The End Game Continues: Austria Repatriates Gold

After Germany and the Netherlands decided to repatriate a substantial amount of gold from vaults abroad to the vaults in respectively Amsterdam and Frankfurt, now Austria is joining the ‘bring our gold home’ movement.

After increasing pressure from the Austrian people on the government and the central bank to increase the ratio of the gold effectively held in the Austrian Central Bank in Vienna, the central bank has finally made the decision to effectively do so. Less than 20% of Austria’s (relatively) sizeable gold reserves were held in its own vaults with the remainder being stored in Switzerland and London. Austria will now remove 63% of the gold from London and transport it to both Switzerland and Austria. This will be an interesting test case to see how long it will take the Bank of England to ship the 140 tonnes of gold (4.5 million ounces) to Vienna, and we dare to bet this will either take much longer than anticipated, or we’ll suddenly see another gold withdrawal from the Federal Reserve which will very likely be the magical 125-150 tonnes number.

That’s an interesting move, as Vienna originally said it stored the gold in London because it would make their lives much easier to trade the gold as London obviously still is a major center of the international gold market. This seems to be indicating Austria has no intention to trade any of its gold at all in the near future as there seems to be no apparent need to keep the gold in London.

This follows right on the heels of the news China is setting up a gold investment fund with several other countries, and the fact that Russia has once again added in excess of a quarter of a million ounces of gold to its reserves. On top of that, semi-satellite state Kazakhstan has also bought an additional 2.44 tonnes of gold (78,500 ounces) and its total amount of gold held as reserves has now surpassed the 200 tonnes mark. Kazakhstan is really stepping up its investments in gold as in just 3.5 years time, the country has now more than doubled (!) the amount of gold on the balance sheet of its central bank.

Source: Tradingeconomics

 

This might not sound like a big deal, but it definitely is. China is setting up a new fund to facilitate investments in gold, its new best friends Russia is buying more gold and Austria is reducing its gold holdings in London by 63%. And whilst all of this is happening, the western governments and central banks are still trying to tell the masses to trust the financial system.

And oh, while they’re at it, they might also ban cash transactions. For your own safety, of course!

 

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Nearly 1,200 people dead in heatwave across India

Children jump into the Ganga river to beat the heat on a hot day.

    

A relentless heatwave sweeping large parts of India has killed nearly 1,200 people, with most deaths reported from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, even as forecasts warned that the intense weather conditions are expected to continued till the weekend.

The death toll in Andhra Pradesh rose to 852, with the scorching weather claiming 202 lives in Prakasam district alone, officials said. Another 266 deaths were reported in Telangana where Ramagundam city recorded a maximum temperature of 44.5°C.

A total of 67 deaths were reported in Odisha, according to ANI. Titlagarh recorded a temperature of 47.6°C, the season's highest for the state.

Officials reported seven deaths in Gujarat's capital Ahmedabad this month, with the civic body issuing an "orange alert", indicating a prolonged heatwave with temperatures expected to rise to 43°C to 45°C over the next week.

© Shankar Mourya/HT Photo
People resort to a glass of sugarcane juice or sherbet to beat the heat.

    

Authorities said most of the victims were construction workers, the elderly or the homeless. In the national capital, the torrid temperatures melted roads and forced people indoors.

Heat waves, periods with unusually high temperatures, typically occur between March and June.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted the mercury will continue to soar this week, with substantial relief expected only when the southwest monsoon hits the mainland around May 31.

© Raj K Raj/HT
Though there are water pots and water holes made for the summer, a number of birds have fallen down mid-flight due to dehydration.

    

Private forecaster Skymet said north, central and east India will witness "intense heat" this week. The northeast is the only pocket expected to receive rainfall. "Very hot conditions" will prevail in central India, and Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada will be the main pockets where heatwave will be observed.

The IMD has issued "red box" warnings for Odisha, Jharkhand and coastal Andhra Pradesh, signalling high chances of heatstroke, dehydration and fatality with temperatures inching upwards of 45°C.

A blazing sun beat down on Delhi's residents, who are unlikely to get any relief as the weather office predicted clear skies for the rest of Wednesday. "The skies will be mainly clear. The maximum temperature is expected to hover at 44°C," it said.

The heat baked large parts of Punjab and Haryana as maximum temperatures settled a few notches above normal. Karnal in Haryana recorded 44°C, four degrees above normal, while the temperature at Ludhiana in Punjab was 42.6°C.

As if the sweltering conditions were not enough, stifling humidity compounded problems for people in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow, as the city recorded a maximum temperature of 43.5°C with relative humidity at 70%. Agra was the hottest part of the state with the mercury hitting 46.1°C.

