Tanzania Building Collapse Buries Dozens

School children are among dozens of people missing in the rubble of a building that has collapsed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Reports said at least 45 people were buried and 17 had been pulled out of the debris.

At least two people have died but others are believed to be under the rubble, with some desperate survivors calling for help using their mobiles.

Among those trapped are believed to be a number of children from a school in the area.

Dozens of people are believed trapped in the rubble

Hundreds of people, including residents and army rescuers, helped look for survivors at the scene after the collapse in an affluent area of the country's economic capital.

The 12-storey building collapsed as many people including children were working or playing nearby, witnesses said.

"I thought there was an earthquake and then I heard screaming. The whole building fell on itself," witness Musa Mohamed said.

Dar es Salaam regional police chief Suleiman Kova said the rescue operation was "going well".

Rescuers search for survivors

Mr Kova said that although it was too early to establish the cause of the accident, "the owner of the building would be held responsible and taken to task".

Scores of people were reportedly working in and around the building at the time of the incident at around 8.45am, but most of those caught up in the collapse were passing by.

Residents said that during normal working days, the area bustles with activity from a mix of business people, passers-by and playing children.

A survivor is pulled from the rubble

"My children normally come to play here during Sundays and holidays. I am not sure whether they are also trapped," one desperate local resident Elizabeth Richard sobbed.

In 2008, another building collapse in Dar es Salaam claimed at least four lives.

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North Korea Says 'We Are At War With South'

North Korea says it has entered a "state of war" with South Korea and will deal with "all matters" accordingly.

"As of now, inter-Korea relations enter a state of war and all matters between the two Koreas will be handled according to wartime protocol," the North said in a statement broadcast by the official Korean Central News Agency.

"The long-standing situation of the Korean peninsula being neither at peace nor at war is finally over."

The statement also warned that any military provocation near the North-South land or sea border would result "in a full-scale conflict and a nuclear war".

The two Koreas have always technically remained at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Earlier this month, the North said it was ripping up the armistice and other bilateral peace pacts signed with the South in protest against South Korea-US joint military exercises.

South Korea's defence ministry said in a statement: "This is not really a new threat - just part of a series of provocative threats."

It added that "no particular troop movement" had been observed along the border.

The US said it was taking the new threat "seriously" but said it was following a familiar pattern.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un

"We've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from North Korea. We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean allies," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

Most analysts still believe this will remain a rhetorical rather than a physical battle, but the situation has now become so volatile that any slight miscalculation carries the potential for rapid escalation.

Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "It is more rhetoric by North Korea until they actually do something. Wars tend to begin with bangs not announcements on state news agencies, so this is Mr Kim pushing the rhetoric up another level.

"The problem is, he hasn't got any more levels to go to after this other than actual war - that is the big worry and the big unknown. Does his belligerence have a limit or not?

"The assumption, and hope, is that he will stop at the eleventh hour but what if he doesn't? That is why the Americans, the South Koreans, the Japanese and, more quietly, the Chinese too are all taking it very seriously."

Yesterday, both China and Russia asked for all sides to co-operate to prevent the situation worsening, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov voicing particular concern.

"We can simply see the situation getting out of control, it would spiral down into a vicious circle," Mr Lavrov told journalists.

His warning came after the North's leader Kim Jong-Un ordered missile units to prepare to strike US mainland and military bases, vowing to "settle accounts" after US stealth bombers flew over the South.

The US has used B-2 bombers as a 'deterrence' measure in the region

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel stressed that Washington would not be cowed by Pyongyang's threats and stood ready to respond to "any eventuality".

The standoff has its roots in the North's successful long-range rocket launch in December and the third nuclear test it carried out in February.

Both events drew UN sanctions that incensed Pyongyang, which then switched the focus of its anger to the annual joint South Korea-US military drills.

As tensions escalated, Washington has maintained a notably assertive stance, publicising its use of nuclear-capable B-52s and B-2 stealth bombers.

The long-distance deployment of both sets of aircraft out of bases in Guam and the US mainland were intended as a clear signal of US commitment to defending the South against any act of aggression.

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Cyprus Banks Finally Reopen But Anger Lingers

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent in Cyprus

Cyprus' banks have opened their doors after the longest enforced bank holiday in Europe's history.

Queues grew outside branches across the country, with no signs of panic as employees limited the number of customers allowed in at any one time.

