‘Worse than death row’: Gitmo hunger strike reaches Day 100
As the Guantanamo hunger strike enters its 100th day, the number of voices, both in the US and around the world, to close the facility are growing stronger and louder. Lawyers acting for prisoners in Guantanamo say the real figures may be higher, but officially of the 166 inmates in Guantanamo, 102 are currently on [...]
Thousands march in Paris against same-sex marriage and adoption
Tens of thousands of French families, activists and conservatives have marched in Paris protesting against a bill that if passed would allow same-sex marriage and adoption. Police fired teargas to prevent protesters from entering the Champs Elysees. Demonstrators gathered Sunday in the center of the French capital for a final mass protest against the controversial [...]
Cyprus, Troika agree to 20% tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at Bank of Cyprus
Cyprus and the Troika have agreed to a 20 per cent tax on deposits over 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus and 4 per cent on deposits held at other banks. A senior Cypriot official told Reuters that a plan to tap nationalized pension funds would not be a part of a plan to [...]
Stop, thief! Run on ATMs in Cyprus as govt mulls savings tax
Panic withdrawals hit Cyprus after officials announced bailout terms viewed as ‘robbery’ by the public, as the UK is reportedly ready to protect British depositors’ savings. The adage ‘the best way to rob a bank is to own a bank’ has perhaps never before held more truth than now. On Saturday, Cypriot deposit-holders got a [...]
UN demands prosecution of Busha-era CIA crimes
A United Nations investigator has demanded that the US publish classified documents regarding the CIA’s human rights violations under former President George W. Bush, with hopes that the documents will lead to the prosecution of public officials. Documents about the CIA’s program of rendition and secret detention of suspected terrorists have remained classified, even though [...]
Thousands march for gun control in Washington
Amid growing national debate over gun violence, thousands of people marched in Washington on Saturday to press Congress and state legislators to back gun control measures. The marchers were joined by some 100 residents of Newtown, Connecticut, where a mass elementary school shooting left 20 first-graders and six teachers dead. People in the crowd were [...]
Facebook democracy: Israelis ‘share’ votes with Palestinians
In a move of high-tech civil disobedience, thousands of Israeli citizens are donating their right to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections to their Palestinian neighbors via Facebook. The political initiative, called Real Democracy, so far has over 1,400 followers and is allowing Israelis to “donate” their votes for the Palestinian cause, giving their second-class [...]
Snap elections: Pakistani govt reaches deal with protesters
A team of Pakistani ministers and political leaders have reached a deal with protesters. The document provides for the dissolution of parliament and snap elections, RT’s correspondent in Islamabad reports. The negotiation team presented the draft to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, who signed the accord. Official sources said that President Asif Ali Zardari also [...]
‘Abomination’: Rand Paul slams NDAA as bill passes US Senate
The controversial NDAA bill, which allows for the indefinite detention of US citizens, was approved by the Senate despite White House threats to veto the legislation. Republican Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has decried the law as an “abomination.” The libertarian Republican voiced his concerns to a conference committee following the decision to give the present [...]
Twitter defies court order to release personal information of Occupy protester
Attorneys for Twitter have filed an appeal on the behalf of one of their users in the latest installment of an ongoing legal battle over some seriously-wanted tweets. Prosecutors have been hounding Twitter for the tweets sent from the account of Malcolm Harris, a 23-year-old writer from Brooklyn, since earlier this year in hopes of [...]