News Headlines Mar. 21, 2013

 MEP Nigel Farage: Get your money out of European banks now!

• North Korea threatens to attack US bases in Okinawa, Guam  North Korea has threatened to target US airbases in Okinawa and Guam as it issued an air raid alert on Thursday and ordered its military to stand ready, the country’s state media reported. 
• UK civil servants stage mass strike on budget day (PHOTOS) A quarter of a million UK civil servants staged a mass walk-out in protest of sweeping budget cuts. Union members claim the government has refused to negotiate on their contested budget and have launched a three-month campaign to push their demands.
• 'Bull in a china shop’: Russian PM slams EU, Cyprus over crisis handling Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has criticized the actions of the EU and Cyprus in dealing with the island nation’s financial woes, describing the proposed deposit levy as a confiscatory measure.
• Obama: If Syrian regime used chemical weapons, ‘red line’ crossed President Barack Obama said that the US is looking into reports that chemical weapons were used in Aleppo on Tuesday, killing two dozen people. If the Syrian government deployed them, it would mean a “red line” had been crossed, he warned.  
• Syrian govt, rebels urge UN investigation into ‘chemical attack’ Both the Syrian government and rebel forces are asking the UN to investigate an alleged chemical weapon attack on the outskirts of Aleppo that killed at least 25 and injured over hundred more. 
• US plan for Iran 'pinpoint strike' ready - report The US is taking plans for a possible military operation against Iran “very seriously,” a senior Israeli security official, who is said to be in the know about aspects of the American plan, has told Haaretz daily. 
• N. Zealand govt may overhaul spy service after Dotcom ‘stuff up’ New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key has said the country’s spy agency could be in for a shake up after illegally spying on Megaupload magnate Kim Dotcom. Key described the affair as a “stuff up,” while his rivals allege a cover up.
• Music piracy surprisingly good for business, study claims Downloading music illegally does not harm the music industry – in some cases it even helps it – according to a new study by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. 

Safer to keep money under mattress than in banks!