Football authorities vowed to excise the “cancer” of match-fixing, but said tougher laws were needed worldwide to protect the bruised integrity of the world’s most popular sport. FIFA director of security Ralk Mutschke told a two-day gathering with Interpol that the world…
Today’s Scuttlebot: Found Money and Seeing in the Dark
The technology reporters and editors of The New York Times scour the Web for important and peculiar items. For Tuesday, selections include a lot of questions about an American scientist dead in Singapore, a neuroscientist who says no computer will ever replicate the human brain and the sites that tie the Web together. … Read More
Swiss tax haven is over
Swiss bank UBS (AFP Photo / Carl Court)Switzerland will now assist international tax authorities in disclosing information on bank accounts held by foreigners who avoid taxation at home. Joint efforts by the EU, the US and number of other countries have led to Switzerland introducing new banking laws on February 1. The new regulation now allows foreign tax services to send group requests for bank account information of their citizens. Banks, nominal account holders, agents or trust managers will now be obliged to provide the information.These requests can take a number of forms, partner at Paragon Advice Group, Aleksandr Zakharov told Vedomosti daily. A tax authority can request data on a group of people united by com
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mon criteria, though it’s still has to be seen how it will work – so-called “fishing” requests are strictly prohibited, Zakharov explained. Also international tax services, apart from the American, will be able to collect data relevant from January 1, 2013, he added.Information, collected by Russian tax authorities will not only cause troubles for Russians holding funds in Swiss banks, but can also toughen the procedure of checking the source of the money, when placing them in Switzerland, Zakharov believes.Some express doubts about avoiding Russian taxation in the first place. “I don’t quite see the reason for avoiding the Russian fiscal system, when it’s one of the best in world when it comes to income tax,” head of the Russian representative office of Diamond Age Investemnt, Slava Rabinovich told Business FM. “Few countries in the world ask its citizens for 13% income tax. So potential punishment and problems are too high compared to such a low tax and there is simply no point of hiding from taxes, have you accounts on Switzerland, Monaco or Singapore?”A major part of Russian oil is traded through Russian oil ‘daughter’ companies, most of which are registered in Geneva. They include Gunvor, Rosneft, TNK-BP and Lukoil. … Read More
Inflatable hope: NASA looks forward to a blow-up space module
This NASA photo shows NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and President and founder of Bigelow Aerospace Robert T. Bigelow as they talk while standing next to the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) during a media briefing where it was announced that the BEAM expandable space habitat technology will be tested on the International Space Station on January 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP Photo/NASA)NASA has spotted an evolution in space engineering that could save money for space exploration if privately developed inflatable space dwelling prove to be successful.A new agreement between NASA and a Nevadan firm to add a privately built module to the International Space Station could evolve into uses of the innovative technology beyond low-Earth orbit, space agency and company officials said on Wednesday.NASA’s $17.8 million venture with Bigelow Aerospace to build an inflatable module, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), is planned to be tested at the ISS in 2015.California-based SpaceX company will help BEAM make it to orbit by providing a Falcon 9 rocket. Once in space, the module will be installed on an open dock of the station’s Node 3 by uniting the module using a robotic arm.The Beam weighs around 1,360 kilograms and is about 4 meters long and 3.2 meters wide.Bigelow Aerospace has so far spent around $250m to develop inflatable space habitation. It has preliminary agreements with seven non-US space and research agencies in the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Sweden and the UAE.NASA has placed high hopes in private industries to develop ways to take its astronauts to and from the space station. That service is now provided by Russia at a cost of more than $60 million per person. … Read More
Russia stuck between Guinea-Bissau and Vietnam in the ranking of economic freedom
