Salon.com > Kristin Deasy

Cyprus parliament rejects bailout deal

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:33:00 +0000

The Cypriot Parliament sent European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund officials back to the drawing board on Tuesday by rejecting their controversial bailout package, reported The New York Times.

The plan, which was arranged over the weekend, would have taxed bank depositors as part of austerity measures meant to offset Cyprus' national debt -- the tax on depositers a novel approach as reported by NYT.

The unprecedented move angered Moscow, presumably because rich Russians often take recourse in Cyprus' reportedly loose tax laws and laxity on things like money-laundering, according to NYT.

Russia lost $49 billion to “Kremlin capitalism”

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:22:00 +0000

The head of Russia's central bank, Sergei Ignatyev, on Wednesday said Russia lost nearly $50 billion of its national income last year to "one well-organized group of people" operating illegally, reported Al Jazeera, citing Russian press.

Ignatyev declined to name the believed perpetrators, but his comments to Russia's Vedomosti newspaper come ahead of a promised bank study on the issue.

The findings were to be published on Wednesday on bank's website, here, but which do not appear to have been issued publicly as of this writing.

The news gives critics of "Kremlin capitalism," a reference to political and financial corruption believed tolerated or directly supported by the government, a boost. For its part, the Kremlin said the reported losses are "highly exaggerated," according to Reuters.

Israeli warplanes reportedly strike Syrian-Lebanese border

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:41:00 +0000

Israeli military jets hit a target on the Syria-Lebanon border, Lebanese and Western officials said today, according to Reuters and The Associated Press.

The Israeli military refused to comment on the reports, said The Guardian, noting that the alleged move comes amid concerns over Syria's chemical weapons, which some fear may be in use as violence deepens there.

Some 60,000 people are believed to have been killed in the conflict between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and an armed rebellion against his rule, reaching a level of crisis many fear will trigger instability throughout the region.

U.S. likely to establish new drone base in northwest Africa

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:27:00 +0000

The United States is planning to set up a new drone base in Africa's northwest to monitor militant activity in the region, officials today told The New York Times.

The plans have not yet received formal approval from the White House.

The news comes as the French lead a military offensive against militants in Mali, highlighting growing concern over extremist activity on the continent.

Senior defense officials confirmed the plans for the new drone base to Fox News, saying Niger is one possible location for the unit. Niger borders Mali on the east, and Fox claimed the US today signed its first-ever "status of forces agreement" with the small African nation.

Report: Syrian regime is firing scud missiles at rebels

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 19:57:00 +0000

The United States says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is using scud missiles against rebel forces in a bid to stamp out 20 months of unrest in the war-ravaged country, according to The New York Times.

Scuds are ballistic missiles first used by the Soviets during the Cold War. They are extremely deadly and can carry warheads.

The US warning comes amid growing concern Assad will resort to extreme measures — such as chemical weapons — in the face of a stubborn armed rebellion.

One US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told NYT the "total is number is probably north of six now,” adding that the regime was targeting rebel-held areas.

Rocket strike in Israel’s Kiryat Malachi kills 3

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:36:00 +0000

GlobalPost senior correspondent for Israel, Noga Tarnopolsky, reports that rocket fire from Gaza hit Israel's Kiryat Malachi early Thursday morning, claiming the first Israeli victims in the clash. Tarnopolsky said the rocket fire left Israeli residents terrified as violence continues to mount after Israel's assassination of a Hamas military leader on Wednesday.

The strikes today come a day after the launch of an Israeli military campaign against militants in Gaza, with Israeli jet and drone attacks reportedly slamming the region overnight,according to The Washington Post. The Israelis launched the offensive in retaliation for more than one hundred missiled fired into southern Israel by Gaza militants earlier in the week.

Cameron: Assad’s got to go

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:31:00 +0000

British Prime Minister David Cameron today issued a stern warning to embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, saying he has "a very clear message" for him, "which is that it's time for him to go," reported BBC News.

The British leader made the comments during a visit to Afghanistan today, where he is set to hold what Britain's The Telegraph described as "historic" talks with Afghan and Pakistani leaders, an event that threatens to be overshadowed by an increasingly volatile situation in Syria.

