Tag: terrorism
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…
Happy Sunday everybody! As always, welcome to my new readers and thanks to everybody for following! Besides the sad news that lead the last few days’ headlines, this was an eventful week on all counts. Let’s review a few good reads. On world affairs: What is going on in Ukraine? An analysis on the root cause of what seems to evolve to become the second Orange Revolution. While demonstrations still continue in Kiev, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe is about to create an advisory board to investigate the background of these clashes. Relief for Central African Republic…
Remember the Fallen Today is the 10th anniversary of a terrorist attack on the United Nations Headquarters in Baghdad. The deadly attack claimed the lives of 22 people and it was a game changer for the world organization. It signaled the momentum from which the blue flag switched from being a shelter for those under it to being a target to terrorists in their war against western democracies. August 19th, World Humanitarian Day was designated by the General Assembly to honour humanitarian workers around the world who often risk their lives for the greater cause.
Happy Sunday and Happy Summertime Everyone! I still can’t give away too much details, but this is probably one of the most exiting time periods in my professional life so far, so exciting that I am still not quite sure where it is going to land me. At the same time I also have to make difficult decisions in my personal life trying to end an old and really damaging cycle. Meanwhile, it seems like the real summer holiday season have finally come in world affairs, so this is going to be a real brief weekly round-up now: On world…
Caustic Light on White House’s Reaction to a Terrorist Threat The Obama administration’s decision to evacuate so many diplomats on such short notice — however justified by the seriousness of the threat — has upset some of its foreign partners, who say the gesture contributes to a sense of panic and perceived weakness that plays into the hands of the United States’ enemies, and impedes their efforts to engage with people in their countries.
reuters: The United States issued a worldwide travel alert on Friday warning Americans that al Qaeda may be planning attacks in August, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. The State Department travel alert was based on the same intelligence information that prompted it to close 21 U.S. embassies or consulates this Sunday, chiefly those in the Muslim world, a U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
June is my favorite month of the year! With the longest daylight hours, the hot weather (which I hope will arrive in Hungary soon), all the great outdoor events – concerts and festivals, and so on. Reading outdoors until like 9 p.m. on long June nights used to be my favorite thing in the world! I have great expectations for this month and also some good ideas and plans for this blog that I hope you’ll like! Until then, here’s what I have today: On world affairs: Guéhenno: lifting European arms embargo on Syrian rebels ‘backfired’ Yes, the decision did…
A busy week behind us again, unfortunately with more bad news than good. Even the weather took a worrying turn in many parts of the world. Starting with the hurricane in Oklahoma to all the extreme weather issues across Western Europe these days. Can we blame it on climate change or not? Of course I’ll leave this discussion to those who are experts of the topic while I’ll remain on more familiar grounds. On world affairs: Will We Witness the End of Peacekeeping in the Golan Heights? Recent exchanges of fire between Syria and Israel question the future of a not properly armed…
Once again, Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms who are celebrating this weekend! I hope you had a great week and an even greater weekend! Here’s what I have in store for you today: On world affairs: UN chemical weapons chief: time is running out to get to the scene of the crime in Syria Amidst controversial claims whether chemical weapons usage occured and by which side in Syria, here is a deeper look at the personnel of the UN inspection team. Israel’s Three Gambles I left out this issue altogether last week, because all the articles I read then…
Happy Mother’s Day to my Mother, my Grandmas and of course all the moms out there! Welcome to my third Sunday Smack! I have to say I really do enjoy doing this for the third time this week. It sort of keeps me organized in terms of my professional reading “duties” all week. I only hope you can benefit from these collections too! The only real critique I got so far, is that I tend to be too long for one post, so l’ll try to keep it brief this time. If you have any more comments, keep them coming!…
