While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Dec 25, 2024
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The lawsuit claims the US Federal Reserve's practice of determining how banks perform against hypothetical economic turmoil violates the law.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Major banks sue US Federal Reserve over ‘opaque’ stress tests
Major banks and business groups sued the Federal Reserve on Dec 24, alleging the US central bank’s annual “stress tests” of Wall Street firms violate the law.
The lawsuit filed in US District Court in Columbus, Ohio, claims the Fed’s practice of determining how big banks perform against hypothetical economic turmoil, and assigning capital requirements accordingly, do not follow proper administrative procedure.
Plaintiffs included the Bank Policy Institute, the US Chamber of Commerce and the American Bank Association.
The lawsuit marks the latest example of the banking industry growing bolder and challenging in court their regulators’ powers, particularly in the wake of recent Supreme Court rulings placing fresh restrictions on administrative authority.
Iran to lift ban on WhatsApp, Google Play
Iran said it will start easing some of the world’s tightest internet restrictions by lifting its ban on WhatsApp and Google Play – a sign that authorities want to placate domestic opponents as the Islamic Republic faces major economic and foreign-policy challenges.
Earlier on Dec 24, Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace approved the lifting of blocks on “certain widely used foreign platforms” according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency, which named WhatsApp and Google Play as the first two applications to be unblocked.
Since the 2009 protests against the re-election of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, social media networks including Facebook, X and YouTube have been banned or restricted by authorities who’ve blamed them for facilitating protests and fomenting opposition to the state.
Pope Francis marks Christmas Eve with the launch of holy Jubilee year
Pope Francis opened the “Holy Door” of St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, launching the Jubilee year of Catholic celebrations set to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome.
The 88-year-old pontiff, who has recently been suffering from a cold, was pushed up to the huge, ornate bronze door in a wheelchair and knocked on it, before the doors opened and he went through as the bells of the Vatican basilica rang out.
Over the next 12 months, Catholic pilgrims will pass through the door – which is normally bricked up – by tradition benefiting from a “plenary indulgence”, a type of forgiveness for their sins.
Syrian Christians attend Christmas mass for first time since fall of Assad
Syrian Christians attended Christmas Eve services on Dec 24 for the first time since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in early December, in an early test of the new Islamist rulers' pledges to protect the rights of the country's religious minorities.
The service was held amid tight security due to concerns of violence against Christian sites, with several pickup cars belonging to the now ruling Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) parked around the church.
The pews of Lady of Damascus Church in Syria's capital filled with a mixed congregation of young and old, holding candles as hymns filled the air and echoed through the church.
Dutch court sentences five men for violence against Israeli fans
A Dutch court on Dec 24 found five people guilty of public violence or incitement of public violence, the first rulings related to November’s assaults against Israeli football fans surrounding a match in Amsterdam between an Israeli team and a Dutch team.
The violence occurred on the night of Nov 7, when fans of the Israeli team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, faced a series of antisemitic assaults in the Dutch capital, often in what authorities described as hit-and-run attacks on bike and foot.
In the prelude to the match, which was against the Amsterdam team, Ajax, supporters of the Israeli team had stolen and burned a Palestinian flag, while others chanted racist epithets and attacked a cab.
