Miscellaneous News

plawolf

Lieutenant General
Hopefully it's a good sign that the gunman is holding hostages rather than shooting people on sight Mumbai style. Gives the negotiators and police sharpshooters a chance to end this without the loss of innocent lives.
 

no_name

Colonel
The lone gun man and 2 hostages are dead after police stormed the premise. 3 more people are hospitalised for non serious injuries, including one police.

I wonder if they made an attempt at negotiation.
 

Miragedriver

Brigadier
Ruble turmoil leads to Apple halting online sales in Russia

Technology giant Apple says it cannot sell products online in Russia because the ruble's value is too volatile for it to set prices.

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There was an article in the Wall Street Jornal (about two week ago and I can’t find it now) stating that the ruble is stabilizing. Russia now has a ~$1.1 trillion economy, roughly the same as Mexico but with a lower per capita income than Mexico. Interesting.



I will now get back to bottling my Malbec
 

wtlh

Junior Member
*** BREAKING NEWS ***

US and Cuba seek to normalise ties after 50 years.

Obama has just made a televised a presidential speech to announce this important and significant policy change. Cuba is no longer going to be regarded as a "state sponsoring terrorism" by the US, and current sanctions and travel restrictions are to be lifted.

Cuba has made an "important announcement" (by President Raul Castro) on the national TV as well.

Kerry is going to lead a high level delegation to Cuba shortly. Presumably Obama would visit Cuba later.

This is the Nixon moment for Cuba for sure.
 

solarz

Brigadier
*** BREAKING NEWS ***

US and Cuba seek to normalise ties after 50 years.

Obama has just made a televised a presidential speech to announce this important and significant policy change. Cuba is no longer going to be regarded as a "state sponsoring terrorism" by the US, and current sanctions and travel restrictions are to be lifted.

Cuba has made an "important announcement" (by President Raul Castro) on the national TV as well.

Kerry is going to lead a high level delegation to Cuba shortly. Presumably Obama would visit Cuba later.

This is the Nixon moment for Cuba for sure.

Amazing! This is the first piece of good news in a while!
 

delft

Brigadier
*** BREAKING NEWS ***

US and Cuba seek to normalise ties after 50 years.

Obama has just made a televised a presidential speech to announce this important and significant policy change. Cuba is no longer going to be regarded as a "state sponsoring terrorism" by the US, and current sanctions and travel restrictions are to be lifted.

Cuba has made an "important announcement" (by President Raul Castro) on the national TV as well.

Kerry is going to lead a high level delegation to Cuba shortly. Presumably Obama would visit Cuba later.

This is the Nixon moment for Cuba for sure.
I would be very be very surprised to see Obama visit Cuba unless it is to surrender Gitmo and so get rid of the Gitmo jail. :)
 

wtlh

Junior Member
I would be very be very surprised to see Obama visit Cuba unless it is to surrender Gitmo and so get rid of the Gitmo jail. :)

I would imagine Obama would want to visit Cuba to seal his legacy. Whether Havana really wants him to visit is of course another question. But I would guess Raul Castro probably wanted this legacy too. I think most Cubans would welcome the normalisation of relations with the US. So who knows, may be they can overlook some of the thorny issues and pretend all is happy and jolly for a couple of days?
 

delft

Brigadier
I would imagine Obama would want to visit Cuba to seal his legacy. Whether Havana really wants him to visit is of course another question. But I would guess Raul Castro probably wanted this legacy too. I think most Cubans would welcome the normalisation of relations with the US. So who knows, may be they can overlook some of the thorny issues and pretend all is happy and jolly for a couple of days?
There is bound to be a backlash in Congress as it is if only from a minority of members but a most unholy row if he were to visit Havana. Getting rid of Gitmo is really the only way to get some legacy but I don't expect it.
Raul Castro wants a stronger Cuba, not a few days of jollification.

Btw yesterday I saw that the Dutch shipbuilder Damen, known for its small warships, has a shipyard in Santiago de Cuba called Damex.

Correction: The GOP will be be the largest party in both Houses of Congress so Obama might meet opposition of both majorities.
 
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