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A member of a pro-Islamic State forum has chipped in a rather out-of-the-box idea for jihad: turn Americans consumers off of salty snacks by associating them with beheadings -- a scheme he says will destroy the American economy.

A U.S.-led coalition is grappling over how to fight the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed allies in Libya and beyond without taking its eyes off Iraq and Syria.

An unlikely alliance of lawmakers, labor union, and the Tea Party could sink Obama's Asia trade bill in the House.

Edouard Perrin devant la commission du Parlement européen

(B2) Notre confrère Edouard Perrin était devant la commission spéciale du Parlement européen sur l’évasion fiscale, lundi (11 mai) avec son collègue Richard Brooks de l’ ">ICIJ. Tous les eurodéputés n’ont cependant pas été convaincus. Extraits…

« "> Il est symptomatique et dramatique à la fois de voir que, dans cette affaire, les seules poursuites existantes sont, à ce jour, sont dirigées contre ">ceux qui ont découvert le problème et non pas contre les sources (du problème) » a souligné notamment ">Edouard Perrin. « Je regrette vraiment profondément que le Parlement européen n’ait pas pu aller au bout avec une vraie commission d’enquête, et les moyens qui vont avec. (…) La première étape serait d’avoir vraiment un travail cohérent entre ce qui se passe ici et (…) la (future) directive sur les secrets d’affaires ».

« Le problème central avec le Luxembourg est qu’il se présente en tant qu’autorité responsable de l’économie, tout en agissant comme un paradis fiscal au coeur de l’Europe. C’ ">est plus dommageable que ce que vous pouvez reconnaître, ou que les paradis fiscaux bordées de palmiers sur une île ensoleillée » a expliqué le journaliste d’investigation Richard Brooks (ICIJ). Le Luxembourg « jouit des privilèges d’être un membre à part entière de l’ensemble des grands clubs économiques comme l’Union européenne et de l’OCDE ». (…) La myriade de méthodes utilisées — les prêts hybrides, des filiales suisses … et toutes sortes de structures étranges et merveilleuses — "> visent toutes un objectif unique : la réalisation effective de non-imposition au Luxembourg. (…) Il devrait y avoir une plus grande divulgation des conventions fiscales au sein de l’Europe. Ce devrait être complètement ouvert, de préférence, avec des entreprises nommées, mais, sinon, ">anonymisées, et surtout, en l’absence de l’OCDE à fournir une solution complète à cette question de l’évasion fiscale internationale, il doit y avoir des sanctions appliquées en Europe pour ceux qui exploitent les libertés offertes par le traité européen. »

Du côté des parlementaires, la tonalité n’était pas unanime

L’eurodéputé libéral allemand Michael Theurer (FDP), juge « incompréhensible qu’un citoyen qui informe les autorités d’un État membre de l’UE à propos de l’évasion fiscale puisse être poursuivie par une autre Eu ">pays, qui contredit aucun sens de la justice ». Une préoccupation que partage l’eurodéputé danois social démocrate, Jeppe Kofod (S & D, DK), « Un pays ne devrait pas être en mesure de sanctionner un journaliste qui a révélé cette information alors qu’il y a une affaire en cours, cela devrait être impossible à mon avis. Je pense qu’ ">il est vraiment un scandale que le Luxembourg fait ces accusations contre vous. » ">« Mon impression est que, la majorité ne sont pas préoccupés par la protection des journalistes ou des lanceurs d’alerte, mais de protéger Juncker » estime ">le député allemand de Die Linke, Fabio De Masi.

