The Morning Brief - Lignet
Could Al Qaeda Be Behind the Boston Marathon Bombings?
Although U.S. government officials have given no indications of who was
behind the horrific bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed at least
three people and injured and maimed over 150, this attack has
unmistakable parallels with the smaller scale terrorist attacks that
radical Islamist groups based in Yemen and Pakistan have attempted in
the United States since 2001.
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Capriles Won the Election, Says Former US Ambassador
Otto Reich, former ambassador to Venezuela under President Ronald
Reagan, told LIGNET in an exclusive interview that he thinks Henrique
Capriles actually won the Venezuelan presidential election on Sunday,
but said the official results, which showed the Socialist candidate
Nicolas Maduro as the winner with 50.7 percent of the vote, are unlikely
to be overturned given that Chavez loyalists control every branch of
government, including the country’s electoral commission.
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Sudan-South Sudan: Progress on Fragile Peace Accord
The historic visit of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to meet with
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir in Juba, the capital of South Sudan,
on April 12 has set the stage for reconciliation and economic recovery
for both nations. The recent resumption of South Sudan oil shipments is
crucial to both nations but depends on a fragile peace agreement and a
precarious security situation.
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North Korea: Kerry Shows Flexibility in Overture to Jumpstart
Talks
Wrapping up his trip to Asia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry
signaled the Obama administration’s willingness to engage directly with
North Korea, saying he was open to considering a variety of different
types of negotiations. While emphasizing that certain conditions had to
be met before talks could start, notably a commitment that North Korea
agree to discuss ending its nuclear program, he was less concrete about
other specific and tangible steps Pyongyang would have to take other
than showing it was “actually prepared to negotiate.”
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Venezuela: Narrow Win for Maduro May be End of Chavez Legacy
Hugo Chavez’s hand-picked successor Nicolás Maduro won the election to
succeed the late Venezuelan president, but with a margin so narrow –
less than one percent – that it suggests the country’s economic and
crime problems are overshadowing Chavez’s legacy and will pose major
problems for Maduro’s tenure as president.
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Bitcoin Virtual Money Opens Door for Terror Finance
Bitcoins, a virtual, digital, peer-to-peer currency traded over the
Internet, is an alternative to traditional currencies that provide
secrecy and anonymity for international financial transactions. These
features are worrying governments since they have made the virtual
currency popular with criminals and potential terrorists.
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Tax Evasion Data Dump Rattles European Governments
A major new report detailing offshore banking activities has rattled
European governments and businesses. The expose has put increased
pressure on the tax havens to reform their tax and secrecy regulations
and to bring tax evaders to justice.
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