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11 Jan 2012 19:51

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World: Hillary Clinton denies U.S. involvement in Iran nuclear scientist’s bombing death

  • I want to categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of violence inside Iran. We believe there has to be an understanding between Iran, its neighbors and the international community that finds a way forward for it to end its provocative behavior, end its search for nuclear weapons and rejoin the international community and be a productive member of it.
  • Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton • Defending the U.S. from allegations that they were behind a bombing that led to the death of an Iranian nuclear scientist. Despite this claim, the Iranian government pointed its finger at Israel and the U.S., saying they placed a magnetic bomb on Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan’s vehicle. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, declined making a statement on the bombing; many diplomats and analysts in Washington feel that Israel may be behind the series of covert killings of prominent Iranian nuclear scientists over the past two years. No matter whether the U.S. is involved, the attacks are nonetheless ratcheting up tensions between Iran and the West at a tough time for said tension. source

11 Jan 2012 14:39

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World: Syria’s Assad pledges victory over “terrorist” movement

  • I belong to this street. We will make this phase the end for them and their plans. We are going to win without any doubt.
  • Bashar al-Assad • In remarks made to a pro-Assad rally in Damascus. This represents clearly the ongoing narrative by Assad’s government in dismissing the accusations of widespread, lethal violence against the public; the death-toll, while acknowledged, is suggested to be the work of terrorists rather than state security forces themselves (for an illuminating look into these propaganda methods, look at the state news agency’s website). The UN estimates that Assad’s government has killed over 5,000 civilians during the last ten months. source

11 Jan 2012 11:13

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World: Joran van der Sloot pleads guilty in murder of Peruvian woman

Van der Sloot, associated with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba seven years ago, pleaded guilty to the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores in a Lima hotel room. The plea is intended to reduce his jail sentence. source

11 Jan 2012 10:00

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World: “Italy’s biggest bank”: The Mafia’s massive profits amid Italian turmoil

  • 140 billion the amount of financial turnover the Mafia had in 2011, according to anti-crime group SOS Impresa
  • 100 billion the amount in profits the Italian crime group had; SOS Impresa says this makes them Italy’s biggest bank source
  • » Not your father’s Mafia: The anti-crime group says in an annual report that organized crime is becoming increasingly more organized, leading to as many as 200,000 business tied to extortionate lenders and leading to profits equivalent to 7 percent of the entire country’s national output. “The classic neighborhood or street loan shark is on the way out,” the group says in its report, “giving way to organized loan-sharking that is well connected with professional circles and operates with the connivance of high-level professionals.”

10 Jan 2012 15:32

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World: Medical company Novartis issues some worrisome drug recalls

  • scary Novartis, a Swiss medical company, has issued a recall on an array of its popular over-the-counter products: Excedrin, Bufferin, NoDoz and Gas-X. Why? In the first place, the pills in the bottles might be broken or chipped, altering the manner in which they interact with the body.
  • scarier Or the bottles could contain pills from other Novartis products, like Percocet, Endocet, Opana and Zydone. So far, the company is unaware of any reported side effects from this foul-up. Production has been shut down in the plant responsible for the problems. source

10 Jan 2012 15:22

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World: Large quake near Indonesia; tsunami warnings in effect

  • 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits off coast of Indonesia source
  • » A tsunami warning is in effect: The earthquake struck shortly after midnight local time, some 262 miles off the coast of Banda Aceh, Sumatra. There are, so far, no reports of casualties or damages, but Indonesian officials have confirmed the tsunami alert. The caution is entirely sensible; it was in late 2004 that a large earthquake triggered a catastrophic tsunami which struck Indonesia, killing nearly a quarter-million people.

10 Jan 2012 10:13

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World: Assad blames “foreign conspiracies” for Syrian crackdown

  • The external conspiracy is clear to everybody. Nobody can be fooled any more. The veil has fallen away.
  • Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad • Offering up tough words in his first public speech in months, in which he blamed “foreign conspiracies,” mixed with Arab-region meddling for the ten-month crackdown in his country. He says that the country’s enemies will be defeated soon. During the rambling 100-minute speech, he also noted that Syria will hold a referendum on its constitution and, later in the year, parliamentary elections. However … he didn’t say anything about relinquishing his own power. source
 

09 Jan 2012 23:03

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World: Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi plans to run for parliamentary seat

  • Good for her! The longtime peace activist will run in April’s parliamentary elections, representing the Kawhmu Township area of Yangon. It’s likely she’d be able to win this seat, and if she does, she’d be in a position to lead her party in parliament, leading to some major committee assignments for the long-imprisoned political figure. Fingers crossed! (photo by edenpictures on Flickr) source

09 Jan 2012 10:27

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World: American charged with “spying” sentenced to death in Iran

  • He has 20 days to appeal under Iranian law: Amir Hekmati, a 28-year-old former U.S. Marine who holds dual Iranian and American citizenship, was sentenced to death “for cooperating with the hostile country . . . and spying for the CIA,” according to Iran’s Fars news agency. His family disputes the claims, saying they believe the verdict wasn’t fair. “Amir is not a criminal,” they said in a statement. “His life is being exploited for political gain.” source

07 Jan 2012 10:09

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World: Haitians, devastated by earthquake, moving to Brazil to find work

  • All I want is work, and Brazil, thank God, has jobs for us.
  • Haitian-born Wesley Saint-Fleur • Discussing how, in the wake of 2010’s Haitian earthquake, he and his family moved to Brazil, a quickly-growing part of the world where he’s found it easy to get a job. Not everyone has been so lucky, however: Nearly 4,000 people have moved from Haiti to Brazil since the devastating earthquake in 2010, and many of them have found things just as bad in Brazil. While Brazil’s economic growth has slowed recently, unemployment is still extremely low and the biggest beneficiaries have been those working low-income jobs, where salaries have grown sevenfold in recent years. Even Americans are heading down there for jobs. source