Europe

Cyprus gets €2bn EU bailout despite money laundering concerns

"The EU on Monday (13 May) said many Cypriot banks do not know who their customers really are, but wired Nicosia €2 billion anyway. Commenting on a recent study on money laundering in the Mediterranean island, eurozone finance ministers said in a joint communique that it must do better on 'customer due diligence by banks' and must fix 'the functioning of [its] company registry.' A branch of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe and US accountancy firm Deloitte did the audit in March and April. Cyprus hosts about 12,000 shell companies which have no physical presence on the island. But its company registry has a 10-year backlog of paperwork on who owns what." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus gets €2bn EU bailout despite money laundering concerns

France: A Proud Nation Ponders How to Halt Its Slow Decline

"Can the Socialist government of President François Hollande pull France out of its slow decline and prevent it from slipping permanently into Europe’s second tier? At stake is whether a social democratic system that for decades prided itself on being the model for providing a stable and high standard of living for its citizens can survive the combination of globalization, an aging population and the acute fiscal shocks of recent years. Changing any country is difficult. But the challenge in France seems especially hard, in part because of the nation’s amour-propre and self-image as a European leader and global power." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance: A Proud Nation Ponders How to Halt Its Slow Decline

France ‘ready to punish’ Syria over chemical weapons strike

"French President Francois Hollande upped the ante, pledging to 'punish' the regime over suspected chemical attacks and boost military support for the opposition. Hollande will on Thursday meet the head of Syria’s main opposition group, which has blamed the regime for a suspected gas attack that it says killed more than 1,300 people. The alleged attack has prompted increasingly frantic calls from Western and Arab nations for action against the Syrian regime, which denies any involvement. Sources close to Hollande say one of the options for France would be to deploy the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier off the Syrian coast. Hollande said the Syrian conflict threatened 'world peace.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance ‘ready to punish’ Syria over chemical weapons strike

Qatar: Rich and Dangerous

"Why would Qatar want to become involved in Syria where they have little invested? A map reveals that the kingdom is a geographic prisoner in a small enclave on the Persian Gulf coast. It relies upon the export of LNG, because it is restricted by Saudi Arabia from building pipelines to distant markets. A saturated North American gas market and a far more competitive Asian market leaves only Europe. The discovery in 2009 of a new gas field near Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Syria opened new possibilities to bypass the Saudi Barrier and to secure a new source of income. Pipelines are in place already in Turkey to receive the gas. Only Al-Assad is in the way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQatar: Rich and Dangerous

Mystery Sponsor Of Weapons And Money To Syrian Mercenary “Rebels” Revealed

"The tiny gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels. The cost of Qatar’s intervention, its latest push to back an Arab revolt, amounts to a fraction of its international investment portfolio. But its financial support for the revolution that has turned into a vicious civil war dramatically overshadows western backing for the opposition. For Qatar, owner of the world’s third-largest gas reserves, its intervention in Syria is part of an aggressive quest for global recognition, following its backing of Libya’s rebels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMystery Sponsor Of Weapons And Money To Syrian Mercenary “Rebels” Revealed

Al-Qaeda ‘targeting European rail network’: report

"Al-Qaeda is plotting attacks on Europe’s high-speed rail network, German mass circulation daily Bild reported, citing intelligence sources. The extremist group could plant explosives on trains and tunnels or sabotage tracks and electrical cabling, said Bild. Bild said the information came from the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States, which had listened in to a conference call involving top Al-Qaeda operatives. The attacks on Europe’s rail network was a 'central topic' of this call, Bild said. Authorities in Germany have responded to the threat with discrete measures such as deploying plain-clothed police officers at key stations and on main routes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaeda ‘targeting European rail network’: report

Passing Over Eisenhower

"Almost all of the major Internet industry giants are based in the United States. The tradition of strong entrepreneurship practiced in the US since their inception, mixed with their purchasing power and history of acquiring any sufficiently profitable venture or fascinating technology from abroad, has put the US into a prime position to be the global leader in provision of Internet services. That may just have ended. While US dominance over the roughly $11 trillion/year global Internet services market is still unchallenged, the damage that the revelations made about NSA’s vast global surveillance scheme may stymie their growth and perhaps even turn them into a localized recession." Continue reading →

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Russian warships enter Mediterranean to form permanent task force

[May 2013] "Warships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet have entered the Mediterranean for the first time in decades. Russia’s Navy Chief says the task force may be reinforced with nuclear submarines, as the country starts building up a permanent fleet in the region. The group includes destroyer Admiral Panteleyev, two amphibious warfare ships Peresvet and Admiral Nevelskoi, as well as a tanker and a tugboat. The ships left the Far-Eastern port city of Vladivostok on March 19 to join Russia’s Mediterranean task force, which currently consists of vessels from Northern, Baltic, and the Black Sea Fleets, including a large anti-submarine ship, a frigate and a Ropucha-II Class landing ship." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussian warships enter Mediterranean to form permanent task force

Man on Ecstasy parties in his underwear for hours on Angela Merkel’s empty jet

"Once on board, he stripped down to his underwear, punched buttons in the cockpit, sprayed fire extinguisher foam in the cabin and danced on a wing. Police received an alarm at 8:40 p.m. when Volkan T. was in the cockpit, but he wasn’t apprehended until nearly 12:30 a.m. when a police dog bit him on the leg. The man led a combined force of civilian police, Bundeswehr soldiers and private security guards on a merry chase around the Airbus 319 aircraft, which is also used by other high-ranking German officials like President Joachim Gauck. The plane was loaded with eight tons of fuel and could technically have taken off had someone with expertise been at the controls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan on Ecstasy parties in his underwear for hours on Angela Merkel’s empty jet

German chancellor Angela Merkel to make campaign stop in Dachau

"Angela Merkel will become the first German chancellor to visit the former Nazi concentration camp Dachau as she steps up warnings about the far-right threat while campaigning for a third term. In her weekly podcast, Merkel on Saturday warned ahead of the visit that Europeans must remain vigilant against Holocaust deniers and right-wing extremists. Merkel will hold a campaign rally the same evening in the town of Dachau ahead of a Bavarian state poll and the German general election next month. [A recent Neo-Nazi murder trial] exposed serious failings of the German security services, which had focused their investigation almost entirely on Germany’s large Turkish community." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGerman chancellor Angela Merkel to make campaign stop in Dachau