keerzijde-Mstarz

If you're considering buying a new laptop online, you might want to think twice ... because US intelligence agencies are reportedly planting bugs on them before they reach their destination. German news magazine Der Spiegel says there is a special NSA unit dedicated to the task.

RT's Peter Oliver has more. For even more on this spy story, let's cross live to London and talk to Jim Killock from the Open Rights Group.

RT

Related,
- Shopping for Spy Gear: Catalog Advertises NSA Toolbox - Spiegel
- NSA's Secret Toolbox: Unit Offers Spy Gadgets for Every Need - Spiegel

The NSA has a secret unit that produces special equipment ranging from spyware for computers and cell phones to listening posts and USB sticks that work as bugging devices. Here are some excerpts from the intelligence agency's own catalog.

When agents with the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) division want to infiltrate a network or a computer,.. Read more.

Spiegel

Related,
- Shopping for Spy Gear: Catalog Advertises NSA Toolbox - Spiegel
- NSA Interception: Spy malware installed on laptops bought online (video) - RT

Government would look for other alternatives “outside the treaties,” says regional leader

For the first time since heated debate broke out over Catalonia’s proposed independence referendum next year, regional premier Artur Mas, who is pushing for the status vote, has admitted that his northeast region would be ejected from the European Union if it seceded from Spain. Read more.

El País

Amid a tense political climate, and with the country’s assumption of the European Union’s rotating presidency looming, government officials are already preparing for the return of troika officials in the middle of next month, Kathimerini understands.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, whom Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has.. Read more.

Ekathimerini

Related,
- German Agencies: “Greece is Not Suitable For European Presidency” - Greek Reporter

The NSA's TAO hacking unit is considered to be the intelligence agency's top secret weapon. It maintains its own covert network, infiltrates computers around the world and even intercepts shipping deliveries to plant back doors in electronics ordered by those it is targeting.

In January 2010, numerous homeowners in San Antonio, Texas, stood baffled in front of their closed garage doors. Read more.

Spiegel

Related,
- NSA surveillance eroded transatlantic trust - DW

CAIRO, Dec 29 (Aswat Masriya) - Clashes erupted on Sunday morning between security forces and students near the main entrance to Azhar University's dormitory, state television reported.

Students went to the university to take their mid-term exams amid tight security.. Read more.

Aswat Masriya

Related,
- Saturday clashes leave one dead, 29 wounded - Aswat Masriya
- 27 Students detained in Al-Azhar clashes - Ahram

Journalist Glenn Greenwald condemned the mainstream media during an address at a German computer conference on Friday and accused his colleagues of failing to challenge erroneous remarks routinely made by government officials around the globe. Read more.

RT

Richard Stallman's talk on "Digital Freedom: the context for Bitcoin" at the London Bitcoin Conference 2012.

2001

While Microsoft may be the biggest software company in the world, not every computer user is a fan of their products, or their way of doing business. While Microsoft's Windows became the most widely used operating system for personal computers in the world, many experts took issue with Microsoft's strict policies regarding licensing, ownership, distribution, and alteration of their software.

The objections of many high-profile technology experts, most notably Richard Stallman, led to what has become known as "the Open Source Movement," which is centered on the belief that computer software should be free both in the economic and intellectual senses of the word. Read more.


Related,
- The Code (video) - Documentary
- Richard Stallman speech at University of Salento, Italy - 18 Feb. 2011 (video) - Lecture

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has delivered his 'Alternative Christmas Message' via a British TV channel.

The whistleblower called for an end to mass spying by governments, stating that a child born today will have "no conception of privacy." Read more.

RT

Linux met Openbox als windowsmanager is een lichtgewicht besturingssysteem geschikt voor minicomputers als de Raspberry Pi, Panda en BeagleBoard, oude computers of nieuw met een lagere processorkracht. Op krachtige computers loopt Linux met Openbox zeer snel. 

Het lichtgewicht besturingssysteem is erop gericht om zo weinig mogelijk eisen te stellen aan de hardware en is geschikt om ieder softwareprogramma te draaien zolang de hardware dit aankan.

Omdat de installatie van Openbox meer tijd en kennis vereist dan een standaard Linux installatie zijn er in de afgelopen jaren enkele iso' s verschenen die een 'kant en klare' Linux Openbox installatie met een aantal basisvoorzieningen leveren. Na deze installatie moet je nog wel zelf een selectie aan programma's installeren voor tekst, web, mail, etc. waarin een ruim aanbod is.
______________________________________________________________________

Crunchbang
Van de hier drie genoemde versies is Crunchbang, gebaseerd op Debian, de meest gebruikers- en privacyvriendelijke versie. De installatie is menugestuurd en zonder full disk encryptie in 15 min. voltooid.

