Fifteen-year-old Cheikh Bamba Diaby got into robotics after he had to unblock his sister's mobile phone.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35LJWYQ
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Brazil’s Leader Falsely Blames Leonardo DiCaprio for Amazon Fires
By REUTERS from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2R3buoJ
Winter Storm Expected to Disrupt Travel Starting Sunday
By ALEX TRAUB and JOHNNY DIAZ from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2DyjoOT
A Pennsylvania County’s Election Day Nightmare Underscores Voting Machine Concerns
By NICK CORASANITI from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2Y2q9lo
Prime Mover: How Amazon Wove Itself Into the Life of an American City
By SCOTT SHANE from NYT Business https://nyti.ms/33DDqls
Teacher Fired After Asking Trump to ‘Remove’ Immigrants Wins Her Appeal
By MIHIR ZAVERI from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2R9Eqev
Britain’s Dirty Election
By PETER GEOGHEGAN and MARY FITZGERALD from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2Oztp4H
Cosmic Crisp: New apple launched that 'lasts for a year'
The new fruit took US scientists two decades to develop and the launch cost $10m (£7.9m).
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rLgVOc
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rLgVOc
Namibia's President Hage Geingob wins re-election
The ruling party's candidate has a second term, but his share of the vote has dropped significantly.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rGD0Od
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rGD0Od
Separated at birth: Was my mother given away because she looked white?
How one South African family discovered a secret that made them question their own identity.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34CQqJE
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34CQqJE
HIV on Ukraine's frontline: Soldier who sought escape in battle
War veteran Vasyl is HIV-positive. He never told anyone, but was shocked by their attitude to sex.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OEIuCd
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OEIuCd
Canadian islanders angry over US mail searches
Campobello islanders can only get their mail via the US, and now their packages are being searched.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LbDxhM
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LbDxhM
'A rich exchange': The refugees teaching languages in Brazil
A language school in São Paulo employs refugees to teach, benefiting both students and instructors.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33F9IMV
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33F9IMV
Tiffany hopes to regain its sparkle with new owners
New York's famous jewellery brand is changing hands, but will the new owners keep its popular touch?
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rEBn3s
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rEBn3s
'Masturbation photos' prompt Tunisia's #MeToo anger
Outrage over the case involving an MP has led to an outpouring of stories about sexual abuse and harassment
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OzeJT8
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OzeJT8
Cambodia's first gay dance company
Khmer dance is being given new meaning by the LGBT community in Cambodia.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LbIuHt
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LbIuHt
AS Roma: Why did Italian club decide to announce signings alongside missing children?
This summer, Italian club Roma began announcing their transfer signings alongside images of missing children. This is why.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sjHjPT
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sjHjPT
China due to introduce face scans for mobile users
Beijing wants people to use only real identities online but there is concern over data collection.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L9l4SW
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L9l4SW
New world news from Time: Bystanders Subdued the Alleged London Bridge Attacker. One of Them Was Reportedly a Polish Immigrant Armed Only With a Narwhal Tusk.
On Friday, two people were killed in a stabbing on London Bridge in Central London, which police have labeled a “terror incident.” Three others remain in the hospital. The alleged attacker was shot by the police and died.
But more lives might have been lost if not for bystanders who jumped in and subdued the attacker before the police arrived, tackling him to the ground. One of those men was reportedly armed with nothing by a narwhal tusk, and another with just a fire extinguisher.
According to media reports, one of the men who sprang into action to stop the attack was a Polish immigrant named Luckasz, who grabbed a Narwhal tusk off the wall of Fishmongers’ Hall and ran at the alleged terrorist. Luckasz reportedly works at Fishmongers’ Hall.
According to The Guardian, another member of the public who confronted the alleged attacker was armed with just a fire extinguisher.
Police confirmed on Saturday that the attacker was 28-year-old Usman Khan, who had been convicted in 2012 for terrorism offenses, and had been released from prison in 2018.
At a press conference Friday night, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick thanked the members of the public who helped stop the attacker, either by tackling him or by the following the police’s instructions.
“The empty ideology of terror offers nothing but hatred and today I urge everyone to reject that,” Dick said. “Ours is a great city because we embrace each other’s differences. We must emerge stronger still from this tragedy. In doing that we will ensure that the few who seek to divide us will never, ever succeed.”
Speaking to the BBC Saturday morning, Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, praised the bystanders who jumped into action. He pointed out that the attacker was wearing a dummy suicide vest — which the bystanders didn’t know was fake — and yet they still confronted him. “I’m so proud, and we should all be really proud,” Khan said.
In a statement Friday night, Khan said, “Heartbreaking confirmation from the Met Commissioner that two people who were attacked this afternoon have tragically died – victims of the appalling terrorist attack at London Bridge. My heart goes out to them, their loved ones and to everybody affected. London will never be cowed by terrorism. Terrorism will never win.”
Albania's Search for Quake Victims Ends, Death Toll up to 50
The search and rescue operation for earthquake survivors in Albania has ended, the prime minister said Saturday, with the death toll at 50 and no more bodies believed to be in the ruins.
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2OyjaO4
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2OyjaO4
Facebook bows to Singapore's 'fake news' law with post 'correction'
It is the first time the social media giant has added a correction to a post under the new law.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2R8Ku79
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2R8Ku79
UK Police: London Bridge Attacker had Served Time for Terrorism
UK counterterrorism police on Saturday searched for clues into how a man imprisoned for terrorism offenses before his release last year managed to stab several people before being tackled by bystanders and shot dead by officers on London Bridge. Two people were killed and three wounded.
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2qNLbrX
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2qNLbrX
Dutch Police Continue Hunt for Attacker Who Stabbed 3
Dutch police on Saturday continued looking for an attacker who stabbed three teens on a street in The Hague that was crowded with Black Friday shoppers.
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2qQAKnw
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2qQAKnw
Brazil's Bolsonaro says DiCaprio gave cash 'to set Amazon on fire'
The Hollywood actor dismisses Jair Bolsonaro's claim he "gave money to set the Amazon on fire".
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34KASDP
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34KASDP
North Korea threatens Japan with 'real ballistic missile'
North Korea calls Japan's leader an "imbecile" and "political dwarf" in a row over its latest test.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33wt5Yv
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33wt5Yv
Friday, November 29, 2019
Breast cancer: A mother's story of her battle with the disease
Othelia Maimane, a mother-of-two from South Africa, describes her two-year battle with breast cancer.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OYtxd2
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OYtxd2
What's it like to be 'cancelled'?
