things, the mishmash of capabilities of one person to deal with all these things is a very, very important trait in anybody who can come and fill this void." tiffany men's necklace Ahmad Wali Karzai could be replaced by one strong figure connected to the local tribal elite - possibly another of the president's brothers - or several bureaucrats, Mr Sultanzoy told the BBC's World Today programme. Sleeper agent killer? Questions are being asked about how Kandahar's Mr Fix-it had his own security compromised, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Kabul. The Taliban say the killer was a sleeper agent, and that their intention was to make it more difficult for the Afghan government to exert control over the restive region. Pandora Bangles While the bodyguard's motives remain unclear, it seems unlikely that someone so close to the Karzai family was working for the insurgents, says our correspondent. Ahmad Wali Karzai stood accused of many things, from drug trafficking to large-scale corruption. He had many enemies beyond the Taliban, and others in a criminal network may be to blame for his death, our correspondent adds. Critics said Ahmad Wali Karzai was a warlord mired in corruption who was openly involved in the drugs trade and had a personal militia at his disposal. tiffany key necklace His supporters saw him as a defender of Pashtun rights. The president repeatedly defended him, denouncing accusations that his brother was involved in criminal activities. It is hard to overstate how important Ahmad Wali Karzai was in the south of Afghanistan and in Nato's efforts to combat the Taliban in their stronghold there, says our correspondent. As head of the Kandahar Provincial Council, Ahmad Wali Karzai was a staunch ally of US and allied forces in Afghanistan - to the extent that they turned a blind eye to accusations he was involved in drug-trafficking, he adds. tiffany earrings

News International tried to "thwart" the original inquiry into phone hacking at the News of the World, senior Met police officers have told MPs. tiffany outlet Ex-Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said there was "prevarication and what we now know to be lies". Assistant Commissioner John Yates said the firm "appears to have failed to co-operate" during his review of the case. Commons Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Keith Vaz said Mr Yates's evidence was "unconvincing". Current Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, who was seen emerging from 10 Downing Street on Tuesday evening, said Mr Yates had his "full support and confidence". tiffany necklace online A police investigation began in 2005 triggered by stories in the News of the World (NoW) about Prince William's health. News International closed the paper last week amid continued outrage over reports of hacking including revelations that the mobile phones of murder victim Milly Dowler and relatives of dead soldiers had been accessed. In his evidence to the committee, Mr Clarke said: "We pursued it as far as we could through the correspondence with the News of the World lawyers." But he added: "This is a major global organisation with access to the best legal advice, in my view deliberately trying to thwart a police investigation." tiffany and co outlet Mr Clarke told MPs his remit during the initial investigation was strictly to look into who had been hacking into the phones of members of the royal household. Only the "most important" victims of phone hacking had been told about it, he said. He said he had to weigh up a breach of privacy investigation with counter-terrorism investigations, and an exhaustive analysis of the evidence at hand may or may not have made any difference at all. "If at any time News International had offered some meaningful co-operation instead of prevarication and what we now know to be lies, we would not be here today," he said. cheap tiffany bracelet In 2007, a reporter and private investigator working for the paper were jailed for phone hacking. It was reported that the pair were considered to have been acting alone and the investigation led by former Met Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman ended. Mr Hayman told the committee: "At the time everything possible that they were able to do, given the resources and the parameters they set, was done and I stand by that... "What we look like now, it's very lame. I think what's happened is I think we've had more time to do it, more revelations have come out, the News of the World have given us material that we didn't have at the time." Pandora Bracelet Charms Mr Hayman later went on to become a columnist with News International title the Times but rejected suggestions he was in the newspaper group's "back pocket". In 2009, Assistant Commissioner Yates oversaw a review of the investigation after allegations appeared in the Guardian that NoW reporters had paid private investigators to hack into thousands of phones, many owned by politicians and celebrities. At the hearing, he admitted it was a "poor" decision not to reopen the inquiry and he regretted not doing enough to protect victims. But he said: "It is a matter of great concern that, for whatever reason, the News of the World appears to have failed to co-operate in the way that we now know they should have with relevant police inquiries up until January this year. tiffany rings sale Key moments from the Home Affairs Select Committee session "They have only recently supplied information and evidence that would have had a significant impact on the decisions that I took in 2009 had it been provided to us then." He said he would not resign over criticisms of his actions, and told MPs he had not been under pressure from the NoW over issues in his private life. Mr Yates also said he was 99% certain his own mobile was hacked between 2005 and 2006. In a statement, the Met Commissioner said Mr Yates should be given "credit for his courage and humility in acknowledging that if he knew then what he knows now, he would have taken different decisions". tiffany silver necklace He added he hoped Mr Clarke's evidence "helps to inform the public debate and the reasons that the original inquiry operated as it did". One of the members of the committee, Labour's David Winnick, said the hearing confirmed the initial police investigation into phone hacking was "totally inadequate". Other MPs not on the committee but who listened to the evidence, were also critical of what they heard. "I held a meeting at which for the first time two News International executives attended to debate our very different interpretations of the expression full co-operation and subsequent to that meeting I can say that relationships have been much better," she said. tiffany online The committee hearing opened with questions to former Met Police Commissioner Lord Ian Blair about claims police officers had been paid for information by the News of the World. He said he strongly suspected corruption in the force, but knew of no payments made to police officers. Lord Blair was also asked about the decision not to reopen the inquiry in 2009. He said: "If material was available at the time that showed 'industrial level hacking' it would have been appropriate to have gone further. tiffany bracelet online "I didn't know and I wouldn't have expected it to have been known further up the organisation."