Met full disk encryptie duurt de installatie vele uren langer. Dit komt omdat de harde schijf word volgschreven met willekeurige data zodat het begin en einde van de encryptie moeilijker traceerbaar is. Ter vergelijking, het volschrijven van een 320GB harde schijf kan 7-10 uur of langer duren. Het is mogelijk dit overschrijven tijdens de installatie af te breken (cancel), je harde schijf is dan nog steeds encrypted, maar de encryptie is makkelijker traceerbaar.

Let op bij de installatie van encryptie dat de /boot ook bootable is ingesteld. Het installatieprogramma lijkt dit te vergeten en je moet zelf de bootable flag bij /boot op 'yes' instellen. Voor het overige kan je deze Crunchbang installatie met 'gesloten ogen' uitvoeren.

Na de installatie start bij de eerste boot het 'cb-welcome' script automatisch op en begeleid je in een verdere installatie. Het eerste gedeelte bestaat uit een aantal basisvoorzieningen zoals een systeemupdate, java, LibreOffice, etc. Het tweede gedeelte biedt de mogelijkheid om development tools te installeren zoals LAMP, Apache, MySQL, PHP, etc.

Openbox gebruikt het ob-menu als programmamenu. Dit is een tekstmenu zonder iconen, die je met een rechtermuisklik in beeld brengt. Het ob-menu houdt niet automatisch bij welke programma's je installeert of verwijdert. Dit moet je zelf bijwerken, wat snel en eenvoudig verloopt via het ob-menu programma (GUI Menu Editor) of door de menu.xml file te editen.

Het is ook mogelijk om een pipe-menu aan te maken die bijhoud wat je aan programma's installeert en verwijderd, maar het programmeren van deze pipe-menu's is niet eenvoudig. Via het internet zijn verschillende pipe-menu's te downloaden, zoals voor het uitlezen van je email, nieuwsbronnen en meer.

Crunchbang biedt een complete installatie voor de gemiddelde en gevorderde gebruiker en is zeer geschikt om de overstap naar Linux te maken.
______________________________________________________________________

Archbang
Archbang is gebaseerd op Arch Linux en gericht op een lichtgewicht besturingssysteem en de gevorderde Linuxgebruiker. In tegenstelling tot Arch Linux waarin de installatie via de terminal plaatsvind, verloopt de installatie van Archbang wel menugestuurd, eenvoudig en snel.

Archbang biedt helaas geen encryptie tijdens de installatie, wat een gemiste kans is in deze tijd, maar wel enigzins past bij hun benadering. Voor full disk encryptie installeer je de standaard Arch Linux via deze instructies, gevolgd door Openbox. Deze procedure is voor een ervaren computergebruiker redelijk makkelijk te doorgronden en duurt een eerste installatie 2-3 uur. Het venijn zit in de laatste stap, het aanbrengen van wijzigingen in de GRUB bootloader waarop heel wat gebruikers vastlopen.

Het grafische comfort welke je in Crunchbang aantreft om allerlei instellingen via menu's te regelen is in Archbang achterwege gelaten en moet je dit zelf via commando's in de terminal regelen of door files te editen. Na de installatie ben je met Archbang dan ook meer tijd kwijt met het instellen. De support hiertoe vind je in de ArchWiki en forum. Het eindresultaat beloont deze inspanning wel, want Archbang verbruikt met amper 105 MB ram het minste geheugen en is het meest snel van deze drie Linux versies.

Archbang maakt gebruik van het ob-menu, maar heeft tevens een obmenu-generator geinstalleerd die de installatie en verwijdering van programma' s bijhoud. Hierdoor is het niet meer mogelijk wijzigingen in het menu aan te brengen via het ob-menu programma of menu.xml te editen, maar via andere files.
______________________________________________________________________

Madbox
De laatste versies van Ubuntu One, gebaseerd op Debian, zijn naar mijn mening te zwaar geworden in systeemeisen en ook te commercieel. In het Ubuntu One hoofdmenu worden je zoekopdrachten geregistreerd door Canonical en verhandeld aan commerciele partijen als Amazon en word er ook reclame getoond.