YouTuber and make-up artist Manny Gutierrez found himself an outcast following an online feud.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L7MlWe
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L7MlWe
Desi Bouterse: Suriname president gets 20 years in jail for murder
Desi Bouterse was found guilty of ordering the execution of 15 political opponents in 1982.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DrETAO
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DrETAO
Chile football season called off early amid protests
All matches were suspended six weeks ago due to security concerns amid anti-government protests.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34zXE0Y
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34zXE0Y
News Quiz: Richard Spencer, Uber, Thanksgiving
By CHRIS STANFORD, WILL DUDDING and ANNA SCHAVERIEN from NYT Briefing https://nyti.ms/2R3Ucrr
Brad Gobright, Renowned Rock Climber, Is Dead After Fall in Mexico
By ELIAN PELTIER from NYT World https://nyti.ms/37SxCrS
Where’s Lindsey? After G.O.P. Outcry, Graham Emerges as a Trump Defender
By CATIE EDMONDSON from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2DtubtD
Here’s What’s Happening in the American Teenage Bedroom
By TAYLOR LORENZ from NYT Style https://nyti.ms/2rEsBlY
Suddenly, the Chinese Threat to Australia Seems Very Real
By DAMIEN CAVE and JAMIE TARABAY from NYT World https://nyti.ms/33BrCjI
Apple to take 'deeper look' at disputed borders
The review comes after the tech giant was criticised for maps showing Crimea as Russian territory.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Y50qJ1
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Y50qJ1
Jesus manger: Relic to return to Bethlehem in time for Christmas
Christians await the return of the thumb-sized relic, which spent almost 1,400 years in Rome.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DvkxGR
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DvkxGR
Rediscovering the forgotten Indian artists of British India
The East India Company commissioned some remarkable artwork from Indian painters in the 18th Century.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2R1uNP0
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2R1uNP0
How BBC's Katy Watson pumped breast milk through polls and protests
Katy Watson covered a turbulent time in South America while still producing a food supply for baby Isadora.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OzoKzE
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OzoKzE
How contestant was failed in Spain's Big Brother sex assault case
Carlota Prado had no memory of what had happened until she was shown it in the diary room.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2spVdzK
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2spVdzK
Sham news sites make big bucks from fake views
Websites that copy news stories from legitimate sites are making money from Google and Amazon ads.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L6yvTH
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L6yvTH
Priya: India's female comic superhero returns to rescue 'stolen girls'
The fictional female superhero and her pet tiger fight trafficking in the latest Priya Shakti comic.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34jhLAh
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34jhLAh
Thursday, November 28, 2019
New world news from Time: North Korea May Deploy a ‘Super-Large’ Rocket Launcher Soon
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday the latest test-firing of its “super-large” multiple rocket launcher was a final review of the weapon’s combat application, a suggestion that the country is preparing to deploy the new weapons system soon.
South Korea’s military earlier said North Korea fired two projectiles, likely from the same “super-large” rocket launcher, on Thursday. It expressed “strong regret” over the launches and urged North Korea to stop escalating tensions.
On Friday, the North’s Korean Central News Agency confirmed the launches were made with the presence of leader Kim Jong Un and other top officials.
“The volley test-fire aimed to finally examine the combat application of the super-large multiple launch rocket system proved the military and technical superiority of the weapon system and its firm reliability,” KCNA said.
It said Kim expressed “great satisfaction” over the results of the test-firing.
Analyst Kim Dong-yub at Seoul’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies said North Korea appears to be entering the stage of mass-producing and deploying the rocket launcher. He wrote on Facebook that the weapons system may already have been deployed.
Thursday’s firing was the fourth test-launch of the rocket launcher since August.
Some experts say the flight distance and trajectory of projectiles fired from the launcher show they are virtually missiles or missile-classed weapons. The projectiles fired Thursday flew about 380 kilometers (235 miles) at a maximum altitude of 97 kilometers (60 miles), according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday called the projectiles ballistic missiles.
North Korea has fired other new weapons in recent months in what some experts say is an attempt to wrest concessions from the United States in stalled nuclear diplomacy while upgrading its military capabilities.
A U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to scrap its nuclear program in return for political and economic benefits remains largely stalemated since the February collapse of a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Vietnam.
Most of the North Korean weapons tested since the Vietnam summit were short-range. Attention is now on whether North Korea resumes nuclear and long-range missile tests if Trump fails to meet a year-end deadline set by Kim for Washington to offer new proposals to salvage the negotiations.
Trump considers North Korea’s self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests a major foreign policy win.
K-pop stars Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon sentenced for rape
Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong Hun are found guilty of gang raping unconscious drunk women.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2R7Jhge
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2R7Jhge
Japanese store 'rethinks' badges for staff on periods
The badges - which featured a cartoon character known as Miss Period - led to complaints.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L3Md9Q
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2L3Md9Q
How Trump talks about women - and does it matter?
Donald Trump has a history of controversial comments about women, but are his attacks really gendered?
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rzkcjS
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rzkcjS
Goo Hara and the trauma of South Korea's spy cam victims
Goo Hara's death shows it's often the victims of spy cams who are punished the most.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qTReLm
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qTReLm
Russia's Taymyr plan: Arctic coal for India risks pollution
A huge wildlife haven is at risk as Russian coal ships exploit melting Arctic ice in Siberia.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35N9vsS
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35N9vsS
Zimbabwe's health crisis: 'My cousin died as there are no doctors'
Health staff cannot afford to work, the government is now firing them amid what some call a "silent genocide".
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35GqyN5
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35GqyN5
Who is Greta Thunberg, the #FridaysForFuture activist?
The Swedish teenager started a climate change protest that grew into a global movement of millions.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rzk57W
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2rzk57W
Africa's top shots: 22-28 November 2019
A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/37Mw2aX
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/37Mw2aX
Driven From Manhattan, a Couple Consider Westchester. Which Place Did They Choose?
