Yemen: Recipes imposed from outside won’t work

Russia consistently calls for a peaceful resolution to the internal political crisis in Yemen. This should be achieved through an inclusive inter-Yemeni dialogue under UN auspices. No ready-made solutions may be imposed from the outside.
Continued hostilities only strengthen the positions of terrorists in the country, and must be stopped. Coalition air strikes have continued despite announcements of an end to the Decisive Storm operation. Renewed strikes have resulted in new civilian casualties. Needless to say that we are concerned with these developments.
We support the UN's intention to bring together all Yemeni stakeholders in Geneva. It is important to ensure the inclusiveness of the process. The Houthis should also become party to the talks, representing a third of Yemen's population. Attempts to isolate one party from the political process will only lead to new fighting.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
View the original article here

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Effective sovereignty through equality of constituent peoples

On May 12, the UN Security Council will hold a debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia is interested in the sustainable and normal functioning of Bosnian state institutions.

The principle of equality for the three constituent peoples, as provided for by the Dayton Accords, must be fully respected.

It is important to continue the policy of conferring full responsibilities for the situation in the country onto the Bosnians themselves. After new central and entities’ state bodies were formed on 31 March, new opportunities are open in that regard. Abolishing the Office of the High Representative is long overdue.

International partners should seriously address the emergence of extremism within the Muslim Bosniak community. This is a threat to the post-conflict Bosnian society that should be adequately assessed. A new confirmation of this trend is the terrorist attack by an armed Islamist against a police station in the town of Zvornik on April 27.

We continue to witness selective accusations against Bosnian Serbs, as well as Bosnian Croats, regarding their activities allegedly undermining the constitutional foundations, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. These accusations are illegitimate and unconstructive. They distort the real situation in the country and create unnecessary tensions in relations between the constituent peoples.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

View the original article here

Appeals court tells FCC to let merger docs stay secret

A federal appeals court has ruled that secret business documents related to the proposed merger between AT&T and DirecTV don’t need to be disclosed.

The Federal Communications Commission said previously that confidential business information involving the relationships between content producers and DirecTV and similar television service providers should be open for the public to analyze.

CBS, Viacom and Disney took aim at the FCC’s request, however, and brought the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. There, on Friday this week, Circuit Judge David Tatel quashed the FCC’s demands and sided with the producers who insisted that publishing the contracts would “cause substantial harm” to their businesses “and the highly competitive programming marketplace in which they operate.”

In response, the DC Circuit said it did not believe the FCC had adequately proved why disclosure to the public was “necessary

” to the agency in determining whether or not to approve the $48.9 billion proposed merger.

“[T]to justify disclosure, the information must be ‘necessary’ to the Commission’s review process. Otherwise, Congress and the Commission have decided, the risk to the affected businesses will not be worth it,”

the motion reads in part. According to the appeals court, the FCC’s request does not meet this requirement.

READ MORE: AT&T to buy DirecTV for $48.5 billion in mega acquisition

“We share petitioners’ apprehension about a process that puts tremendous pressure on the commission, the parties and this court to get their ducks in a row in a short time,”

the court said in its decision. “In our view, the commission has failed to make its case.”

In response to the ruling, a spokesperson for FCC said the agency was “studying the opinion now and considering the options available to the commission.”

Meanwhile, Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, said in a statement: “We are delighted the court sided with broadcast networks and NAB in protecting highly confidential information from being widely disseminated during merger reviews.”

View the original article here

Parade Relay: RT to air live Victory Day commemorations from across Russia

The Parade Relay is the latest in RT’s series of special projects dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War, as its theater of WWII is known.

RT will air a live broadcast of Victory Day parades from all around Russia as part of an extensive project to mark the occasion. Dubbed the Parade Relay, the event will stream on RT channels and online platforms around the world in Russian, English, Spanish and Arabic on May 9.

RT will broadcast military parades live on Victory Day from Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Tyumen, Samara, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladivostok, St. Petersburg, Severomorsk and other Russian cities. In Sevastopol, RT will cover the land, sea and air force show. The Relay starts at 7:00 am Moscow time (4:00 am GMT) with a march in Novosibirsk.

The Parade Relay will run live on RT International, RT Arabic, RT Spanish TV channels, online on RT Russian and on RT’s YouTube channels in English, Russian, Arabic and Spanish as well.

This is the latest in RT’s special on-air and online projects dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War and the Soviet victory over the Nazi Germany in World War 2.

“Living photos"

retells the most significant episodes of the war through animated sketches on the basis of war-era photos and eye-witness testimonies. 3D-reconstructions of major places and events of the Great Patriotic War appears in RT studios throughout broadcasts, taking the viewer back in time to witness the War’s iconic battles – including the Battle of Stalingrad, the defense of the Brest Fortress and the Battle of Moscow. The broadcast of the RT International flagship channel will be airing in Moscow’s international press center on May 8th and 9th.

Online, RT has launched http://9may.rt.com/— a special multimedia portalavailable in English, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, French and German. The website offers historical information, unique photos, interactive battle map, and chronology of the main events of the War. It also features the complete War Witness: Heritage documentary series, with 70 veterans and survivors of the Great Patriotic War – and their descendants – offering unique testimony and reflection on the war that shaped their lives and the fate of the world.

Ahead of the Victory Day celebrations, RT together with Russia’s oldest record label Melodiya have put together a special collection of the most iconic songs from the era entitled ‘Songs of Victory’. The music inspired and carried the Soviet people through the horrors of war, and became an emotional, spiritual outlet for the people who played an important part in achieving victory.

