WikiLeaks cables condemn Russia as 'mafia state'
Luke Harding
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 December 2010 21.30 GMT
Russia is a corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Vladimir Putin, in which officials, oligarchs and organised crime are bound together to create a "virtual mafia state", according to leaked secret diplomatic cables that provide a damning American assessment of its erstwhile rival superpower.
Blunt and Blustery, Putin Responds to State Department Cables on Russia
By ELLEN BARRY
New York Times
Published: December 1, 2010
MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin responded Wednesday to criticism of Russia revealed in United States diplomatic cables published by the Web site WikiLeaks, warning Washington not to interfere in Russian domestic affairs.
His comments, made in an interview broadcast Wednesday night on CNN’s "Larry King Live," referred to a cable that said "Russian democracy has disappeared" and that described the government as "an oligarchy run by the security services," a statement attributed to the American defense secretary, Robert M. Gates.
South Korea Warns of New Attack
By MARK McDONALD
New York Times
Published: December 1, 2010
SEOUL, South Korea — As the United States and South Korea ended four days of joint naval exercises off the North Korean coast, the South’s intelligence chief on Wednesday warned that the North was likely to repeat a Nov. 23 artillery attack that left four South Koreans dead.
"There is a high possibility that the North will make an additional attack," Won Sei-hoon, director of the National Intelligence Service, was quoted by Reuters as telling a parliamentary committee meeting.
Japan blazes a trail for living with stagnation and deflation
By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times
December 1, 2010|3:49 p.m.
Reporting from Tokyo —
With some U.S. economists now predicting years of slow growth, stagnant salaries and even deflation, ordinary Americans may furrow their brows and wonder just what that means for them.
The answer may lie in the experiences of a 45-year-old systems engineer named Hiroshi K., his wife and two children. After more than 10 years of living it, they know all about stagnation and deflation — the good and the bad.
China says North Korea ties have survived "tempest"
By Miyoung Kim
Reuters
SEOUL | Wed Dec 1, 2010 9:46pm EST
China, pushed again by Washington to bring North Korea to heel after last week's artillery attack on the South, told Pyongyang their relationship had withstood international "tempests."
Julian Assange says WikiLeaks wants to expose China and Russia as much as US
Jo Adetunji
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 2 December 2010 00.01 GMT
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange wanted to expose China's and Russia's secrets as much as those of the US, and believes Hillary Clinton should resign if she ordered diplomats to engage in espionage.
"[Clinton] should resign if it could be shown that she was responsible for ordering US diplomatic figures to engage in espionage of UN activities, in violation of the international covenants to which the US signed up," he said in an interview with Time magazine
US embassy cables culprit should be executed, says Mike Huckabee
Haroon Siddique and Matthew Weaver
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 December 2010 11.31 GMT
The Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has called for whoever leaked the 250,000 US diplomatic cables to be executed.
Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination at the last election but is one of the favourites for 2012, joined a growing number of people demanding the severest punishment possible for those behind the leak, which has prompted a global diplomatic crisis.
His fellow potential Republican nominee Sarah Palin had already called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be "hunted down", and an adviser to the Canadian prime minister has echoed her comments.
Five contenders make final plea to host 2022 World Cup
BBC
Thursday, 2 December 2010
The five countries jostling for the right to host the 2022 World Cup have made their final pitch to Fifa ahead of Thursday's decisive vote in Zurich.
With the 2018 contenders embarking on last-ditch lobbying, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Japan and Qatar all made formal presentations.
Former United States president Bill Clinton backed his nation's bid.
Darfur mediators face violent protests
By Mohamed Nureldin
Reuters
ZALENGEI, Sudan | Wed Dec 1, 2010 2:41pm EST
Hundreds of angry students threw stones at Darfur mediators, including a Qatari minister, on Wednesday in a tour of the region that was marred by violence, protests and reports that police killed two people.
Wednesday's violence was the second time in two days the team negotiating peace between Darfur's rebels and the government had to flee angry Darfuris, frustrated by the absence of a peace deal after years of conflict.
WikiLeaks website pulled by Amazon after US political pressure
Ewen MacAskill in Washington
The Guardian, Thursday 2 December 2010
The US struck its first blow against WikiLeaks after Amazon.com pulled the plug on hosting the whistleblowing website in reaction to heavy political pressure.
The company announced it was cutting WikiLeaks off yesterday only 24 hours after being contacted by the staff of Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate's committee on homeland security. |
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