Mais pour l’eurodéputé luxembourgeois Frank Engel (PPE), il faut faire attention au risque de délocalisation. « Certains voudraient tout simplement fermer les centres financiers. Les entreprises resteront ailleurs (en dehors de l’UE). Que personne ne croit que ">Shanghai va arrêter une activité qui peut être fructueuse et très lucrative pour, si nous en Europe avons décidé de chasser les centres de décision des entreprises. »

">En conclusion, le président de la commission, le Français ">Alain Lamassoure (UMP/PPE), la difficulté est que « au sein de l’Union, chacun des 28 États membres est le paradis fiscal de quelqu’un. »

(NGV)

The NATO Resolute Support Mission’s (RSM’s) mandate to “train, advise, and assist,” but a better prerogative would be to “assess, train, advice, and assist.”

A legvadabb rock, pszichedelikus blues és afrikai dallamok keverednek az európai világzenei rádiósok listáját jelenleg is vezető Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba hangzásvilágában. A legősibb mali húros hangszer, a ngoniújítójaként ismert előadó már az összes világzenei díjat begyűjtötte, jelölték Grammy-díjra is, az Africa Express projekt keretében pedig Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones és Damon Albarn társaságában szerepelt. Május 27-én a Müpában legújabb, Ba Power című lemezét mutatja be, és a koncert előtt workshopot is tart.

Hangszerbemutató és beszélgetés a griot tradícióról

Bassekou Kouyate – a mali zene gyökerei

2015. május 27. 18:00, Zászlótér

További információ: https://www.mupa.hu/program/bassekou-kouyate-a-mali-zene-gyokerei-2015-05-27_18-00-zaszloter

Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba

2015. május 27. szerda 19:30, Fesztivál Színház

Jegyárak: 2500 Ft, 3200 Ft, 3900 Ft

Közreműködők: Bassekou Kouyate – szóló ngoni, Amy Sacko – ének, Mamadou Kouyate – basszus ngoni, Moustafa Kouyate – ngoni ba, Mahamadou Tounkara – ütőhangszerek, Abou Sissoko –  közepes méretű ngoni, Moctar Kouyate – lopótök

További információ: https://www.mupa.hu/program/bassekou-kouyate-ngoni-ba-2015-05-27_19-30-fesztivalszinhaz

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2 ember kedveli ezt a posztot.Tetszett az írás.Tetszett az írás.

BELGRADE, 21 May 2015 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Serbia’s Foreign Minister  Ivica Dačić, today met with his Special Representative for the Western Balkans Ambassador Gérard Stoudmann, following the ambassador’s visit to Skopje last week. Stoudmann informed Dačić about the discussions he had in Skopje with representatives of the government, political parties and NGOs, with the focus on the ongoing process of talks among Macedonian politicians aimed at overcoming the differences and finding a common ground.

„It is only through a constructive dialogue that a way forward can be found, and it must be a continuous process supported by all,“ Dačić said. „There is a locally-owned dialogue already underway in Skopje between four political leaders, observed by international representatives, and which ought to be sustained. In our experience, when we all join our efforts, it is the persistent search for a solution within an established format that ultimately yields results,“ he said.   

The OSCE shall monitor the situation closely and it stands ready to offer its assistance to efforts aimed at moving the situation in a forward direction. 

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• Special Representative for the Western Balkans Gérard Stoudmann calls for restraint and confidence-building measures
• Chairperson Dačić condemns violence in Kumanovo, announces visit by OSCE officials to Skopje
• Chairperson Dačić discusses mediation efforts in the protracted conflicts in the South Caucasus with his Representatives, Minsk Group Co-Chairs

Der Bericht zum Zustand der Natur in der EU stellt fest: Rund die Hälfte aller Wildvögel haben einen "sicheren Erhaltungszustand" – die EU-Programme zu ihrem Schutz scheinen zu funktionieren. Doch die Bilanz des Berichts ist gemischt. EurActiv Brüssel berichtet.