By JOYCE COHEN from NYT Real Estate https://nyti.ms/34vVRKb
Trump Visits Afghanistan and Says He Reopened Talks With Taliban
By MICHAEL CROWLEY from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/35N3oEW
The Worst Tech Gifts We Give (and How to Do Better)
By BRIAN X. CHEN from NYT Technology https://nyti.ms/2L2B6OL
Melbourne terror plot: Trio jailed for planning Christmas attack
The men had planned to use machetes and explosives to maximise casualties in central Melbourne.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qX3sTv
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qX3sTv
Crusaders rugby team retain name following post-mosque attack review
The New Zealand side launched a review after the Christchurch mosque attacks killed 51 people.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33tqQFz
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33tqQFz
Dyson to move global HQ to historic Singapore building
The UK company says the old power station will be an "inspiring backdrop" as it shifts to Asia.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OPdEFG
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OPdEFG
Donald Trump visits US troops in Afghanistan for Thanksgiving
The president paid a surprise visit to US soldiers and said the US and the Taliban have been engaged in talks.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qLvul5
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qLvul5
Sudan crisis: Party of ex-leader Omar al-Bashir dissolved
An oppressive public order law that was used to regulate women's behaviour has also been repealed.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34xX7wC
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34xX7wC
New world news from Time: ‘Stop Overproduction!’ French Climate Activists and Lawmakers Want to Ban Black Friday
(PARIS) — Dozens of French activists blocked an Amazon warehouse south of Paris in a Black Friday-inspired protest, amid increased opposition to the post-Thanksgiving sales phenomenon that has seen a group of French lawmakers push to ban it altogether.
Protesters from climate group Amis de la terre (Friends of the Earth) spread hay and old refrigerators and microwaves on the driveway leading to the warehouse in Bretigny-sur-Orge on Thursday. They held signs in front of the gates reading “Amazon: For the climate, for jobs, stop expansion, stop over-production!”
The activists were later dislodged by police.
More demonstrations are expected as Black Friday looms into view. French climate groups are planning “Block Friday” demonstrations Friday.
Their objections are garnering some support within France’s National Assembly. Some French lawmakers want to ban Black Friday, which has morphed into a global phenomenon even though it stems from a specifically U.S. holiday: Thanksgiving Thursday.
A French legislative committee passed an amendment Monday that proposes prohibiting Black Friday since it causes “resource waste” and “overconsumption.”
The amendment, which was put forward by France’s former environment minister, Delphine Batho, will be debated next month. France’s e-commerce union has condemned it.
On Europe 1 radio Thursday, France’s ecological transition minister, Elisabeth Borne, criticized Black Friday for creating “traffic jams, pollution, and gas emissions.”
She added that she would support Black Friday if it helped small French businesses, but said it mostly benefits large online retailers.
New world news from Time: Forty Iraqi Protesters Slain in 24 Hours as Violence Spirals
(BAGHDAD) — Security forces shot dead 40 anti-government protesters during 24 hours of bloodshed amid spiraling violence in the capital and Iraq’s south, security and medical officials said Thursday, one day after an Iranian consulate was torched.
Iran condemned the burning of its consulate in the holy city of Najaf as violence continued into the night across southern Iraq, where security forces had killed 36 protesters and wounded 245 since Wednesday evening, the officials said. Another four protesters were shot dead in the capital. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Police and military forces were deployed across key oil-rich provinces to re-open roads closed off by demonstrations.
The escalating violence and heavy response against demonstrators by a largely Iran-backed government threatened to intensify tensions, especially if efforts to implement electoral and anti-corruption reforms fail to placate protesters.
Crisis committees were created to enhance coordination between Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and governors in provinces affected by the protests “for the importance of controlling security and enforcing the law,” said a statement from the joint operations command.
Security forces shot four protesters dead in Baghdad and wounded 22 when they tried to cross the important Ahrar Bridge leading to the nearby Green Zone, the heavily fortified seat of Iraq’s government. Protesters occupy parts of the Jumhuriya, Sinak and Ahrar bridges, all of which lead to or near the fortified area.
In Najaf, five protesters were fatally shot and 32 wounded when security forces opened fire to prevent them from torching a central mosque named after the father of a prominent political leader, officials said.
The deaths came after a day after protesters burned the Iranian consulate in Najaf. It was one of the worst attacks targeting Iranian interests in the country since the anti-government protests erupted two months ago.
The unrest in Iraq began on Oct. 1, when thousands took to the streets in Baghdad and the predominantly Shiite south. The largely leaderless movement accuses the government of being hopelessly corrupt and has also decried Iran’s growing influence in Iraqi state affairs.
At least 350 people have been killed by security forces, which routinely use live ammunition and tear gas to disperse crowds.
Iran has called for a “responsible, strong and effective” response to the burning of its consulate, Abbas Mousavi, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said in statements to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack, saying it was perpetrated by “people outside of the genuine protesters” seeking to harm relations between the countries.
One demonstrator was killed and 35 wounded when police fired live ammunition in a failed effort to prevent protesters entering the consulate building. Once inside, the demonstrators removed the Iranian flag and replaced it with an Iraqi one, said a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
A curfew was imposed in Najaf after the attack on the consulate. Security forces were heavily deployed around main government buildings and religious institutions Thursday morning.
Najaf province is the headquarters of the country’s Shiite religious authority headed by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. He has been largely supportive of protester demands, siding with them by repeatedly calling on political parties to implement serious reforms.
Influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Iraq’s government to resign “immediately to stop the bloodletting,” while imploring protesters to maintain the peace.
“If the government does not resign, this will be the beginning of the end of Iraq,” he warned.
Al-Sadr, who has supported the protests, also categorically denied that his supporters were involved in the attack on the Iranian consulate in Najaf.
In addition to using sit-ins and burning tires to close main avenues, protesters have lately targeted Iraqi economic interests in the south by blocking key ports and roads to oil fields.
In the oil-rich city of Nasiriyah, 31 protesters were killed overnight and 215 wounded by security forces who fired to drive them away them from key bridges, security and medical officials said Thursday. Demonstrators had been blocking Nasr and Zaitoun bridges leading to the city center for several days. Security forces moved in late Wednesday to open the main thoroughfare.
By Thursday afternoon, special forces were transferred from neighboring Najaf and Diwanieh provinces to Nasiriyah to contain the violence, security officials said.
Amnesty International denounced the violence, calling it a bloodbath that “must stop now.”
“The scenes from Nasiriyah this morning more closely resemble a warzone than city streets and bridges. This brutal onslaught is just the latest in a long series of deadly events where Iraqi security forces meted out appalling violence against largely peaceful protesters,” said Lynn Maalouf, Middle East research director for the rights groups.
In Basra, security forces were deployed in the city’s main roads to prevent protesters from staging sit-ins on important avenues.
Basra’s streets were open as of Thursday morning, but highways leading to the two main Gulf commodities ports in Umm Qasr and Khor al-Zubair remained closed. Schools and official public institutions were also closed.