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The US Secretary of State has said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has "lost legitimacy", amid diplomatic tension between the two countries. Pandora Charms Bracelets Speaking after a crowd attacked the US embassy in Damascus, Hillary Clinton said Mr Bashar was "not indispensable". France blamed the regime after its embassy was similarly targeted. The embassy attacks came after the US and French envoys visited the troubled city of Hama last week, drawing sharp criticism from Syrian media. Pro-government demonstrators have been taking part in protests outside both embassies for the past two days. tiffany and co outlet On Monday, an embassy official told the BBC that the compound had been assaulted by a "mob", but that no-one had been hurt. The residence of the ambassador, Robert Ford, was later briefly attacked, the state department said. In Washington, Mrs Clinton demanded that the Syrians "meet their international responsibilities immediately to protect all diplomats and the property of all countries." She added: "President Assad is not indispensable and we have absolutely nothing invested in him remaining in power. "Our goal is to see that the will of the Syrian people for a democratic transformation occurs." tiffany rings on sale The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington said her statement was cleverly worded - it might convince more Syrians to give up on Mr Assad, while not requiring any action by Washington which can continue to say it is up to the Syrian people to chose their leaders. Our correspondent adds that the US had been wary of a repeat of the Libya scenario, where after calling for Col Muammar Gaddafi to leave power, it has struggled to make that happen. State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said a Syrian diplomat would be summoned over attack on the embassy, and compensation for the damage would be demanded. tiffany necklace Live shots Also on Monday, pro-Assad demonstrators assaulted the French embassy, breaking windows and replacing the French tricolore with the Syrian national flag. French ambassador Eric Chevallier said the incident had lasted more than three hours, and that the protesters had used a battering ram to try enter the building. Three embassy staff were hurt in the incident, according to the French foreign ministry. Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said security officers had been forced to fire live warning shots "to prevent multiple intrusions into the compound". cheap tiffany "It is not with such illegal methods that the authorities in Damascus will turn the attention away from the fundamental problem, which is to stop the repression of the Syrian population," Mr Valero said. Human rights groups say at least 1,400 civilians and 350 security force personnel have been killed since anti-government demonstrations across Syria began in mid-March. Both Mr Chevallier and Mr Ford made separate visits to the northern city of Hama - a focus of anti-government unrest - last week, expressing support for the protesters. The Syrian government denies targeting civilians, saying it is tackling armed groups. tiffany jewelry outlet The embassy incidents coincide with a government-organised dialogue conference in Damascus that many opposition leaders are boycotting. The meeting is discussing possible political reforms, which the government hope will bring an end to the four-month-old uprising. As the conference opened on Sunday, Vice-President Farouq al-Shara hinted at allowing political groups other than the ruling Baath Party to operate. But Syrian opposition figure Michel Kilo dismissed the meeting saying: "I don't know anyone from the opposition to which I belong who is taking part in this dialogue."

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Atlantis has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on the final mission of the US space shuttle programme. tiffany uk It will spend at least seven days at the ISS and, on its return to Earth, will be retired along with the other shuttles in Nasa's fleet. Atlantis is taking vital supplies to the space station, including more than a tonne of food, ensuring astronauts there have got enough to last a year. The first shuttle mission was in 1981. Robots At 1507 GMT on Sunday, Nasa mission control in Houston announced: "Contact, docking confirmed."tiffany online store The naval bell on the ISS chimed to greet Atlantis. "Welcome to the International Space Station for the last time," ISS astronaut Ronald Garan said. Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson replied: "It's great to be here station, see you shortly." ISS astronauts photographed the shuttle as it did a backflip before docking, so that all of the craft can be studied for damage before its return to Earth. cheap tiffany necklace Atlantis is carrying the Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, a large cylinder containing more than 3.5 tonnes of food, other supplies and spare parts designed to sustain the station. The cargo is to be lifted out of the shuttle's payload bay and attached directly to the station on Monday. The Atlantis and ISS crews will then be able to go inside Raffaello to begin the process of transferring its contents to more permanent storage positions on the platform. BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos says the delivery has major significance. cheap tiffany bracelet Once Nasa retires its shuttles, it will be relying on robotic spacecraft from private companies to make cargo runs to the ISS, he says. Just one spacewalk will be performed during this mission. This will be done by two of the station's residents, who will move an ammonia pump that recently failed on the station to the shuttle's payload bay. The pump is an important component in the ISS cooling system and it will be taken back down to the ground so engineers can understand why it stopped working. tiffany bracelet Atlantis is due to return to Earth on 20 July, bringing to an end Nasa's 30-year orbiter programme.

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