But many residents expressed anger at the country's controversial bailout - which requires Cyprus to raise 5.8bn euros (£4.9bn).

After a rush when the doors first opened, customers queued calmly

"They have stolen our money," Milton Loucas told Sky News.

"I have been working for 60 years. I am 80 years old. I cannot work again for my living - they have cut the lot.

"Our money, our social insurance - they have cut them. How are we going to live?"

Another Cypriot, Stelios, came out of the bank empty handed.

"I tried to get my February wages and they gave me a piece of paper only," he said.

"I have two children in the army and they asked for money - I don't have money to give them.

"The Government didn't pay anybody. My old parents didn't get their pension."

Banks are giving customers information about the capital restrictions

The country's President - who has cut his own salary by 25% - tweeted his thanks to Cypriots for showing "maturity" as the banks reopened.

"I would like to thank the Cypriot people for their maturity and collectedness shown in their interactions with the Cypriot Banks," Nicos Anastasiades said on his official Twitter account.

Cash withdrawals and other transactions are subject to tough restrictions, introduced by the country's Finance Ministry in an effort to avoid a run on the banks.

The country's crippled banking system was effectively closed down on March 16 while the terms of the 10bn euro (£8.5bn) bailout were agreed and implemented.

Large depositors face losses of as much as 40% of their savings as part of the deal, leading to fears that customers would attempt to withdraw large amounts of money when the banks reopened.

Demonstrations against austerity measures continued in Cyprus on Wednesday

As a result, strict capital controls include a withdrawal limit of 300 euros (£253) a day and a ban on cashing cheques.

Travellers leaving the country can only take up to 1,000 euros (£845), or the equivalent in foreign currency, with them in cash - significantly less than expected.

Police and security staff were deployed to maintain order at branches, and G4S guards called in to work alongside police officers and other security firms across the country.

The giant global firm was the contractor that failed to meet their promises over security at the London Olympics prompting the British military to step in.

G4S's managing director in Cyprus, John Arghyrou, told Sky News: "I feel we have the resources, I feel extremely confident as a security company that we can undertake and meet the requirements of our customers."

With just 860,000 people, Cyprus has around 68bn euros (£57bn) in its banks.

This outsized financial system attracted deposits from foreigners but has struggled since investments in neighbouring Greece went sour.

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Cyprus: Savers Vent Anger As Banks Open

He knew this would be a day to sit down and wait. So he brought his own chair.

Mr Milton Loucas is 80-years-old and like thousands of Cypriots wanted to get into his bank to discuss the financial nightmare that he's suddenly inherited.

For nearly two weeks he like everyone else has been restricted to rationed euros from cash points and has been terrified about losing his life savings.

Sat on his small tatty chair outside his branch and with tears in his eyes, he told us: "They have stolen our money.

"I have been working for 60 years. I am 80-years-old. I cannot work again for my living - they have cut the lot.

"Our money, our social insurance - they have cut them. How are we going to live?"

As he emerged back into the midday sunshine, Mr Loucas was still angry and upset. He said: "They can do nothing because they don't know if they will survive this tsunami.

"Perhaps if (there is) another haircut they will lose their jobs."

The pensioner did not wish to disclose how much money he had lost, only saying it was about half of his entire funds.

He told me he'd faced worse in his life - as a younger man travelling in Africa he'd escaped from an execution squad in the Congo - this though is an ordeal for everyone in his homeland.

His fury is pointed firmly towards Brussels, Berlin and the architects of this EU bailout.

Referring to German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, he said: "This is the message of that awful minister of the economy."

He added: "I hope that people should understand that our position is terrible and not to enjoy what has happened to us.

"Just to say, let's hope that this country will stand up again - and that's what we hope for everybody."

With that he picked up his chair and strolled off down the street to another bank where he has further savings.

This was a stroll on the banks rather than a run, but the anger of Mr Loucas seemed to speak for a nation.

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Acropolis Bomb: Blast Near Athens Landmark

A bomb has exploded near the Acropolis in central Athens causing damage but no injuries.

Apparently targeting the house of one of the country's shipping magnates, the blast close to Greece's most famous ancient monument occurred at about 8:30pm local time (6.30pm GMT), following a warning call to a Greek newspaper.