Sporadic rains cooled the eastern state of Jharkhand and the maximum temperature dropped to a comfortable 35°C in capital Ranchi. Parts of neighbouring West Bengal experienced light rainfall, including its power centre Kolkata.

Temperatures hovered between 41°C and 45°C in Rajasthan, weather officials said, as streets and markets in cities and towns wore a deserted look during peak hours.

The Met department has issued ‘red box’ warnings with high chances of heat stroke, dehydration and fatality with temperatures inching upwards of 45°C.

    

The heatwave was mainly triggered by an abrupt end to pre-monsoon showers. A brewing cyclonic weather pattern in the Arabian Sea two weeks ago lost steam quickly, while depressions, or rain-causing systems, in the Bay of Bengal headed off towards the northeast states which are getting plentiful rains.

Authorities advised people to stay indoors and consume plenty of fluids as experts warned the heat wave is expected to continue till the weekend.

There were also fears of large-scale power outages in several parts of north India, bringing back memories of a major blackout in 2012 that affected nearly 600 million people.

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Large hailstones fall in Oman

© Ali Al Baddaei/www.rthmc.net
Rain and hailstorm fell in Fanja, a village about 64 km away from Muscat, at around 2pm.

    

Rain and hailstorm fell in Fanja, a village about 64 km away from Muscat, at around 2pm.

"It is heavily raining and wadis are overflowing. There was hailstorm too," said Bader Ali Al Baddaei, an administrator of www.rthmc.net, a local Web-based forum that discusses weather trends in Oman.

"Skies over Muscat are cloudy. Rain is expected," Bader added.

The Oman meteorological department had also predicted rain in eastern parts of Muscat and in Batinah.

The temperatures in Muscat, Bid bid, Al Amerat, Saham and Qalhat werehovering around 45 degree Celsius today (Monday).

Yesterday, wadis in Jabal Shams were also overflowing after rain.

On Saturday evening, many parts of Salalah also witnessed light rains.

According to the 48 hour forecast, skies will be partly cloudy along the coastal areas of Dhofar governorate and adjoining mountains.

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Mass fish death in Siberian lake

Thousands of carp washed up, but who or what killed them?

    

Shocked locals have posted pictures of the dead fish amid suspicions they were killed by explosions as officials melted winter ice to prevent flooding.

The disturbing scene was at Lake Khatyng, in the Sakha Republic, the coldest region in Russia. The fish - believed to be carp and grouper - were seen dead en mass on 14 May.

Locals in Tulagino village blamed the dynamiting of local rivers to prevent ice causing dams on rivers, so leading to flooding of villages. But representatives of the Ministry of Emergencies in the republic, also known as Yakutia, denied being responsible for the dead fish.

A spokesperson said: 'On 13 May we did blow up the ice, but the work was near the village of Namtsy, almost 100 km from Tulagino. Even if we assume that fish died because of the explosion, it is unlikely that they were carried such a distance.'

Dead fish

    

The Emergencies Ministry even expressed doubts about the authenticity of the pictures.

Village official Anna Neustroyeva said: 'The photos are real. Yesterday, on the surface of the lake, there were a large number of dead fish.'

She claimed the likely cause was not explosions but 'a lack of oxygen' under the winter ice, with temperatures having fallen to minus 50C during the winter.

While fish survive under annual harsh conditions, it seems that this year the frost was so strong that there were no breaks in the ice, depriving them of oxygen. Head of the regional nature protection inspectorate Kirill Alchin also supported this theory.

None of the dead fish showed signs physical damage which can occur among those close to river explosions. But experts say that river explosions mainly cause internal damage to the fish.

Others have demanded tests for poisoning in the lake. The water need to be checked,' said one. 'There can be pollution. They need to check the water.'

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Here we go again, Israeli jets strike Gaza 'terror infrastructure' after rocket attack

© Reuters/Baz Ratner

    

The Israeli military has launched airstrikes on what it called the "terror infrastructure" in Gaza, following an earlier rocket attack on Israeli territory which the IDF blames on Hamas.

Four targets identified as being part of the terror infrastructure were hit in the southern part of the Gaza strip, The Jerusalem Post reported citing an IDF spokesperson. There were no reports of any casualties or damage.

Following yesterday's rocket attack against #Israel, #IDF aircraft attacked 4 terrorist locations in southern #Gaza.— Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) May 27, 2015

Meanwhile, Iranian channel reports that Israeli air raids targeted the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis, as well as Beit Lahia in the north.

