Obama’s Air-Sea Blockade Plan for Iran Delays Israeli Strike

US President Barack Obama has again persuaded Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to hold off attacking Iran’s nuclear program in the coming months by promising a new set of severe sanctions against Iran. US administration officials assured debkafile’s Washington sources that Israel’s leaders were won over by the Obama administration’s promise to ratchet up US […]

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Orban Addresses Crowd

Hungary Denounces EU Double Standards and Pledges Independence

When the EU passed its budgetary stability pact, it wanted to convey the impression that sanctions against offenders would kick in automatically and the measures would be applied evenly with no favoritism. The current European Union standoff with Hungary is exposing Brussels to charges of double standards and even unwarranted intervention. Last Tuesday European Union finance […]

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Noor Islamic Bank -- targeted by sanctions

Iran Banks Cut Off from SWIFT System

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, announced Thursday that it is cutting off some 30 Iranian banks and subsidiaries from its network, as part of global efforts to punish Iran for its nuclear weapons program. The banks punished are the ones that have already been hit by European Union sanctions. Some other […]

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Viktor Orban

Hungary PM Orban Promises EU Commission To Modify Legislation

The dispute between the European Union and Hungary escalated temporarily when the European commission said it planned to bring suit against Hungary. The Commission generally sues member states on economic issues, such as a government restraining competition or subsidizing national champions. The Hungarian issue involves laws that go to the heart of governing party Fidesz’ political program. One […]

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Obama Likes Banks

Two of 13 “demands” posted on the website of the Occupy Wall Street protesters Sept. 25 were for “free college education” and for forgiving student loans (and all other debts.) This wasn’t an “official” list, OWS said. But a survey of 200 protesters by Democratic pollster and Fox analyst Douglas Schoen indicated widespread support for […]

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