Roberto Abraham Scaruffi: World terrorism is funded from the UK-USA both directly and through their client States/governments...

Wednesday 30 July 2014

World terrorism is funded from the UK-USA both directly and through their client States/governments...

Top News
MEMENTOS FROM CAPTIVITY: Items saved by Harald Ickler, a Swede living in Germany, from his 54 days as a hostage in 2003. He was on what he thought would be a four-week adventure vacation when he was kidnapped in the Algerian desert by jihadists who would soon become an official arm of Al Qaeda.
Paying Ransoms, Europe Bankrolls Qaeda Terror

By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI

While some countries, including the United States, refuse to pay ransoms, European ones do - inadvertently helping to bankroll Al Qaeda's global operations.
Critics are saying that President Vladimir V. Putin overreached by suggesting that Russia could thrive without the West.
As Sanctions Pile Up, Russians' Alarm Grows Over Putin Tactics

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR

Fears are growing that the festering turmoil in Ukraine and the new round of sanctions announced Tuesday will damage the economy to the extent that ordinary Russians feel it.
Palestinian firefighters responded Tuesday to a blast at Gaza's main power plant. The attack cut the electricity needed to pump water and sewage systems.
Loss of Shelter and Electricity Worsens a Crisis for Fleeing Gazans

By BEN HUBBARD

Three weeks of war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have pushed the territory to the brink of humanitarian disaster.
For more top news, go to NYTimes.com »


Editors' Picks

WORLD

Anatomy of an Abduction

By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI

Rare video made by the militants behind a 2003 kidnapping of 32 Europeans shows the abductors smiling and waving for the camera as they ride their victims' motorcycles.
An ad for the 1930s film

OPINION | EDITORIAL OBSERVER

The Federal Marijuana Ban Is Rooted in Myth and Xenophobia

By BRENT STAPLES

An atmosphere of hysteria in the 1930s took hold and shaped a national policy that lives on today.

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"Why isn't anybody coming here to pick up the pieces?"
MARIA NIKOLAYEVA, a retiree in Petropavlovka, Ukraine, who was distraught at finding personal belongings from the crashed Malaysia Airlines plane in her garden.
Today's Video
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin attended a wreath-laying ceremony on Sunday in Severomorsk, Russia.
Video VIDEO: How the E.U. Signed On to Sanctions
Why Europe had been so hesitant to act but is now set to dramatically escalate sanctions against Russia.
. Related Article
Video VIDEO: Intersection | High Line Break Time
Marika Emi picked up her minimalist, all-black style from the friends she made while living in New York. Though she has since moved back home to Hawaii, "Old habits die really hard," she said.
For more video, go to NYTimes.com/Video »
World
Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, called sanctions a
Coordinated Sanctions Aim at Russia's Ability to Tap Its Oil Reserves

By PETER BAKER, ALAN COWELL and JAMES KANTER

The United States and Europe began a joint effort to curb Russia's long-term ability to develop new oil resources, taking aim at a source of Kremlin power in retaliation for its intervention in Ukraine.
. Interactive  Interactive: How Much Europe Depends on Russian Energy
. BP Profit Rises, but It Warns of Risks in Russia
Former Public Security Minister, Zhou Yongkang, at the China's National Congress meeting in 2007. 
China Says Former Security Chief Is Being Investigated for Corruption

By CHRIS BUCKLEY and ANDREW JACOBS

Zhou Yongkang, who retired from the Politburo Standing Committee in late 2012, is the most senior Communist Party figure to face a formal corruption inquiry.
. Graphic: Zhou Family Ties
Speaking to air force commanders in Tehran on Thursday, Ayatollah Ali Khameini said Iran
Lawmakers Voice Skepticism on Iran Nuclear Deal

By DAVID E. SANGER

If an accord is reached, it would not be a formal treaty, so the Senate would not be called upon to ratify it.
For more world news, go to NYTimes.com/World »
U.S.
A law would have closed the sole abortion clinic in Mississippi, the Jackson Women's Health Organization, by requiring its doctors to obtain admitting privileges at local hospitals.
Judges Block Abortion Curb in Mississippi

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON and ERIK ECKHOLM

A three-judge panel ruled that in closing the sole clinic, the state would have shifted its constitutional obligations to neighboring states.
In Church Attics, Clues to the Private Life of Early America

By MICHAEL PAULSON

Historians are racing against time to find and preserve records from more than 250 years ago that were kept by New England congregations.
. Video  Video: Preserving the Church's Past
Jesse Ventura claimed that he was defamed in a best-selling book.
$1.8 Million for Ventura in Defamation Case

By MONICA DAVEY

Jesse Ventura had sued the estate of Chris Kyle, a former member of the Navy SEALs, saying his book included passages about him that were defamatory.
For more U.S. news, go to NYTimes.com/US »

Business
Steven A. Cohen, the founder of the family office Point72 Asset Management, at a New York Knicks game last year.

