Mainstream News

Up to 25% of India’s gold may be smuggled in

"An estimated quarter of the gold flowing into India is coming through irregular channels given the 'anti-gold' stance adopted by the government of one of the world's leading gold markets‚ Philip Klapwijk‚ global head of metal analytics at GFMS Thompson Reuters. 'You have a government that is clearly anti-gold in India and it is using the duty system to try hold back demand‚' he said. In January the government raised the duty on gold imports to 6% from 4%. 'What this is doing is stimulating the smuggling of gold into the country. It may be that at least a quarter of the gold coming into India is coming through unofficial channels‚' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUp to 25% of India’s gold may be smuggled in

China tops world in gold producing

"China produced the most gold in the world in 2012, making it the largest producer for the sixth straight year, latest industry association data showed. China's gold output increased 11.66 percent from a year earlier to hit a record high of 403.05 tonnes in 2012, the China Gold Association said Wednesday. The output was almost 100 times that of 1949, when the country produced just 4.07 tonnes, the association said. It attributed the increase to favorable government polices, which have put the industry on a fast track and made it a pillar industry in many of the country's gold producing areas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina tops world in gold producing

Obama administration wants to put Algerian militant on secret ‘kill’ list

"Senior members of President Barack Obama’s administration want to put the mastermind of last month’s attack on an Algerian natural-gas facility on a secret 'kill' list, The Wall Street Journal reported. Adding Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar to a US list for targeted killing would entail a significant US military expansion into northwestern Africa, the newspaper said, citing unnamed US officials. It would mean extending drone strikes and other lethal counterterrorism operations to the region, the paper added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama administration wants to put Algerian militant on secret ‘kill’ list

Barack Obama’s ‘extreme’ anti-terror tactics face liberal backlash

"President Barack Obama is facing a liberal backlash over his hardline national security policy, which critics say is more extreme and conservative than that pursued by George W Bush. The outrage comes after a week in which Obama’s nominee to be the next head of the CIA, current White House adviser John Brennan, faced a grilling from the Senate intelligence committee over his enthusiastic support of using unmanned drones to strike suspected Islamic militants all over the globe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBarack Obama’s ‘extreme’ anti-terror tactics face liberal backlash

Ohio governor wants to tax funerals, concerts, parking garages

"Under Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s proposed sales-tax expansion plan, Ohioans may soon be paying sales tax on music downloads, parking garages and even funerals. 'Essentially, the tax would be assessed on all but about 40 of types of economic activity,' the Dispatch reported. The scope of the new sales tax proposal, however, is broad. It will include charges on bank services, bowling allies, hunting and fishing guilds, and amusement parks, concerts and sporting events that are not deemed educational." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOhio governor wants to tax funerals, concerts, parking garages

US tax rules sour life for Americans abroad

"Scott Schmith is a patriot and a US military veteran but he is no longer a US citizen: Sick of complex tax rules making his life in Switzerland miserable he recently handed back his passport. 'It was a pretty big decision and there was a bit of anxiety,' said the 50-year-old photographer who served in the 1990-91 Gulf war and has been living in Switzerland since 1993. But once he received his Swiss passport and handed back his US one last September, 'it was like a load of weight off my shoulders.' A growing number of American expats are opting to give up their citizenship rather than deal with the increasing difficulties imposed on them by US tax authorities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS tax rules sour life for Americans abroad

Absent Chavez devalues Venezuelan currency to aid gov’t finances

"Venezuela devalued its bolivar currency on Friday by 32 percent in a widely expected move that will shore up government finances after ailing President Hugo Chavez's blowout election-year spending in 2012 but will also spur galloping inflation. The move slashes the official bolivar exchange rate to 6.3 per dollar from 4.3 under currency controls Chavez created in 2003 that require importers and travelers to apply for hard currency through a state agency. Dollars on the illegal black market had for weeks been fetching nearly four times the official exchange, which economists cited as a sign an exchange rate adjustment was imminent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAbsent Chavez devalues Venezuelan currency to aid gov’t finances

LAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’

"Something is happening in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Nearby, a string of so-called 'maternity hotels,' where Asian women — often Chinese and Taiwanese — come to give birth to babies who will automatically acquire a US passport — has recently drawn the attention of authorities. There is nothing illegal about foreign women giving birth in the United States. But federal officials are investigating possible related crimes, while local officials say planning regulations may have been violated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’

LAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’

"Something is happening in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Nearby, a string of so-called 'maternity hotels,' where Asian women — often Chinese and Taiwanese — come to give birth to babies who will automatically acquire a US passport — has recently drawn the attention of authorities. There is nothing illegal about foreign women giving birth in the United States. But federal officials are investigating possible related crimes, while local officials say planning regulations may have been violated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD takes aim at wave of Asian ‘maternity tourists’

Dorner manhunt: LAPD officers opened fire on mother, daughter

"In their pursuit of a fugitive ex-cop, at least seven officers opened fire on what turned out to be a mother and daughter delivering newspapers on a quiet residential street, law enforcement sources told The Times. It was 'a tragic misinterpretation' by officers working under 'incredible tension,' LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said Friday in an interview with The Times. Margie Carranza, 47, and her mother, Emma Hernandez, 71, were the victims." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDorner manhunt: LAPD officers opened fire on mother, daughter