Diplomatic activity on the Ukrainian issue has reached a peak. Leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany are scheduled to meet in Belarus on Wednesday as terms for a cease-fire are pursued. At this moment, it appears as if the Western powers are split on the issue of providing more powerful weapons to Ukraine. Russian President Putin thus has the advantage in the negotiations as the Russian-speaking rebels seem to be well-supplied and on the move. The absence of the US at the proposed meeting suggests that US President Obama is prepared to let the Europeans take the lead on the issue, a position that will agitate certain members of Congress who argue for robust support for Ukraine.
Nigeria has decided to postpone its presidential election from 14 February to 28 March. The decision was made because there was no assurance that the violence engineered by Boko Haram could be contained so that the elections could be held. The opposition party led by Muhammadu Buhari supported the move to delay, even though many suspect that the delay was sought by current President Goodluck Jonathan because the polls currently put him in second place to Buhari.
HSBC, the world’s second largest bank, has admitted to practices that have allowed thousands of depositors to hide about $120 billion from tax authorities and to disguise money earned from illegal activities such as the sale of “blood diamonds” from Africa. The practices, which took place between 2005-07, were conducted by the bank in clear and knowing violation of the tax laws of many states. The scale of tax evasion and fraud was extraordinary.
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