Madbox is een remix gebaseerd op Ubuntu 12.04 en maakt waar waaraan Ubuntu voorbij is geschoten. Madbox is met een iso van 375 MB compact, voor Ubuntu/Debian snel en ziet er grafisch in alle eenvoud goed uit.

De installatie verloopt menugestuurd, is eenvoudig en voorziet in encryptie van de persoonlijke data in de /home en swapfile.

Naast het ob-menu heeft Madbox ook een traditioneel programma menu geinstalleerd die automatisch je geinstalleerde programma's bijwerkt. Ook Madbox is geschikt voor een overstap naar Linux.
______________________________________________________________________

Drie Linux versies die aantonen dat 'minder beter is' en het waard is om over te stappen van dure commerciele software, die snelle en dure hardware vereisen en ook meer energie verbruiken, naar Linux die gratis is, lagere systeemeisen stelt, energiezuinig is, betere privacy bescherming door o.a. encryptie, nauwelijks virussen kent, beter beveiligd is en een groot aanbod aan gratis software voor zeer veel toepassingen ter beschikking heeft.

Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down

GAZA CITY (AFP) -- The humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated one year after a truce that ended fighting between Israel and the Hamas rulers of the Palestinian enclave, UN officials said Thursday.

"After 12 months the initial hopes for a significant improvement on the ground have not been realized,".. Read more.

Ma'an

Related,
- Gaza food industry struggles from lack of electricity, fuel - Ma'an

Israeli forces launched 8 air strikes on the Gaza Strip. 3,500 chicks and 15 sheep died in Israeli raids on poultry and sheep farms in Khan Yunis.

Israeli forces have continued to open fire at the border areas in the Gaza Strip, but no casualties were reported. Read more.

PCHR

Related,
- UN warns of deteriorating Gaza humanitarian situation - Ma'an

Nazareth Illit in Israel is a multi-ethnic community of Jews, Arabs and Christians. But the mayor is very open about his desire to change that, and his openly racist views were no barrier to his reelection.

RT's Paula Slier takes a look.

RT

In Berlin, Samaras to highlight progress, warn against more austerity

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday and is expected to underline Greece’s progress in implementing economic reforms while also stressing his government’s inability to impose further painful austerity measures in an increasingly tense political climate. Read more.

Ekathimerini

For months on end, furious Bulgarian protestors have been gathering in front of parliament in Sofia to accuse the government of corruption and demand its resignation.

The latest unrest began when Bulgaria's new government tried to appoint controversial media mogul Deylan Peevski to head the national security agency in June. Read more.

Novinite

Related,
- Sofia city council condemns police blockades in the city - Sofia Globe
- Bulgaria’s protests: a busy and hectic day - Sofia Globe

- On 160th day of demonstration, Bulgaria’s largest trade union joins student-led protests - Euronews

In the first half of 2013, a total of 555,000 people immigrated to Germany according to provisional results of the Federal Statistics Office.

Germany's Federal Statistical Office reported an 11% year-on-year increase in German immigration numbers in the first half of the year. Read more.

Novinite

Related,
- UK minister: we won't see mass Romanian and Bulgarian immigration -report - Standart

Britain faces a timebomb as the cost of living crisis forces more people into crippling debt they will not be able to repay, according to a major study published today.

The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think tank, founded by Iain Duncan Smith in 2004, warned that.. Read more.

Independent

Related,
- Living Debt: Rising costs in UK forcing millions to borrow (video) - RT
- Soaring UK personal debt wreaking havoc with mental health, report warns - Guardian

Ukraine has said it is suspending preparations to sign a landmark trade and political pact with the European Union.

It comes after parliament rejected legislation to free jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Read more.

DW

Related,
- Putin victorious as Ukraine postpones ‘trade suicide’, halts talks with EU (video) - RT

As the European Central Bank pushes interest rates to a new low, Germans are growing increasingly concerned about their savings. The money in their accounts is losing value and life insurance policies are yielding lower returns.

Investors and central bankers feel trapped. Read more.

Spiegel

Related,
- Part 2: A Transfer of Assets From the Poor to the Rich - Spiegel

Chile’s quarterly GDP growth exceeds estimates with a 4.7 percent hike compared to last year, while internal demand and investment rates disappoint.

After 21 months of leaving them unchanged,.. Read more.

Santiago Times

Chilean police have clashed with hundreds of middle and secondary school students who were protesting against an annual exam they say does not take diversity into account.

