MIRROR - Charlie Saunders: School headmaster's tribute to "talented and popular" boy killed in French Alps death plunge, Mar 18, 2013

"A school headmaster has paid tribute to the 12-year-old boy killed in a 1,000ft death plunge in the French Alps. Charlie Saunders was enjoying a hiking holiday with his father Peter, 48, when tragedy struck at the weekend. The schoolboy was understood to have fallen to his death and his dad was then thought to have lost his footing as he tried to rescue the youngster. The bodies of the pair are to be flown home this week, police said today. Yesterday, following a 17-hour search, their bodies were found 150ft apart in the Mont Blanc range near the French Alpine resort of Chamonix. The bodies of the pair are to be flown home this week, police said today. The father and son's family are expected to travel to Chamonix, police said. David Hudson, the headmaster of Charlie's school, the Royal Latin in Buckingham, said he was "a talented and very motivated boy who made a huge impact on the lives of every one who knew him"."
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BOSTON HERALD - Wildfire burns outside Great Smoky Mountains< Mar 18, 2013

 "PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — A wildfire burning in a resort area outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee has destroyed more than 30 large rental cabins. The 145-acre fire was first reported around 5 p.m. EDT Sunday in Sevier County, said Ben Bryson, a fire resources coordinator with the Tennessee Division of Forestry. Smoke was reported to be visible from 25 miles away. Bryson said early Monday that the fire was contained and not expected to spread."
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FOX NEWS - White House lowers expectations ahead of Obama's Middle East trip, Mar 18, 2013

"As President Obama heads to the Middle East this week, including his first visit to Israel since becoming commander in chief, the White House is downplaying expectations, saying the president hopes only to help leaders come together to bring peace and democracy to the region. The president arrives Wednesday in Jerusalem, where he will try to improve his relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the heels of a newly installed Israeli government. Netanyahu was re-elected in January but didn’t reach a deal until Friday with rival parties to create a coalition government that adds centrist Yesh Atid and pro-settler Jewish Home parties but excludes the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties for the first time in a decade."
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USA TODAY - Cyprus delays vote on tax raid on savings, Mar 18, 2013

"NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A vote on a bailout package for Cyprus that includes an immediate tax on all savings accounts has been postponed until Tuesday evening. Yiannakis Omirou, the speaker of Parliament, said the delay was needed to give the government time to amend the deal reached over the weekend that prompted an outcry from those who thought their money was safe."
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FOX NEWS- Bat-eating spiders are everywhere, study finds, Mar 18, 2013

 "There's only one place in the world to escape bat-catching spiders: Antarctica. These arachnids ensnare and pounce on bats everywhere else in the world, researchers say. Bats rank among the most successful groups of mammals, with the more than 1,200 species of bats comprising about one-fifth of all mammal species. Other than owls, hawks and snakes, bats have few natural enemies. Still, invertebrates — creatures without backbones — have been known to dine on bats. For instance, giant centipedes in a cave in Venezuela were seen killing and eating bats, and the arachnids known as whip spiders were spotted feeding on dead bats in caves of the Caribbean. Cockroaches have been observed feeding on bat pups that have fallen to the floor of caves."
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AFR. com - Cyprus moves to soften bank account tax, Mar 18, 2013

 "Berlin| Europe is bracing for renewed turmoil as outrage in Cyprus over an unprecedented levy on bank deposits threatens to derail the nation’s bailout. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who bowed to demands by euro zone finance ministers to raise €5.8 billion by taking a piece of every bank account in Cyprus, has appealed to legislators in Nicosia to ratify the levy. A vote was delayed from Sunday over the opposition of the European Central Bank amid talks to restructure the levy. While Cyprus accounts for less than half a per cent of the 17-nation euro economy, the raid on bank accounts risks triggering new convulsions in the financial crisis that began in 2009 in Greece. Moody’s Investors Service said the move was a significant step towards limiting support for bank creditors across Europe and showed that policy makers would risk financial market disruptions to avoid sovereign defaults."
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