Ten years ago on Tuesday, 52 people were killed and more than 700 injured in a series of rush-hour attacks on London’s transport system. It was the worst single terrorist attack on the capital.
A minute’s silence will be held at 11.30 am (6.30am ET) during a memorial ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral.
http://twitter.com/rezaaslan/status/618164155602726912
Adam Withnall at The Independent asks the question on many people’s minds – are we at even greater risk of a terror attack today?
“The threat is greater than 10 years ago because it is more diverse,” [RUSI’s Margaret Gilmore] told The Independent. “Solitary Islamic extremists, urged on through the rhetoric of terrorist groups abroad and published on the internet, have become increasingly confident in carrying out acts of violence in their home countries with very little support or financial back-up.”
For another RUSI fellow, Dr Afzal Ashraf,
“..the changes since 7/7 mean “there’s no doubt that our security services and our police are very much better prepared than they were 10 years ago”.
“But the security services also understand this threat a great deal more than they did in the past. They have better early-warning mechanisms and much more sound responses, and there has been a deliberate attempt to understand, evaluate and prepare for [potential attacks] through training.”
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* WORLD * The Iran nuclear negotiations appear set to miss their nominal deadline of Tuesday. But as former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross writes at Politico,
The Obama administration should make clear that it is prepared to conclude a deal at any time, provided it is fully consistent with the framework understanding from April; anything less, and there will be no deal. If the Iranians insist on trying to walk back or redefine the framework understanding, they will not only stretch out the negotiations but will lead us to harden our own position and impose new conditions.
Ahead of Tuesday’s Eurozone summit, and with its financial state becoming “increasingly dire,” Greece was told to come up with “serious proposals in order to restart financial aid talks, a day after Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject more austerity,” Reuters reports.
Athens extended capital controls and said its banks would stay closed through Wednesday, while Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to present a new plan in Brussels on Tuesday, but the AP reports
..the situation was complicated by the European Central Bank’s refusal late Monday to increase assistance for Greek banks desperately needing cash and facing imminent collapse unless a rescue deal is reached.
Earlier on Monday, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis quit and rode off into the sunset.
All good theater, but HSBC’s Chief Global Economist Stephen King – in classic horror tale mode – writes at the FT that, whatever happens at Tuesday’s summit and beyond, the key question is who picks up the bill?
If a deal is not immediately forthcoming, a lot will depend on the stability or otherwise of a Greek economy facing a self-imposed blockade thanks to capital controls and bank holidays. The risk is that Greece runs out of euros, forcing the introduction of a new currency that might initially be called simply an IOU but might eventually become known as a “new drachma”.
The introduction of a new currency, alongside the euro, could prove hugely problematic – with obvious risks of hyperinflation – but, if handled with restraint, might allow liquidity to flow to a degree consistent with stabilisation of Greek output. That stabilisation, in turn, might allow the government to deliver structural reforms consistent with an eventual return to the euro, with all sins forgiven.
Yet the terms of any subsequent return to the euro fold would be controversial.
And, waiting in the wings, there’s always…
http://twitter.com/PutinRF_Eng/status/618111109292236800
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* BUSINESS * Meanwhile..
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* POLITICS * Lawmakers in South Carolina’s Senate voted overwhelmingly to remove the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the state capitol building in Columbia. The measure now faces another vote on Tuesday before being sent to the House. The AP reports:
If the House passes the same measure, the flag and flagpole could be removed as soon as Gov. Nikki Haley signs the papers. The flag would be lowered for the last time and shipped off to the state’s Confederate Relic Room, near where the last Confederate flag to fly over the Statehouse dome is stored.
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* MEDIA * Cartoonist Tom Tomorrow is marking 25 years of his brilliant ‘This Modern World’ strip by launching a crowdfunding campaign to publish a comprehensive collection of his work. He hit $100k on the first day.
http://twitter.com/tomtomorrow/status/618035814661009408
He has more information in this short video:
The Overnight Note 