Reports: West may offer Syria's Assad immunity

SANA via EPA, file

Syrian President Bashar Assad is accompanied by his wife Asma while casting his vote during a referendum on a new constitution on Feb. 26 in in Damascus.

By Ian Johnston, msnbc.com

The U.S. and U.K. are considering letting Syria?s President Bashar Assad have immunity from prosecution if he agrees to relinquish power, according to reports.

The Guardian newspaper reported that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was aiming to convince former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to host a peace conference to discuss the idea further.

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The paper said Yemen President Ali Saleh?s departure from power ? in which he was given immunity from prosecution despite the killing of civilians ? was seen as a potential model.

The Telegraph newspaper said Assad would be given safe passage to Switzerland to take part in the peace talks under the plan.

The paper said British officials believed it was ?worth having a go? with the idea, but added that a well-placed British government source admitted it was a ?very optimistic? scenario.

'Transitional process'
The plan was drawn up following bilateral talks between the U.S./U.K. and Russia at the G-20 meeting in Mexico, where the British source said?Russian president Vladimir Putin had ?indicated that they were not hooked on Assad staying in power indefinitely."

P.J. Crowley, former State Department spokesman, joins Andrea Mitchell Reports to talk about how US and Russia might work together to prevent a civil war in Syria.

?Of course they go on to say that it?s not up to the international community to decide. But those of us who had bilaterals with Putin thought there was just enough out of these meetings to make it worth pursuing the objective of negotiating some sort of transitional process in Syria,? the source added, according to The Telegraph.

The Telegraph said the official was asked if this might involve immunity for Assad. ??It is hard to see a negotiated solution in which one of the participants agrees voluntarily to go to the International Criminal Court,? the source replied.

The paper said Western officials hoped the peace talks in Switzerland would take place in ?the next few weeks.? The summit would be attended by Assad or other Syrian government officials, opposition figures, U.N. Security Council members, and other countries such as Turkey, Saudia Arabia and possibly Iran.

Former National Security Adviser for President Carter, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, joins Morning Joe to discuss the latest in Egypt, the G20 summit in Mexico, China's relationship with Russia and the impact it could have on the U.S. and Syria.

??The Russians argue that the Iranians should be invited,? the British source said, according to The Telegraph. ?As far as we are concerned, the answer is no. We have no illusions: it could capsize just on whether Iran is invited or not, but it is worth a try given the gravity of events.?

Three Russian ships headed for Syria, US says

A U.K. Foreign Office said in an email sent to msnbc.com and other media that the British government was continuing ?to do everything we can to bring an end to the violence in Syria.?

?If Assad accepts a political transition then there is a range of options that could be considered, but there is no new offer, and the longer the killing goes on, the fewer options Assad will have,? the statement said.

?The details of any transition need to be agreed, including with the Syrian opposition, and we will continue to collect evidence so there can be no expectation on the part of those killing that they can avoid justice and accountability,? it added.

However, a Foreign Office spokesman told msnbc.com that the U.K. would not be able to intervene if Assad was given a safe haven by another country.

AFP - Getty Images

Damage and destruction litter a street in the battered city of Qusayr, southwest of Homs in western Syria, on Wednesday.

As the diplomats looked for a solution to the crisis, the death toll continued to mount Thursday.

Activists told The Associated Press that two people were killed during the shelling of rebel-held areas in the city of Homs.?

PhotoBlog:?Syrian army shells Homs and Qusayr

Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for political affairs, warned on Tuesday that time was running out for the current U.N.-backed peace process for Syria.

"The Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) remains gravely concerned about the intensification of violence and rising death toll, as well as continued human rights abuses and unmet humanitarian needs," Fernandez-Taranco said, according to Reuters.

UN suspends Syria monitoring due to rising violence

Ban said last month that at least 10,000 people have been killed in the Syria conflict, but U.N. diplomats say the actual number is likely much higher.?

"The situation in Homs is particularly alarming," Fernandez-Taranco told the 15-nation Security Council during a discussion on the Middle East, Reuters reported. "The tragic human suffering from the escalating conflict calls for urgent and concerted efforts to avoid a full-scale civil war."?

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Egypt army talks tough as Tahrir protests

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military rulers dismissed complaints from protesters on Friday that it was entrenching its rule and blamed the Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate for stirring up emotions that drew thousands onto Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The Islamist candidate, Mohamed Morsy, shot back that the generals were defying the democratic will of the people and said protests would go on. But he stopped short of repeating a claim to have won last weekend's election, urging simply a rapid announcement of the result, and praised the army as "patriotic".