About 500 students aged between the ages of 13 and 18 clashed with police on Wednesday,.. Read more.

PressTV

Related,
- From protesters to legislators: former student leaders enter Congress - Santiago Times

Most Canadians have at one time or another heard the dubious platitude that Canada is an “honest broker” and a “peacekeeper” when it comes to international affairs.

This widely held view is one of the grand myths that are repeated time and again in mainstream political discourse in this country. Read more.

PressTV

Shir Hever: French President Hollande suggests Palestinians give up right of return in exchange for Israel ceasing new settlement construction.

TRNN

A court in Spain has ruled that German pharmaceutical company Grünenthal must compensate people born with birth defects in the 1960s due to the drug thalidomide.

The company must pay at least 20,000 euros to each victim. Read more.

DW

Related,
- Thalidomide pharmaceutical firm ordered to pay compensation to victims - El País

In Spain, hundreds of students took to the streets of Madrid to protest against the education reform enacted by the government of Mariano Rajoy, the protesters see this as an attack on education.

teleSUR

In France, farmers have protested rising taxes by blocking roads around the capital Paris. The angry farmers say they are fed up with what they call over-taxation. This they say includes the so-called "eco-tax" placed on road freights. The farmers believe the measure will lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.

Some are also against a government decision to focus on EU subsidies on poorer livestock farmers. Rising taxes have been a source of growing anger in France. Several violent anti-tax protests have erupted throughout the country during the past weeks. At least one fireman was killed in one of the incidents. Read more.

PressTV

Related,
- Protesters clash with police during Hollande-Letta meeting in Rome (video) - RT
- French fireman dies at farmers’ blockade - France24

- Thousands of trucks block French roads in tax protest - France24

NATO may be gradually withdrawing from Afghanistan, but the Alliance is making sure its troops are kept busy elsewhere.

Officials say military exercises on an unprecedented scale will take place in Europe over the coming years.

RT

The value of Bitcoin skyrocketed to a new record of $900. The price of the digital currency has now tripled since last month and this latest surge came thanks to some high power support from within the US. 

RT

Bitcoins: heeft u ze al? De virtuele munteenheid is bezig aan een enorme opmars. Ze bestaan alleen op het internet, maar je kunt er wel in de echte wereld spullen of diensten mee betalen.

Verscheidene Amerikaanse toezichthouders in de Senaat verklaren nu dat de bitcoin een legitiem financieel instrument is. Lees meer + video.

EenVandaag

During the winter, heating in China is heavily dependent on coal-fired plants. But together with car emissions, coal has become the leading cause of acid rain and toxic air pollution in the country.

So, CCTV reporter Guan Yang went to find out if there was any way to cut down on coal and still keep people warm.

CCTV

A new report from Reuters has discovered widespread accounting fraud at the Pentagon, describing a budget of more than $8 trillion disappearing into a mess of corrupted data, erroneous reports, and unauditable ledgers.

Sources from the Department of Finance and Accounting describe.. Read more.

The Verge

Related,
- Special Report: The Pentagon's doctored ledgers conceal epic waste - Reuters

At least 23 people were killed and 146 were injured in two explosions that hit south of Beirut near the Iranian embassy.

Among the martyrs was the Iranian embassy cultural Adviser, Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ansari, Iranian Ambassador in Lebanon Ghadanfar Roknabadi confirmed. Read more + video.

Al Manar

Related,
- Nearly two dozen die in blasts in Beirut - PressTV
- Beirut bombing: Twin attacks target Iranian embassy, 23 killed, 146 injured (video) - RT

- Al-Qaida-linked group claims responsibility for deadly Beirut attack - Haaretz
- Syria min. blames KSA, PG states, Israel for Beirut blasts - PressTV

Public debt holdings will not be classified as risky assets in the examination of the asset quality review of the European banks to be conducted by the European Central Bank (ECB), ECB governing council member Yves Mersch said Monday.

However, Mersch said no decision has yet been taken on the treatment of public debt.. Read more.

El País

Related,
- Spanish banks' bad loans hit record high in September (video) - PressTV
- Economy remains main risk to Spain’s banks, EC says - El País

- Brussels asks Spain for more fiscal adjustment to meet deficit obligations - El País
- Europe endorses Spain’s exit from bailout program - El País

Libyan army units take up positions around the city as militia fighters pull out.

Libyan army troops have swept into the capital in an operation to drive out militiamen after days of violence. Read more + video.