Separately, the U.S. Embassy denounced a recent decision by Iraq’s media regulator to suspend nine television channels, calling for the Communications and Media Commission to reverse its decision. The embassy’s Thursday statement also condemned attacks and harassment against journalists.
Local channel Dijla TV had its license suspended Tuesday for its coverage of the protests, and its office was closed and equipment confiscated, according an official from one of the channels under threat. Other channels have been asked by the regulatory commission to sign a pledge “agreeing to adhere to its rules,” said the official, who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal.
The Islamic State extremist group, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s coordinated bombings in three Baghdad neighborhoods that killed five people. The bombings, which occurred far from Tahrir square where demonstrators are camped, was the first apparent coordinated attack since anti-government protests began.
‘I got HIV my first time’
Aged 17 when she was diagnosed with HIV, one woman tells the BBC about living with the virus.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35K2XLn
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35K2XLn
Inside Malaysia's straight edge punk scene
Khai Aziz, lead singer of Second Combat, says convincing people of his no-drink, no-drugs lifestyle is challenging.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LiBVTN
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2LiBVTN
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
What Trump wants from global trade
President Trump believes the US is being unfairly treated by other countries when it comes to trade.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KZ71iM
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KZ71iM
Southeast Asian Games off to a rocky start in the Philippines
Complaints include visiting athletes sleeping on floors and event venues still under construction.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34w1SXe
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34w1SXe
Ravi Kumar Atheist: The Indian man fighting to be godless
Ravi Kumar's quest for a legal document recognising him as an atheist has got him into trouble.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sqJyAT
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sqJyAT
Apple changes Crimea map to meet Russian demands
Apple Maps now shows Crimea - annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - as part of Russia, when viewed there.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35Ktrwr
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35Ktrwr
Trump Signs Hong Kong Democracy Legislation, Angering China
By EMILY COCHRANE, EDWARD WONG and KEITH BRADSHER from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2OMjRlK
Elizabeth Warren Wants to Revoke Medals of Honor for Wounded Knee Massacre
By REID J. EPSTEIN from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/35Hw9CQ
Godfrey Gao, ‘Mortal Instruments’ Actor, Dies While Filming TV Show
By JAVIER C. HERNÁNDEZ from NYT World https://nyti.ms/2qJ3w9A
Thousands Evacuated in Texas After Explosion at Port Neches Chemical Plant
By MARGARET TOAL, NICHOLAS BOGEL-BURROUGHS and MANNY FERNANDEZ from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2L2ySPn
After 240 Years and 7 Generations, Forced to Sell the Family Farm
By COREY KILGANNON from NYT New York https://nyti.ms/2soQaja
Does Who You Are at 7 Determine Who You Are at 63?
By GIDEON LEWIS-KRAUS from NYT Magazine https://nyti.ms/37OIXJB
Pete Buttigieg Responds to Uproar Over Past Comments on Minority Students
By REID J. EPSTEIN and SYDNEY EMBER from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/35DQt82
You’re Tracked Everywhere You Go Online. Use This Guide to Fight Back.
By TIM HERRERA from NYT Smarter Living https://nyti.ms/34r7u53
Sydney 'lockout' laws: Australian city ends controversial bar curfews
Australia's largest city will almost completely remove laws blamed for ruining its nightlife.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35D5FlV
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35D5FlV
New world news from Time: Mexico Is Infuriated by Trump’s Pledge to Designate Drug Cartels as Terrorist Organizations
(MEXICO CITY) — Mexicans reacted Wednesday with anger to U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
Mexican officials and experts don’t fear that Trump will send killer drones into Mexico. Such drone strikes have been a mainstay of U.S. anti-terror operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but nobody thinks they would be launched into Mexico.
What Mexicans do fear a terrorism designation could send bilateral relations back into the dark days of the 1990s, when annual U.S. certifications of Mexico’s anti-drug efforts became a regular source of friction.
The possibility of U.S. sanctions and aid reductions constantly loomed over Mexico between 1987 and 2002, when the certification process was weakened to a less threatening form. Mexico was faced with loss of aid or access to international financing, as well as possible trade, visa and banking sanctions.
“Every time, those procedures made cooperation with the United States tremendously more difficult,” noted Mexico City security analyst Alejandro Hope. “This sends us back to all that.”
Mexico’s former ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, warned in a newspaper column about applying anti-terror strategies against drug cartels.
“When your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” Sarukhan wrote.
Hope noted that a terror-group designation would only encourage those who want to militarize the U.S.-Mexico border or build a wall along it, something Mexico has hotly opposed.
“This reinforces and gives ammunition to those who want to describe Mexico as a failed state, and describe the border as a security risk, and want to treat narcoterrorism and immigrations as twin issues,” said Hope. “This is part of a broader agenda.”
On a more visceral level, Mexicans reacted angrily to the potential terrorism designation Wednesday, arguing it would violate the country’s sovereignty.
It didn’t help that the designation was suggested by a community of dual U.S.-Mexican nationals, the extended LeBaron and Langford families, who live in religious communities in northern Mexico.
Despite the decades-old Mexican roots of the self-described Mormon communities — and the fact that drug cartel gunmen slaughtered three women and six children from the communities in early November — some Mexican social media users described the LeBarons as traitors to Mexico.
One of the top three trending topics on Mexican Twitter accounts Wednesday was “LeBaronOutOfMexico”; another top hashtag was LeBaronTraitors”.
Alex LeBaron chuckled and said, “Probably not everybody in my community expected it, but I did.”
LeBaron wrote in his Twitter account, in Spanish “We are not asking for an ‘invasion,’ because we are already invaded by terrorist (drug) cartels in Mexican territory,” adding “we demand real coordination between both countries!”
The communities, which are not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have long stressed their love of Mexico — where many were born — and note that Mexicans suffer the brunt of cartel violence.
In that sense, LeBaron wrote that the United States should do more to cooperate with Mexico to stop the flow of illegal U.S. weapons into Mexico, and reduce U.S. demand for illegal drugs that line the pockets of traffickers.
But he suggested that if many Mexicans were so worried about sovereignty, they should study the case of the northern city of Culiacan, where Sinaloa cartel gunmen forced the Mexican army to back down and free the captured son of drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman on Oct. 17.
“Sovereignty? Go to Culiacan and see who is in charge there!” he wrote.
