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Liechtenstein defends its banks in German tax-evasion inquiry By Eric Pfanner and Mark Landler Tuesday, February 19, 2008 VADUZ, Liechtenstein: It's not exactly the Mouse that Roared, but maybe the Mouse that Resisted. After weathering days of criticism from Germany over a spectacular tax evasion case, this tiny Alpine principality is digging in for what experts say may a prolonged battle to defend its lucrative tradition of banking secrecy against what it views as attacks from a larger European country. In a defiant news conference Tuesday, the crown prince of Liechtenstein, Alois, said his country would take legal steps to...

Liechtenstein accused Germany yesterday of attacking its sovereignty after Berlin admitted using spies to investigate tax fraud in the principality.   Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein Crown Prince Alois launched his withering tirade after it emerged that German undercover investigators paid up to £3.75 million for bank details of Germans suspected of tax-fraud in the nearby state."Germany has clearly failed to understand how one behaves towards a friendly state," he said."We want good relations with our neighbours but we are also a sovereign state."He said Liechtenstein would "protect our citizens and also our investors, who trust us, against such methods...

What began as a routine training exercise almost ended in an embarrassing diplomatic incident after a company of Swiss soldiers got lost at night and marched into neighboring Liechtenstein. According to Swiss daily Blick, the 170 infantry soldiers wandered just over a mile across an unmarked border into the tiny principality early Thursday before realizing their mistake and turning back. ...

VADUZ, Liechtenstein - Prince Alois von und zu Liechtenstein can see almost his entire realm from the castle — mountain ridge to mountain ridge and down to the capital below. In a Europe of nations coming together in a vast continental superstate, Liechtenstein is a quirk of history that harks back to an older world — of separateness, neutrality and sharp survival instincts. Created by Napoleon in 1806, it has managed to avoid the upheaval of the past century to celebrate its bicentennial, starting Wednesday, in peace and prosperity. This wedge of central Europe is no fairy tale kingdom, however,...

Some Conspiracies are Real Today, 13 February 2006, is the 318th anniversary of the so-called "Glorious Revolution" -- the coup d'etat that deposed the rightful King of England, HM James II Stuart, and imposed the rule of the Dutch prince William of Orange and his wife Mary upon the United Kingdom. This was not the result of some minor dynastic quibble. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that James II was the rightful king. His deposition was instead the result of a genuine conspiracy between a group of traitors to overthrow the native-born Catholic King of England and award...

Even the French have finally discovered the United Nations Oil-for-Food scandal. With the arrest in Paris this week of a former French ambassador to the U.N., Jean-Bernard Merimee, alleged to have received illicit and lucrative contracts to buy oil from Saddam Hussein's U.N.-sanctioned regime, the French newspapers are now aflutter over "petrole contre nourriture." The funny thing is, while France had plenty to do with Oil-for-Food, Merimee's main trail leads not to the Quai d'Orsay, but to the doorstep of the U.N. secretary general. Authorities at the French foreign ministry have said the allegations against Merimee concern his activities after...

NEW YORK — The scandal engulfing the United Nations Procurement Department () now appears to be bottomless. It also shows signs of growing more sinister, especially where it involves a mysterious private company called IHC Services (), which did big business with the procurement department until it was removed from U.N. rosters in June. New details of how dark the scandal could prove to be have emerged from the private sale of IHC on June 3, 2005, just as the procurement scandal was about to break. It now appears that while doing business with the U.N., IHC had links both to Saddam...

September 23, 2004 Liechtenstein Ratifies Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty The tiny Alpine republic of Liechtenstein has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, bringing to 116 the number of nations endorsing the pact, the treaty organization said yesterday.

Originally posted Sept. 29, 2003; reposted June 18, 2004 Senior investigators and analysts in the U.S. government have concluded that Iraq acted as a state sponsor of terrorism against Americans and logistically supported the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States - confirming news reports that until now have emerged only in bits and pieces. A senior government official responsible for investigating terrorism tells Insight that while Saddam Hussein may not have had details of the Sept. 11 attacks in advance, he "gave assistance for whatever al-Qaeda came up with." That assistance, confirmed independently, came in a variety of...

Vaduz -- The outspoken ruling prince of Liechtenstein, who garnered controversy in Europe with his push for more power in the tiny state, announced yesterday he would step down and hand over the reins to his son in one year. Prince Hans-Adam II made the announcement at a cocktail party held at his castle, to which all of Liechtenstein's 33,000 citizens were invited, to mark the country's national day. Prince Hans-Adam, 58, said the handover to his 35-year-old son, Prince Alois, would take place on the 2004 national day. After years of struggle, he gained new powers in March when...

<p>Actor Don Johnson is caught up in a money-laundering probe by German authorities, who say they found the "Miami Vice" star in a car with a suitcase stuffed with $8 billion worth of share certificates, bonds and credit notes when he crossed the Swiss border, it was revealed yesterday.</p>

The people of Liechtenstein have voted to make their prince an absolute monarch again. Early results showed nearly two-thirds of the tiny principality's electorate had agreed to back Hans-Adam II's demands. Correspondents say there was a bitter campaign leading up to the vote. Hans-Adam even threatened to quit the country his family have ruled for 300 years if he did not like the outcome. But that appeared forgotten once the first votes were counted. "It's an excellent result. We can be very pleased with it," the prince told local radio. Hans-Adam - Crown Prince of Liechtenstein since 1989 -...

The people of Liechtenstein went to the polls yesterday to decide whether their ruling prince should become Europe's last absolute monarch, after a bitter campaign that shattered the Alpine calm with threats, insults and a dead cat. The referendum is the climax of a 10-year row between Prince Hans-Adam II, a billionaire entrepreneur who owns the largest bank in the tiny state, and his political foes. Mud-slinging and intimidation has divided families and friends. Many fear the peace and tranquility of their affluent, 62-square-mile tax haven squeezed between Switzerland and Austria has been shattered for ever. The 58-year-old prince, a...