Al Jazeera

Related,
- Misrata units to quit Tripoli within 72 hours - Libya Herald
- Ajilat military intelligence chief murdered - Libya Herald

- Gharghour massacre death toll now at 47 - Libya Herald

MOSCOW, November 18 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian court ruled Monday to grant bail to three people out of the Greenpeace group that was detained in September for mounting a protest against oil drilling in the Arctic Sea.

A judge at Kalininsky District Court in St. Petersburg set the bail for freelance photographer Denis Sinyakov,.. Read more.

RIA Novosti

Related,
- Russia grants two Greenpeace activists bail for Arctic protest - DW
- Three Greenpeace crew members granted bail over Arctic oil rig protest (video) - RT

The renegade crypto-currency that's used to avoid the watchful eye of financial authorities, has made history yet again. Bitcoin's value surged past 500 dollars this weekend after months of steady growth.

But as the currency is scoring more and more points it keeps raising eyebrows in Washington, as Gayane Chichakyan reports.

RT

Related,
- U.S. Agencies to Say Bitcoins Offer Legitimate Benefits - Bloomberg
- Breaking!! SEC geeft toe: Bitcoin is geld - Beurs

TOKYO — Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Monday began moving fuel rods from a reactor building, in their most difficult and dangerous task since a tsunami crippled the facility in 2011.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said it had begun the process.. Read more.

Japan Today

Related,
- TEPCO begins removing nuclear fuel at Fukushima plant - Asahi Shimbun
- Nuclear power plants in disarray: Lack of waste burial site to delay Tokai reactor decommissioning - Asahi Shimbun

Prime Minister says a good deal would dismantle Iran's ability to prepare fissile material for a nuclear bomb; French president says France demands guarantees Iran will abandon nuclear weapons program.

Israel will not be bound by a “bad agreement” with Iran,.. Read more.

JPost

Related,
- Hollande talks tough on Iran during Israel visit (video) - France24
- France presents four demands on Iran deal - Al Arabiya

Saudis would allow Israel use of air space and provide drones, rescue helicopters and tanker planes, report says.

Israel and Saudia Arabia are secretly working together on plans for a possible attack.. Read more.

Haaretz

Related,
- Two old foes unite against Tehran - Sunday Times
- Report: Mossad working with Saudis on contingency plans for potential attack on Iran - JPost

- Iran diplomacy better than war, U.S. tells Israel - Al Arabiya

The European Students' Union has sent a message in support of Bulgarian students who have occupied lecture halls across the country, most notably the main building of Sofia University.

The ESU statement stresses on students' right to.. Read more.

Novinite

Related,
- Bulgarian Students Cancel Rally over Fears of Provocations - Novinite
- Sofia Evades Clashes during Socialist, Football Fans Marches - Novinite

The “civil patrols” by Bulgarian ultra-nationalist group National Unity will continue in capital city Sofia on November 18, leader Boyan Rasate told public broadcaster Bulgarian National Television.

His statement came on the same day that an ultra-nationalist march calling for.. Read more.

Sofia Globe

Related,
- Bulgarians March agaist Neo-Nazi Xenophobia - Novinite
- Police block nationalist vigilante group doing ID checks in Sofia - Novinite

Census reveals new poverty figures near 50 million.

TRNN

Related,
- Nearly one in six in poverty in the U.S.; children hit hard, Census says (video) - Washington Post

Tunisia Live's Nissaf Slama interviews rapper Klay BBJ on his music, arrest, and release from prison.

Tunisia Live

Lyric

Lyric

This episode was filmed in Bath and Bristol, England featuring special guests such as Michael Tsarion, Neil Hague, Ralph Ellis, Leo Rutherford, Neil Kramer, Dan Tatman and Peter Taylor.

We also interview a priest, university students, teachers and of course a couple random pub interviews. We begin the show discussing the symbolism of two major corporations, Starbucks and Apple. What is really being said in logos?

Red Ice Creations

De tijden van Big Brother lijken definitief te zijn aangebroken: onze sporen op het internet worden bijgehouden en onze telefoongesprekken worden afgeluisterd.

In Twee Dingen een week lang gesprekken over Big Brother. Met in deze uitzending Tomas Ross. Lees meer + audio.

Radio 1

In this week's special documentary episode of the podcast, we explore the life and legend of Lee Harvey Oswald. Was he a poor, disgruntled loner or an overachieving marine? A presidential assassin or a sheep-dipped patsy?

Find out in this week's edition of The Corbett Report.