Utah family terrorised by Hawaii 'extreme stalker'
The suspect kept sending plumbers, drug dealers and prostitutes to his victims' home, police say.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Y3lsIh
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Y3lsIh
TikTok apologises and reinstates banned US teen
Chinese-owned TikTok has apologised to a US teenager who criticised China's treatment of Muslims.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QWLXxp
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QWLXxp
The Black Sea: Can Europe's most polluted sea be saved?
Scientists are shocked at what they find in the polluted waters, but say there is hope.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35ybVvc
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35ybVvc
Hong Kong protests: Trump signs Human Rights and Democracy Act into law
The Human Rights and Democracy Act has angered Beijing, which has told the US to "stop meddling".
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35EVD3G
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35EVD3G
Iraq unrest: Protesters set fire to Iranian consulate in Najaf
Demonstrators stormed the building, in a dramatic escalation after weeks of anti-government protests.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QXbfvm
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QXbfvm
Cancer in Africa: Malawi's cervical cancer screening champion
Falesi Mwajomba and a group of cervical cancer survivors are encouraging other women to get screened.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34s9gD1
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34s9gD1
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
White House Budget Official Said 2 Aides Resigned Amid Ukraine Aid Freeze
By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and NICHOLAS FANDOS from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2pUK8pD
‘Bleak’ U.N. Report on a Planet in Peril Looms Over New Climate Talks
By SOMINI SENGUPTA from NYT Climate https://nyti.ms/2DirgUn
Albania Earthquake Kills at Least 23
By ELIAN PELTIER, ILIANA MAGRA and DANIEL VICTOR from NYT World https://nyti.ms/35HtlFx
Trump to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorists
The announcement prompted Mexico to request an urgent meeting with US officials.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OlK8Ix
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OlK8Ix
Trump Knew of Whistle-Blower Complaint When He Released Aid to Ukraine
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT, JULIAN E. BARNES and MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2DlBN1a
Thai deer dead with 7kg of rubbish in stomach
Among the items found in the deer's stomach were instant coffee sachets, rubber gloves and a towel.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KWUTit
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KWUTit
New world news from Time: U.S. Criticizes China for Abuses Revealed by Leaked Cables
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Tuesday that a cache of leaked documents proves that Chinese authorities are engaged in massive and systemic repression of Muslims and other minorities in western China, as a number of foreign governments expressed serious concern about the scale of the campaign.
Pompeo said the documents underscored “an overwhelming and growing body of evidence” that China’s leaders are responsible for gross human rights violations in the Xinjiang region.
“They detail the Chinese party’s brutal detention and systematic repression of Uighurs and members of other Muslim minority groups in Xinjiang,” Pompeo told reporters at a State Department news conference. “We call on the Chinese government to immediately release all those who are arbitrarily detained and to end its draconian policies that have terrorized its own citizens in Xinjiang.”
Pompeo’s comments come at a delicate time in U.S.-Chinese relations amid ongoing negotiations to end a trade war and U.S. concerns about the situation in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy protests have turned violent with clashes between police and demonstrators. Notably, his criticism was not accompanied by a warning about possible sanctions for the mass detentions, although U.S. lawmakers are pressing for penalties to be imposed.
“There are very significant human rights abuses,” Pompeo said. “It shows that it’s not random. It is intentional and it is ongoing.”
The leaked classified documents were provided to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which worked with The Associated Press and news organizations around the world to publish the material.
The documents, which include guidelines for operating detention centers and instructions for how to use technology to target people, reveal that the camps in Xinjiang are not for voluntary job training, as Beijing has claimed.
They show the camps are used for forced ideological and behavioral re-education. They also illustrate how Beijing uses a high-tech surveillance system to target people for detention and to predict who will commit a crime.
Voluntary job training is the reason the Chinese government has given for detaining more than a million ethnic minorities, most of them Muslim. But a classified blueprint leaked to the news organizations shows the camps are instead precisely what former detainees have described: forced ideological and behavioral re-education centers run in secret.
The documents lay out the Chinese government’s deliberate strategy to lock up ethnic minorities even before they commit a crime, and to rewire their thoughts and the language they speak.
The papers also show how Beijing is pioneering a new form of social control using data and artificial intelligence. Drawing on data collected by mass surveillance technology, computers issued the names of tens of thousands of people for interrogation or detention in just one week.
Pompeo said the documents should encourage other countries to come forward with their concerns.
U.S. allies were among the first to step up.
“We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the Chinese government’s escalating crackdown, in particular the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities,” a British Foreign Office spokesperson said. “We want to see an end to the indiscriminate and disproportionate restrictions on the cultural and religious freedoms of Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.”
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told the German China-Cables team that “if indeed hundreds of thousands of Uighurs are being detained in camps, then the international community cannot close their eyes.”
In Brussels, the European Commission said it was calling on China “to uphold its international and international obligations and to respect human rights including when it comes to the rights of persons belonging to minorities especially in Xinjiang but also in Tibet and we will continue to affirm those positions in this context in particular.”
Japan’s foreign ministry said it believed ”freedom, respect for fundamental human rights and the rule of law, which are the universal value in the international community, are guaranteed in China as well.”
Meanwhile, there were indications that China was moving to destroy documentary evidence of abuses.
A man now living in exile said a Uighur cadre he knew had reached out to him in October. The cadre, who manages paperwork at a community-level office in southern Xinjiang, said that recently the government had ordered all papers to be burned and destroyed.
“All the shelves are totally empty,” his friend said. The man declined to be identified out of fear of retribution to him or his family.
The man said papers stored in such offices are forms filled in by government workers monitoring everyone in the community, containing sensitive personal information such as marriage status, residence registration and whether they are detained. Information from the forms are inputted into a database in a separate room in the office, while the forms themselves are stored on shelves.
Essex lorry deaths: Victims' remains arrive back in Vietnam
The bodies of 16 of the 39 migrants found dead in a lorry are being returned to their families.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OM2i5k
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OM2i5k
New world news from Time: Palestinians Protest U.S. Settlement Decision in ‘Day of Rage’
RAMALLAH, West Bank) — Thousands of Palestinian protesters took part in a “day of rage” across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, with some groups clashing with Israeli forces to protest the U.S. announcement that it no longer believes Israeli settlements violate international law.
Around 2,000 people gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah by midday, where they set ablaze posters of U.S. President Donald Trump as well as Israeli and American flags. Schools, universities and government offices were closed and rallies were being held in other West Bank cities.
“The biased American policy toward Israel, and the American support of the Israeli settlements and the Israeli occupation, leaves us with only one option: To go back to resistance,” Mahmoud Aloul, an official with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement, told the crowd in Ramallah.
