supposedly they gave them an hour to read a few hundred page bill

Spain’s fourth-biggest bank Bankia says it is certain of securing the 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in state aid it is seeking in the largest bank bailout in the country’s history.

Bankia is considered key to the country’s financial system, and a failure would contaminate the entire banking sector.

The plight of Bankia – which holds some 10 per cent of the nation’s bank deposits – has added to the concerns over the massive debt crisis gripping Spain and the rest of the eurozone.

Bankia president Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri has sought to reassure investors and the public about the future of the struggling bank at a press conference called the day after it announced huge losses, and asked for a government rescue.

“I am certain that the Spanish state will obtain the financing so we will receive the 19 billion euros. That’s the commitment,” said Mr Goirigolzarri, adding that he expected to get the funds in July.

Mr Goirigolzarri has stressed that after the recapitalisation, Bankia would be “solid, efficient and profitable”.

The funding will be part of a recapitalisation plan which the bank’s board approved on Friday and is backed by the government and the Bank of Spain.
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Australian researchers have discovered why people can develop life-threatening allergies after getting treatment for conditions like epilepsy and AIDS.

The Melbourne and Monash University led study shows the biological mechanisms by which a person’s tissue type determines whether they will have an allergic reaction to drugs.

Melbourne University Professor James McCluskey says the idea that a small molecule can change someone’s tissue make-up and alert their immune system is fascinating.

“In auto-immune diseases, something changes the body’s tissues and leads to an auto-immune attack and we don’t know what causes them,” he said.

“So it suddenly becomes interesting that a small molecule can change the way the body looks to its own immune system, perhaps giving us a clue as to what might be going on in these auto-immune diseases.”

Professor McCluskey says a blood test would be a powerful tool.

“It might predict which individuals will react badly to which drugs, and therefore allow these terrible drug reactions to be avoided,” he said.

“Now you might say, why not just wait for early symptoms and stop taking the drug.

“But many patients aren’t aware that they’re having the drug reaction and a lot of damage can be done.”

Charge 1 – Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
Rebekah Brooks between July 6 and 19, 2011, conspired with Charles Brooks, Cheryl Carter, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards, Daryl Jorsling and persons unknown to conceal material from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Charge 2 – Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
Rebekah Brooks and Cheryl Carter between July 6 and 19, 2011, conspired together permanently to remove seven boxes of material from the archive of News International.

Charge 3 – Conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
Rebekah Brooks, Charles Brooks, Mark Hanna, Paul Edwards and Daryl Jorsling conspired together and with persons unknown, between July 15 and 19, 2011, to conceal documents, computers and other electronic equipment from officers of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Paul Watson, the founder of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, has been arrested in Germany and will be extradited to Costa Rica.

The activist group has labelled the arrest as “nonsense” and called for the charges against the Canadian-born Watson to be dropped.

Sea Shepherd says Watson, who is the captain of the Steve Irwin ship, has been arrested on a Costa Rican warrant over an incident which occurred in 2002.

“The specific ‘violation of ships traffic’ incident took place on the high seas in Guatemalan waters, when Sea Shepherd encountered an illegal shark finning operation, run by a Costa Rican ship called the Varadero,” the group said in a statement.

“On order of the Guatemalan authorities, Sea Shepherd instructed the crew of the Varadero to cease their illegal shark finning activities and head back to port to be prosecuted.”
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