PLAGUES & PESTILENCES: United Nations - MILLIONS COULD DIE From Future Global Pandemic Unless World Health Organization URGENTLY Reforms!

February 9, 2016 - HEALTH - A future global epidemic could result in millions of deaths according to a new UN report, which would be far worse than the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa. The study also urges the World Health Organization to reform in order to be ready to combat future crises.

The report, entitled “Protecting Humanity from Future Health Crises,” is particularly relevant following the outbreak of the Zika virus in South and Central America. The study has been critical of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which killed more than 11,000 people.

The UN panel is urging the body to reform in order to prevent future outbreaks, which could have dire consequences, with the report stating that if a highly pathogenic influenza virus was to surface, it could “rapidly result in millions of deaths,” as well as causing “social, economic and political disruption.”

Worryingly still, the report, which has been posted online in advanced, unedited form in the UN’s Daily Journal, mentions that this is “not an unlikely scenario.”

“The high risk of major health crises is widely underestimated, and … the world’s preparedness and capacity to respond is woefully insufficient. Future epidemics could far exceed the scale and devastation of the west Africa Ebola outbreak,” the chair of the panel, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete stated.

The world’s attention is now focused on the Zika virus, which has been spreading from Brazil. Countries in the region have been caught off guard due to a lack of understanding about the disease, which has been linked to thousands of cases of brain damage in new born babies in the region.

A WHO spokeswoman told Reuters that the organization sprang into action following the outbreak of the virus, with the body working together to try and combat its effects.

She added that the WHO "is fully committed to urgently reforming our emergency work to address all emergency health risks and events in a predictable, capable, dependable, flexible and accountable manner.”

Among the recommendations from the UN panel was the need for the WHO to build a new Center for Emergency Preparedness and Response, which "must have real command and control capability, access to specialized human and operational resources to execute a health response.”

The report also mentioned that there needs to be greater coordination in fighting global outbreaks and is "convinced that there is no substitute for having a single global health leader" and that "the World Health Organization should become this leader.”

Since the turn of the century, the world has witnessed a number of epidemics, which include four major outbreaks of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia and South Korea, the pandemics of H1N1 and H5N1 influenza, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The report says that these are all a “stark reminder” of the threat posed by emerging communicable diseases to humanity.

Jeremy Farrar, the director of the Wellcome Trust charity has welcomed the moves put forward by the panel, while also stating that there is a general consensus that action needs to be taken and that organizations are learning from the mistakes that were made during the Ebola outbreak.

"Epidemic and pandemic diseases are among the greatest of all threats to human health and security, against which we have for too long done too little to prepare," he said, as cited by Reuters.

"After four inquiries into the preventable tragedy of Ebola, there is now a strong consensus about what must be done. The WHO’s leadership and member states must make 2016 the year of decision and act now." - RT.

PARADIGM SHIFT: Precursors To The End Of The White Supremacy Paradigm - BRICS Market Economies Gets Greater Say In The IMF; A "MAJOR STEP" Toward Better Reflecting The Institution's Governance Structure; IMF Chief Christine Lagarde Calls It "HISTORIC REFORMS"!

The World Bank Group headquarters bldg. in Washington, D.C. © wikipedia.org

January 29, 2016 - GLOBAL ECONOMY - For the first time the four emerging market economies Brazil, Russia, India and China have entered the International Monetary Fund's top 10 biggest members. The IMF’s 2010 quota and governance reforms have finally come into force.

"The entry into force of these reforms will reinforce the credibility, effectiveness, and legitimacy of the IMF," read the IMF statement.

"The reforms represent a major step toward better reflecting in the institution’s governance structure the increasing role of dynamic emerging market and developing countries," it added.

China will have the third largest IMF quota and voting share after the United States with 16.74 percent and Japan with 6.23 percent.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde. ©  Reuters.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Wednesday commended members “for ratifying these truly historic reforms.”

“These reforms will ensure that the Fund is able to better meet and represent the needs of its members in a rapidly changing global environment. Today marks a crucial step forward and it is not the end of change as our efforts to strengthen the IMF’s governance will continue,” she said.

The 2010 IMF reforms called for an increase in China’s voting share from 3.8 percent to 6 percent, while the US would see its share shaved from 16.7 percent to 16.5 percent and preserve its veto.

The reforms were part of President Obama's effort to keep China happy and within the Bretton Woods system, but stalled in Congress over Republican concerns.

The US is the biggest member of the IMF and is the only one to have a veto, as 15 percent is a blocking share.

Despite the increased quotas, BRICS countries will still only have a 14.7 percent voting share, not enough for a veto.

