Egyptians Brace for Austerity as Govt. Seeks IMF Loan
Wednesday, representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Cairo to enter into new rounds of negotiations, regarding a proposed $4bn loan to the country. Egypt, which has continued to struggle with social and economic difficulties since the political unrest of 2011 that resulted in the ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak, is seeking the IMF aid in the hopes of bolstering its rapidly deteriorating economy. Egypt’s current President Mohammed Morsi is reported to have initiated negotiations with IMF in November. However, he was forced to delay finalization of any potential initial deals until December, due to political…
Pressure Builds to End Ethnic Violence in Myanmar
(Author’s Note: Over the past month, violence and ethnic cleansing has wracked the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar, also formerly known as Burma, leaving thousands displaced and hundreds, possibly thousands dead. Though conventional media have been largely lax in their coverage of it, the independent media, such as The Progressive Press and Vice, with the help of bold journalists in the field, as well as networks such as EndGenocide.org, Anonymous and SavetheRohingya, have managed to bring greater attention to the plight of the Rohingya, as well as ethnic Muslims throughout Myanmar. We will continue to cover the story as it…
HSBC Settlement Case Raises Legal Hackles
In December, U.S. Federal Authorities stirred controversy for having reached a financial settlement deal with British bank HSBC, allowing the bank to avoid criminal prosecution for taking part in money laundering operations for Latin American drug cartels, suspected terrorist networks and rogue states such as Iran. As a means to avoid prosecution, the bank agreed to pay $1.9 billion in fines, after having reached the arrangement with the Department of Justice. However regardless of their agreement and written arguments by both federal prosecutors and HSBC filed in January arguing in favor of the deal , U.S. District Court Judge John…
Recent Comments