With a friendly face, China tightens security
China's authoritarianism has many faces, but rarely does it appear in the friendly, grandmotherly guise it has taken over the past week, as thousands of older women have shown up on the streets of the capital, their vigilant eyes eager to ferret out the smallest signs of trouble.
These graying, smiling, energetic women are the most visible sign of the 1.4 million volunteers enlisted to squelch protests, crimes and anything else that could embarrass the ruling Communist Party during its sensitive once-a-decade transition of leadership.
irishtimes.com - Last Updated: Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 06:39
EU and IMF divided over Greece
ARTHUR BEESLEY
Divisions between the European powers and the International Monetary Fund over the rescue plan for Greece spilled into the open late last night as they sought divergent targets for the effort to bring the country’s debt under control.
Luxembourg’s prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker said euro zone finance ministers want to push back the target for Greece to achieve a “sustainable” debt by two years to 2022 but IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said the fund remains attached to the existing 2020 target.
“We clearly have different views,” Ms Lagarde told reporters. “What matters at the end of the day is the sustainability of the Greek debt so that that country can get back on its feet and re-access the private market in due course,” she said.
CORRUPTION
Former aide convicted of corruption in Brazil
Brazil's Supreme Court has sentenced the former top aide of ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to nearly 11 years in prison on corruption charges. The trial is seen as a turning point toward cleaner governance.
Jose Dirceu, Lula's chief of staff, was found guilty of orchestrating a cash-for-votes bribery scheme to win support for the president's proposals in congress. News of the scheme broke in 2005 during the early years of Lula's first term.
The top court on Monday sentenced him to 10 years and 10 months in prison.
"The responsibility of the accused is extremely high," said Justice Joaquim Barbosa, speaking for the court.
Post-war Sierra Leone's elections a test of democracy
With Sierra Leone still recovering from a long and bloody civil war, citizens will vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.
The elections are viewed as a test of the country's democratic institutions.
After the 11-year-long civil war, which ended in 2002, "political, social and commercial institutions have been rebuilt from virtually nothing", an analyst of the London-based think tank Chatham House says.
Authors of the Pan-African Pambazuka News concur with the importance of progress made, especially "in the area of electoral management," but warn that "legacies of identity politics, violence, corruption and inequality have been – and will continue to be – harder to overcome."
The Levant braces for regional war
By Victor Kotsev
Israel has embarked on open war preparations in the past several days, amid significant escalations of violence both in its south and in its north. On Monday, in the first such incident since the 1973 October war, Israeli tank fire destroyed part of a Syrian mortar battery which had fired shells across the border. Simultaneously over the weekend, Palestinian militants initiated an exchange which killed at least six and wounded dozens on both sides. Israeli ministers - including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu - ominously warned of a ground operation in Gaza similar to "Operation Cast Lead" in 2008-2009.
On the one hand, a full-scale explosion may not yet be imminent. Most experts believe the Syrian fire to be errant rather than intentional, and Egypt is actively mediating a truce in Gaza. Much of Israel's posturing, on the other hand, appears to be defensive in
On the one hand, a full-scale explosion may not yet be imminent. Most experts believe the Syrian fire to be errant rather than intentional, and Egypt is actively mediating a truce in Gaza. Much of Israel's posturing, on the other hand, appears to be defensive in
character. Still, it is hard to avoid the sobering observation that the situation in much of the Levant today closely recalls that at the onset of several recent wars, or the conclusion that the next weeks and months will be fraught with tension and uncertainty.
ISAF commander Gen. John Allen under investigation over 'inappropriate' emails
By NBC News staff
U.S. General John Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, is under investigation over allegations of “inappropriate” emails between him and the woman who sparked the probe into CIA Director David Petraeus, officials said early Tuesday.
In a statement, the Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said that the FBI had referred “a matter involving" Allen to the Department of Defense.
“Today, the secretary directed that the matter be referred to the Inspector General of the Department of Defense for investigation, and it is now in the hands of the Inspector General,” Panetta said.
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