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15 Jun 2011 23:30

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World: It’s hard out there for a pro-American general in Pakistan

  • The most powerful man in Pakistan is on the verge of being deposed. The US and Pakistan have a very tenuous relationship; while Pakistan receives a lot of US aid, and the two countries are ostensibly on good terms, much of the Pakistani population holds anti-American sentiments, and some accuse government contingents of covertly undermining American efforts in the country. General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is the head of the country’s military, and is more pro-American than just about everybody in his ranks. Dissatisfaction among his underlings is brewing, and according to Pakistani sources, a coup is not entirely unlikely. If Kayani goes, expect US-Pakistan relations to get a lot icier. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jun 2011 17:37

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World: Robert Gates: Hamid Karzai will leave power in 2014

  • The long Karzai goodbye: Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that despite previous suggestions he might try to change the Afghan constitution to let him serve a third term, Hamid Karzai is now telling people privately he’ll leave power in 2014. What the nature of America’s presence in Afghanistan would be without Karzai is hard to say; whatever comes of the fight against the Taliban, the government he’s been running is thoroughly corrupt, if much less brutal than the alternative. Neither has his alliance with the U.S. seemed in good faith at times — remember when he threatened to join the Taliban, or admitted his administration was taking literal bags full of cash from Iran? Here’s hoping a different leader can stem the tide of corruption. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2011 17:37

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World: More than 8,500 Syrian refugees in Turkey

  • “I, Colonel Hussein Harmoush, am leaving the Syrian army…” This is a rather captivating and moving video, showing a former Syrian Colonel discussing the refugees who have fled to Turkey, seeking to escape the oppression and violent brutality the Assad government has unleashed. Harmoush details seeing soldiers refuse to fire on civilians when given the terrible order, while others complied. This is in keeping with reports of internal fracturing in Syria, including military soldiers reportedly shot dead by government security forces for refusing to slay civilians. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2011 15:57

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World: Suspicious North Korean ship turned back by U.S. Navy

  • U.S. interrupts suspected missile parts shipment: A North Korean ship suspected to have had an illegal shipment of missile parts aboard was turned back by the U.S. Navy nearly two weeks ago. They requested to inspect the ship, but the North Koreans refused and ended up returning home amidst considerable diplomatic pressure. A U.N. resolution passed last year permits member nations to conduct such inspections of North Korean cargo, as a means to enforce a ban on them trading nuclear and/or missile technology. In this case, the ship was bound for Burma (Myanmar). source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 16:38

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Biz, World: Standard and Poor’s downgrades Greece’s credit rating again

  • Greece’s S&P credit rating now world’s lowest: Standard and Poor’s, the international credit rating agency, has slashed Greece’s rating by three levels, from B down to CCC — their lowest rated nation. They also warned that a potential debt restructuring would likely be viewed as a default, which would cause them to cut Greece further down to SD (selective default) for their credit rating, and D for the nation’s debt instruments. So, on top of this bad news, it seems almost assured to get worse before it gets any better. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 10:49

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World: That “A Gay Girl in Damascus” hoax enrages Syrian activists

  • I say shame on you!!! There are bloggers in Syria who are trying as hard as they can to report news and stories from the country. We have to deal with more difficulties than you can imagine. What you have done has harmed many, put us all in danger, and made us fearful about (pursuing) our…activism. Your apology is not accepted, since I have myself started to investigate Amina’s arrest. I could have put myself in a grave danger inquiring about a fictitious figure.
  • GayMiddleEast Damascus blogger Sami Hamwi (who works under a pseudonym) • Expressing rage over the finding that the blogger behind “A Gay Girl in Damascus” was actually a middle-aged dude from the States. Tom MacMaster says that he used the pseudonym to focus the attention not on the person writing the blog, but on the information itself. Good to see that one worked out for you. Now you’ve instilled doubt into every true story that’s out there. Nobody would’ve been upset had you admitted you were just a middle-aged white guy who felt the political situation in Syria was worth keeping an eye on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jun 2011 10:47

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World: Syria retakes Jisr al-Shoughour, leading to huge influx of refugees

More than 5,000 Syrians are reportedly in this tent camp in Boynuyogun, Turkey after fleeing the northern town. Tens of thousands more apparently are trying to flee the country. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

11 Jun 2011 18:36

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World: International Monetary Fund hacked; extent of attack unknown

  • We had an incident. We’re investigating it and the fund is completely functional.
  • IMF spokesman David Hawley • Revealing that the International Monetary Fund had in fact been hacked. The fund is important — it holds sensitive financial data for roughly 187 member nations, so of course it’s at least of some concern. And the software used to attack the IMF was reportedly unique. “This isn’t malware you’ve seen before,” notes Tom Kellermann, a cybersecurity analyst who had to deal with similar stuff during his time with the World Bank. That said, even if it was in fact a serious attack, it probably won’t be the worst situation the IMF has had to deal with in the past month. We’re sure this one takes the cake. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2011 13:50

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World: U.S. embassy bombing suspect Fazul Abdullah Mohammed killed

  • There was reportedly a $5 million bounty on his head. Mohammed, the main suspect in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings which killed more than 220 and injured over 5,000, was reportedly killed in Somalia on Wednesday. “We have received that communication from authorities in Somalia. We have been told that there were two terrorists who were killed in Somalia on Wednesday last week,” said Kenyan Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed the death, saying it was a “just end for a terrorist who brought so much death and pain to so many innocents.” The 38-year-old was reportedly in charge of al-Qaeda’s operations for the entirety of East Africa, so this was kind of a big one. Actually, you know what? This year has been full of huge losses for al-Qaeda. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2011 14:12

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World: Blame bean sprouts: Source of E.coli outbreak finally found

  • The whole thing is a big scandal. People were very unsettled. Every day something difference was announced. Now I hear on the radio that it was the sprouts. But people were living buying less fruit. That is simply insane.
  • Riza Cetinkaya, a grocery store worker in Germany • It seems like German officials have finally found the source of the deadly E coli outbreak that’s been sweeping Germany, and it’s not the Spanish cucumber. The virus bacterium is coming from bean sprouts produced at an organic farm in Germany. They’re almost positive they’ve found the right source this time, and they’ve stopped the farm from producing anything until they get it figured out. However, lab tests have given them nothing but negatives on the sprouts … so they still don’t know how it happened to begin with. Definitely a story we’re going to keep watching. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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