US names Russians targeted for sanctions

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department on Friday announced sanctions against 18 Russians over human rights violations, but avoided some prominent officials whose inclusion could have enflamed U.S.-Russian relations.

U.S. lawmakers who backed the sanctions viewed the list as timid while a prominent Russian lawmaker said it could have been worse. State Department officials denied that political considerations had been a factor.

The list was mandated by a law passed last year and named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in 2008 for tax evasion after accusing Russian police officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates. He died in prison the next year, allegedly after being beaten and denied medical treatment.

The list included Artem Kuznetsov and Pavel Karpov, two Russian Interior Ministry officers who put Magnitsky behind bars after he accused them of stealing $230 million from the state. Two tax officials the lawyer accused of approving the fraudulent tax refunds, and several other Interior Ministry officials accused of persecuting Magnitsky were also on the list. Absent were senior officials from President Vladimir Putin's entourage whom some human rights advocates had hoped to see sanctioned.

Magnitsky's former client, London-based investor William Browder, who has campaigned to bring those responsible in his death to justice, has claimed that one of those tax officials, Olga Stepanova, has bought luxury real estate in Moscow, Dubai and Montenegro and wired money through her husband's bank accounts worth $39 million.

The act was linked to legislation normalizing trade relations between the United States and Russia, but it drew immediate fire from Russia, which accused Congress of interfering with its internal affairs. Within days, Russia announced that it was banning U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the development, but Alexei Pushkov, the Kremlin-connected chief of foreign affairs committee in the lower house of Russian parliament, called the list "bad news." But he said the limited list showed restraint.

"It shows that the Obama administration wants to conserve some partnership with Moscow instead of getting involved in some kind of political warfare," he said.

On the list are two men from Chechnya, Letscha Bogatirov and Kazbek Dukuzov. Bogatirov was accused of killing a critic of Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov in Vienna in 2009, while Dukuzov was accused of involvement in the 2004 murder of Paul Klebnikov, the American editor of Forbes magazine's Russian edition. He and two other suspects were acquitted in 2006, and while those acquittals were later overturned, a retrial has yet to take place.

A report by Russia's Interfax news agency noted that most of the police and tax officials who were put on the list had left the government service.

Several officials who congressional sponsors of the legislation had said should be sanctioned were not on the list, including Russia's top police official, Alexander Bastrykin. He has spearheaded a crackdown on the Russian opposition.

Bastrykin's agency also led the investigation into Magnitsky's death and concluded last month that no crime was committed.

Another official not on the list was Chechen leader Kadyrov, who is accused by human rights groups of torture, abductions and killings.

Several of Kadyrov's critics and political rivals have been murdered in recent years in Russia, Austria, Dubai and Turkey. Kadyrov has consistently denied involvement in the killings.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., a leading sponsor of the Magnitsky Act, sent the administration more than 250 names to be targeted.

McGovern, in a statement, said the list was an important first step. "While the list is timid and features more significant omissions than names, I was assured by administration officials today that the investigation is ongoing and further additions will be made to the list as new evidence comes to light," he said.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said that among the criteria for being put on the list was responsibility for the detention, abuse or death of Magnitsky or involvement in other gross human rights violations in Russia.

The law also allows the administration to compile a separate classified list that would subject officials only to visa bans. The administration can update both lists at any time.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the author of the Magnitsky law, said in a statement Friday that he would work with the administration to "ensure that those who should be on this list are in fact on this list."

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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.

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Anti-Thatcher party in London's Trafalgar Square

LONDON (AP) — Hundreds of opponents of former Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher partied in London's Trafalgar Square to celebrate her death, sipping Champagne and chanting "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead."

Thatcher's most strident critics had long vowed to hold a gathering in central London on the Saturday following her passing, and the festivities were an indication of the depth of the hatred which some Britons still feel for their former leader.

"We've been waiting a long time for this," Richard Watson, a 45-year-old from eastern England wearing a party hat, said. "It's an opportunity of a lifetime."

As a huge effigy of Thatcher — complete with hook nose and handbag — made its way down the stairs in front of the National Gallery, the crowd erupted into cries of "Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! Dead! Dead! Dead!" and sang lyrics from the "Wizard of Oz" ditty "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead."

Hundreds of people clutched their umbrellas in the rain between Nelson's Column and the National Gallery on the square, drinking cider or Champagne. The mood appeared festive and the celebration was peaceful, although there was a minor scuffle with police at one point. Police said they made nine arrests, most for drunkenness.