Corbett Report

Related,
- 50yrs after JFK assassination: Choose your side in war on freedom - RT

BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- China will loosen its decades-long one-child population policy, allowing couples to have two children if one of them is an only child, according to a key decision issued on Friday by the Communist Party of China (CPC).

China will implement this new policy while adhering to the basic state policy of family planning,.. Read more.

Xinhua

Related,
- China's one-child policy to be relaxed as part of reforms package - Guardian

- De één kind-politiek van China heeft haar wortels in Nederland - De Ondernemer
- Eenkindpolitiek - Wikipedia

A cyber-activist behind a massive exposé on a US private intelligence firm that spied for the government, has been sentenced to ten years behind bars.

The case though, was anything but clear-cut, and is being described as a warning shot to whistleblowers.

RT

Related,
- Hedges: Jeremy Hammond Exposed State's Plan to Criminalize Democratic Dissent (video) - TRNN

So far this year, 240 civilians in Afghanistan have been either killed or injured by explosives - an increase of over 30% from 2012.

Over the last decade, NATO troops have dropped tens of thousands of bombs and laid out landmines throughout the country, many of which remain undetonated. Read more + video.

France24

Robert Parry: France was pursuing its own economic, regional interests in thwarting the nuke deal with Iran.

TRNN

Netanyahu presses France not to weaken on Iran; Israeli officials wage aggressive campaign in Washington to block the agreement.

The world powers and Iran may reach an agreement over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program as early as next week, a senior U.S. official said Friday. Read more.

Haaretz

Related,
- Six world powers and Iran 'close to deal' - Al Jazeera
- Iranian, EU Diplomats Discuss Upcoming Geneva Talks over Phone - Fars News

- Power: We have to test the Iranian regime before signing permanent nuclear deal (video) - JPost

- Netanyahu urges France not to weaken on Iran talks - JPost
- Why Did France Thwart The Iran nuclear deal? (video) - TRNN

(Reuters) - Since Hassan Rouhani became president, Iran has stopped expanding its uranium enrichment capacity, a U.N. inspection report showed on Thursday, in a potential boost for diplomacy to end Tehran's nuclear dispute with the West.

The quarterly report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also said.. Read more.

Reuters

Related,
- Behind the IAEA report: Iran halted uranium enrichment for maintenance purposes - JPost

JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces dispersed a weekly nonviolent protest in the Qalqiliya village of Kafr Qaddum on Friday, injuring at least 14 Palestinians.

Four people were hit by rubber-coated bullets.. Read more + photos.

Ma'an

Related,
- Israeli forces injure 3 with live bullets in clashes in al-Eizeriya - Ma'an

2 Palestinian civilians were killed by Israeli forces at military checkpoints in the West Bank. 2 Palestinian civilians were wounded by Israeli forces in border areas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces have continued to use excessive force against peaceful protesters in the West Bank. Read more.

PCHR

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Sewage has flooded the streets of a central Gaza City neighborhood as an ongoing fuel shortage and the shut down of the besieged region's sole functioning power plant has caused the failure of the strip's main waste water treatment plant.

Residents of the al-Sabra neighborhood in al-Zaytoun in central Gaza City.. Read more.

Ma'an

Related,
- Army Carries Out Two Airstrikes In Gaza - IMEMC

Gaza – Thursday evening November 14, 2013, Palestinian sources have reported that the Israeli Air Force carried out two separate airstrikes targeting what appeared to be open areas in Gaza city and Beit Hanoun.

The sources said that an Israeli F16 jet fired missiles targeting.. Read more.

IMEMC

Thirty seven people are now said to have been killed in the Gharghour shootings and at least 225 wounded, according to Tripoli SSC head, Hashim Bishr.

Nine of the dead had been taken to Tripoli Medical Centre when 25 people were being treated for their injuries. Read more.

Libya Herald

Related,
- Protest against Libya militias turns deadly (video) - Al Jazeera

WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency is secretly collecting bulk records of international money transfers handled by companies like Western Union — including transactions into and out of the United States — under the same law that the National Security Agency uses for its huge database of Americans’ phone records, according to current and former government officials.

The C.I.A. financial records program, which the officials said was authorized by provisions in the Patriot Act.. Read more.

NY Times

Related,
- CIA's Financial Spying Bags Data on Americans - WSJ
- Quick Guide: What Money-Transfer Data Does CIA Collect? - WSJ

A picture from the Bulgarian antigovernment rally on Tuesday, when violent clashes with riot police occurred, has been published on one of Facebook pages of popular graffiti artist Banksy.

