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Syria Militants Said to Recruit Visiting Americans to Attack U.S. American intelligence and counterterrorism officials said Islamic extremist groups were trying to identify, recruit and train Westerners to carry out attacks when they returned home.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Sharon dead at 85 Ariel Sharon, whose half century as a military and political leader in Israel was marked with victories and controversies, died Saturday after eight years in a coma, Israeli Army Radio reported. Sharon was 85.
How the false rumour of Rwandan President Kagame’s death spread “For several hours on Friday morning, a false rumour that the Rwandan President Paul Kagame had died spread like wildfire in the city of Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo – prompting scenes of celebration. It appears to have been triggered by a fake post on Facebook.”
First meeting of the United Nations This Day in History: 68 years ago today, the first ever General Assembly of the United Nations, comprising 51 nations, convened at Westminster Central Hall in London, England.
Diplomats Behaving Badly “Diplomats, normally discreet figures who rarely court publicity, have been in the news a lot lately, for all the wrong reasons. Two recent arrests of diplomats by their host countries have put a spotlight on the justification for, and limits of, the immunity from local law that such officials typically enjoy.”
‘Abuse by all sides’ in Iraq’s Anbar “The upsurge in violence began on 30 December, when security forces cleared a year-old Sunni protest camp. The fighting spread to Falluja, and militants moved in and seized control of the city and parts of Ramadi. Iraq’s minority Sunni Arab community has long complained that it is being marginalised by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki’s Shia-led government and unfairly targeted by the security forces. Correspondents say the prime minister’s drive to restore control of Falluja and Ramadi is being seen by many Sunnis as an attempt at domination and oppression, and is taking Iraq…
Happy 2014 everybody! I hope all of your New Years started as great as mine. I came accross some great reads as well in the first days of 2014, check out a few of them. On world affairs: John Kerry cites some progress in Mideast diplomacy US Secretary of State John Kerry started off the New Year with another trip to the Middle East to hold talks with Israeli, Palestinian and other leaders in the region. Why does Ariel Sharon matter? With news of Ariel Sharon’s already bad health failing, The Telegraph posted this article about his significant role in…
theatlantic: How One Historic Russian City Became a Target for Terrorists Until this autumn, Volgograd was a relatively quiet Russian city, known best for its legacy as a World War II battlefield. But that changed in October, when a female suicide bomber blew herself up on a city bus, killing six passengers, most of them teenagers. Now, two back-to-back suspected suicide attacks just ahead of New Year celebrations—a December 29 bombing at the city’s main train station followed by a December 30 trolleybus blast—have claimed more than 30 additional lives and left many to wonder why Volgograd has become an…
Welcome to the last Sunday Smack of 2013! This is going to be a special edition as this time I will recommend some year-end reviews of a wide range of topics. Hope you’ll enjoy! 9 Stories that Will Drive the Global Agenda in 2014 OK, I know that’s not what I promised, but I thought I would start with the exception. I think this is a great compilation, plus UNDispatch is still my favorite world affairs blog. Now, let’s see what 2013 was like… 2013: the year in world news Great picture review of world news on the Telegraph….
Security Council doubles UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan in face of spreading conflict While most of us were having our Christmas dinners on Christmas Eve, the UN Security Council authorized the increase of the peacekeeping force in South Sudan.