Britons remain deeply divided over Thatcher, who died Monday aged 87, and the debate over her legacy has revived the strong feelings that marked her more than decade-long term in office. Thatcher's funeral is Wednesday and police are bracing for possible trouble along the procession route in central London.

Widely respected on the right for reviving Britain's economic fortunes and besting Argentina in a war over the Falklands, Thatcher is reviled by some on the left for her bruising confrontation with the country's union movement and her perceived indifference to its working class.

Some in the crowd said they didn't want to dance on Thatcher's grave, but they did want to mark their opposition to what she stood for.

"I'm not here to celebrate Thatcher's death," Andy Withers, 49, said. "But what's going on tonight is part of the legacy she created."

France and Uruguay will soon become the 12th and 13th countries to legalize same-sex marriage

Culture wars! They are not, contrary to what U.S. media coverage might suggest, a wholly American phenomena.

On Friday, the French senate voted to legalize gay marriage only months after some 340,000 people protested in opposition at the Eiffel Tower. Earlier this week, Uruguay's parliament voted to become the second country in Latin America to recognize gay marriage despite strong Catholic opposition, according to The Guardian. (Argentina is the other Latin American country where same-sex marriage is legal.) Both bills, in France and Uruguay, are expected to be signed into law.

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As more and more politicians in the United States move toward supporting gay marriage, a look at countries around the world where it is already legal for same-sex couples to wed:

The Netherlands, 2000
The Dutch parliament made history in 2000 when it made it legal for same-sex couples to marry, divorce, and adopt children by a 3-to-1 vote margin. Today, there are 16,000 married same-sex couples in the Netherlands, where gay marriage enjoys an approval rating of 82 percent — the highest in the European Union.

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Belgium, 2003
While there wasn't much of an uproar in Belgium when the country's parliament legalized gay marriage, the Vatican was outraged, prompting Pope John Paul II to launch a global campaign saying that "homosexual unions were immoral, unnatural and harmful."

Canada, 2005
It took a two-year journey filled with court battles before Canada's house of commons voted to make gay marriage legal in the entire country, as opposed to just in nine out of the 13 provinces and territories. Social conservatives tried to overturn the law in 2006 but failed.

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Spain, 2005
While Spain extended marriage rights to same-sex couples in 2005, the law has since faced fierce opposition from conservative politicians, including a court challenge that was defeated in 2012. In March, interior minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz remarked that gay marriage should be banned because it doesn't guarantee the "survival of the species."

South Africa, 2006
In 2005, South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled that preventing gay marriage violated the country's young constitution, which was adopted not long after the end of Apartheid. The court-mandated law passed easily in parliament the following year.

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Norway, 2009
In 1993, Norway was the second country, after Denmark in the late '80s, to allow civil unions between same-sex partners. The Norwegian government later legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. The main controversy at that time was whether lesbian mothers had the right to artificial insemination; they won that right when the parliament voted to approve gay marriage by a margin of 2 to 1.

Sweden, 2009
Sweden, like Norway, allowed civil unions in the mid-'90s and eventually gave gay couples full marriage rights by a large majority in parliament.

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Iceland, 2010
Every single one of the 49 members of Iceland's parliament voted "Yes" on gay marriage. Shortly after the law was passed, the country's prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, married her longtime partner, writer Jonina Leosdottir.

Portugal, 2010
Portugal's conservative president Anibal Cavaco Silva signed the country's gay marriage bill into law after initially asking the country's highest court to review it, hoping to undo what Portugal's Socialist-led parliament had passed. Same-sex couples in Portugal are still not allowed to adopt children.

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Argentina, 2010
The predominantly Catholic country became the first Latin American nation to legalize gay marriage by the narrow vote of 33 to 27. Pope Francis, then known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, called the bill a "destructive attack on God's plan."

Denmark, 2012
Denmark, the first country to allow same-sex civil unions in the late '80s, fully legalized gay marriagein 2012, allowing same-sex couples to get married in churches and adopt children.

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Countries were gay marriage is partly legal: Brazil, Mexico, United States

Sources: AFP, BBC (2), Bloomberg, CBS News, Pew, NBC News, The New York Times (2)(3),Reuters (2), The Telegraph

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Local police grapple with response to cybercrimes

Local police grapple with abilities to respond to cybercrimes and cyberthreats

Associated Press -

WASHINGTON (AP) -- If a purse with $900 is stolen, the victim probably would call the police. If a computer hacker steals $900 from that same person's bank account, what then? Call the police? Could they even help?

As it is now, local police don't have widespread know-how to investigate cybercrimes. They rely heavily on the expertise of the federal government, which focuses on large, often international cybercrimes.