Clashes over the past several days have reached a level of violence not seen since the anti-government revolt first started there over a year ago, sparking a conflict that activists say has left a total of 17,000 people dead.

Syrian rebels claim attack

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 14:18:00 +0000

Syrian rebels today claimed responsibiliy for the deaths of the nation's defense minister, Daoud Rajha, as well as Assef Shawkat, President Bashar al-Assad's brother-in-law, and other top officials, in a Damascus blast earlier described by Syrian state television as a "terrorist bombing," reported Reuters.

BBC News, citing state television, said the government has already replaced the deceased Rajha with General Fahad Jassim al-Freij, former chief of staff of the armed forces.

The news comes in the fourth day of heavy violence in the capital, which marks a fresh elevation in the over year-long conflict, according to the Associated Press.

Olympics: Thousands stream into London

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:51:00 +0000

With the opening of the Olympic Games just 11 days away, thousands of people are arriving in London, where the first official "Games Lane" connecting Heathrow Airport and the Olympic drug-testing lab opened today, reported BBC News.

An accident, however, quickly marred its debut, making good on expert warnings that the new M4 lane would make for "the perfect storm" of traffic in the event of any obstruction, reported the Telegraph.

The so-called Olympic Family arriving for the games sat in traffic some 32 miles long this morning, said the Telegraph. Ordinary drivers and bicylists will be fined 130 pounds if they are caught using the special Olympic ring-emblazoned roadway.

Global mafia nets $870 billion annually

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 13:43:00 +0000

A groundbreaking United Nations report today revealed that cross-border criminal activity generates $870 billion every year, more then six times the amount of global development aid.

The United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime today rolled out the report -- the first of its kind -- in tandem with a global awareness-raising campaign meant to draw attention to the global effects of transnational crime.

Researchers found that drug trafficking is "the most lucrative" for international crime rings, fetching them $320 billion a year.

The $250 billion-a-year illegal counterfeiting business "is also a very high earner for organized crime groups," the report added.

Human trafficking generates $32 billion a year.

Iran slammed with sanctions

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 19:51:00 +0000

The United States today hit Iran with a raft of economic restrictions, reported the Associated Press, a move that comes within weeks of a July 1 European Union oil embargo on Islamic Republic.

Western countries fear Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. The issue has prompted a series of Western-backed multilateral sanctions over the years, but the decades-long standoff has recently become front-and-central for the U.S. and Iran as the two play war games in the Persian Gulf.

Google to pay FTC $22.5 mil

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:22:00 +0000

The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that Google is closing a $22.5 million Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit tied to the company's alleged illicit monitoring of Apple owners who used the popular Safari web browser.

Google is charged with monitoring users' private information and interactions by abusing so-called "cookies," a type of computer code, explained the Journal, which first reported on the issue in February. Google has since disabled the code.

FTC and Google officials told the Journal on the condition of anonymity that a tentative $22.5 million settlement had been agreed upon, but terms remain fluid because the deal has yet to receive formal FTC approval.

“Spies Against Armageddon” book says Israel’s Mossad killed Iranian nuclear scientists

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:59:00 +0000

A new book published today says Israel's Mossad spy agency assassinated at least four Iranian nuclear scientists in an effort to curb the country's controversial nuclear program, reported The Associated Press.

The book's publication comes at a time of growing hostility between Israel and Iran.

Written by CBS News' Dan Raviv and prominent Israeli commentator and Ha’aretz analyst Yossi Melman, “Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel’s Secret Wars’’ details various missions undertaken by Mossad to target Iranian nuclear scientists, the authors told AP.

Egypt: Morsi is president

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 02:24:00 +0000

CAIRO, Egypt -- Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi today claimed to have won the country's presidential election even as the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) laid down new constitutional declaration amendments giving SCAF considerably more power and limiting the powers afforded the nation's newly-elected leader.

The Muslim Brotherhood, citing preliminary results, said Morsi has taken about 52 percent of the vote, reportedly pushing him ahead of rival Ahmed Shafiq by an extremely small margin of some four percentage points, according to the Associated Press.

The final runoff vote for president was held over June 16-17, with the official winner set to be announced on Thursday.

Meanwhile, SCAF's new amendments to the constitutional declaration, a powerful document that has served as a kind of interim constitution following the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak by popular protest in February, grant the generals sweeping powers.