Demonstrators held signs reading: “Trump to impeachment, (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to jail, the occupation will go and we will remain on our land.”
At Israeli checkpoints near Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, dozens of protesters threw stones at Israeli forces who responded with tear gas. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Later in the evening, the Israeli military said it identified two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel. One was intercepted by an Iron Dome missile battery. It was the second such attack in as many days by Palestinian militants, and Israeli aircraft retaliated with attacks on several Hamas sites in Gaza. There were no reports of injuries.
The protests came just hours after the death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody following a battle with cancer. Organizers had said the demonstrations — which were planned before his death — would also call for the release of Sami Abu Diak, 35, to allow him to die at his family’s side. Israeli officials denied the request.
Organized by Fatah, Tuesday’s “day of rage” protested the Trump administration’s announcement on Israeli settlements last week. The decision upended four decades of American policy and embraced a hard-line Israeli view at the expense of the Palestinian quest for statehood.
Israeli leaders welcomed the U.S. decision, while the Palestinians and most of the world say the settlements are illegal and undermine hopes for a two-state solution by gobbling up land sought by the Palestinians.
Israel says the fate of the settlements should be determined in negotiations, even as it steadily expands them.
Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and quickly began settling the newly conquered territory. Today, some 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the two areas, which are both claimed by the Palestinians for their state.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced last week that the U.S. was repudiating the 1978 State Department legal opinion.
That opinion had been the basis for more than 40 years of carefully worded U.S. opposition to settlement construction that had varied in its tone and strength, depending on the president’s position. President Ronald Reagan, for instance, said settlements were not inherently illegal, though he called them unhelpful and provocative. Other administrations had called them “illegitimate” and “obstacles to peace.”
Abu Diak, the Palestinian prisoner, died in an Israeli hospital early Tuesday, according to Israel’s prisons service. In a statement, it said he was serving three life sentences for voluntary manslaughter and kidnapping, among other charges.
He was linked to the armed wing of Fatah and was arrested in the early 2000s, during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. He was allegedly involved in the killing of three Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israeli security forces.
The Palestinian Authority had reached out to European countries and the Red Cross to apply pressure on Israel to release him.
Previous deaths of terminally ill Palestinian prisoners have sparked protests and accusations of medical negligence on the part of Israeli authorities.
Australia bushfires: Firefighter accused of arson in 'ultimate betrayal'
The allegations are the "ultimate betrayal" to crews desperately fighting bushfires, chiefs say.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XPsJuZ
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XPsJuZ
They Voted Democratic. Now They Support Trump.
By NATE COHN and CLAIRE CAIN MILLER from NYT The Upshot https://nyti.ms/2XS59gZ
Bolivia crisis: Interim leader appoints first US envoy in 11 years
The country's interim leader has vowed to overturn many of ex-President Evo Morales' policies.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DmrtWF
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DmrtWF
The YouTuber with 26 billion views
Brazil's Konrad Dantas, better know as Kondzilla, has the world's second most watched music video channel.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35G7PRU
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35G7PRU
Trump invited to attend impeachment hearing or 'stop complaining'
The president has been told he can either attend the hearing next week or "stop complaining".
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QWndFh
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QWndFh
UK would be 'outgunned' in Russia conflict - think-tank
The UK has a critical shortage of artillery and ammunition, according to a defence think-tank.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2ruWKE6
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2ruWKE6
Hong Kong protests: 'I was born here, I'm a Hongkonger too'
A Pakistani Hongkonger says the protests allow him to promote better understanding of his community.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KRUPAz
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KRUPAz
Kamala Harris school plan: The two hours costing US parents thousands
A proposal to keep US schools open longer has led to a polarised debate over childcare nationwide.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qEsIOx
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2qEsIOx
Von der Leyen's Commission: The ones to watch at Europe’s new top table
Those on the list to take up their positions as EU commissioners include some colourful characters.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QTATRz
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QTATRz
Can you charge different customers different amounts?
Is it possible to make some clients pay a premium for goods and sell them cheaply to a mass market?
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Dgt5Bt
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2Dgt5Bt
Iran protests: Videos reveal crackdown regime tried to hide from world
Social media is painting a picture of a government crackdown bloodier than many had feared.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2P0dUlt
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2P0dUlt
Why France is focused on fighting jihadists in Mali
As Islamist militant violence escalates France wants the the rest of Europe to join the deadly fight.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35DCQWp
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/35DCQWp
India's toilets: Report questions claims that rural areas are free from open defecation
India's prime minister has said defecating in the open has ended in rural India - but is that true?
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34mvBlq
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34mvBlq
Fox News Breaking News Alert
Fox News Breaking News Alert
President Trump addresses Florida 'homecoming rally'
11/26/19 4:26 PM
President Trump addresses Florida 'homecoming rally'
11/26/19 4:26 PM
Monday, November 25, 2019
Who Is Edward Gallagher, the SEAL the Navy Wants to Expel?
By DAVE PHILIPPS from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2QSmTHU
I Invented the World Wide Web. Here’s How We Can Fix It.
By TIM BERNERS-LEE from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/2OI5BKI
Why President Trump’s Ukraine Scheme Matters
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/33j8W8u
Indian doctors remove 7.4kg kidney from patient
A kidney usually weighs between 120-150g, so this was one of the heaviest on record, doctors say.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DdfFpR
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DdfFpR
Georgia police use water cannons on protesters in Tbilisi
Activists have also been detained at anti-government demonstrations, an opposition leader says.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33fnCW0
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33fnCW0
The Who’s Pete Townshend on Rock’s Legacy, and His Own Dark Past
By Unknown Author from NYT Magazine https://nyti.ms/34kAGLh
New world news from Time: Clashes in Lebanon Threaten to Crack Open Fault Lines Between Pro- and Anti-Hezbollah Factions
(BEIRUT) — Clashes between Lebanese protesters and supporters of the Shiite militant Hezbollah group are putting Lebanon’s military and security forces in a delicate position, threatening to crack open the country’s dangerous fault lines amid a political deadlock.
For weeks, the Lebanese security forces have taken pains to protect anti-government protesters, in stark contrast to Iraq, where police have killed more than 340 people over the past month in a bloody response to similar protests.
The overnight violence — some of the worst since protests against the country’s ruling elite began last month — gave a preview into a worst-case scenario for Lebanon’s crisis, with the country’s U.S.-trained military increasingly in the middle between pro- and anti-Hezbollah factions.