Police said an anonymous caller contacted a Greek daily at 8:10pm (6.10pm GMT), saying the bomb would explode at 8:30pm outside the home of shipowner Nikos Tsakos. Officers immediately evacuated the area.

The bomb had reportedly been left in a black backpack outside the entrance of the property.

Officers search for evidence near the shipowner's home after the explosion

Windows were shattered by the explosion and other damage caused, including to neighbouring buildings - but nobody was killed or injured.

Speaking from Athens, Sky News journalist Anthee Carassava said: "Police scrambled to the site, evacuated the area and the residence of a prominent shipowner, who appears to be the target of the attack.

"Bomb experts did not have time to detonate the bomb, which exploded only 20 minutes after the warning call - a very short time in which to react."

Mr Tsakos was not at home at the time of the attack. One of his guards who was there managed to flee in time.

A police expert examines the scene near the bomb blast

The Tsakos group is one of Greece's main shipowning companies. Nikos Tsakos, 50, is the son of group founder Panagiotis Tsakos.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which happened next to the Odeon of Herod Atticus and a few hundred metres beneath the Acropolis, an area popular with tourists.

Minor bomb and arson attacks have increased in recent months as Greece implements deeply unpopular austerity measures in exchange for bailout funds from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for its debt-crippled economy.

In January, two Greek anarchist groups claimed responsibility for an explosion at an Athens shopping centre that fuelled fears of rising political violence.

The Acropolis is one of Greece's top tourist attractions

That blast followed a series of small homemade bomb attacks on journalists and political figures.

Carassava said that while attacks like this had become more frequent, neither her nor the police could recall one so close to the ancient Acropolis.

Until recently, Mr Tsakos served on the board of directors of the Bank of Cyprus, which has been swept into the financial crisis engulfing the neighbouring Mediterranean island.

Desperate Cypriot savers and businesses have been left with limited cash for nearly two weeks owing to a general bank lock-down to prevent a run on deposits.

A small bomb exploded outside a Bank of Cyprus branch in Limassol, Cyprus, on Sunday.

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Peru: Bus Crashes Down Ravine Killing Dozens

At least 24 people have been killed after a passenger bus plunged 100 metres (328ft) into a ravine off a road in southern Peru.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the steep, rocky cliff

Local media said the accident occurred in the Andean city of Arequipa on the road to Puno and that most of the passengers were mine workers.

A highway police official said another 18 people were injured but warned the death toll could rise as many were trapped under the wreckage of the vehicle.

A survivor is taken away from the scene of the crash

Rescue efforts were hampered by the steep cliff and rocky terrain.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known, police said.

Most of those aboard were mine workers headed from Orcopampa district to Arequipa, where they planned to take part in religious festivities leading up to Easter on Sunday.

According to reports, the public bus was privately operated by a company called Andares.

Arequipa, also known as the White City, is around 1,000km (620 miles) south of the capital Lima and is the second most populated city in Peru.

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Cyprus Moves To Prevent Run On Banks

Cyprus is working to agree capital controls to help prevent a run on savings when banks eventually re-open following the nation's bailout.

The closure of Cypriot banks was extended until Thursday amid a rush to restructure the two biggest lenders Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and Laiki, also known as the Popular Bank.

The boss of the BoC attempted to tender his resignation, along with four other board members, in protest at the bailout condition that it would have to absorb Laiki's debts.

However the BoC board rejected the resignation of chairman Andreas Artemis and the other directors, in the wake of the appointment of an administrator to downsize the island's biggest lender as a condition for an international bailout.

A student raises her hand during an anti-Troika protest

"The board of directors has not accepted the resignations," a statement carried by the state CNA news agency said.

"In accordance with the articles of association of the company, the resignations will only apply if not withdrawn within one week."

Meanwhile, Fitch said it had put Cyprus's credit rating on watch for a possible downgrade as the restructuring of its banking system would hurt the economy.

It currently rates Cyprus as 'B', only two notches above levels where the agency considers borrowers vulnerable to default.

The 10bn euro (£8.5bn) rescue was secured when politicians agreed to seize cash from bank depositors with more than 100,000 euros in their accounts.

It amounted to a hit of up to 40% on the money held by such people banking with BoC and Laiki, finance minister Michalis Sarris told BBC radio - cash that will be swapped for shares in the lenders.

