The Morning Brief - Lignet

Syria: New Developments Could Kill Peace Conference
Although Senator John McCain’s brief visit to Syria today will probably not change the Obama administration’s position on arming the Syrian rebels, a major shift occurred in the EU position when it decided over the weekend not to renew its Syria arms embargo. These developments could prevent the convening of an international peace conference on Syria next month and has led Russia to reaffirm its intention to send air defense missiles to Syria.
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Rabinovich Not Optimistic About Arab-Israeli Peace
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Itamar Rabinovich told LIGNET in an exclusive interview last week that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is playing the settlement issue "perfectly" by quietly limiting settlement expansion in consideration of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s mission to encourage peace, while not publicly declared this as policy.
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Scandal in Canada Could Bring Liberals Back to Power
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is facing the most serious political scandal in Canada in a decade, his credibility shredded by news that his former chief of staff gave $90,000 to a Canadian senator. The corruption allegation will likely shift the power dynamics in Ottawa and could also jeopardize the future of Canada’s Conservative Party.
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US Unprepared for Electromagnetic Attacks
The United States is "dangerously blind” to an attack by electromagnetic pulse weapons that could destroy U.S. electronic devices, computers and power grids, says former CIA Director James Woolsey. America may be especially at risk from an electromagnetic pulse attack from North Korea, which claimed early this year to have developed miniaturized nuclear devices.
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Europe's Bad Loan Problems Demand an Urgent Solution

Europe’s economic mayhem is leading to an exponential increase in banks’ non-performing loans. Whereas the United States has largely addressed its bad loan problem over the last four years, in peripheral Europe the problem is still getting worse. Rising non-performing loans erode bank capital and reduce their capacity to lend. This weakens the impact that the European Central Bank’s monetary policy has on the European economy.