By attacking protesters Sunday night, Hezbollah sent a message that it is willing to use force to protect its political power. Confronting the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah, however, is out of the question for the military as doing so would wreck the neutral position it seeks to maintain and could split its ranks.
“The army is in a difficult position facing multiple challenges and moving cautiously between the lines,” said Fadia Kiwan, professor of political science at Saint Joseph University in Beirut.
She said the military has sought to protect the protesters and freedom of expression but is increasingly grappling with how to deal with road closures and violence.
The U.N. Security Council urged all actors in Lebanon on Monday to engage in “intensive national dialogue and to maintain the peaceful character of the protests” by respecting the right to peaceful assembly and protest.
Calling this “a very critical time for Lebanon,” the U.N.’s most powerful body also commended Lebanon’s armed forces and state security institutions for their role in protecting the right to peaceful assembly and protest.
Sunday night’s clashes brought into full display the political and sectarian divisions that protesters have said they want to end.
“Shiite, Shiite, Shiite!” Hezbollah supporters waving the group’s yellow flag shouted, taunting the protesters, many of them Christians. The protesters chanted back, “This is Lebanon, not Iran,” and “Terrorist, terrorist, Hezbollah is a terrorist” — the first time they have used such a chant.
The violence began when supporters of Hezbollah and the other main Shiite faction, Amal, attacked protesters who had blocked a main Beirut thoroughfare known as the Ring Road — a move the protesters said was aimed at exerting pressure on politicians to form a new government after Prime Minister Saad Hariri offered his resignation Oct. 29.
Carrying clubs and metal rods, the Hezbollah followers arrived on scooters, chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans. They beat up several protesters. Both sides chanted insults, then threw stones at each other for hours.
Security forces stood between them but did little to stop the fighting. Finally, after several hours, they fired tear gas at both sides to disperse them. The road was eventually opened before daybreak Monday.
By that time, protesters’ tents were destroyed in areas close to the Ring Road. The windshields of cars parked near Riad Solh Square and Martyrs Square — the central hubs of the protests — were smashed as were the windows of some shops.
The nationwide protests have so far been overwhelmingly peaceful since they started Oct. 17.
Politicians have failed to agree on a new Cabinet since Hariri’s government resigned Oct. 29. Hezbollah and Amal insist Hariri form a new government made up of technocrats and politicians, but Hariri — echoing protester demands — says it must be made up only of experts who would focus on Lebanon’s economic crisis.
As the deadlock drags on, tempers are rising.
“The situation is moving toward a dangerous phase because after 40 days of protests, people are beginning to get tired and frustrated and might resort to actions that are out of control,” Kiwan said.
One person has been killed by security forces during the protests, while six have died in incidents related to the demonstrations. In the latest, a man and his sister-in-law burned to death Monday after their car hit a metal barricade erected by protesters on a highway linking Beirut with the country’s south.
Hezbollah issued a blistering statement Monday condemning the road closure, painting the protests as a danger to the country. It called the deaths the result of “a militia attack carried out by groups of bandits who practice the ugliest methods of humiliation and terrorism against people.”
In the increasingly tense atmosphere, “the role of the army is getting bigger,” Kiwan said.
The army is one of the few state institutions that enjoy wide support and respect among the public as it is seen as a unifying force in the deeply divided country. It has for the most part worked to defuse tensions and protect protesters, though on two occasions it allowed Hezbollah and Amal supporters to wreck tents at the main protest site in downtown Beirut.
Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese general who heads the Middle East Center for Studies and Political Research, said the army is in a “delicate” position and could not have done more than it did Sunday night.
The military is already at the center of a debate in U.S. policy-making circles. The Trump administration is now withholding more than $100 million in U.S. military assistance to Lebanon that has been approved by Congress, without providing an explanation for the hold.
That has raised concerns among some in the U.S. security community who see the aid — largely used to buy U.S.-made military equipment — as key to countering Iran’s influence in Lebanon. Others, however, including pro-Israel lawmakers in Congress, have sought to defund the military, arguing it has been compromised by Hezbollah, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization.
U.S. administrations have long believed that a strong Lebanese army could be a counter to Hezbollah’s weapons and could deprive the militants of the excuse to keep their arms.
The 70,000-strong force split along sectarian lines during Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war. Since then, it has largely succeeded in achieving a level of stability by maintaining a tough balancing act that includes coordinating with Hezbollah on security matters.
Jaber said it is impossible for the security forces to clash with Hezbollah because “this will lead to divisions within the army.”
“Hezbollah is a main part of the Lebanese people,” he said. “Getting the army into a battle with them would lead to pulling away part of the Lebanese army, and this could be followed by other groups splitting from the army.”
“The Lebanese army is the pole of the tent. If the pole collapses, the whole country will collapse. It is the duty of the army to protect state institutions.”
My Fellow Republicans, Please Follow the Facts
By SLADE GORTON from NYT Opinion https://nyti.ms/34rldJq
New world news from Time: The U.K. Suspect Charged Over Migrant Deaths Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charges
LONDON (AP) — A truck driver charged with manslaughter over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found in the back of a vehicle he had allegedly been driving pleaded guilty Monday to lesser charges, as police made a new arrest in the case.
Northern Irish trucker Maurice Robinson, who is accused of being part of an international people-smuggling ring, admitted plotting with others to assist illegal immigration and acquiring criminal property.
Robinson, 25, appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court by video link from prison. He wasn’t asked to enter pleas to 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people, and he faces another court hearing Dec. 13.
The bodies of 39 people were found Oct. 23 in the English town of Grays, east of London. Police say the victims were all from Vietnam and were aged between 15 and 44.
The 31 men and eight women are believed to have paid people traffickers for their clandestine transit into England.
Prosecutors allege Robinson drove the cab of the truck to Purfleet, England, where he picked up the container, which had arrived by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium.
Late Monday, police said they had arrested a 36-year-old man from Purfleet on suspicion of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
Two other men have been arrested in Britain and Ireland in connection with the case, and several people have been arrested in Vietnam.