Greek Cypriots have become increasingly angry at the bailout terms

The country's president had earlier assured his people the rescue package he struck with the EU and International Monetary Fund was in their best interests, despite the prospect of years of financial pain ahead.

Nicos Anastasiades agreed to close down Laiki as part of the demanded reforms of the Cypriot financial sector - brought to the brink of collapse by its investments in neighbouring Greece.

The capital controls being discussed, preventing people moving funds out of the country, could last for a number of weeks and may include weekly withdrawal limits.

Cash machine withdrawals remain restricted while the branch shutdown is said to be hammering businesses, which have been without access to their funds for more than a week.

European leaders said a chaotic national bankruptcy that might have forced Cyprus from the euro and upset Europe's economy had been averted by the rescue - though investors in other European banks were alarmed by the precedent of losses for depositors in Cyprus.

The raid on uninsured Laiki depositors is expected to raise 4.2bn euros of the 5.8bn the EU and IMF had told Cyprus to raise as a contribution to the bailout, according to Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

The politician, who heads the so-called Eurogroup of finance ministers, has faced a backlash after he spoke of the need for lenders to banks to accept the potential risks of their failure in future.

Unemployment and poverty levels are expected to soar in Cyprus

The comment - interpreted as support for the terms of the Cypriot bailout to become a template for any future eurozone bailouts - was widely criticised after it had a knock-on effect on world markets.

Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras later insisted that a bailout deal agreed for Cyprus only applied to the island country, after markets started to speculate.

"This solution concerns Cyprus only and no other country, because Cyprus has a particular banking system," Mr Stournaras said, following a meeting with Greek President Carolos Papoulias.

Meanwhile Russia was angered that its depositors in Cypriot banks would suffer huge losses, President Vladimir Putin has ordered officials to restructure a loan Moscow granted to Cyprus in 2011.

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North Korea Rocket Strike Threat Targets US

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

North Korea has ordered its military to be ready to strike US bases in Guam, Hawaii and mainland America, according to state TV.

North Korea threatens a missile attack on Guam, Hawaii and the US mainland

"The Korean People's Army top command declares that all artillery troops including strategic rocket units and long-range artillery units are to be placed under Class A combat readiness," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The announcement came as images were released showing a new round of military exercises by the isolated state.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un talks to a group of female soldiers

The still photographs show what appears to be a sea-borne assault using hovercraft and an artillery drill using multiple rocket launchers - none of which would have the capacity to reach more than a dozen or so miles.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is pictured visiting troops and watching the exercise from a vantage point above the unidentified beach on the country's east coast.

North Korea has previously threatened a nuclear attack on US military bases

The photographs, released by KCNA, are accompanied by language which matches weeks of rhetoric.

According to the news agency, Mr Kim "stressed the need to destroy and wipe away any enemy who lands on their coast through strong firepower and ordered the soldiers of the heroic Korean People's Army to display their mettle in the great war against the enemies".

It's not thought to have the technology to hit the US with an atomic weapon

"Crazy like wild wolves threatened with fire, send all of them to the bottom of the sea," he is quoted as saying.

The Pentagon later condemned the "bellicose" rhetoric, saying the United States was ready "to respond to any contingency".

The exercise and the photographs of it are a clear response to a series of month-long exercises taking place across the border in South Korea involving American and South Korean troops and naval forces.

Kim Jong-Un is photographed visiting troops

Defence analysts have been studying the latest photographs with interest.

James Hardy, the Asia-Pacific Editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, told Sky News he had not seen hovercraft like those in the photographs before.

Rockets and long-range artillery have been ordered to be combat ready

However, he added: "I can categorically state that multiple rocket launchers and 'long-range artillery' are not going to threaten the US mainland, Guam or Hawaii, unless they are put on a ship and sailed to within firing distance (which I doubt the North Koreans are about to do)."

It has been an uneasy few months on the Korean peninsula with rhetoric and threatening language at a level not seen for several years.

The increased tension comes as Seoul marks the third anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean warship.

Order was issued in a statement from the North's military "supreme command"

On March 26, 2010, the Cheonan was torpedoed by the North Korean military with the loss of 46 sailors.

In December, North Korea launched a satellite into orbit in the tip of a rocket.

Their claim then was that this was all part of Pyongyang's legitimate right to pursue a space programme.

