Geopolitics

Terrorism: The Latest Salvo on LNG Exports

"In the latest twist, a U.S. lawmaker said capitalizing on the natural gas boom through exports would expose the country to national security risks from terrorism. Several news outlets, citing unnamed or anonymous sources, reported al-Qaida militants killed four soldiers in their sleep in an attack on Balhaf, the country's lone liquefied natural gas export terminal. Drone strikes over Yemen increased in the wake of an early August security warning linking al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to Yemen's al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and a security source working in the energy sector said the raid on Balhaf was in response to those incidents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTerrorism: The Latest Salvo on LNG Exports

China Gold-Mine Deals at Record After Price Plunge

"Acquisitions by China’s gold mining companies reached a record this year as the metal’s steepest quarterly drop in more than nine decades slashes mine values and sidelines Western competitors laden with debt. Takeovers and asset purchases by producers based in China and Hong Kong rose to a record $2.24 billion this year, beating last year’s record $1.96 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China’s government has urged national gold producers to boost development of overseas resources in neighboring countries and in Africa and Latin America, according to its 12th Five-Year Plan which ends in 2015." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina Gold-Mine Deals at Record After Price Plunge

Cyprus Bank’s Bailout Hands Ownership to Russian Plutocrats

"When European leaders engineered a harsh bailout deal for this tiny Mediterranean nation in March, they cheered the end of an economic model fueled by a flood of cash from Russia. The exercise was meant to banish what Germany and other Northern European nations viewed as dirty Russian money from Cyprus’s bloated banks. Instead, it has pulled Russia even deeper into Europe’s financial system by giving its plutocrats majority ownership, at least on paper, of the Bank of Cyprus, the country’s oldest, biggest and most important financial institution. 'Whoever controls the Bank of Cyprus controls the island,' said Andreas Marangos, a Limassol lawyer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus Bank’s Bailout Hands Ownership to Russian Plutocrats

CIA finally admits it masterminded Iran’s 1953 coup

"On the 60th anniversary of the 1953 military coup in Iran that overthrew the government of radical nationalist Mohammad Mossadegh, the US has declassified documents detailing how the CIA’s secret operation brought the country’s Shah back to power. Monday’s publication under the US Freedom of Information Act came as something of a surprise, since most of the materials and records of the 1953 coup were believed to have been destroyed by the CIA, the Archive said. The CIA said at time that its 'safes were too full.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCIA finally admits it masterminded Iran’s 1953 coup

Saudi Arabia ready to replace Western military and economic aid to Egypt

"Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries welcomed Egypt’s ouster of Morsi, which infuriated supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s president and sent them to the streets. King Abdullah was the first leader to send a message of congratulations to caretaker president Adly Mansour, who was appointed shortly after the army deposed Morsi following nationwide protests. Saudi Arabia later announced an aid package of $5 billion to Egypt. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates followed suit, bringing the pledges made by the three oil-rich Arab states of the Gulf to $12 billion. The Saudi monarch pledged on Friday the kingdom’s support for Egypt’s fight against 'terrorism'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi Arabia ready to replace Western military and economic aid to Egypt

Al-Jazeera set to tackle U.S. market with stories ignored by mainstream media

"With a cast of TV news stars, deep pockets and an ambitious agenda, Al-Jazeera launches its US news channel on Tuesday, aiming to shake up the broadcast journalism market stateside. The US cable channel will reach more than 40 million households and vastly expands the footprint of the Qatar-based media group, despite questions about how it will be received by American viewers. But the selling point will be long-form reporting of stories overlooked by other news organizations. 850 staff have been hired for 12 US bureaus, and will draw on 70 bureaus worldwide to give Al-Jazeera unmatched scale." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Jazeera set to tackle U.S. market with stories ignored by mainstream media

Al-Jazeera set to tackle U.S. market with stories ignored by mainstream media

"With a cast of TV news stars, deep pockets and an ambitious agenda, Al-Jazeera launches its US news channel on Tuesday, aiming to shake up the broadcast journalism market stateside. The US cable channel will reach more than 40 million households and vastly expands the footprint of the Qatar-based media group, despite questions about how it will be received by American viewers. But the selling point will be long-form reporting of stories overlooked by other news organizations. 850 staff have been hired for 12 US bureaus, and will draw on 70 bureaus worldwide to give Al-Jazeera unmatched scale." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Jazeera set to tackle U.S. market with stories ignored by mainstream media

Declassified intelligence reveals U.S.-India Cold War cooperation on U2 spy missions

"A declassified American intelligence report on the use of U-2 spy planes has shed new light on cooperation between the United States and India during the Cold War. The document traced the role of the US in monitoring Chinese incursions into India, at the request of New Delhi, which enjoyed a close relationship with the Soviet Union. Following the Sino-Indian conflict of October 1962, when China launched surprise attacks against Indian frontier forces, 'the Indian government appealed to the United States for military aid,' according to CIA historians who traced the events. India allowed the United States to build a base in India for the secret spy planes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeclassified intelligence reveals U.S.-India Cold War cooperation on U2 spy missions

Muslim Brotherhood pushes for more protests after bloody ‘Day of Rage’

"The Muslim Brotherhood defiantly called for a week of protests across Egypt starting on Saturday, a day after more than 100 people died in clashes between Islamists and the security forces. Undeterred by the bloodshed in which about 700 have been killed since Wednesday, the Brotherhood urged its supporters back onto the streets to denounce the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and a crackdown on his followers. Saudi Arabia threw its weight behind the army-backed government on Friday, accusing its old foe the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to destabilize Egypt. The Coptic Church authority 'strongly supports the Egyptian police and armed forces'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMuslim Brotherhood pushes for more protests after bloody ‘Day of Rage’

Iraq Kurds reach out to Baghdad to fight surging al Qaeda

"The Shi'ite-led Iraqi government and Kurdish authorities are now looking at examples like the Shirqat attack and considering the once unthinkable - launching joint security operations and sharing intelligence - to combat the common enemy of al Qaeda. Such cooperation has been extremely rare since U.S. troops left at the end of 2011, while the central government and the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region in the north have been locked in an increasingly hostile dispute over land and oil. That the two sides are publicly contemplating working together underlines how worried they are about the insurgency and the threat of Iraq slipping back into all-out sectarian war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq Kurds reach out to Baghdad to fight surging al Qaeda