The vast majority of mortgages in Portugal, and a huge number in Italy and Spain are tied to Euribor, the rate it costs European banks to borrow from each other.

If Euribor drops low, enough banks will have to pay borrowers. It has already happened in Spain.

Don't believe the right-wing media's emphasis on corruption—the recent demonstrations are motivated by entrenched elite discontent over expanding economic and political inclusion for the nation's majority.

Reading the English-language press these days, one could be forgiven for thinking that Brazil is in the throes of a democratic uprising against a singularly corrupt government, a politically incompetent president, and a floundering economy. Since late last year, the center-left Workers' Party (PT) government headed by President Dilma Rousseff has been rocked by an ever-widening scandal involving over-inflated contracts and kickbacks to government-allied politicians at the state-owned oil giant Petrobrás. Indignant PT militants—rather than lamenting corruption in a party that once ran on its anti-corruption credentials—have tended to attack the media for highlighting PT corruption after ignoring abuses during the 1995-2002 administration of Fernando Henrique Cardoso, as well as similar scandals in state governments controlled by the opposition Party of Brazilian Social Democracy (PSDB).

In part due to the collapse of Petrobrás's stock, down 67% since the start of September, the Brazilian currency has plunged nearly 40% against the dollar since then. Inflation over the last year has reached nearly 8%, the highest since 2005, inviting Brazilians to nervously recall the hyperinflation of the 1980s and early 1990s. On March 15, nationwide demonstrations organized on social media gathered anywhere from 300,000 to two million protesters in dozens of cities. They brandished signs saying, "Out with the PT!" and demanded Rousseff's impeachment, although the one-time head of Petrobrás has not been implicated in the kickback scheme and can constitutionally only be impeached for crimes committed during her presidency. In the wake of the demonstrations, the percentage of Brazilians rating her government as "excellent" or "good" dropped to an abysmal 12%, while 64% rated it "poor" or "terrible." This disapproval rating is the highest for any president since Fernando Collor de Mello's 68% on the eve of his own impeachment for corruption in 1992. (Incidentally, Collor, now a government-allied senator, is one of 47 politicians currently under investigation for their role in the Petrobrás scandal.)

The Empire's lies are institutionalized in history books, movements & in historical memory

It is one of history's ironies that the Lincoln Memorial is a sacred space for the Civil Rights Movement and the site of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Lincoln did not think blacks were the equals of whites. Lincoln's plan was to send the blacks in America back to Africa, and if he had not been assassinated, returning blacks to Africa would likely have been his post-war policy.

As Thomas DiLorenzo and a number of non-court historians have conclusively established, Lincoln did not invade the Confederacy in order to free the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation did not occur until 1863 when opposition in the North to the war was rising despite Lincoln's police state measures to silence opponents and newspapers. The Emancipation Proclamation was a war measure issued under Lincoln's war powers. The proclamation provided for the emancipated slaves to be enrolled in the Union army replenishing its losses. It was also hoped that the proclamation would spread slave revolts in the South while southern white men were away at war and draw soldiers away from the fronts in order to protect their women and children. The intent was to hasten the defeat of the South before political opposition to Lincoln in the North grew stronger.

Oleh Kalashnikov, a Ukrainian MP and a member of the Party of Regions, was assassinated on Wednesday evening near his residence in Kiev, one of his relatives told local media.

The relative also said that Kalashnikov was recently threatened with bodily harm due to his political views, particularly for his call for a lavish celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory in WWII, and that the slain politician received a considerable amount of hate mail.

The Security Service of Ukraine, SBU, was investigating Kalashnikov's statements for a potential threat to the national security.

Recently, a number of former members of the Party of Regions and high ranking officials have died under mysterious circumstances, with their deaths being officially declared suicides.

A military solution to the Yemen crisis is out of the question, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Moscow, as well as many other countries in the region, is convinced that a military solution for Yemen is out of the question," the ministry statement reads.

The statement continued by pointing out that a peaceful solution to the crisis in Yemen should be found that takes in the interests of all Yemenis.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also expressed hope that the United Nations would continue efforts to resolve the crisis.

On Tuesday, the UN Security Council passed a resolution to ban weapons sales to the Houthis who have been fighting forces loyal to displaced Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Russia had abstained in the vote. Russia's Foreign Ministry warns that the resolution should not be used "for further escalation of the confrontation" in Yemen.

The head of Germany's Left Party (Die Linke) has suggested that security services were responsible for the violent scenes that broke out during the 'Blockupy' protest in Frankfurt last month.

Die Linke leader, Gregor Gysi, said he wanted to find out who was responsible for the violence at the demonstration, which was held on March 18 in response to the opening of the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt.

"I'm no conspiracy theorist. But I always have the impression that certain police informants stir up violence in order to kill off the political issues."

Gysi suggested infiltrators who wanted to turn the attention away from the political issues could be responsible for starting violence.

"Afterwards we only talk about the violence and never about the actual political issues," he added.

Despite the largely peaceful protest, the violent scenes, which included images of burning police vehicles and smoke-filled streets of Frankfurt, took many by surprise in both Germany and abroad.

