US House of Representatives approves plan to destroy Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps US House of Representatives has adopted a budget resolution that calls for privatization of Medicare and the elimination of Medicaid, food stamps…
Category: Regions
(XINHUA) WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama said on Friday that he believed there was sufficient global oil supply to fill in the gap by reducing exports from Iran, making it possible for more sanctions on Iran’s energy sector and countries buying oil from the Islamic republic. Obama said in a statement that his conclusion was made after carefully considering the current global economic conditions, increased production by some countries, the level of spare capacity, and the available strategic oil reserves, among other factors. He determined that there was a sufficient oil supply from other countries to permit a significant reduction in oil purchased from Iran, said the statement. “I will closely monitor this situation to assure that the market can continue to accommodate a reduction in purchases of petroleum and petroleum products from Iran,” Obama said. According to the National Defense Authorization Act, Obama is required to determine by Friday, and every six months after that, whether the United States can endure the impact of significant cut of oil output from Iran. The law, passed by the US congress and signed by Obama in December last year, is aimed at choking off Iran’s crucial oil revenue by targeting its central bank and financial sector, a move that allows…
Editor’s Note: Despite voices of opposition from the West calling the latest election in Myanmar/ Burma as a ‘sham’ and ‘undemocratic’, it is important to remember that countries must be given a chance to develop…
Chen Xin (China Daily) and Reuters reports on the latest decision made by Foxconn in terms of improving work conditions for its workers. Foxconn vows to reduce hours at factories Foxconn, the largest supplier of Apple Inc, said on Friday that it will remedy its workplace abuses after a US labor auditor commissioned by Apple inspected Foxconn’s three plants in China. A report, filed by the nonprofit Fair Labor Association and released on Thursday, found that Foxconn employees work 56 hours a week on average – which is more than the 40 regular hours a week and 36 hours of overtime a month that they are allowed under Chinese law. In some cases, the report found that employees had worked more than seven days in a row without taking a 24-hour break, as they are required to. And many were not properly paid for working overtime, it said. In February and March, the Fair Labor Association surveyed more than 35,000 workers in three Foxconn factories, two of which are in the coastal manufacturing hub of Shenzhen and…
Beijing arrests 1,000 in Internet crime crackdown (Xinhua) BEIJING -Beijing police on Saturday said they have arrested 1,065 suspects and deleted more than 208,000 “harmful” online messages as part of an intensive nationwide crackdown on Internet-related crimes conducted since mid-February. The operators of more than 3,117 websites have received related warnings, a spokesman from the city police’s cyber security department said Saturday, adding that 70 Internet companies that defied the warnings have received administrative punishments, including forced closures. The spokesman said the campaign, dubbed “Spring Breeze,” mainly targets the dissemination of information related to smuggling firearms, drugs and toxic chemicals, as well as the sale of human organs, the counterfeiting certificates and invoices and trade in personal information. The crackdown is meant to address prominent public complaints about Internet-related crimes, the spokesman said, adding that reports about Internet related crimes have gone down 50percent since the campaign was launched on February 14. The spokesman urged Internet users to actively oppose the spread of harmful information. China has stepped up its efforts to “cleanse” cyberspace over the past few weeks. Beijing police on Friday announced the detention of six people for allegedly fabricating and spreading rumors on the Internet, as well as punishment for websites and social media that carried the rumors. Sixteen websites were subsequently forced to close, and the country’s two largest micro blog operators — Sina Weibo and Tencent — have suspended commenting functions on their sites from March 31 to April 3. A Tencent statement said the move was made to prevent illicit information from spreading through microblog posts.
Some may call it a right decision but no doubt, others will call the latest arrest of Islamists in France a biased racial profiling in the name of democracy. Agencies reports. A policeman searches…
The Art of Warfare : Iran and The Gas Pipeline Battle Two major pipeline projects are at present vying to secure future energy supplies to Pakistan, India and China. One originates in Iran while…
California Slammed With Fukushima Radiation by Washington’s Blog Fukushima Radiation Plume Hit Southern and Central California The Journal Environmental Science and Technology reports in a new study that the Fukushima radiation plume contacted North America at California…
The light goes out for 2012 Earth Hour AP reports on 2012 Earth Hour Lights out around the globe Landmarks across the world go dark as part of Earth Hour, a global campaign…
Pursuing big game just won’t be the same in Texas any more, writes Tony Freemantle. Family ties … a museum painting of a trio of addax, a scimitar-horned oryx and a dama gazelle. Photo: The…