The super-rich lost a great deal in 2009, with hundreds of unfortunates losing their billionaire status. A Swiss private banker talks about the ugly consequences of the crisis for his elite clientele and the discreet services he is sometimes asked to perform, such as buying secret apartments for clients’ mistresses. When he speaks, Heinrich Weber…
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers — The bearded Taliban prisoners at Bagram broke off from a spirited game of soccer in the yard to greet a McClatchy reporter, the first journalist allowed into the notorious U.S. jail in Afghanistan since detainees there were moved into a shiny new multimillion-dollar facility….
Afghan flag flown over Marjah town Ceremony marks return of civilian control, but Taliban influence remains evident. Afghan and international forces have handed over control of the southern Afghanistan town of Marjah to civilian authorities, in the wake of a huge military operation to capture the area from Taliban control. Officials raised the Afghan flag…
Brazil’s Lula visits Haiti troops Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, has arrived in Haiti to see for himself the damage last month’s earthquake caused. He will meet Rene Preval, his Haitian counterpart, and visit Brazilian troops at the UN’s new logistical base there. Even before the earthquake, Brazil had a “special relationship” with…
The Heron TP drone has a wingspan the same size as a Boeing 737 passenger jet
With a loud “whoosh” and a blast of hot air, the pile of tires, wood and 2.5 tons of raw opium burst into flames. It’s a government-sponsored “drug burn” in the western Afghan city of Herat, an event intended to reinforce the government’s claim that it is moving aggressively against the opium trade. We flew early Sunday morning from…
The son of one of Hamas’s founding members was a spy in the service of Israel for more than a decade, helping prevent dozens of Islamist suicide bombers from finding their targets, it emerged today. Codenamed the Green Prince by Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas co-founder Sheikh…
How Freelance Writers Can Use Digg The worst thing a new writer can do is set up a Digg account and immediately begin “digging” his own articles. Remember, Digg is to share truly interesting content, and Digg members do not look kindly on self-promotion. Profiting from Digg requires patience, but a few minutes each day…
The Facebook games that millions love (and hate) By Doug Gross, // –> — Early each morning, millions of farmers around the world rise to toil in their fields. By night, gangs of mobsters scheme and legions of poker players shuffle up and deal. Sure, none of it’s real. But the overwhelming popularity of so-called…