The fresh threat marks the latest fiery rhetoric from Pyongyang

Few countries bought that claim, believing instead that it represented the latest move in North Korea's development of a ballistic missile programme.

The rocket launch was followed in February by an underground nuclear test and a sharp escalation in tension.

The warning follows joint military drills by the US and South Korean forces

Faced with unprecedented UN sanctions, backed by his historical ally China, Mr Kim admitted the rocket launch and nuclear test were indeed all part of his ideological desire to destroy America and its allies.

Asked about the accuracy and range of rockets like that fired in December, Mr Hardy said he believed North Korea was still some way off possessing an operational missile of this type.

"It's a mish mash of fuel types and requires quite a bit of time to assemble on a purpose-built launch pad," he continued.

US military bases in the Pacific are in range of its medium-range missiles

"The US, or anyone else, would have plenty of time to scope it out before it got airborne so its operational value is quite low even before you start talking about the challenges of placing a warhead on it."

The annulment of the armistice agreement with South Korea and repeated threats to attack the South over the past three weeks have, so far, been exposed as nothing more than bluff and bluster.

The South says it has seen no signs of an imminent military action

However with unattributed cyber attacks - some on defector groups from the North - in Seoul, repositioned missile defence systems on America's west coast and the presence of US B-52 bombers in the skies above the Korean peninsula, there is no doubt minds across the region and beyond are very focused on a fragile peace and an unpredictable regime.

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Cyprus Bailout: Public Anger At Eurozone Deal

By Tom Parmenter, in Nicosia

Cypriots have reacted with anger over the bailout deal that will almost certainly plunge their country into a deep recession.

A deal has been struck to avoid bankruptcy, but the financial fallout is terrifying ordinary people.

Simos Mantzouranos runs a small printing business and is furious at what he believes is the EU bullying Cyprus into accepting a deal.

He told Sky News: "It feels like we're a small fish that has been forced into a hole only to be eaten by a big shark.

Simos Mantzouranos believes Cyprus has been bullied into the deal

"Everything is on hold now but people will take their money out of Cyprus, the Russians certainly will, so businesses will close - it's going to be a bad few years for my country."

There are also growing calls for Cyprus to ditch the euro and revert to the Cypriot pound.

Nicholas Papadopoulos, chairman of the Cypriot parliament's finance committee, told Sky News: "We wish to stay in the eurozone - but after the decisions of the European Union I think that exiting the eurozone is something that needs to be explored."

Part of the EU deal means the second biggest bank in Cyprus will be wound up.

Maria Constantinou woke up to the news from Brussels that the bank she joined as a teenager in 1988 would be closing.

In a Nicosia cafe, the 43-year-old told Sky News: "It is scary, like a horror movie but it is real."

Her husband works in IT at the same bank, they have four children and now face financial ruin.

She added: "It is my life. I still cannot believe what happened - we have loans to repay, we have the children to help them study to the universities.

"We don't know what to do - everything has changed."

Readjusting to the new financial order will be a slow painful process. And there is an even more immediate worry: cash is king at the moment in Cyprus but ATMs are rationing people's euros.

Many people have resorted to stashing wads of cash in their homes - surviving this financial crisis is forcing people to do whatever they have to to look after their families.

It will be like that for some time.

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Cyprus Banks: Customers Face Transaction Limits

Cyprus' president has admitted an EU bailout deal for the nation to stave off bankruptcy was "painful" but the best under the circumstances.

Nicos Anastasiades said the island will introduce some limits on transactions to prevent an outflow of money when its banks reopen - due on Thursday - but the measures will be "very temporary".

Banks have been closed since March 16 to avert a run on deposits as the country's politicians struggled to come up with a plan that would raise enough funds to qualify for an international bailout.

In a televised address to the country, the president said: "The central bank will implement capital controls on transactions. I want to assure you that this will be a very temporary measure that will gradually be relaxed".

He did not specify what limitations would be imposed on transactions.

Angry Greek Cypriots have taken to the streets

He said he had taken "painful decisions to save the country from bankruptcy" and pledged Cyprus "would find its feet again".

It follows a bailout deal which reports suggest could see Bank of Cyprus savers with deposits above 100,000 euros (£85,000) hit with a levy of "around 30%".

The banks were shut down more than a week ago to prevent a run, as international lenders struggled to agree on a plan to raise funds so the island could qualify for a bailout package.

