Dutch hold referendum on EU-Ukraine deal
Citizen-enforced vote on economic and political ties with Ukraine seen as test of anti-EU sentiment in the Netherlands.
| Politics, Netherlands, Ukraine, Europe
Voters in the Netherlands are going to the polls in a national referendum on economic and political ties with Ukraine, a vote widely seen as a test of anti-European Union sentiment.
Wednesday's referendum came as a result of a petition that was started by the Dutch newsblog GeenStijl , which is known for its right-wing views and anti-EU stance.
GeenStijl collected more than the 400,000 signatures needed to force a vote.
Polls opened at 05:30 GMT and close at 19:00 GMT. First exit polls are expected immediately afterward.
Those driving the "no" campaign say Dutch voters should have their say on policies such as EU expansion, legislation and aid packages.
HSBC accused of 'censorship' for refusing Hong Kong student leader's account
Joshua Wong, the face of the 2014 pro-democracy protests, says the bank refused to set up an account for his new political partyHong Kong student leader Joshua Wong has accused HSBC of “political censorship” after the bank’s branches in the city refused to open an account for his new party.
Wong, 19, launched the party last month to contest parliamentary elections later this year, saying it would push for “self-determination” over the semi-autonomous city’s future.
Fears over Beijing’s influence have sparked increasing calls particularly among young activists for more autonomy from the mainland, with some advocating outright independence for Hong Kong.
The Panama Papers could hand Bernie Sanders the keys to the White House
For some Americans, Hillary Clinton is the embodiment of a global elite which benefits from tax avoidance schemes. Bernie Sanders, her opponent, is its antithesis
The revelation that the rich and WEALTHY
are shovelling money in overseas tax havens is not a particularly surprising one. Nevertheless, the sheer scale of the 11.5 million document leak from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has whipped up an overdue storm and forced the issue of tax justice back on the agenda. It is likely that the Panama papers is just the tip of the iceberg, and if even more is revealed about the financial affairs of world leaders, the implication for global politics will be huge.
are shovelling money in overseas tax havens is not a particularly surprising one. Nevertheless, the sheer scale of the 11.5 million document leak from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca has whipped up an overdue storm and forced the issue of tax justice back on the agenda. It is likely that the Panama papers is just the tip of the iceberg, and if even more is revealed about the financial affairs of world leaders, the implication for global politics will be huge.
The Democratic presidential primaries in the US have been characterised by surging anger at the global elite. The Panama papers scandal will only fuel popular indignation at the actions of perceived establishment figures – those who have stood idly by and allowed this huge miscarriage of justice to take place.
N. Korean propaganda film shows Seoul 'turning to ashes'
The North Korean news agency DPRK Today on Monday published a propaganda video, showing fiery virtual missile attacks raining down on Seoul, reducing the presidential house to rubble.
The video is entitled “If the ultimatum goes unanswered…” After 88 seconds of grainy, sometimes shakily filmed images, movie score music, and lots of bombs hitting Seoul, comes the punch line: "everything will turn to ashes”.
Like all North Korean propaganda films, it manages to be both disturbing and darkly comic. A priceless moment occurs at 42” when an officer screams “GOOOOOO!”, apparently the go-ahead to let the bombs fly. The scenes of bombs hitting Seoul that follow are cartoonish, though they target real sites, including buildings identified by the media as the National Theatre and US Forces Korea headquarters.
The video is entitled “If the ultimatum goes unanswered…” After 88 seconds of grainy, sometimes shakily filmed images, movie score music, and lots of bombs hitting Seoul, comes the punch line: "everything will turn to ashes”.
Like all North Korean propaganda films, it manages to be both disturbing and darkly comic. A priceless moment occurs at 42” when an officer screams “GOOOOOO!”, apparently the go-ahead to let the bombs fly. The scenes of bombs hitting Seoul that follow are cartoonish, though they target real sites, including buildings identified by the media as the National Theatre and US Forces Korea headquarters.
Rights group says executions on rise
April 6, 2016 - 2:19PM
New York: Amnesty International reports that there was a dramatic 54 per cent increase in executions globally in 2015, with Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia responsible for nearly 90 per cent of the killings.The human rights organisation said that the figure of at least 1634 people executed last year - up from 1061 in 2014 - does not include executions in China where data on the death penalty is considered a state secret.
Amnesty International's secretary general Salil Shetty said that for China "our estimate is that they execute as much as the rest of the world"
He said China is currently reviewing crimes punishable by the death penalty so there is "a slim ray of hope" that the number of executions may be reduced.
On the upside, Shetty said, four countries abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 2015 - Republic of Congo, Fiji, Madagascar and Surinam - bringing the global total of countries now banning executions to 102.
Scandal, protests, and impeachment threats: How bad is Brazil's crisis? (+video)
UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT
Ongoing turmoil – including revelations linked to the Panama Papers – threatens to unseat Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff.
MEXICO CITY — Brazil is in the midst of a tumultuous and potentially far-reaching shakeup – rattled by massive street protests, the arrests of high-profile businessmen and politicians, and renewed calls for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. The turmoil is growing as this year’s summer Olympic Games draw nigh and officials struggle to confront the Zika VIRUS and its suspected links to birth defects.
and its suspected links to birth defects.
Now, what began with social protests and revelations of a bribery scandal threatens to unseat the president and reach deeply into the ranks of Brazil’s political class.
It seems like just yesterday that Brazil’s economy was booming and its middle class growing. But today, inflation and unemployment both hover near 10 percent, and some analysts see signs the recession may slip into outright depression. Brazil is also facing its largest corruption scandal in decades, with dozens of politicians and executives arrested or put under investigation related to a kickback scheme in the state-run oil company, Petrobras. In March, popular former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a close mentor of current President Rousseff, was detained in relation to the scandal and charged with money laundering. 
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