What's missing is the first response role, typically the preserve of local police departments that respond to calls for help from individuals and communities.

Obama administration officials have said that cyberterrorism is the leading worldwide threat to national security. So far, the discussion about such threats and security has focused on breaking classified foreign government codes, monitoring overseas communications and protecting the U.S. from devastating attacks that could jeopardize massive amounts of data and valuable corporate trade secrets.

It's been about businesses protecting their networks and individuals using the Internet safely, for instance, by choosing smart passwords.

But when one person hacks into someone else's computer to access a bank account, credit cards or even email, the crime fighting path is uncertain.

"I am not sure who owns cybercrime at the local level. And that is a problem," said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum.

Local police departments are looking to boost their expertise so they can respond to cybercrimes and cyberthreats that are expected to only get worse.

The hypothetical victim who had $900 stolen from the bank account should call the police, and the police should document the theft in a report, said Darrel Stephens, executive director of the Major City Chiefs Association, which represents police chiefs in major U.S. metropolitan areas.

"What they can do after that gets very complicated," Stephens said.

For instance, police departments work within jurisdictions, but cybercrime knows no boundaries.

"The victim may live in one place, their bank is in another jurisdiction and the person that committed the theft could be anywhere in the world," Stephens said.

Then there's the matter of determining who the victim is.

Most banks and credit card companies typically replace the accountholder's stolen funds, he said, which makes the banks and credit companies the victims of the theft.

"Most local police do not have the capacity to investigate these cases even if they have jurisdiction," Stephens said.

Further complicating the issue is that the response to a cyberoffense is not the same as the response to a physical offense such as a burglary.

When someone's home is burglarized, the homeowner doesn't usually repair the broken window, clean up the crime scene and then call the police. But in cases such as network intrusions, the victim's first goal typically is intended to get the network restored and working again. In doing this, initial crime scene evidence may be sacrificed, complicating an investigation down the road.

"Police will need to become more equipped to deal with cybercrime in the future," Stephens said. "Most major cities have a limited capability, but more will be required."

Bart Johnson, executive director of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said police need to have a better understanding of what a cyberthreat is and how to address it. Johnson said his organization has been working with the FBI and Homeland Security Department since December to confront these issues.

"The unfortunate thing is that law enforcement at a state and local level are not fully apprised of the threat, who the actors are," said Johnson. The FBI and Secret Service have the capabilities to address this, he said, but more expertise is needed at the local level.

The Secret Service has trained some 1,400 state and local law enforcement officers on cybercrimes since the agency began the education program in 2008, said Hugh Dunleavy, deputy assistant director of the Secret Service, which specializes in investigating such crimes. But the demand for training is greater than the agency can provide, he said.

Some local police officers may participate on some task forces with the FBI, Secret Service and other federal agencies, but the cases typically are those with international components and involve millions of dollars.

Mike Sena, president of the National Fusion Center Association, an organization that represents state and local intelligence centers around the country, recalled a case in which a California business was the victim of a cybercrime and lost $40,000. Sena said the theft wasn't great enough for the federal government to take up the investigation, and there was confusion about where to turn at the local level.

"The FBI and Secret Service are looking at just large amounts of thefts. Who takes care of that lower tier," Sena said.

Several current task forces coordinate with local law enforcement on cyberissues, and the federal government offers some guidance for where to turn, depending on the incident and depending on who is asked.

According to the Justice Department, if a computer is hacked, you can call your local FBI office or the Secret Service or the Internet Crime Complaint Center, which is run by the FBI and the nonprofit National White Collar Crime Center.

For Internet fraud and spam, you can call your local FBI office, the Secret Service, or file an online complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are also Secret Service-led Electronic Crimes Task Forces in 29 cities, and they regularly work with state and local law enforcement.

But figuring out which task force or which federal investigative agency to turn to can be a challenge. Not everyone will have the expertise to know what time of crime occurred so that the right agency can be contacted, said Shawn Henry, former top cybercop at the FBI and currently president of CrowdStrike Services, a security technology company.

That leaves few options for a victim of a cybercrime whose loss would be considered small by the federal government but crippling to the individual or small business.

"Right now there's such a level of confusion on where to push the information," Sena said.

Dunleavy said he is confident that local law enforcement at least knows who to call, but there is a need for more training.

"The general public is going to call who they know the best," Dunleavy said. "They're going to call the police officer that they see on a daily basis for response."

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Kerry tamps down anxiety over NKorea missile power
By BRADLEY KLAPPER | Associated Press – Fri, Apr 12, 2013