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NEWS ABOUT: defection

Josef Stalin's Daughter Dies in Wisconsin

Lana Peters defected from Soviet Union in 1967

(Newser) - Josef Stalin's only daughter has died in Wisconsin at the age of 85. Lana Peters—born Svetlana Alliluyeva Stalin—handed the US a massive Cold War publicity coup when she defected to the US in 1967, publicly burning her Soviet passport, and declaring: "I have come here to... More »

Big Move in Syria: Defectors Form Army

Formation of Free Syrian Army could lead to turnaround in uprising

(Newser) - A turnaround in the Syrian protests? That’s what supporters are hoping—and opponents are fearing—as a group of defectors attempts to organize an armed movement against President Bashar al-Assad. Until now, the protesters have been largely peaceful and mostly unarmed, and though defections had occurred in the past,... More »

Top Libyan Soccer Players Defect

Goalie tells Gadhafi to 'leave us alone'

(Newser) - Moammar Gadhafi has reportedly lost top military officials to defection, and now he'll have to do without his star soccer goalie. Juma Gtat and 17 other players from the national team have switched allegiance to the rebels, reports the BBC . "I am telling (Ghadafi) leave us alone and... More »

Army Commanders Defect in Yemen

President's key confidante switches to opposition

(Newser) - Tanks and armored vehicles have been deployed in Yemen’s capital as support for the country's president continues to erode : Three army commanders have defected to the opposition, the AP reports. The officers are members of the president’s tribe, which called for his resignation yesterday. Among them is a... More »

Iran Willing to 'Slaughter' Rebels: Defector

Regime would be brutal in efforts to hold onto power: former vice consul

(Newser) - Iranians have been inspired by the successful revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, but a diplomat who defected last month warns that Iran's regime is a much more brutal one. Iran would "slaughter" rebels rather than cede control, says Ahmed Maleki, who served as vice consul in Iran's Milan consulate... More »

A Wave of Democratic State Lawmakers Defecting to GOP

At least 13 have jumped ship so far, and there could be more

(Newser) - Democratic losses didn’t stop on Election Day: Since Nov. 2, at least 13 state lawmakers have switched over to the Republican party, the AP reports. Many of the defections took place in the South, where dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party is high. In some states, like Alabama and Louisiana,... More »

Entire Afghan Police Station Defects to Taliban

19 cops cut a deal with insurgents, sack, burn station

(Newser) - An entire Afghan police station defected to the Taliban today, with as many as 19 officers joining insurgent fighters in sacking and burning their own station, the New York Times reports. The lone remaining cop of the station southwest of Kabul—the chief—said that the turncoats took their guns,... More »

Story Murky, Iran Scientist Headed Home

But US officials say Shahram Amiri defected

(Newser) - The Iranian nuclear scientist who turned up in front of Iran's diplomatic mission in DC Monday night is headed back to Iran, but his story is no clearer. Shahram Amiri initially claimed he was kidnapped by CIA operatives in Saudi Arabia and held hostage in Tuscon for much of the... More »

Key Iranian Nuclear Scientist Defects to US

CIA officials see 'intelligence coup' in Shahram Amiri

(Newser) - A key Iranian nuclear scientist who disappeared last year while on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, in fact defected to the CIA, which has resettled Shahram Amiri in the US, sources tell ABC News . The sources call the defection “an intelligence coup” for the agency, which has long sought... More »

Defector Specter Just Playing to Pa. Primary Politics

Shrewd senator had no future as a Republican

(Newser) - Why did Arlen Specter defect? It’s tempting to paint Specter as part of a post-Obama ideological realignment, but there’s a much more concrete explanation, Eric Kleefeld writes for Talking Points Memo: reelection. Pennsylvania is a closed-primary state, and between 150,000 and 200,000 registered Republicans switched parties... More »

Cuban Players Ditch US Hotel, May Plan to Defect

Cuba's soccer prez denies the 2 men ever left for United States

(Newser) - Two Cuban soccer players fled a US hotel in Virginia yesterday and may plan to defect, the Washington Post reports. Pedro Faife, 24, and Reynier Alcantara, 26, are slated to play in a World Cup qualifier tonight and have not turned themselves in to Customs—but Cuba's coach doesn't expect... More »

Navratilova 'Defects' Again From 'Worse' Bush Regime

Tennis champ regains her Czech citizenship

(Newser) - Thirty years after defecting to the US, at the height of the Cold War, tennis ace Martina Navratilova has regained her Czech citizenship, the Independent reports. The racket star became a US citizen in 1981. She plans to retain her US citizenship as well but she had some harsh criticism... More »

CIA Recruited Iranian Officials to Defect

A 'handful' left in US plot to disrupt nuke program

(Newser) - The CIA plotted to recruit Iranian officials to defect and managed to entice a handful to do so over the last two years, reports the Los Angeles Times. The secret program, begun in 2005, was intended to disrupt Iranian nuclear research. The primary criterion for recruitment, according to a former... More »

KGB Doggedly Stalked Nureyev

Russians wanted to break defector dancer’s legs

(Newser) - He was never interested in politics, but Rudolf Nureyev was a KGB scourge for decades after his 1961 defection. The famed ballet dancer’s colleagues were glad to see him go—‘Rudik’ was a prima donna to management and competition for fellow performers—but the state was incensed, the... More »

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