The picture, made by photographer Anton Stankov, shows a.. Read more.

Novinite

Related,
- Peaceful Anti-Govt Rally Reported in Bulgarian Capital - Novinite
- Protesters, police play cat-and-mouse in Sofia - Sofia Globe

- Bulgaria’s protests: Rival rallies set for November 16 - Sofia Globe

Obligations were equivalent to 93.4 percent of GDP, just under government target for full year

Spain’s public debt climbed sharply in September to a new record high of 954.863 billion euros, casting doubt about the government’s ability to meet its target for the end of the year. Read more.

El País

Related,
- Brussels asks Spain for more fiscal adjustment to meet deficit obligations - El País
- No further spending cuts needed to meet 2014 deficit target, minister claims - El País

The ousted employees of Greece's former national broadcaster ERT join state teachers on this mass mobilization against relentless austerity policing in the crisis-afflicted EU member state.

So far this year, the government has shut down ERT, thus ousting 2.600 state media employees.. Read more.

The European Union has clinched a deal on a sharply trimmed 2014 budget after a marathon 16-hour session ending a long dispute over how best to spend taxpayers' money.

After decades of growth, next year's EU budget is set to be around 7% lower than this year's at 135.5 billion Euros in contributions by member states. Read more.

MercoPress

Chancellor Angela Merkel wants the next government to be unified on its EU policy, but her sister party is resorting to populism. 

Bavaria's Christian Social Union wants tougher provisions against deficit offenders and the ability to drive them out of the euro zone. Read more.

Spiegel

WILLEMSTAD – The Government of Curacao request assistance from the Netherlands and the other islands in the Dutch Kingdom to begin an offensive attack against organized crime.

This is according to the Minister of Justice, Nelson Navarro. Read more.

Curaçao Chronicle

WILLEMSTAD – The Minister of Justice, Nelson Navarro, is accountable in Parliament for the death of Luigi ‘Pretu’ Florentina and the investigation surrounding this case.

Pretu was the second suspect in the murder of the late political leader and Member of Parliament, Helmin Wiels. Read more.

Curaçao Chronicle

WILLEMSTAD – Minister Plenipotentiary Marvelyne Wiels denies the speculations about nepotism, resume fraud and she invented a top job at the ABN AMRO Bank.

The minister was under fire this afternoon at a press conference in Fort Amsterdam where the Prime Minister Ivar Asjes was also present. Read more.

Curaçao Chronicle

Gerelateerd,
- "Benoeming Wiels zaak Curaçao" (video) - NOS
- Twijfel over cv rijksminister Wiels - NOS

Suriname has launched a formal investigation into the son of President Desi Bouterse after he was charged by U.S. authorities with attempting to funnel weapons to Hizbullah, officials said Thursday.

Dino Bouterse is currently in U.S. custody following his extradition from Panama in August. Read more.

Naharnet

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- Foreign Affairs Minister expects local investigation into Bouterse allegations - DWT
- Suriname Opposition Demands Probe Into Allegations Against Dino Bouterse - Jamaica Gleaner

PARAMARIBO - Er is nog erg veel onduidelijkheid over de voortgang van de goudovereenkomst die de Surinaamse Staat met Surgold, de joint venture tussen Suralco en de Amerikaanse multinational Newmont Mining Corporation, van plan is aan te gaan.

Volgens president Desiré Bouterse heeft hij de overeenkomst.. Lees meer.

NoSpang

December 17, 1986: a voice is silenced. Machine gun fire shatters the stillness of the cold Bogota night. Motorcycle tires rip the pavement, leaving wisps of smoke in its wake. The director of newspaper El Espectador, Guillermo Cano, slumps over in his car, eyes unfocused, as the pools of blood darken around his motionless body.

Cano’s story serves as a reference point for journalists. Read more.

Colombia Reports

A possible amnesty for FARC guerrillas would violate Colombia’s commitments to international law, said a former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Bogota on Wednesday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a top-level international court based out of The Hague in Belgium,.. Read more.

Colombia Reports

Melissa Sepúlveda of the group Luchar wins leadership of FECh, plans to continue emblematic student federation’s support of free education with fierce autonomy

Universidad de Chile students voted to end Izquierda Autónoma’s (AI) two-year reign of its influential student federation Wednesday,.. Read more.