For the Popular (Laiki) and Bank of Cyprus, restrictions on a 100 euro (£85)-a-day withdrawal limit from cashpoints will remain in force until Thursday, a central bank source official said.

Earlier, a government official confirmed the depositors' levy of around 30% - a major blow to savers, many of whom are Russian.

A Laiki bank employee. There are fears about the impact in coming years

Laiki, the second-largest bank, will effectively be shut down and split into a "good bank" and a "bad bank" as part of the bailout deal, which was designed to avert a eurozone exit.

President Anastasiades tweeted that he was "content" before flying home from marathon Brussels talks that sealed the agreement in the early hours of Monday, which briefly rallied European markets before dealers began to fret about the cost of the deal.

Mr Anastasiades, who reportedly threatened to resign during the tense negotiations, will have to convince his people the deal was needed, when many fear it will plunge the country into recession.

Maria Constantinou has worked for Laiki since joining as a teenager in 1988. Her husband works at the same bank, they have four children and now face financial ruin.

She told Sky's Tom Parmenter: "I still cannot believe what happened we have loans to repay, we have the children to help them study to the universities.

"We don't know what to do - everything has changed."

There have been protests on the streets in recent days amid fears of the impact on the country's economy in the next few years.

The agreement, reached before a Monday deadline set by the European Central Bank, unlocks 10 billion euros (£8.5bn) in emergency loans from the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

"We believe that this will form a lasting, durable and fully financed solution," IMF chief Christine Lagarde said.

After the eurozone's finance ministers' approval, several national parliaments, such as Germany's, must also approve the bailout deal, which might take another few weeks. EU officials said they expect the whole programme to be approved by mid-April.

Cyprus' outsized banking sector was crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece and has been used as a haven for foreign funds.

The British arm of Laiki, Laiki Bank UK, said customers could continue to withdraw their cash but warned that large deposits may be at risk.

Laiki Bank UK operates as a branch of its parent and gave clearer guidance on its website on Monday, telling customers they are protected up to 100,000 euros (£85,000) by the Cyprus Deposit Protection Scheme and not the UK's compensation scheme.

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Mexico: Seven Executed And Left On Roundabout

The bodies of seven men were found dumped in plastic chairs on a busy roundabout in the Mexican city of Uruapan, authorities have said.

Threatening messages had been nailed to some of the men's chests using ice picks and the victims had all been shot in the head.

One of the placards said: "Warning: This is going to happen to all muggers, pickpockets, kidnappers, rapists and extortionists."

The bodies of the seven men - who have not been identified but are thought to have worked as car washers at crossroads in the city - were placed in sitting positions in the chairs many with their hands and feet bound and bandaging over their heads.

They were dumped on a roundabout on one of the busiest streets in the city. The motive is as yet unclear.

Residents in the area discovered the bodies  outside a Pepsi bottling plant at around 5.30am local time.

It comes after seven people were killed in neighbouring Guerrero state when armed men opened fire in a bar in Ciudad Altamirano on Friday evening.

Four civilians and three off-duty federal agents were among those killed.

Both Guerrero and Michoacan on Mexico's west coast have seen a surge in violence in recent years attributed to warring drug cartels.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in the last seven years.

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Cyprus Bailout Deal Wins Eurozone Approval

Cyprus has secured a 10bn euros (£8.5bn) EU bailout saving the country from a banking system collapse and bankruptcy.

Eurozone finance ministers gave their approval to a last-ditch EU-IMF plan for restructuring Cyprus' banking sector.

The plan will see the creation of a "good bank" and a "bad bank". The Popular Bank of Cyprus, known as Laiki, will effectively be shut down.

Deposits below 100,000 euros in Laiki will be transferred to Bank of Cyprus. Deposits above 100,000 euros, which under EU law are not insured, will be frozen and will be used to resolve debt.

IMF's Christine Lagarde and the German finance minister at the Eurogroup

Earlier, an EU spokesman said there would be no "levy" imposed on any Cypriot banks, with the package requiring a full "bail-in" of uninsured depositors, which is likely to mean heavy losses for those with large holdings in Laiki and potentially Bank of Cyprus, where many Russians hold bank accounts.

The deal emerged after fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads of the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF Fund - hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system, which could have forced Cyprus to exit the euro.

It came as a powerful firecracker went off inside a Bank of Cyprus branch in Limassol causing some damage, according to Cyprus' state-run news agency.