(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko)Russia has moved up 5 points in the rating for economic freedom but remained pretty low in the overall list. It sits in 139th place out of 185 countries, and is classified as “mostly unfree”. Russia got 51.1 points out of 100 in a scale that measures the level of economic freedom in selected countries, sandwiched between Guinea-Bissau and Vietnam. Asian countries topped the ranking, with Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia taking the top 3 positions in the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom compiled by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation think tank.The grade is assigned according to the state of such economic and social indicators as a rule of law, the amount of the government in the economy, regulatory efficiency and the level of market openness. Burkina Faso, Dominican Republic and Azerbaijan open the section for “mostly unfree” countries, leaving Russia behind with their rankings between 59.7 – 59.9 points.Another ranking by the World Bank indicating the ease of doing business across 185 countries put Russia 6 places higher in 2012 than the year before – at the number 112 economy. Earlier in the year President Vladimir Putin voiced the ambitious goal to move the country up to 20th place by 2020.However, poor law enforcement, corruption and red tape remain the key stumbling blocks on Russia’s way to a more economically efficient country. Political realities in Russia also make its economic profile look more dubious, Ms. Bogenrief, from ACM Partners, told Business RT. “It’s no secret the world is, if not outwardly than certainly on the periphery, concerned about Vladimir Putin’s recent re-ascension to the Russian presidency.To many, in 2012, it appeared that the “old Russia” was back, an assumption that demands attention on investment pricing curves.”On a more positive note,“the World Bank report shows that there has been some improvement in cutting red tape and the recent Transparency International Corruption Perception report also shows a small improvement in Russia’s position,” added Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Sberbank CIB. “Entry into the WTO in August is also a very positive step in this direction. So, a hopeful trend but a lot more needs to be done to attract the greater volume of investors required,” the expert concluded.According to the Heritage Foundation rating, economic freedom in advanced countries is fading away, which is now a key issue, according to one of the ranking authors Terry Miller, a director of the Center for International Trade and Economics at the Heritage Foundation.“Particularly concerning are the rise of populist “democratic” movements that use the coercive power of government to redistribute income and control economic activity,” Miller wrote in his comment in the Wall Street Journal.Among 5 countries classified as “free,” where New Zealand and Switzerland follow the leaders only Singapore managed to improve its performance since the previous ranking. All the rest lost between 0.1 and 0.7 points. No matter how surprising it may seem, but countries in struggling Europe made the best progress in the ranking, with post – Soviet republics leading the way. Georgia produced the best results, with Estonia and Poland breathing down its neck. The world economic powerhouse – the US – was just 10th on the list, with Ireland partnering the country as the only advanced economies to have lost econom
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ic freedom 5 years in a row. The lack of the US leadership was one of the key reasons for a slowdown in economic liberalization across the globe, as stagnation in the number 1 economy ate into the trade flows.The study covered the period between the second half of 2011 and the first half of 2012. … Read More
India’s top cop calls for rape crackdown
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top law enforcement official said Friday that the country needs to crack down on crimes against women with “an iron hand” to prevent attacks such as the fatal gang rape of a student on a New Delhi bus last month.That attack has sparked outrage across India and led to calls for tougher rape legislation and reforms of a police culture that often blames rape victims and refuses to file charges against accused attackers.Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said crimes against women and marginalized sections of society are increasing, and it is the government’s responsibility to stop them.”This needs to be curbed by an iron hand,” he told a conference of state officials from across India that was called to discuss how to protect women.He called for changes in the law and the way police investigate cases so justice can be swiftly delivered. Many rape cases are bogged down in India’s overburdened and sluggish court system for years.”We need a reappraisal of the entire system,” he said.Five men were charged Thursday with murder, kidnapping and rape in the attack on a 23-year-old student who died over the weekend in a Singapore hospital from massive internal injuries. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Saturday at a new fast-track court inaugurated this week to deal with rape cases in the capital.Continue Reading… … Read More
Indian police charge 5 in New Delhi gang rape
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police have filed rape and murder charges against five men accused in the gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus last month.Police say they plan to push for the death penalty in the case.A sixth suspect is believed to be a juvenile and is expected to be tried in juvenile court.The five were charged Thursday with raping the 23-year-old woman for hours and beating her companion as the bus drove through the capital. The woman died Saturday in a hospital in Singapore from massive internal injuries.The case has sparked outrage and protests across the country demanding greater protection for women.Continue Reading… … Read More