US diplomats have refused to comment on media reports about the delivery by a mysterious Ukrainian plane of 150 tons of alleged diplomatic mail to the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.

Washington has remained tight-lipped on a report by the Kyrgyz newspaper Delo No. that a mysterious Ukrainian aircraft delivered 150 tons of cargo with the status of "diplomatic mail" to the US Embassy in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek late last month.

According to the newspaper, the cargo was delivered during two separate flights by the AN-124 transport jet of the Ukrainian air carrier Antonov Avialinii. The flights took place between March 28 and March 30, and each time the plane was en route from the UAE capital Abu Dhabi to the Manas international airport.

On March 28, aircraft brought seven containers weighing more than 78 tons, while the March 30 saw the delivery of five containers with a total weight of almost 74 tons.

The US Embassy in Bishkek received a total of 12 containers weighing nearly 152 tons on March 28-30, the newspaper reported.

It added that the cargo had the status of a "diplomatic mail" and was not subject to any inspection by the Kyrgyz side. The cargo was accompanied by several people and accepted by at least 14 employees of the US Embassy in Bishkek.

The newspaper recalled that in November 2013, the US Embassy in Kiev also received "diplomatic cargos" that were delivered by US Air Force transport aircraft.

Part of larger training operation involving sites in California and Arizona

© Datab.us

U.S. Marines from the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Pendleton conducted a non-combatant evacuation operation training exercise at Robert A. Sessions Memorial Sports Park reportedly at round 3:45 p.m. on Monday.

Staff Sgt. Bobbie Curtis, media communications chief at Camp Pendleton, said the purpose of the exercise was to provide the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit the opportunity to conduct training in unfamiliar environments during the final phase of their pre-deployment program. During the certified exercise, the unit was required to conduct a series of challenging and realistic training events to test their ability to conduct conventional and specialized missions.

The Expeditionary Operations Training Group was in charge of the exercise, according to a notice of the exercise that was sent to city and law enforcement officials. The exercise was to be conducted off federal property to provide realistic military training.

According to the notice, the unit would insert personnel by helicopter, set security, screen and process evacuees and extract all personnel by helicopter. Curtis said the evacuees were U.S. Marine actors.

According to a media advisory provided by Curtis, The Expeditionary Operations Training Group will evaluate the unit's ability to provide a flexible sea-based Marine air ground task force capable of conducting amphibious operations, crisis response and limited contingency operations.

Training was scheduled to occur in San Pedro April last weekend, Yavapai County, Ariz., Blythe, Prescott, Ariz., Tuesday through Thursday and offshore of California, April 9 through Friday. The advisory said military aircraft and an increase in noise may be noticed around these areas, but no live-fire training will take place near any of these populated areas.

The exercise, according to the advisory, provides the unit the opportunity to conduct training in unfamiliar environments during the final phase of their pre-deployment program. During the evaluation, the unit will be required to conduct a series of challenging and realistic training events to test their ability to conduct conventional and specialized missions.

With President Putin's annual Q&A session scheduled for Thursday, RT recalls the most memorable moments from the previous sessions, including examples of sometimes-crude humor and rare insights into the business of leading Russia.

Vladimir Putin is holding his 13th question-and-answer marathon. Similar televised sessions, which are roughly a Russian equivalent of a state of the union address in the US in terms of purpose, but with a degree of interaction, have been held since 2001 almost annually.

The shows understandably focus on domestic affairs, with Putin reporting on government successes and acknowledging problems. But occasionally his comments touch upon Russia's international stance, Putin's personal life or even philosophical issues.

With the longest program so far lasting an exhausting 4 hours 47 minutes, they also give plenty of room for Putin's famous humor - sometimes crude, but involving lots of memorable wordplay.

RT recalls 10 remarkable moments the previous sessions have given us.

This week you may notice extra emergency vehicles and public safety officers running around in tactical gear, Hazmat suits, and bomb suits. It's a part of a statewide drill Des Moines is hosting Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare emergency personnel for dealing with weapons of mass destruction.

Brian O'Keefe with the Des Moines Fire Department said emergency officials in Iowa need to be prepared for anything.

"You know we're number one seed producer with corn and soy, chicken embryo development, middle of the country heartland. So I'm sure all states access it. But we're a target like any other large community," said O'Keefe.

More than 100 emergency response personnel from around the state will participate including bomb technicians, law enforcement and Iowa Homeland Security.

Tuesday morning officials will met at the Wells Fargo Arena and review proper procedures for dealing with potential WMDs. After the review they'll get into teams and go through various stations assessing different hypothetical situations and practicing with different detection equipment.

Because most teams already know how to handle WMDs on their own, officials say working together with local, regional, and state agencies is what will be most important in these exercises.

"It's the leadership that's critical. We will always learn what we can over these next couple of days, but most of that's already shared. We've already standardized the tactics the techniques and the procedures so this is just more of doing the handshake, of making sure we're both working on the same plan and making sure that what we've trained for actually flows smoothly," said O'Keefe.