News website Sigmalive said two assailants smashed a glass door and set off the firecracker, but arriving firefighters quickly doused the flames.

Cyprus's outsized banking sector was crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece.

In a vote on Tuesday, the country's 56-seat parliament dismissed a levy on depositors as "bank robbery".

The country's finance minister Michael Sarris then spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros at stake.

Cypriots were outraged by the original proposal and have been queuing at cash machines ever since bank doors were closed last weekend on the orders of the government.

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Cyprus Agrees 20% Tax On Bank Deposits

Politicians in Cyprus have reportedly agreed a new one-off levy on savers in order to secure a European bailout.

The measures, yet to be confirmed by the country's President, include a 20% tax on savers with deposits over 100,000 euros at the country's largest bank, the Bank of Cyprus.

A 4% tax on deposits over 100,000 euros would be levied at other banks, a senior Cypriot official told Reuters.

Cyprus has to raise 5.8bn euros by Monday or face being kicked out of the single currency.

Eurozone finance ministers are due to meet on Sunday evening to see if the numbers Cyprus has agreed with its international lenders add up.

Bank workers shout during a protest outside the presidential palace

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades tweeted: "We are undertaking great efforts. I hope we have a solution soon."

The conservative leader, barely a month into the job and wrestling with Cyprus's worst crisis since a 1974 invasion by Turkish forces split the island in two, was due to lead a delegation to Brussels, also on Sunday, to meet heads of the "troika" - the EU, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - in a sign a deal might be near.

Government officials held talks throughout Saturday at the finance ministry with troika lenders. Angry demonstrators outside chanted "resign, resign!"

Its outsized banking sector crippled by exposure to crisis-hit Greece, Cyprus needs to raise the 5.8bn euros in exchange for a 10bn euro EU lifeline to keep the country's economy afloat.

But in a vote on Tuesday, Cyprus's 56-seat parliament rejected a levy on depositors, big and small, as "bank robbery", and the country's finance minister Michael Sarris spent three fruitless days in Moscow trying to win help from Russia, whose citizens have billions of euros at stake in Cypriot banks.

Rebuffed by the Kremlin, Mr Sarris said earlier on Saturday that talks with the troika were centred on a possibly levy of up to 25% on savings over and above 100,000 euros at failing Bank of Cyprus.

However, the situation remains fluid and other options, including a "voluntary haircut" in exchange for equity that would not require parliamentary approval, are said to still be on the table.

Ordinary Cypriots were outraged by the original proposal, and have been besieging cash machines ever since bank doors were closed last weekend on the orders of the government to avert a massive flight of capital.

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Musharraf To Return To Pakistan Despite Threat

Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf is expected return home after more than four years in exile - defying a Taliban death threat - to contest in upcoming general elections.

The 69-year-old ex-dictator also faces criminal charges in three cases, one involving the assassination of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, but said he does not fear arrest.

Pakistani Taliban released a video threatening to unleash a squad of suicide bombers to assassinate the former leader if he sets foot in the country.

Mr Musharraf said he is prepared to risk any danger to stand for election on May 11, marking the first time an elected government has fulfilled its term and handed over power to another elected government.

"I don't get scared ... by such kind of threat … I am going back to save Pakistan," said Mr Musharraf, who escaped three al Qaeda assassination attempts as ruler.

Mr Musharraf is expected to arrive in Karachi at around 12.35pm local time (7.35am UK time) on a scheduled flight from Dubai and make his way to the tomb of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the father and first president of Pakistan.

He has planned to hold a public rally today for his All Pakistan Muslim League party but police said they had withdrawn permission following the Taliban threat. The party's information secretary said the rally would go ahead "at any cost".

Mr Musharraf has failed to follow through on previous promises to return home, but the likelihood of his return this time got a boost on Friday when a Pakistan court granted him pre-emptive bail. This prevents his immediate arrest in three cases in which he is implicated, including Mrs Bhutto's death.                

Under the pre-emptive bail, he has 10 days to appear in court, which Mr Musharraf promised he would do.

He said: "I will face these cases with bravery," adding that "elements in Pakistan and outside" were spreading rumours that he was not returning, but that the granting of the bail would address some of those concerns.

The ex-president seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief of staff in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, Mrs Bhutto.

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