New York, US (PANA) - UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Mr. Gordon Brown, on Thursday in New York, said that "shocking figures" relating to the position of children in emergency situations underlined the need for a new humanitarian fund to ensure the education of millions of children. Social

Invité par les organisateurs à présenter les conclusions de ce colloque passionnant, je me sens à la fois très honoré et très inférieur. Très honoré, parce que le colloque marque le cinquantième anniversaire du Centre de droit international de l'Université libre de Bruxelles, et que nous connaissons la créativité, la vitalité et l'apport à la pensée internationaliste de la doctrine belge. On le sait, la Belgique a toujours été très active et présente sur le plan international. Le fait qu'elle ne soit pas un grand Etat lui donne la distance nécessaire face aux intérêts, aux ambitions, aux passions et aux propagandes des grandes puissances. Elle se projette spontanément dans des espaces matériels et intellectuels qui débordent les cadres restreints d'Etats, si étendus soient-ils, dont l'autisme est la première tentation. En particulier, sa contribution à la construction européenne, comme sur un autre plan à la francophonie, transcende sa dimension géographique. L'apport de ses écrivains, poètes, peintres, musiciens, auteurs de bandes dessinées est immense, et le sujet même de notre colloque souligne l'importance culturelle du pays, culture qui est un grand ressort de l'influence internationale...

La base aérienne 123 accueille actuellement un entraînement européen regroupant des équipages de
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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is rushing critical relief supplies to Tanzania’s north-western border with Burundi amid a devastating cholera outbreak affecting tens of thousands of refugees there.

Like the families of the 1,400 U.S. Marines killed in action in recent years, Andrea and Jim Hug of Phoenix, Arizona planned to travel to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware this month to receive their son’s coffin after getting news that he died in a helicopter crash in Nepal.

When China declares an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea, the United States will have only itself to blame.

Want to build democracy in Venezuela? Start by luring expatriates back.

Oroszország maximálisan igyekezni fog, hogy kielégítse Irak és Szíria fegyverszállítások iránti igényeit, hogy kiűzhessék a terroristákat területükről - közölte Szergej Lavrov orosz külügyminiszter csütörtökön Moszkvában, Vlagyimir Putyin orosz elnök és Haider al-Abádi iraki miniszterelnök találkozója előtt.

Au moins deux manifestants ont été tués par les tirs de la police, jeudi à Bujumbura, où la contestation contre un troisième mandat du président Pierre Nkurunziza se poursuit. Reportage dans un quartier de la capitale.

This actually is an ordinary mango. Photo Credit: Wee Keat Chin via Flickr

By Gary Bearden

What does a mango thrown at the head of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tell us about Venezuela’s economic future? Not much. The mango, thrown on Wednesday, April 22, was just an ordinary mango. But the president’s curious response to the situation sheds light on what the country should expect in 2015 as it limps through an economic crisis and into legislative elections at the end of the year.

While Maduro and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) are already known for their populist programs and appeal, the president still made headlines by rewarding Marleny Olivio, 52, with a free apartment after she struck him in the head with the fruit. Far from exercising fiscal restraint, given the country’s economic uncertainty, Maduro’s response to the situation bodes poorly for a return to pragmatic spending policies and a potential recovery in 2015.

National Assembly elections do not yet have a date for 2015, but historically low popularity ratings for both Maduro and the PSUV ensure that Caracas will try to bolster public support by ramping up public spending and increasing their harassment of the private sector. To distract Venezuelans from the deepening crisis over the recent holiday season, for instance, Maduro launched “Operation Merry Christmas.” Armed with nearly 30,000 state inspectors, Caracas forced stores nationwide to cut prices on toys and electronics by up to 80 percent. Lucky Venezuelans were even able to purchase computers for as little as $75 before vendors sold out. Considered a success for holiday morale, the program simultaneously exacerbated shortages the country was already facing. Private companies remain trapped between suffering losses under the government’s pricing restrictions and currency controls, and exiting the market and risking the nationalization of their assets in the country.