DEALBOOK

Profits Soaring After Disgrace at Steven Cohen's Hedge Fund

By MATTHEW GOLDSTEIN

The billionaire investor's revamped firm, Point72 Asset Management, generated a profit of nearly $1 billion for the first half of this year.
Graffiti in Buenos Aires says,

DEALBOOK

As Talks Falter, Bond Default by Argentina Appears Likely

By ALEXANDRA STEVENSON

Argentina is likely to default on billions of dollars of bonds on Wednesday as talks between both sides appeared to break down.
Demonstrators in Illinois in May calling for McDonald's to adopt a wage floor of $15.
Ruling Says McDonald's Is Liable for Workers

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

If upheld, the decision by the National Labor Relations Board's general counsel could upend employment practices in the fast-food industry and invite unionization.
For more business news, go to NYTimes.com/Business »
Sports
Derek Owens, right, with the lawyer Steve Berman at his office in Seattle in 2011.
N.C.A.A. Deal Revamps Head-Injury Care

By BEN STRAUSS

The settlement brings a significant change in the care and safety of current and former college athletes, including a $70 million medical monitoring fund and a new national protocol for head injuries.

ON GOLF

Becoming a Champion at Charming the Fans

By KAREN CROUSE

In his first news conference since winning the British Open, Rory McIlroy talked about being a grumpy teenager and his inconsistencies as a professional golfer.
T-shirts covered empty seats before a Clippers playoff game last season.

ON PRO BASKETBALL

One Arena, Two Directions for Teams in Los Angeles

By SCOTT CACCIOLA

The Clippers can look to brighter times ahead now that Donald Sterling finally appears to be gone, while the Lakers look back on their glory days.
. Donald Sterling Loses Bid to Block Sale of Clippers
For more sports news, go to NYTimes.com/Sports »
Arts
A Battle of the Hamlets

By BEN BRANTLEY

A theater critic imagines a clash of the greatest versions of Shakespeare's melancholy prince, as portrayed by John Barrymore, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton and others.
Emily K. Rafferty
President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art to Step Down

By ROBIN POGREBIN

Emily K. Rafferty, the first woman to serve as president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced that she would step down in the spring of 2015.
Union members and supporters during the 1980 labor battle at the Metropolitan Opera.
Labor Struggles at Metropolitan Opera Have a Past

By MICHAEL COOPER

There are historic examples that point to reasons for worry in the current contract dispute between 15 unions and the Met.
For more arts news, go to NYTimes.com/Arts »
Dining & Wine

RESTAURANT REVIEW | RUSS & DAUGHTERS CAFE

Standing 100 Years? So You Should Sit

By PETE WELLS

The Russ & Daughters Cafe is modeled on the family's 100-year-old Lower East Side store, but adds to and deviates from the original in inspired ways.

THE POUR

Splendor in Solitude

By ERIC ASIMOV

A tiny Basque corner of southwest France, isolated by the Pyrenees, offers compelling wines.
Gavin Kaysen, formerly the executive chef of Café Boulud in New York,  is opening his own restaurant  in Minneapolis.
Chefs Move Beyond New York

By REBECCA FLINT MARX

Smaller cities are increasingly attractive for New York chefs, who find savvy audiences willing to support innovative restaurants.
For more dining news and recipes, go to NYTimes.com/Dining »
Obituaries
Captain Van Kirk, left, who was known as Dutch, with Col. Paul W. Tibbets Jr., center, and Maj. Thomas W. Ferebee in 1945 after they flew the Enola Gay to Hiroshima to drop an atomic bomb.
Theodore Van Kirk, 93, Enola Gay Navigator, Dies

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN

Mr. Van Kirk, a navigator, guided a flight that, six-and-a-half hours after takeoff, reached Hiroshima with its atomic bomb just seconds behind schedule.
Margot Adler in 2006.
Margot Adler, 68, Journalist and Priestess, Dies

By MARGALIT FOX

Ms. Adler, a longtime reporter for NPR on myriad subjects, was a Wiccan high priestess and the author of "Drawing Down the Moon," a 1979 survey of contemporary pagan movements.
James Shigeta and Nancy Kwan in the 1961 film
James Shigeta, 85, Leading Man in 'Flower Drum Song,' Dies

By WILLIAM YARDLEY