View the original article here

Libya against EU migrant plan, ‘won’t accept any boots on the ground’ – country’s UN envoy

Illegal migrants who attempted to sail to Europe, sit in a boat carrying them back to Libya, after their boat was intercepted at sea by the Libyan coast guard, at Khoms, Libya May 6, 2015. (Reuters/Aymen Elsahli)

EU has failed to get a green light from Libya’s government about its migrant crisis plan, the nation’s envoy to the UN, Ibrahim Dabbashi, told AP. Libya is against the destruction of illegal migrant boats and the union’s ground troops on its territory.

"They never asked anything of us. Why should we send them this letter?

" Dabbashi asked, referring to Libya’s approval to the request for EU ground forces to get involved.

“We will not accept any boots on the ground,

” he added.

Libya has been largely lawless since the toppling of longtime strongman Muammar Gaddafi four years ago, with which the EU and US assisted the opposition forces. Since then a wave of migrants fleeing the internal conflict has increased and the EU has been facing a growing wave of criticism for not doing enough to save those fleeing to Europe.

The problem of illegal migration has been a growing concern in Europe, as more and more people are choosing the dangerous path of crossing the Mediterranean to escape conflict in the Middle East. This year alone, around 1,800 migrants have been killed while trying to cross the Mediterranean, the UN refugee agency said. About 51,000 succeeded in coming to Europe.

EU officials have been putting together a draft Security Council resolution, which would authorize EU forces to seize suspected boats believed to be used for smuggling illegal migrants. The EU wants the have the authority to confiscate the boats in international and Libya’s territorial waters as well as the country’s coast.

However, before any of that can happen, the western-backed Libyan government must send a request, especially if the EU troops are to be involved.

READ MORE: 6,800 migrants recovered from Mediterranean in 48 hours

Dabbashi clarified on Friday that Libya is against the destruction of the migrant smuggling boats because it would be too easy to mistake an illegal boat with other kinds of vessels.

In terms of sending more boats near Libya to improve migrants rescue operations, Dabbashi said that it is a "completely stupid decision

" since it would only inspire more migrants to make their way down to the Libyan coast.

The best solution to this problem is to supply the "legitimate" government with weapons, the UN envoy argued. Libya’s government is fighting with rival groups led by Islamist-allied militias, who have gained control of the capital, Tripoli.

“Once the government retakes the capital, Tripoli, and controls the whole western area of Libya, I think it would be very easy to stop this flow of illegal immigrants to Europe because we know everyone who is involved in this business

,” he said.

Russia has also spoken out against the EU plan to destroy the illegal boats carrying migrants, stating the move goes “too far

.”

“We think that we should stay within the scope of what we have, roughly what we have for the piracy situation off the coast of Somalia. We have a good precedent, so why not use it,

” Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin told reporters on Thursday.

Physically destroying the boats could lead to legal problems, Churkin added. “For instance, if you lease a boat to somebody and then that somebody is using it to transport migrants illegally and then the boat is destroyed, what about the owner of the boat?

” he said.

View the original article here

Record number of Americans living abroad renounce citizenship

A record number of Americans gave up their US citizenship in the first quarter of 2015, according to IRS data. This is blamed on the taxation of income earned outside the US, along with laws expanding offshore bank account and asset reporting.

A total of 1,335 people renounced US citizenship during the first three months of the year, topping the previous record by 18 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The new figure puts 2015 on track to exceed last year's 3,415 renunciations, which is an all-time record.

READ MORE: New tax law pushes record number of Americans to renounce US citizenship

The data released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) includes the names of those who renounced their citizenship, but not their reasons for doing so. However, it comes as the US government is becoming more aggressive when it comes to the assets of the estimated 6 million Americans who live abroad.

The United States is the only country within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that taxes citizens wherever they reside.

American citizens who live abroad can exclude as much as $100,800 in earned income and can receive tax credits for payments to foreign governments. However, US tax liabilities can apply to children born to Americans abroad. In many cases, there are only partial offsets available for double taxation.

The paperwork involved for US citizens living abroad can be so complex that it requires professional help from accountants and lawyers – resulting in incredibly high fees for a relatively simple tax return.

READ MORE: 400% rise: Fee to renounce US citizenship goes up fourfold to $2,350

Although these laws were rarely enforced in the past, scrutiny of US citizens abroad has intensified due to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), passed by Congress in 2010.

The law, which took effect in July, requires US citizens with foreign assets in excess of $50,000 to report those assets every year. It also requires foreign financial institutions to report the incomes of their US customers to the IRS.

FATCA also requires US financial institutions to impose a 30 percent withholding tax on payments made to foreign banks which don't agree to identify and provide information on US account holders.

More than 140,000 banks and other firms have signed up to comply with FATCA. However, the law has prompted some banks to decline doing business with people who have ties to the US. If a bank mistakenly fails to report accounts held by US citizens, they can face steep penalties.

The Obama administration has praised the law as the “global standard”

in battling tax evasion, though it has come under fierce criticism from many, particularly from Americans living abroad.

Washington's tax policies for those living abroad have also put two high-profile personalities in the spotlight.

READ MORE: US Treasury pressures overseas banks with ‘financial imperialism’ over tax evader

Eduardo Saverin, a Brazilian-born co-founder of Facebook, gave up his US citizenship in 2012. The billionaire moved to Singapore, where top earners are taxed only 20 percent on their earnings, and where capital gains taxes are not be imposed.

At the time, it was estimated that Saverin's move would save him $67 million in US federal taxes. However, it was never officially confirmed that his citizenship renunciation was for tax purposes.

Meanwhile, London Mayor Boris Johnson – who was born in New York – said earlier this year that he would give up his US citizenship. The statement followed his settlement of a US tax bill which he described as “absolutely outrageous.”

However, his name was not on the list released Friday.

View the original article here