Mainstream News

First Tax Haven in Armenia Launched

"Senior Armenian and Russia officials inaugurated over the weekend Armenia’s first-ever tax-free business zone which is meant to mainly cater to high-tech manufacturing companies. The Free Economic Zone is located in the premises of an electronics plant and a research institute in Yerevan that were handed over to Russia, along with several other Armenian enterprises, a decade ago in payment for Yerevan’s $100 million debt to Russia. Companies will be exempt from profit, value-added and property taxes as well as import duties. The government hopes that this privileged business environment will help to attract more foreign investment to Armenia." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirst Tax Haven in Armenia Launched

Liechtenstein bank to pay $23.8M in US tax evasion case

"U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan and Liechtensteinische Landesbank AG, located in Vaduz, announced the agreement, saying the bank will forfeit $16.3 million, representing revenue it earned for maintaining the undeclared accounts, and will pay $7.5 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. IRS official Richard Weber said the parliament of Liechtenstein, an alpine country between Switzerland and Austria, also changed tax laws to make it easier to identify non-compliant U.S. taxpayers to the United States. Since then, Liechtenstein has transferred more than 200 files of U.S. taxpayers to the U.S. Department of Justice." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLiechtenstein bank to pay $23.8M in US tax evasion case

IMF to Germany: “Fiscal over-performance should be firmly avoided”

"The two have clashed at each stage of the crisis, with the Bundesbank deriding the IMF as the 'Inflation Maximising Fund' under the control of Keynesians who have overstepped their 'institutional and legal' authority. The rebukes have infuriated the IMF Board members, especially those from Asia, Latin America, which think the Fund has been doing Germany’s work for it. They grumble that the IMF has been dragged into ill-designed rescue packages, and that the lion’s share of IMF resources have been used to prop up the currency experiment of rich countries well able to clean up their own mess." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIMF to Germany: “Fiscal over-performance should be firmly avoided”

Foreign embassies in London hard hit as HSBC closes their bank accounts

"HSBC bank has told dozens of foreign missions in London that it will close their bank accounts, an official said Sunday, news that has sent diplomats across the capital scrambling to find a new place to put their money. Bernard Silver, an former honorary consul who serves as president of the Consular Corps of London, said he was told by British officials that more than 40 different embassies, consulates, and high commissions were affected. The Papal Nunciature — the Vatican’s mission to London — was affected, as was the Papua New Guinea High Commission, and the honorary consul from Benin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingForeign embassies in London hard hit as HSBC closes their bank accounts

Zimbabwe to Seize Mines While Compensating Banks

"The government and black Zimbabweans will take half of the value of assets it has identified in the economy, he said. The state empowerment fund has so far acquired about $1 billion in assets, he said. The government will open a new stock exchange to trade the black-owned stakes in the companies, he said. Trading at the Harare Stock Exchange may start within 100 days of the new government taking office and will only be open to black Zimbabweans, he said. Investments in Zimbabwe will be protected by the government as long as companies do not seek to exploit the country without its people benefiting, Kasukuwere said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingZimbabwe to Seize Mines While Compensating Banks

U.S. Officials: Al-Qaeda Developed Liquid That Turns Clothes Into Explosives

"Two senior U.S. government sources who have been briefed on the terror threat that prompted the U.S. to close embassies across the Mideast and North Africa this week, told the network that clothes dipped in the liquid become explosive devices when dry. One of the U.S. officials described the new generation explosive as 'ingenious,' while another said it would be undetectable under current security processes. The liquid explosive is believed to be the brainchild of the Yemen-based affiliate Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the officials told ABC News." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Officials: Al-Qaeda Developed Liquid That Turns Clothes Into Explosives

Army won’t suspend contracts with Al Qaeda-tied companies, citing ‘due process rights’

"The U.S. Army is refusing to suspend contracts with dozens of companies and individuals tied to Al Qaeda and other extremist groups out of concern for their 'due process rights,' despite repeated pleas from the chief watchdog for Afghanistan reconstruction. In a scathing passage of his latest report to Congress, Special Inspector General John Sopko said his office has urged the Army to suspend or debar 43 contractors over concerns about ties to the Afghanistan insurgency, 'including supporters of the Taliban, the Haqqani network and al Qaeda.' Sopko wrote that the Army 'rejected' every single case." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmy won’t suspend contracts with Al Qaeda-tied companies, citing ‘due process rights’

Obama cancels meeting with Russia’s Putin over Snowden asylum

"President Barack Obama is cancelling his planned meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled for next month in Moscow, an administration official said on Wednesday. The Obama administration has repeatedly expressed disappointment after Moscow granted asylum to former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden, rejecting U.S. pleas to hand him over to face espionage charges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama cancels meeting with Russia’s Putin over Snowden asylum

T.S.A. Expands Duties Beyond Airport Security

"With little fanfare, the agency best known for airport screenings has vastly expanded its reach to sporting events, music festivals, rodeos, highway weigh stations and train terminals. Not everyone is happy. T.S.A. and local law enforcement officials say the teams are a critical component of the nation’s counterterrorism efforts, but some members of Congress, auditors at the Department of Homeland Security and civil liberties groups are sounding alarms. T.S.A. officials would not say if the VIPR teams had ever foiled a terrorist plot or thwarted any major threat to public safety, saying the information is classified." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingT.S.A. Expands Duties Beyond Airport Security

N.H. City Wants a “Tank” to Use Against Occupiers and Libertarians

"Police Chief John Duval now says that he doesn't actually believe the Free State Project or Occupy New Hampshire are domestic terror threats. 'I wish I would have worded things different in retrospect,' he says. 'I understand why their eyebrows are raised about that.' He says it was meant to refer to the 'unpredictable nature of unpredictable people who attach themselves to otherwise lawful situations.' Duval has no plans to issue a formal apology, but he has exchanged emails with Carla Gericke, president of the Free State Project, who is suing a police department for arresting her in 2011 for allegedly recording a police traffic stop." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingN.H. City Wants a “Tank” to Use Against Occupiers and Libertarians