In a brusque four-minute statement read on state television as Egyptians returned from weekly prayers - and as the revolutionary bastion of Tahrir was chanting for democracy - the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) made clear it had no plan to heed calls to cancel a decree extending its powers or reverse its dissolution of the new, Islamist-led parliament.

"The issuance of the supplementary constitutional decree was necessitated by the needs of administering the affairs of the state during this critical period in the history of our nation," the off-screen announcer said, in the bureaucratic language favored by the generals who pushed aside brother officer Hosni Mubarak last year to appease the angry millions on the streets.

In what were menacing tones for the army's old adversary the Muslim Brotherhood, SCAF said people were free to protest - but only if they did not disrupt daily life.

At Tahrir, the broad traffic interchange by the Nile in central Cairo was filled with makeshift tents offering shade from the midday sun, hawkers offering an array of goods from tea to "I Love Tahrir Square" T-shirts. Many knelt in prayer during the weekly service. Large groups of pious Islamists were bussed in from the provinces by their parties.

The crowd chanted and waved Egyptian flags.

The deadlock between Egypt's two strongest forces raised grave doubts on the prospects for consensual democracy, though some see possible compromise, if Morsy does become president.

The SCAF statement read: "Anticipating the announcement of the presidential election results before they are announced officially is unjustifiable, and is one of the main causes of division and confusion prevailing the political arena."

It also said the army had no power to repeal the dissolution of parliament, saying that was down to judges who ruled some of January's election rules unconstitutional. Critics say the judges were appointed under Mubarak and are not impartial.

PROTESTS

The Brotherhood is mounting protest vigils on town squares to demand the reversal of the decree and the dissolution. It also fears a delay in announcing the result of the presidential election indicates an attempt to cheat - though opponents say it is the Islamists who are not playing fair.

Morsy and former general Ahmed Shafik both say they believe they won the run-off ballot. But it is Morsy's declaration of victory within hours of polls closing - far more than Shafik's later, more cautious statements - which has driven debate about underhand tactics in a country long used to vote-rigging.

The delay in publication of results, due on Thursday but not now expected until at least Saturday, has heightened anxiety on all sides, although all sides say they will protest peacefully.

Morsy told a news conference he would continue to reject SCAF's decree, which was issued as polls closed on Sunday, two days after the constitutional court gave the military grounds to dissolve parliament: "The constitutional declaration clearly implies attempts by the military council to restrict the incoming president," he said. "This we totally reject."

But with no obvious resolution in sight to the stand-off, Morsy also made conciliatory references to the army: "There is no problem between us and our patriotic armed forces," he said.

"We do not agree to the issuing of the constitutional decree and neither do the people. Why do we need a supplementary declaration when we are going to draft a new constitution?"

After the blunt warning about declarations of election victory, Morsy notably did not repeat his claim to have won, but called instead for a speedy announcement to end the uncertainty.

In a country where virtually no one can remember an election that was not rigged before last year, trust is low, not least among Brotherhood officials, many of whom, like Morsy, were jailed under Mubarak for their political activities.

The same electoral commission that handed an improbable 90 percent of a November 2010 parliamentary vote to Mubarak's supporters - a result which fuelled the protests that brought him down a few weeks later - sits in judgment on the new presidency.

SCARE TACTIC

While many of the urban liberals who began the uprising against Mubarak 17 months ago are uneasy about the electoral success of the Islamists, the prospect of Shafik winning, or of the army retaining power behind an impotent President Morsy, would for them mean the failure of their revolution.

Hassan Nafaa, a political analyst and critic of Mubarak, said: "The military council's statement is intended to scare the people and quell the revolutionary spirit of the nation through the firm authoritarian tone in which the statement was delivered. But this will not work because all politically aware civilians refuse the military's stewardship over the state."

Among mostly Islamist protesters, sentiment was also firm.

"This is a classic counter revolution that will only be countered by the might of protesters," said Safwat Ismail, 43, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood who came from the Nile Delta. "I am staying in the square until the military steps down."

Mahmoud Mohammed, a bearded, 31-year-old marine engineer from Alexandria among a group from the more fundamentalist Salafist movement camping on the square, insisted they were not looking for a battle, but wanted to see democracy installed.

"The people elected a parliament and they put it in the rubbish bin. We need the army to hand over," he said, adding: "No one came here for a fight. We need democracy."

Though tension is real across the country, many of Egypt's 82 million people are weary of turmoil and economic crisis, so it is unclear how large protests might become - though the Brotherhood alone has formidable reserves and capacities.

On Friday, most people appeared to be staying at home and passing Friday's Muslim weekend as normal, though once the fierce sun goes down, gatherings might grow.

