Greece has strong support to stay in the Euro zone, according to the heads of the French and German governments.
Following a call to Greece’s Prime Minister, George Papandreou, both President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel have said that they are “convinced” that Greece will be a part of the Euro area. The statements follow widespread international pressure to ramp up the debt crisis fight in the region. Papandreou has confirmed that Greece is committed to its deficit reduction goals, which are a prerequisite for further international bailout assistance.
Governments in Europe are all set to ratify a commitment to provide a second round of bailout funding to Greece; the agreement took place on July 21 and is likely to be signed off, giving Greece another chance to handle its affairs and bring them into order. The Euro rose following the phone conversation as statements from the governments in Berlin, Athens and Paris corroborate the details of the conversation that took place between the heads of state. However, investors are still edgy about the spread of the debt crisis, which has led to a rise in funding costs from banks and has created turmoil in markets around the world. The Euro was up this morning by 0.1 percent in Berlin.
Michaele Salahi wasn’t kidnapped, she merely ran off with Journey guitarist Neal Schon, according to reports. Salahi and her husband Tarek were in the news two years ago for “gate-crashing” a state dinner at the White House in honor of Indian president Dr. Manmohan Singh. This last incident is being seen as another publicity stunt by many.
Tarek reported on Tuesday that Michaele Salahi was abducted, and was seen on television sobbing for his missing wife. Later, when reports confirmed that she wasn’t kidnapped but ran off with Neal Schon, Journey’s lead guitarist, Tarek was apparently “devastated” by the news that his wife had eloped with another man.
Tarek originally said that Michaele Salahi had called from a number in Oregon and, after he had spoken with her mother, who said that she didn’t know what was up with Michaele, it led him to suppose that she was kidnapped. However, Virginia police later issued a statement saying that she was “with a good friend and was where she wanted to be;” Tarek was still not convinced, believing that she had been forced to say this to the authorities. It was not until later that it came out that it was Neal Schon that she ran off with. Many still feel the whole thing was a stunt because coincidentally, Oasis Vineyards, a winery that filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and was owned by the Salahis, is coming up for auction close on the heels of this incident.
