After Norway and Denmark ,Sweden also accuses US of spying

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JNN 07.11.10 Swedish government officials have accused the US Embassy in Stockholm of conducting unauthorized surveillance activities in the country, shortly after similar charges were made in Norway and Denmark.

The surveillance, performed by people “assigned by the [US] embassy to undertake the measures,” has been in place since 2000 and its extent is still unknown, Swedish Justice Minister Beatrice Ask said on Saturday.

“It seems as though we haven’t been fully informed and that’s not good,” AP quoted her as saying.

Ask called on US officials to cooperate in the investigation into the matter.

She did not disclose the targets of the surveillance but pointed out that the activities “seem to be similar” to those uncovered in Norway earlier this week.

“We welcome that those countries that have a heightened threat risk apply their own measures to reduce the risk for attacks, but of course it has to be done in line of what the Swedish law says and permits,” Ask noted.

Denmark’s TV-2 Denmark disclosed on Saturday that the US Embassy in Copenhagen has also conducted secret surveillance activities in the Danish capital.

The repot says a unit of 14 agents attached to the US Embassy kept tabs on Danish citizens by adding their personal data to a special computer database.

Also on Wednesday, Norway’s TV-2 News channel revealed that the US Embassy in Oslo has hired 15 to 20 people to monitor local residents.

Following the disclosure, Oslo asked US officials to provide an explanation.

US opens new war front in the name of Al Qaeda : US 'deploys Predator drones in Yemen'

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JNN 07.11.10 The United States has deployed unmanned Predator drones in Yemen, claiming they are aimed at eradicating al-Qaeda militants, senior US officials say.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the drones have been patrolling the Yemeni skies for several months in search of al-Qaeda leaders and operatives allegedly hiding in the country.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that the drones have not fired missiles yet because they lack solid intelligence on the militants’ whereabouts.

Yemen has shown deep reservations about any possible attacks after a US cruise missile earlier this year killed a government official, stirring anti-American sentiments.

The Yemeni government protested the attack and the people of the Middle Eastern country were outraged by it.

The Sunday’s report also said that the administration of US President Barack Obama planned to double its military aid to Yemen to 250 million dollars for the next year.

The reports come one day after Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar criticized the West for linking al-Qaeda to his country, accusing Western powers of having helped create the terrorist group.

“Al-Qaeda is mainly a Western-made group,” Mujawar said on Saturday. The militant group “was not created in Yemen at all as it is being alleged by those who propagate this perception internationally about Yemen,” the Yemeni premier added.

Mujawar’s comments hinted at America’s funding of fighters in Afghanistan who were resisting Soviet occupation back in the 1980s.

The White House has stepped up pressure on Sana’a for what it calls al-Qaeda’s use of Yemeni soil as a safe haven for terrorist operations against Washington.

US opens new war front in the name of Al Qaeda : US ‘deploys Predator drones in Yemen’

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JNN 07.11.10 The United States has deployed unmanned Predator drones in Yemen, claiming they are aimed at eradicating al-Qaeda militants, senior US officials say.

The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the drones have been patrolling the Yemeni skies for several months in search of al-Qaeda leaders and operatives allegedly hiding in the country.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said that the drones have not fired missiles yet because they lack solid intelligence on the militants’ whereabouts.

Yemen has shown deep reservations about any possible attacks after a US cruise missile earlier this year killed a government official, stirring anti-American sentiments.

The Yemeni government protested the attack and the people of the Middle Eastern country were outraged by it.

The Sunday’s report also said that the administration of US President Barack Obama planned to double its military aid to Yemen to 250 million dollars for the next year.

The reports come one day after Yemeni Prime Minister Ali Mujawar criticized the West for linking al-Qaeda to his country, accusing Western powers of having helped create the terrorist group.

“Al-Qaeda is mainly a Western-made group,” Mujawar said on Saturday. The militant group “was not created in Yemen at all as it is being alleged by those who propagate this perception internationally about Yemen,” the Yemeni premier added.

Mujawar’s comments hinted at America’s funding of fighters in Afghanistan who were resisting Soviet occupation back in the 1980s.

The White House has stepped up pressure on Sana’a for what it calls al-Qaeda’s use of Yemeni soil as a safe haven for terrorist operations against Washington.

Four more US banks closed down

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JNN 08.11.10 US regulators have closed down four more banks in the states of California, Maryland and Washington, bringing the total number of failures to 143 so far this year.

Regulators closed Washington’s Pierce Commercial Bank, Maryland’s K Bank and two banks in California — Western Commercial Bank and First Vietnamese American Bank — on Friday.

Randallstown, Maryland-based K Bank, which had $500.1 million in deposits as of September 30, was closed on Friday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) said in a statement on Saturday.

Western Commercial Bank in Woodland Hills, California, which had $101.1 million in deposits, was also closed on the same day, the FDIC said.

Regulators also shut down First Vietnamese with $47 million in deposits.

Other financial institutes that are still on their feet have agreed to assume the failed banks’ deposits and purchase their assets.

The number of lenders shut down this year exceeds the total bank closures in 2009. About 300 banks have gone under since the start of the financial crisis in 2008.

Indians greet Obama with mass protests

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JNN 07.1.10 Peace activists in different states of India have staged massive protests against US President Barack Obama’s visit to the country.

The protests come as the US president has embarked on a three-day visit to boost business with India.

In reaction to the visit, victims of a toxic tragedy in the city of Bhopal held a sit-in, demanding compensation for the fatal incident.

More than 500,000 people were exposed to toxic gas after 40 tons of deadly chemical leaked at the Indian subsidiary of the US Corporation Union Carbide on December 3, 1984.

Around 5,000 people died in the immediate aftermath, and some 15,000 more died in the weeks that followed.

Many have suffered life-long chronic illness as a result and many children have been born with birth defects 25 years after the world’s worst industrial disaster.

The protesters are also demanding President Obama take action against the Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals for breaching the law for many years.

People also gathered in the eastern state of Orissa, protesting against President Obama’s presence in the country, arguing that he has been unable to maintain peace in developing countries.

Meanwhile, the Kashmir Action Committee staged a demonstration in Pakistan’s Lahore, calling on the US president to take a strong stance against the Indian government’s crackdown on the Kashmiris.

More than 100 people have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir since June, when the residents began holding anti-India demonstrations.

President Obama’s decision to spend three days in India, while bypassing Pakistan, has also come under fierce criticism.

A Washington Post report said that the move has sparked anxiety among government officials in Islamabad due to fears that the US president’s visit could likely upset the delicate balance of power between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.