The president of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades has said he hopes a deal to secure an international rescue package for the country’s banks would be made soon. Negotiations with European Union, IMF and European Central Bank officials have continued throughout the day with the main sticking point being the size of a levy to be imposed on Cypriot savers. Andrew Walker reports from Brussels.
In the statement the European
commissioner
Olli Rehn says there are only hard choices left but help from the EU he said can help minimize the economic damage. The Euro Zone is offering a ten-billion euro loan while insisting on extra cash from Cyprus itself. It’s struggling to agree how to raise that money but appears to be moving towards some sort of contribution from bank’s customers. Exactly what form that will take is still
undecided
. But it’s likely to put more of the burden on customers with balances over 100,000 euro.
France says it can confirm the death of one of the most senior commanders of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Abou Zeid. He was reported to have been killed last month by French-led troops in northern Mali. And the French presidency says DNA tests have now made it possible to identify Abou Zeid formally.
World News from the BBC
The American Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following talks with the Palestinian president in a bid to revive the stalled peace process. The meetings follow President Obama’s four-day visit to the region during which he urged the two sides to return to the negotiating table.