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8A – Daily News – Monday, November 29, 2010 WORLD BRIEFING EU clears $89 billion in loans for Ireland BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations agreed to give 67.5 billion ($89.4 billion) in bailout loans to Ireland on Sun- day to help it weather the cost of its massive bank- ing crisis, and sketched out new rules for future emergencies in an effort to restore faith in the euro currency. The rescue deal, approved by finance min- isters at an emergency meeting in Brussels, means two of the euro- zone’s 16 nations have now come to depend on foreign help and under- scores Europe’s struggle to contain its spreading debt crisis. The fear is that with Greece and now Ire- land shored up, specula- tive traders will target the bloc’s other weak fiscal links, particularly Portu- gal. In Dublin, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said his country will take 10 billion immediately to boost the capital reserves of its state-backed banks, whose bad loans were picked up by the Irish government but have become too much to han- dle. Another 25 billion will remain in reserve, earmarked for the banks. The rest of the loans will be used to cover Ire- land’s deficits for the coming four years. EU chiefs also gave Ireland an extra year, until 2015, to reduce its annual deficits to 3 percent of GDP, the eurozone limit. The deficit now stands at a modern European record of 32 percent because of the runaway costs of its bank-bailout program. Cowen said the accord — reached after two weeks of tense negotia- tions in Brussels and Dublin to fathom the true depth of the country’s cash crisis — ‘‘provides Ireland with vital time and space to successfully and conclusively address the unprecedented prob- lems that we’ve been dealing with since this global economic crisis began.’’ Leaked US diplomatic cables unveil concerns WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of State Department doc- uments leaked Sunday revealed a hidden world of backstage international diplomacy, divulging can- did comments from world leaders and detailing occasional U.S. pressure tactics aimed at hot spots in Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea. The classified diplo- matic cables released by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks and reported on by news organizations in the United States and Europe provided often unflattering assessments of foreign leaders, rang- ing from U.S. allies such as Germany and Italy to other nations like Libya, Iran and Afghanistan. The cables also con- tained new revelations about long-simmering nuclear trouble spots, detailing U.S., Israeli and Arab world fears of Iran’s growing nuclear program, American concerns about Pakistan’s atomic arsenal and U.S. discussions about a united Korean peninsula as a long-term solution to North Korean aggression. There are also Ameri- can memos encouraging U.S. diplomats at the United Nations to collect detailed data about the U.N. secretary general, his team and foreign diplomats — going beyond what is consid- ered the normal run of information-gathering expected in diplomatic circles. None of the revelations is particularly explosive, but their publication could prove problematic for the officials con- cerned. US, SKorea start war games YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea (AP) — A U.S. supercar- rier and South Korean destroyer took up position in the tense Yellow Sea on Sunday for joint military exercises that were a unit- ed show of force just days after a deadly North Kore- an artillery attack. As tensions escalated across the region, with North Korea threatening another ‘‘merciless’’ attack, China belatedly jumped into the fray. Bei- jing’s top nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, called for an emergency meeting in early December among regional powers involved in nuclear disarmament talks, including North Korea. Seoul responded cau- tiously to the proposal from North Korea’s staunch ally, saying it should be ‘‘reviewed very carefully’’ in light of North Korea’s recent rev- elation of a new uranium- enrichment facility, even as protesters begged Pres- ident Lee Myung-bak to find a way to resolve the tension and restore peace. The troubled relations between the two Koreas, which fought a three-year war in the 1950s, have steadily deteriorated since Lee’s conservative gov- ernment took power in 2008 with a tough new policy toward nuclear- armed North Korea. Eight months ago, a South Korean warship went down in the western waters, killing 46 sailors in the worst attack on the South Korean military since the Korean War. Then, last Tuesday, North Korean troops showered artillery on Yeonpyeong, a South Korean-held island that houses military bases as well as a civilian population of 1,300 — an attack that marked a new level of hostility. Ore. Islamic center fire raises fears CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Someone set fire to an Islamic center on Sunday, two