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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Cheat Sheet - Castro Reaches Out to Obama

Today: The Conservative Budget Backlash , India: Gay Sex Illegal , Ukraine Riot Police Retreat
Cheat Sheet: Morning

December 11, 2013
NOT A THAW

It wasn't just the selfie that got international attention. President Obama shook Cuban President Raul Castro's hand at Nelson Mandela's funeral on Tuesday—but is this a sign of a thaw in U.S.-Cuban relations? Earlier this year, Castro agreed to host peace talks between Colombia and the FARC, and Obama praised those talks last week. "The Cubans regularly say to people that they are ready for a different relationship," said Dan Restrepo, the former NSC chief of Latin American policy. The Daily Beast's Eli Lake and Josh Rogin warn against calling it a thaw just yet—especially given Cuba's continued imprisonment of Alan Gross, a subcontractor that Cuba claims is a spy.

OH D.C.

Just in time for a nice, long holiday break, Congress avoided a January 15 government shutdown and shook hands on a bipartisan budget deal. At a press conference Tuesday, Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray announced that automatic spending cuts known as the sequester would be reduced by $63 billion in the next two years—replaced by airline fees and cuts to federal and military pensions—along with $23 billion of deficit reduction. Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and other Republicans are already expressing their skepticism about the bipartisan deal, writes The Daily Beast's Ben Jacobs.

AWFUL

Well this is depressing. The Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday declared homosexual sex illegal, bringing back a law that had been on the books since the colonial era but had been overturned four years ago. India's high court has now overturned that ruling, declaring the penal code was constitutionally valid. National Crimes Record Bureau chief statistical officer Akhilesh Kumar said Wednesday that India will be maintaining a central database of those prosecuted under the law. "Henceforth, we will be compiling crimes committed under this relevant section," Kumar said. "Maybe from the next year." New York-based Human Rights Watch called the ruling a "setback to human dignity, and the basic right of nondiscrimination."

CLASH

Riot police in Kiev retreated Wednesday after storming its occupied city hall and nearby Independence Square. Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko insisted in a statement Wednesday that no force will be used. "I want everybody to calm down," Zakharchenko said, hours after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed "disgust" over the government's response to the protests, saying "This response is neither acceptable nor does it befit a democracy." Riot police and interior ministry forces had dismantled the barricades and tents overnight, leading to violence, with KyivPost reporting police had clubbed protesters.

INFIGHTING

The United States has suspended all non-lethal aid to Syria after the hardline Islamic Front seized control of the headquarters of the U.S.-friendly Supreme Military Council, a U.S. spokesman in Ankara said. According to the U.S. armed forces code, non-lethal aid generally consists of communications equipment, medical supplies, intelligence assistance, and body armor. The Islamic Front, a union of six rebel groups, also took control of the Free Syrian Army bases at Bab al-Hawa near Syria's border with Turkey on Friday. Turkey closed its border crossing at the Hatay province after reports of increased clashes on the Syrian side.


sold on pot
Uruguay Legalizes Marijuana
First country to do so.
BACKSTORY
Photog: I Took Obama Selfie Pic
"I captured the scene almost reflexively."
WELCOME
George H.W. Bush Joins Twitter
No tweets yet on his socks.
HEIST
Signed Hirst Paintings Stolen
From London gallery.
DISNEY GIRL
Lovato Admits Cocaine Addiction
Says she would "smuggle it" onto airplanes.

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