Santiago Times

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- Presidential debate part II: education and the economy - Santiago Times

The Mapuche's struggle to claim their lands is likely to influence the results of the coming elections in Chile.

After exhausting all the legal parameters to advance their rights, the only answer that they received from the government of this country was repression.

teleSUR

Opium farmers in Afghanistan are expecting a record harvest this year - bringing huge profits for warlords and heroin traffickers. Poppy production continues to spread at a staggering pace, with some growers claiming government officials are taking a cut from the lucrative business.

Let's cross live now to Kabul, to talk to Jean-Luc Lemahieu - he's the head of the UN drug control agency in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.

RT

Related,
- Afghan Opium Cultivation and Production Seen Rising - NY Times

NATO officials believe the threat that might originate from Syria continued

BRUSSELS - NATO officials have decided to extend the term for deployment of patriot missile batteries in Turkey as they believe the threat that might originate from Syria continued. Read more.

AA

Related,
- Turkey asks NATO to extend Patriot deployment near Syria border - Hürriyet

- Clashes on Syria border leave 1 dead, 7 injured - Today's Zaman
- Syrian Kurds’ military gains stir unease - Saudi Gazette

This is Hujaira town just a few kilometers south of the capital Damascus. Overlooking Seyeda Zaineb shrine and the highway to the international airport, the town transformed from being a commercial hub for the shrine visitor to an insurgents' stronghold and now it is the scene of the Syrian army's latest operation.

The fight in Hujaira had its challenges.. Read more.

PressTV

Armed groups in Syria, which have been thwarted by the military, are directing mortar attacks on their own neighborhoods in the capital Damascus. 

Their actions have left several dead including children.

teleSUR

(Reuters) - Violent protests shuttered some 250 Bangladesh garment factories near the capital Dhaka on Wednesday, as thousands of workers demanded higher wages at the outlets providing cheap clothing for retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Striking workers clashed with police for a third successive day,.. Read more.

Reuters

Large pharmaceutical companies are in business to make money, just like every other large corporation. So, when a new study published in BMJ finds the drug industry exaggerated the risk of swine flu (H1N1) and in turn made billions of dollars, we really shouldn’t be surprised.

According to the study “Academics and competing interests in H1N1 influenza medial reporting,”.. Read more.

Allvoices

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The number of Portuguese families who are not managing to pay their loans fell in September to a total of 658,900, but the number who are finding it tough to pay their mortgages is increasing, according to data compiled by Lusa News Agency from Bank of Portugal data.

These latest figures mean that the number of families in default dropped by.. Read more.

Portugal News

Slovenia's central bank chief, Bostjan Jazbec, has said he cannot rule out a bailout request from his struggling country as recession is deeper than expected.

He urged speedier reforms in the eurozone nation. Read more + video.

DW

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- EBRD Downgrades 2014 Forecast for Slovenia to 2.5% Contraction - Slovenia Times
- EU Commission to Asses Macroeconomic Imbalances in Slovenia - Slovenia Times

The tough economic times have ruined many lives, and it seems in France, they've taken them too. A recent report cites an alarming rate of suicide among farmers.

Tesa Arcilla traveled to one of the worst hit regions.

RT

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- Bretagne: de start van Europa’s 21e eeuwse boerenrevolte? - FoodLog

Many tons of antibiotics are administered every year to chickens and pigs in Europe, a trend that encourages the rise of drug-resistant microbes. 

But Denmark has shown how farmers can be made to abandon this policy of dangerous over-medication. Read more.

Spiegel

U.S. demands explanations from Israel; Palestinians threaten to call off peace talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered to halt potential construction of about 24,000 homes in the West Bank, including housing tenders for the contentious E-1 area outside Jerusalem. Read more.

Haaretz

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- Netanyahu instructs housing minister to 'reconsider' plans for 24,000 units beyond Green Line - JPost
- Israel cancels massive settlement plan after warning by acting PA chief (video) - PressTV

For a long time elite establishment gatekeepers in the West have scoffed at that those who claim Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned. As to those who claimed he was poisoned by Israel - well-of course they're crazy conspiracy theorists!

Yet these same people who ridiculed the idea of Arafat’s poisoning are.. Read more.

RT

Lyric

Move would follow expected lifting of state of emergency that was put into place in the summer.

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who was forced from power in 2011 after a popular uprising broke out against him,.. Read more.

JPost

Related,
- Delegation urges Morsi to appoint defence lawyer - Ahram