While the short term benefits to consumers are obvious, unconstrained state spending, combined with the Maduro regime’s hostility toward the private sector, are exacerbating the everyday struggles of Venezuelan citizens and worsening the country’s economic outlook. Producers and stores are unwilling to keep goods in stock if they know the government will force them to sell at below market pricing. As a result, consumers in the South American country could soon face inflation rates between 150 and 200 percent, in addition to hours long queues for access to the most basic goods such as flour and cooking oil. The government even introduced fingerprint scanners in March as a means of rationing purchases throughout the country. Moreover, what began as rumors of toilet paper shortages in Venezuela, have since turned into a sad truth as some hotels even ask guests to bring their own supply when planning a stay.

Perhaps under conditions of high oil prices and revenues, the government’s populist spending might be sustainable. Under current economic conditions, however, Caracas cannot maintain this course and expect a positive outcome. Venezuela’s foreign reserves have fallen 15 percent in the first four months of 2015 to less than $21 billion, jeopardizing the government’s ability to meet its foreign debt obligations and continue financing vital imports such as food. Indeed, estimates indicate that Caracas will need to pay an additional $8.4 billion on foreign debt by the end of 2015 while balancing outstanding payments to the private sector that have reached as high as $10 billion in late April. Oil revenue makes up virtually all of Venezuela’s export income and has risen slightly in April, but remains at about half of what it was a year ago. Without a significant and swift increase, Caracas is on borrowed time.

Yet for two main reasons, the Maduro administration likely sees no alternative than to keep costly populist programs largely in place through 2015. First, many subsidy programs have become too popular for the government to reform. The state subsidy on gasoline, for instance, costs the government upwards of $15 billion each year. Outside of highlighting the issue as wasteful spending, Maduro has done little to address the program that gives Venezuelans access to gasoline at less than 10 cents per gallon. The last time the government tried to address the program resulted in the 1989 crisis known as “Caracazo.” Dozens of Venezuelans died and thousands more were injured in violent protests. Given today’s high social tension, taking steps to curtail the program could yield a similar result. Even popular ex-President Hugo Chavez, who remains a popular figure today, was unable to reform the expensive subsidy program during his time in office.

Second, the Maduro government likely feels that it needs to use every populist tool at its disposal to maintain voter support in the run up to 2015’s National Assembly elections as Maduro’s popularity has plunged to about 25 percent. A two-thirds opposition majority would allow them to unseat the president through a referendum, but this is unlikely given residual support for the PSUV. On the other hand, a simple majority in the 165-member legislative body is a real possibility that could frustrate Maduro’s agenda and even force him to reconcile with opposition policies in the longer term. The administration has hinted at its concerns by “updating” the population statistics that are linked to seat allocation in the Assembly, demonstrating a heavy bias toward districts that traditionally vote for the PSUV and against those that are pro-opposition.

It should not be forgotten that Chavistas under the current and previous administration, have proven their willingness to use force against anti-government demonstrations in the past, despite President Maduro’s generous treatment for Ms. Olivio and her mango. Venezuelans recall the government’s response to mass opposition protests in 2014 when a brutal crackdown resulted in over 40 citizen deaths. Moreover, having reacquired decree powers from the National Assembly in March, Maduro retains the ability to delay or cancel elections if he deems them a threat to national security. This possibility is hopefully a remote one as international observers are sure to be on hand after last year’s violent outburst. Should the country take yet another step away from democracy during the upcoming elections, Venezuela may find more regional powers aligning with Washington in support of sanctioning the Maduro administration.

In the meantime, Venezuelans and investors should not expect an economic solution to come from President Maduro for the remainder of 2015. Instead, President Maduro is more likely to be found preparing new apartments to trade for an outpouring of fruit from distressed citizens. As opposition blog Dolar Today quipped following the incident, “If for a mango they give you apartments, then you know what to do: throw him a pineapple!”

Gary Bearden is a foreign policy professional and current Political Risk Fellow with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP). He has professional and living experience in Eastern Europe, North Africa and Latin America, holds three Bachelors degrees from Ohio State University and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of their employer or Young Professionals in Foreign Policy.