Events of the past week, which also saw a renewal of the power of military police to arrest civilians, have unnerved Western allies, notably the United States which has long been the key sponsor of the Egyptian armed forces but now says it wants to see them hand power to civilians.

Adding to unease, Mubarak is himself back in the news, being transferred to a military hospital on Tuesday evening from the prison where he began a life sentence this month.

Military and security sources have given a confusion of accounts about his condition, from "clinically dead" at one point, to being on life support after a stroke to "stabilizing". Many Egyptians suspect his fellow generals may be exaggerating his illness to get their old comrade out of jail.

(Additional reporting by Dina Zayed, Shaimaa Fayed, Tom Perry, Edmund Blair, Patrick Werr, Tamim Elyan and Yasmine Saleh; Writing by Alastair Macdonald Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

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Extinguish Examination Stress and anxiety - FC2

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Suspected explosives seized at Sweden nuke site

By msnbc.com staff and news services

STOCKHOLM -- The threat level was raised at all of Sweden's nuclear sites after security personnel found suspected explosives during a routine vehicle search at a?nuclear power station on Wednesday, according to reports.

"In the afternoon, a suspected explosive was discovered in a truck on its way in to Ringhals' operating facility,"?the plant's operator Vattenfall said in a statement.?"A sample of the material was sent during the evening to the Swedish National Laboratory of Forensic Science for analysis."

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The Local reported?cited an official as saying the material had been placed near a fire extinguisher "under the first step onto the truck." It was said to be the size of a "small fist," according to The Local.

"The assessment is that the situation is under control," police spokesman Lars Grimbeck told MarketWatch.

Ringhals' four reactors, on the southwest coast of Sweden near the city of Gothenburg, produce nearly 20 percent of the country's electricity.

State-owned Vattenfall has a 70 percent stake in the plant and Germany's owns nearly 30 percent.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Otter Text and Drive solution now free in the Google Play Store

Texting and driving is still on the rise, despite numerous laws now being put in place. There are quite a few solutions available in the Google Play Store and one that has received some attention recently is Otter. With Otter you can use automatic text message replies coupled with GPS to let folks know you're driving, working or otherwise preoccupied. In addition to that feature, you can also set text messaging black out periods so there are no interruptions at all.

Previously a premium app that sold for $3.99, the developers have removed all fees associated with Otter and are offering it as a free download. The full press release from Otter can be found below or you can hit the download link to check it out for yourself.

Download Otter from Google Play

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German Chancellor Merkel to attend Greece match

President Barack Obama, left, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, and China's President Hu Jintao chat while waiting for other leaders to come to the stage to pose for the family photo of the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, Monday, June 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

President Barack Obama, left, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, and China's President Hu Jintao chat while waiting for other leaders to come to the stage to pose for the family photo of the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, Monday, June 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

FILE - In this July 3, 2010 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel celebrates next to South African President Jacob Zuma, left, after Germany's Thomas Mueller scored a goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Argentina and Germany at the Green Point stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. Merkel will travel to Germany's European Championship quarterfinal match against Greece for a game that brings together nations at opposite ends of Europe's debt crisis, the German government said Wednesday, June 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Gero Breloer, File)

BERLIN (AP) ? Chancellor Angela Merkel will attend Germany's European Championship quarterfinal match against Greece for a game that brings together nations at opposite ends of Europe's debt crisis.

Merkel can go to Friday's match in Gdansk, Poland, because the Italian government moved forward by several hours a meeting in Rome with the Italian, French and Spanish leaders that originally was supposed to end as the match started, government spokesman Georg Streiter said Wednesday.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has been a major contributor to international bailouts for Greece and was instrumental in demanding structural reforms and hugely unpopular spending cuts in return.

The presence of Merkel, who is not a popular figure in Greece, could add extra spice to Friday's encounter ? though team officials on both sides have been at pains to stress that it is purely a sporting event.

"She hopes for an exciting and fair match," Streiter told reporters in Berlin.

With Greece still in the process of forming a government after Sunday's elections, it wasn't clear whether Merkel will meet any Greek officials at the match. Merkel, who has frequently attended Germany matches over recent years, was invited to Gdansk by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

"This is a football match, and it is exclusively about sport," Streiter said.

Merkel visited the Germany team at its hotel in Gdansk shortly before the tournament started.

Germany midfielder Sami Khedira told reporters in Gdansk on Wednesday that "she seems to bring us luck." Coach Joachim Loew's team beat Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark in the first round.

Germany, unlike neighboring France, has not said its officials would boycott matches in Ukraine to protest the treatment by authorities there of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. But Merkel didn't go to any of Germany's opening-round matches, which were played in Ukraine.

