Senate bill aims to toughen Iran sanctions
The measure could block Iran's access to crucial foreign reserves. Senators hope to achieve legislation for a full embargo against Iran.
By Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation Wednesday that would sharply toughen U.S. economic sanctions on Iran despite administration calls forCongress to delay penalties that could disrupt diplomacy aimed at resolving the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
Advocates say the Senate proposal could, at least in theory, block Iran from accessing about one-third of the foreign exchange reserves it relies on to pay for government programs, to finance trade and to prop up its currency.
The lawmakers aim to combine the Senate measure with legislation pending in the House that would move the United States toward a full trade embargo against Iran in an effort to force it to comply with Western demands.
Spanish court suspends Catalonia’s declaration of sovereignty
Guy Hedgecoe
The constitutional court has declared without effect a Catalan “declaration of sovereignty” presented earlier this year, angering politicians from the northeastern region who want to break away from Spain.
Yesterday’s decision means the court has agreed to consider an appeal by the central government against the declaration on the grounds that it was unlawful.
The declaration, approved by the region’s parliament in January, described the 7.5 million Catalan people as “politically and legally sovereign” and nationalists saw it as a first, symbolic step towards independence.
SECURITY
China denies US allegations of cyber espionage
For the first time, Washington has directly accused Beijing of conducting cyber espionage against the Pentagon. The attacks were allegedly aimed at gathering intelligence on US defense programs.
Beijing has denied US allegations that the Chinese military was conducting cyber espionage against the Pentagon, claiming instead that Washington was trying to sensationalize China's military buildup as a national security threat.
"The Chinese government and armed forces have never sanctioned hacking activities," Senior Colonel Wang Xinjun, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing, told the official Xinhau news agency. The academy is a high-level research institute affiliated with the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Enhanced Reality: Exploring the Boundaries of Photo Editing
By Matthias Krug and Stefan Niggemeier
Even top news photographers have their work digitally enhanced these days. Mounting competition in the market for news images is forcing photo-journalists to make their output as dramatic as possible. But where are the limits of cosmetic improvement?
The photo looks like a still from a movie. A funeral procession is passing through a narrow street in Gaza. There are gray walls on both sides, and between them, looking almost choreographed, are the mourners, a crowd of angry men stretching into the distance. They are carrying the bodies of two children, Suhaib and Mohammed, and, further back, the body of their father, Fuad Hijazi. They were killed when an Israeli bomb struck their apartment building.
So is it?
A week ago Paul Hansen, who took the photo for the Swedish newspaperDagens Nyheter, received the World Press Photo Award 2013 for the image. At the awards ceremony in Amsterdam, he talked about how the photo came about. He was fighting back tears as he described what it was like to visit the surviving family members once again, months after the funeral.
Vast rally against Malaysian poll fraud defies police
May 9, 2013 - 9:30AM
South-East Asia correspondent for Fairfax Media
KUALA LUMPUR: More than 50,000 black-clad supporters of Malaysia's opposition defied a police threat they would be arrested to attend a rally to protest against the outcome of the country's fraud-marred elections.
The crowd roared with approval when opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim told them he would expose the cheating that he said cost them an election win.
This is about justice and the future of our country.Canon Lim, protester
"This is merely the beginning of the battle between the people and an illegitimate, corrupt and arrogant government," Mr Anwar said in a firery speech.
Venezuela's Maduro globe trots: building regional ties or a domestic distraction?
On his first official trip abroad, Venezuela's new leader is visiting Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. But a domestic dispute over the legality of Maduro's presidential victory drags on at home.
After a stop in Uruguay, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro was received in Buenos Airestoday by Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in the Argentine presidential palace, La Casa Rosada.
Speaking on the tarmac of the city airport, Mr. Maduro recalled that former President Hugo Chávez "deeply loved" Argentina, and told local press he came to "ratify that love."
In his first official tour abroad, Venezuela's new leader is visiting Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil in hopes of strengthening relations and deepening cooperation within the South American trade block, Mercosur. However, while a domestic dispute over the legality of Maduro's presidential victory continues to drag on at home, analysts say Maduro's tour is more about saving face domestically than improving relations abroad.
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