According to Russia's Deputy Finance Minister and BRICS Bank Russia director Sergey Storchak, Moscow will work to get the veto right for the five major emerging economies. - RT.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN: Precursors To A Global Financial Collapse - Euro Hits Lowest Level In 9 Years Amidst Greece Uncertainty!

AFP Photo/Philippe Huguene

January 5, 2015 - EUROPE - The euro fell to $1.1861, its weakest level since 2006 on the back of uncertainty over Greece’s position within the single currency. A strong dollar and expectations that the European Central Bank will beef up its stimulus program have also not helped.

The euro dropped to a low of $1.1861 against the dollar during Asian trading hours on Monday. However, it did pick up slightly to trade at $1.1950 during European trading. This has seen the single currency lose as much as 1.2 percent of its value.

European shares were volatile, initially falling sharply before rebounding into positive territory within an hour of the open as investors digested the implications of the weak euro and yet another hefty slide in oil to a 5-1/2 year low, Reuters reports.

Euro lowest since March 2006 versus U.S. dollar on stimulus expectation by European Central Bank

Investors have also been betting that the European Central Bank (ECB) will open up a bond-buying program. This policy is known as quantitative easing, which could add up to €1 trillion to the central bank’s approximately €2 trillion balance sheet. This pushes down bond yields, which move inversely to bond prices, and lessens the attraction of the euro.

“It’s very hard to imagine something that can convince the market that the euro is not a selling opportunity at this juncture,” said Roberto Mialich, a senior currency strategist at UniCredit SpA in Milan. “The market continues to speculate that the ECB will start QE this month. Clearly the election in Greece probably complicates the agenda for Draghi.”

Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel (AFP Photo/Thierry Charlier)

The euro’s slump has not been helped uncertainty concerning Greece. German Chancellor Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble have repeatedly warned the southern European nation about reneging on the bailout conditions that were set by Berlin. However, Merkel and Scheuble now believe the single currency would be able to survive if Greece decides to quit, according to a report in Der Spiegel.

“Many European officials believe a Greek exit would be manageable, and in contrast to 2010-2011, we wouldn’t see the same cascading effect on countries like Spain or Ireland,” Fredrik Erixon, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy in Brussels, told Bloomberg.

Alexis Tsipras, leader of the radical leftist party Syriza, delivers a speech during a congress of the party in Athens, on January 3, 2015. (AFP Photo)

Elections in less than three weeks’ time in Greece have poured doubt on whether it is committed to the euro zone. The anti-austerity Syriza party have been campaigning against what they believe are draconian financial restrictions implemented against the 240 billion euro bailout received by Greece. In a speech on January 3, the party’s leader, Alexis Tsipras described these constraints as being “unreasonable and catastrophic.”

Syriza has a narrow lead in opinion polls ahead of the January 25 election, however Prime Minister Antonis Samaras warned if Tsipras’s party is victorious, this will lead to a default and force Greece to leave the euro zone. - RT.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC MELTDOWN: The Euro-Zone Crisis - Greece Nearing Inevitable Euro Exit, Danger Of Contagion!

  An illuminated euro sign is seen in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in the late evening in Frankfurt January 8, 2013. 
Credit: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach

January 4, 2015 - GREECE - The German government believes that the euro zone would now be able to cope with a Greece exit if that proved to be necessary, Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday, citing unnamed government sources.

Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble believe the euro zone has implemented enough reforms since the height of the regional crisis in 2012 to make a potential Greece exit manageable, Der Spiegel reported.

"The danger of contagion is limited because Portugal and Ireland are considered rehabilitated," the weekly news magazine quoted one government source saying.

In addition, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the euro zone's bailout fund, is an "effective" rescue mechanism and was now available, another source added. Major banks would be protected by the banking union.

The German government in Berlin could not be reached for comment.

It is still unclear how a euro zone member country could leave the euro and still remain in the European Union, but Der Spiegel quoted a "high-ranking currency expert" as saying that "resourceful lawyers" would be able to clarify.

According to the report, the German government considers a Greece exit almost unavoidable if the leftwing Syriza opposition party led by Alexis Tsipras wins an election set for Jan. 25.

The Greek election was called after lawmakers failed to elect a president last month. It pits Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservative New Democracy party, which imposed unpopular budget cuts under Greece's bailout deal, against Tsipras' Syriza, who want to cancel austerity measures and a chunk of Greek debt.

Opinion polls show Syriza is holding a lead over New Democracy, although its margin has narrowed to about three percentage points in the run-up to the vote.

German Finance Minister Schaeuble has already warned Greece against straying from a path of economic reform, saying any new government would be held to the pledges made by the current Samaras government. - Reuters.