days after a man who worshipped there was accused of try- ing to blow up a van full of explosives during Port- land’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony. Other Muslims fear it could be the first volley of mis- placed retribution. The charges against Mohamed Osman Mohamud, a Somali-born 19-year-old who was caught in a federal sting operation, are testing tol- erance in a state that has been largely accepting of Muslims. Muslims who know the suspect say they are shocked by the allega- tions against him and that he had given them no hint of falling into radicalism. The fire at the Salman Alfarisi Islamic Center in Corvallis was reported at facts & FICTIONS Book Store STORE CLOSING SALE After 28 Years In Business Look at what’s available for the Holidays EVERYTHING M-F 11-4, SAT. 10-2 409 Walnut St. 527-1449 20% OFF 9:30 a.m., to 6:00 p.m. for Custom Wreaths & Designs Call 527-4578 or 526-4578 Dec. 9, 10 & 11 Thu.-Fri.-Sat. 2:15 a.m., and evidence at the scene led authorities believe it was set inten- tionally, said Carla Pusateri, a fire prevention officer for the Corvallis Fire Department. Authorities don’t know who started the blaze or exactly why, but they believe the center was tar- geted because Mohamud occasionally worshipped there. ‘‘We have made it quite clear that the FBI will not tolerate any kind of retribution or attack on the Muslim community,’’ said Arthur Balizan, spe- cial agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon. Weekend brings encouraging holiday sales NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday spending appears to be off to a respectable start, with shoppers crowding stores and malls in bigger numbers than last year on Friday and maintaining steady traffic the rest of the weekend. Add in strong spending earlier in the month and robust sales online, and retailers are feeling encouraged. That’s partic- ularly true because shop- pers also scooped up fash- ion and other items for themselves, though most- ly where they saw bar- gains. The question remains how many dollars shoppers are prepared to spend before Dec. 24 in an economy that’s still bumpy. Discounts, particularly early-morning specials, were deep enough that many shoppers say they bought more than they had planned. But some CHRISTMAS BOUTIQUE for Red Bluff Garden Club SCHOLARSHIP Tehama County High Schools 216 Pine St. Red Bluff Victorian House, corner of Rio & Pine ALL FRESH WREATHS, ARRANGEMENTS AND MORE say that means they’re done, and they spent less than last year. ‘‘I started Thursday, and I’m finished,’’ said Tyler Jones, 34, of Man- hattan, clutching pack- ages at the Manhattan Mall on Saturday. She said she started shopping online on Thanksgiving, grabbing deals on LCD TVs at Walmart.com, as well as clothing at Gap and Old Navy throughout the night and into Friday. Then she went to the mall. She figures she spent $1,000 on holiday gifts, $500 less than last year. Sharon Collins, 57, of Wilmington, N.C., said she had aimed to stagger her holiday shopping, but she found a lot of good buys on Black Friday at Target and Kohl’s. By Saturday she had spent about $1,000, reaping savings of about 50 per- cent. She said she’d bud- geted $2,000 but won’t need it. Blueprints for slashing federal deficits take aim at key tax break WASHINGTON (AP) — Job-based health care benefits could wind up on the chopping block if President Barack Obama and congressional Repub- licans get serious about cutting the deficit. Budget proposals from leaders in both parties have urged shrinking or eliminating tax breaks that help make employer health insurance the lead- ing source of coverage in the nation and a middle- class mainstay. The idea isn’t to just raise revenue, economists say, but finally to turn Americans into frugal health care consumers by having them face the full costs of their medical decisions. Such a re-engineering was rejected by Democ- rats only a few months ago, at the height of the health care overhaul debate. But Washington has changed, with Repub- licans back in power and widespread fears that the burden of government debt may drag down the economy. ‘‘There is no short- term prospect of enact- ment,’’ former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a leading Demo- cratic adviser on health care. ‘‘However, in a tax reform (and) deficit reducing context in the long term, the prospects are much better,’’ said Daschle. He opposes repealing the tax break by itself, but says he would be ‘‘willing to look’’ at it with other changes that improve access to quality health care while reduc- ing costs. COMFORT SERVICE INC. Air Conditioning & Heating Tehama Counties Factory authorized Bryant Dealer Your First Call For Comfort • RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • NEW CONSTRUCTION • SALES • SERVICE • REPAIRS Receive up to $3,050 OFF in tax credits & rebates on a new Bryant system 24 HOUR SERVICE 530 529-1990 Lic #593323 www.CascadeComfort.com $ 10 OFF SERVICE CALL Mention this ad for Whatever it takessm CASCADE