Associated Press

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Analysis: Investors cling to cash to guard against euro fallout

(Reuters) - Cash isn't just king. For some money managers, it has become jack, queen and ace, too.

With the Greek election failing to eliminate fears about the euro zone's stability and the Chinese and U.S. economies providing little reason for greater optimism, some major investors and their advisers have decided there is only one place to be - cash.

Charles Biderman, founder and CEO of independent research provider TrimTabs Investment Research, has been advising big institutional clients, including hedge funds, to be exposed "100 percent in cash" since June 11.

"These days, a stock market decline of a few percentage points is enough to trigger calls for more 'accommodation, easing, firepower, and stimulus.' We are amazed at how many investors still believe additional liquidity will make the euro zone's debt problems go away," Biderman said.

Biderman said he doesn't believe that throwing money at a solvency problem will work in the long run. He is not alone in his assessment.

David Kotok, chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors in Sarasota, Florida, said his firm has a "temporary" cash position. Kotok said the range of cash holdings for the firm's 1,500 separate accounts that it manages for its clients is between 10 percent and 20 percent.

In comparison, average cash levels in June stood at their highest since the start of the euro-zone debt crisis at 5.3 percent of portfolios, compared with 4.7 percent in May, according to a monthly global survey of 260 investors from Bank of America/Merrill Lynch.

"We've been fully invested since October, but we see evolving risks related to Europe," Kotok said. "That caused us to have some cash reserves."

Since the financial crisis of 2008, investors have had to navigate the global financial markets' manic mood swings. The volatility has fallen into a pattern. The fiscal or banking crisis gets worse in some parts of the world, usually Europe or the United States, sending markets into a tailspin. In response, governments and central banks launch bailouts and flood the markets with money. Once the euphoria has given way to a realization that the underlying problems haven't been solved, there is another selloff, and the process begins again.

For example, in early June, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank was closely monitoring "significant risks" to the U.S. recovery from Europe's debt crisis. There are now some expectations that the Fed might take some further action to increase the markets' liquidity as early as this Wednesday. The Federal Open Market Committee will wrap up a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

But Biderman of TrimTabs wonders: "What happens when market manipulation by global central bankers no longer works?"

CHERRY PICKING

Of course, not all investors are giving up on equities entirely.

Erik Weisman, global bond portfolio manager at Boston-based MFS Investment Management, which oversees $268 billion in assets, said equities still look cheap relative to bonds in the longer run ,but there is a danger now of "getting in too early."

Weisman isn't shying away from cash.

"Holding cash is not the worst thing in the world right now because if you are in doubt, there are a lot worse places to be."

Donald Gimbel, senior managing director of New York-based Carret Asset Management LLC, was encouraged by Sunday's election results, when the Greek pro-bailout parties gained a narrow victory over the radical leftist anti-austerity SYRIZA movement. Gimbel said it sends a signal that the Greeks haven't given up on capitalism.

A couple of weeks ago, Gimbel lifted the cash position of his firm's $1.6 billion in funds under management to 15 percent - the highest since 2008. Last week, he took the cash position down to 12 percent after perceiving some stocks were trading at bargain levels in Asia.

He expects to keep the cash allocation at that level for the next few months as he waits to see how things play out in Europe, as well as with the U.S. elections and recent economic developments in China.

"I'm basically optimistic, but I fall back on being patient," Gimbel said.

Like investors, corporate America is also practicing patience and an aversion to risk-taking.

Lee Pinkowitz, an associate professor of finance at Georgetown University and a co-author of a recent study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research, said American companies had "abnormal" cash holdings of 1.86 percent of assets on average during 2009-2010, compared with zero in 1998-2000.

Pinkowitz said firms' high cash holdings began in the middle of the last decade. But he added that the combination of the 2008 financial crisis and the euro zone's troubles "exacerbates and doesn't help the situation for decision-making. You can see that corporations want to hold on to a bigger 'rainy day' fund."

The problem for the Main Street economy, though, is that companies holding onto abnormally high levels of cash are not investing it in new factories, offices and products - which also means they are less likely to be hiring.

Overall, "people are traumatized by 2008" and don't want to lose money, said Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive officer at DoubleLine Capital, which oversees $35 billion.

In 2008, the value of global financial assets, including stocks, bonds and currencies, fell by more than $50 trillion in the wake of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy and the ensuing crisis.

"It's getting very late for people to be setting up for the outcome in Europe," Gundlach said. "The time is almost here, and it's almost time for the situation to be resolving itself."

(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Samuel Forgione, Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Jennifer Cummings and Ashley Lau; Editing by Martin Howell and Jan Paschal)

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