Israel blames Hamas for launching a rocket from Gaza into the Gan Yavne region earlier on Tuesday, which caused no damage or casualties. A 15-year-old girl who suffered a panic attack as air sirens sounded in several Israeli communities became the only reported victim.

A Hamas official meanwhile told AP that the rocket had been launched by unknown militants.

Just spoke on @CNN about this evenings rocket attack from #Gaza. #Hamas is responsible for all attacks originating from the strip. — Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) May 26, 2015

"These strikes are a direct response to Hamas and the aggression against Israeli civilians originating from the Gaza Strip," military spokesman Lieutenant-Coloner Peter Lerner said in a statement cited by Reuters. "The reality that Hamas' territory is used as a staging ground to attack Israel is unacceptable and intolerable and will bear consequences."

The situation has mostly been calm since last summer, when Israel conducted a deadly military operation in Gaza in response to regular missile attacks on Israeli territory. However, since then, Tel Aviv has still blamed Hamas for sporadic rocket fire from territory under its control, launching retaliatory strikes.

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Southern Ontario vineyards damaged by late brutal cold weather

Grapes

    

The 2015 vintages from some southern Ontario wineries may be somewhat rarer than usual.

Vineyard owners in Prince Edward County and the Niagara region are assessing the damage from a record-breaking plunge into cold weather late Friday night and into Saturday morning.

Farmers were sent scrambling to prevent frost from killing their fruit. They rented helicopters, turned on wind machines and set bales of hay on fire in an attempt to save what they could.

Some smaller wineries say their crop was practically gutted in the deep-freeze.

Clark Tyler, manager at Harwood Estate Vineyards in Prince Edward County, estimates that a mere five per cent of grapes at his four-hectare vineyard survived the frost.

"It's just complete and utter devistation, anger and just makes me feel really upset," said Tyler.

He said some of his friends lost nearly everything.

However, some farmers are hoping for a stroke of luck.

Liz Dobson Lacey, sales manager at Lacey Estates in Prince Edward County, says it will take another several weeks to assess the damage to her grape crop.

"This year was looking like a really great year and in less than six hours that was really taken away," said Lacey.

There's a chance of a secondary bud emerging on the damaged vines, and if it survived the frost, the bud could save the crop. But there are no guarantees.

If the buds don't appear, the grape shortage could affect next year's wine selection.

Small family owned wineries now face the biggest challenge of deciding whether the financial impact of bad weather outweighs the expense of fighting it.

Environment Canada says temperatures near Prince Edward County fell to lows Friday and Saturday that haven't been seen on those dates since before 1935, when it began keeping records in the area.

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Two tons of IS drugs, including Captagon, seized in Western Syria, NATO connection

© tuttoilresto.altervista.org
"Getting tough" is easier than we think.

    

General Directorate of Ports in the Syrian coastal province of Latakia seized about two tons of narcotics near the beach of Cape of Ras al-Bassit, local media reported, as cited by Prensa Latina.
The confiscated drugs, which was floating in the sea in leather bags, consisted of more than 800 kilograms of hashish paste and nearly six million tablets of Captagon, the drug of choice by the members of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS).

The general director of Ports of Latakia, Maitham al-Yousuf, told reporters that the stash was spotted on Saturday by a patrol that ran along the beach, about 400 kilometers northwest of the capital. For his part, Latakia Governor Ibrahim Khader al-Salem accused the countries that sponsor terrorism against Syria of being responsible for the drug.

"It is a desperate attempt at destabilizing national security and sabotaging the minds of young people by preventing them from exercising their normal life and trying to continue their education," said the governor.

© english.farsnews.com
Captagon

    

According to experts, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) began production of Captagon in 2011 in a laboratory in Bulgaria and it is now [also] manufactured elsewhere in the world.

Part of the profits from the illegal trade in Captagon, experts say, is used to finance armed extremist groups that are trying to overthrow the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad.

Captagon, the drug used by the jihadists with the Islamic State to get tough and fearless.

"Captagon is a synthetic drug created in a laboratory of NATO in Bulgaria. Some of the more suspicious people will probably see the latest evidence proving the participation in some of the super-powers and NATO countries in the establishment and expansion of the Islamic State phenomenon," Tunisie numerique writes.

The Tunisian news website explains that after its production the Captagon goes to the Islamists in the form of small white pills.

Tunisie numerique recalls that before the Syrian conflict the drug was used in other conflict zones, adding the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi accused the Islamists in Libya of taking hallucinogens. Apart from deadening the feeling of fear and pain, the Captagon also has hallucinogenic effects.

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