Tag: news
Was This August Actually The Worst Month Ever? War, disease, riot gear: This August has been terrible. Fast Company consults the data. Just when I write a post about how great my August was, I come across this. Check the link, it really is interesting, but then let’s all stay positive!
micdotcom: Russia is invading Ukraine as we speak — but is it war? Soldiers, tanks and artillery are crossing the border from Russia; many, apparently, are joining forces with pro-Russian separatists. “There are active soldiers fighting among us who preferred to spend their vacation not on the beach, but with us, among their brothers, who are fighting for their freedom,” separatist leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko said on Russian television. “There have been around 3,000-4,000 of them in our ranks.” But the U.S. is avoiding the term “war” | Follow micdotcom
Obama’s “Limited” Mission in Iraq newyorker: John Cassidy examines President Obama’s decision to launch targeted airstrikes in Iraq: http://nyr.kr/1r05ZVT “Once the U.S. bombing starts, when will it stop? That is one of the many tough questions that Obama and his colleagues will have to answer. Are the sole goals of the mission to…
Under fire and out of cash, U.N. overwhelmed by Gaza crisis GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The United Nations in Gaza is struggling to withstand a flood of almost a quarter of a million refugees into shelters that have repeatedly come under Israeli fire.Out of cash, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main U.N. body in the impoverished enclave of 1.8 million Palestinians, says it can barely handle the humanitarian crisis unleashed by more than three weeks of fighting between militants and Israel. The same old problem might require new approaches to be solved for once. Yet again, the UN…
‘Many dead’ in Ukraine offensive “Many pro-Russia rebels have been killed, injured and arrested in the Ukrainian government offensive in the eastern city of Sloviansk, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has said. In a statement, he said the operation in the rebel-held city was not going as quickly as hoped. Rebels have shot down two Ukrainian army helicopters, killing a pilot and a serviceman. Seven have been injured. The UN Security Council is meeting in emergency session at Russia’s request.” In Russia’s request. Now that’s a turn of events.
newyorker: In the first part of a three-part series, Jon Lee Anderson writes about the crisis of identity facing the Crimean Tatars, a community “forced to confront a complete upending of their lives” for the second time in seventy years: http://nyr.kr/1tXU3Td Above: Friday prayer in Bakhchisarai. Photograph by Davide Monteleone.
Egyptian court sentences top Muslim Brotherhood leader to death MINYA, Egypt (Reuters) – An Egyptian court sentenced the leader of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and 682 supporters to death on Monday, intensifying a crackdown on the movement that could trigger protests.
Snowden Called in to Putin’s Telethon. Does That Really Make Him a Kremlin Pawn? One of the pleasures in writing about Edward Snowden is his predilection for the absurd. The NSA whistleblower abandons his dancer girlfriend for a life in exile, hides in airports, studies Dostoyevsky, appears by teleconference at a technology conference in Texas, and even attempts to learn Russian to acclimate to his new home in Moscow. It’s a delicious story, and on Thursday, Snowden delivered his latest morsel: He called in to Vladimir Putin’s televised Q&A session with the Russian public. Too bad Snowden’s English is not…
Ukraine Asks U.N. for Peacekeeping Troops as Militants Defy Deadline Ukraine’s acting president asked the United Nations for peacekeepers in the east, where he said pro-Russia militias have acted with seeming impunity.
united-nations: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently visited war-torn Central African Republic, where the security situation is deteriorating and human rights abuses continue. “My first message is to the people of the country: You are not alone. The United Nations is honoured to be by your side,” he said. On Thursday the UN Security Council established a peacekeeping mission in the country which, as of September, will comprise of up to 10,000 military personnel. Find out more in this video. Share these images to help draw the world’s attention to the crisis.