Westpac bank chief quits amid money laundering scandal
Westpac bank is accused of 23 million law breaches, including possible links to child exploitation.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33n9QR8
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33n9QR8
Trump impeachment: White House aides can be made to testify
A judge rules White House staff be made to testify before Congress, despite claims of immunity.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KVm90C
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2KVm90C
Alibaba shares jump in blockbuster Hong Kong debut
The Chinese e-commerce giant has begun trading in Asia after completing this year's biggest share sale.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/37AUMml
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/37AUMml
Australian police find body in search for missing Briton Aslan King
Police say the body is yet to be formally identified, but they believe it is 25-year-old Aslan King.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34j0dEo
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/34j0dEo
Chinese woman jailed for trespassing at Trump's Mar-a-Lago
It was feared Yujing Zhang was a spy when she was arrested at Donald Trump's Florida resort in March.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QOW07C
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2QOW07C
What we can all learn from this deathbed photo
An image of Norbert Schemm sipping a beer with loved ones spurs others to share final goodbye stories.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2shxmlS
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2shxmlS
Edward Gallagher: The story behind Trump, Fox News and the Navy Seal
The US navy secretary has been forced out after clashing with the White House over a Navy Seal. What happened?
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OMOur1
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OMOur1
AS Roma: Why did Italian club decide to announce signings alongside missing children?
This summer, Italian club Roma began announcing their transfer signings alongside images of missing children. This is why.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sjHjPT
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2sjHjPT
How China is building a world-beating phone network
While Huawei tech is blocked in the US, it is helping build one of the world biggest 5G networks at home.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XMFTsx
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XMFTsx
Lebanese business people back protesters' call for change
How Lebanon's business community views the current anti-government protests.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DhXrDC
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DhXrDC
Security camera footage captures Dresden museum raid
Police have released footage showing the moment thieves smashed open a cabinet to steal jewellery considered "priceless".
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XLBgix
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XLBgix
What links street protests around the world?
This year has seen protests on almost every continent and there are common causes that united them.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XNwDob
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2XNwDob
Spanish accents spoken in the United States
More than 41 million people in the US speak Spanish, but they don't all speak it the same way.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33icxn5
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/33icxn5
Nobel winner Wole Soyinka’s journey with prostate cancer
Nigerian author and Nobel prize winner Prof Wole Soyinka was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OhlzMO
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2OhlzMO
13 Dead in 1 of the ‘Worst’ Days of Protest in Southern Iraq
Thirteen anti-government protesters were killed Sunday by Iraqi security forces in one of the “worst” days of clashes in the country’s south, as protests swept through the oil-rich area, officials said. Demonstrators outraged by rampant government corruption and poor services burned tires and blocked main road arteries.
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2pO1R1X
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/2pO1R1X
Sunday, November 24, 2019
COMMENTARY: Saturday people, Sunday people and the ‘Mohammadian army’
“In his tweets in Turkish and Arabic, however, Erdogan described his forces as ‘the heroes of the Mohammadian army’ – a term dating back to the Ottoman Empire,” the report continued.
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/34ii1zD
from CBNNews.com http://bit.ly/34ii1zD
New world news from Time: Hong Kong’s Democracy Parties Scored Big in Local Elections. Here’s What That Means for Their Movement
Pro-democracy parties won a landslide victory in Hong Kong on Sunday, in an election that was widely seen as a barometer of public sentiment for anti-government protests that have gripped the city since June.
A record-breaking number of voters braved long lines, which began forming at polling stations under a heavy police presence as early as 6:30 a.m., to cast their ballots in the district council elections. As of noon on Monday, voters had delivered 17 of the city’s 18 districts to pro-democracy candidates, according to local media. All of the districts were previously controlled by pro-Beijing parties.
Although district councils form the lowest political tier (responsible for neighborhood issues like garbage collection and public transport), elections to them are fully democratic — unlike legislative elections, which determine only half the seats in Hong Kong’s lawmaking body, and unlike the vote for the territory’s leader, which is restricted to a college of just 1,200 electors. That gives the district council elections a broad political significance, especially against the background of months of unrest.
“It reflects a clear-cut repudiation of [Chief Executive] Carrie Lam’s administration,” Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Center for China Studies, tells TIME. “I think it’s quite possible that the results [will spur Beijing to] speed up the replacement of Carrie Lam, because she has no credibility.”
Hong Kong protesters have issued five demands to the government, only one of which — the withdrawal of the extradition bill that sparked the protest movement — has been granted. Professor Lam says the election results may embolden protesters to call for their other demands to be met. These include the exoneration of the thousands of protesters arrested to date, as well as Lam’s ouster. (Beijing has remained steadfast in its support for Lam, despite reports that there are plans to remove her.)
“They expect some concessions of Beijing, but Beijing is not ready to make those concessions,” he says.
In a statement issued on Monday, the chief executive acknowledged that the results could be attributed to “dissatisfaction with the current situation and the deep-seated problems in society.”
“The [Hong Kong] government will listen to the opinions of members of the public humbly and seriously reflect,” she said in the statement.
Some pro-Beijing politicians blamed the unrest for their defeat. “Our campaign process was seriously disrupted, our offices and campaign materials destroyed,” said Starry Lee, chairperson the enclave’s largest pro-Beijing party, at a press conference.
While protesters are hailing the election as a victory for their movement, experts caution that it doesn’t necessarily indicate public approval for the increasingly violent measures protesters have adopted since the death of a young demonstrator on Nov. 8.
In the last two weeks, bankers and lawyers have faced off against riot police during lunchtime protests in the financial district, and students barricaded themselves inside two campuses, battling police with an array of almost medieval weapons — bows and arrows, slingshots and Molotov cocktails. Protesters have also set a man on fire and killed an elderly bystander, who was hit on the head by a brick during a street battle with police.
“The protesters get a moral victory ,” Professor Lam says. “They now think they have the mandate of the Hong Kong people.” But, he added, “At this stage it doesn’t necessarily mean that voters support the radicals.”
Other analysts say that the democratic camp — which, as result of their sweeping victory, may get to determine 117 of the 1,200 electors responsible for selecting the city’s next chief executive — has a big challenge in front of them.
“This confers a huge political responsibility to them, they may not be able to fulfill those obligations one hundred percent,” Cheung Chor-yung, a senior teaching fellow at City University’s Department of Public Policy, tells TIME. “Many of the candidates have no political experience whatsoever, it’ll be a steep learning curve.”
And even if the new district councilors can surmount their lack of experience, he says, it doesn’t mean that they will be able to end of the city’s worst political crisis in decades.
“It’s a leaderless campaign,” Cheung points out. “You can’t identify the political leadership, so how can they work with the mainstream democratic parties?”
—With reporting by Hillary Leung / Hong Kong
Hong Kong elections: A winner and loser in historic poll result
Hong Kong is celebrating historic district council election results including pro-democracy wins.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/37BWF2g
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/37BWF2g
New world news from Time: Leaked Documents Claim to Reveal Internal Protocols for China’s Muslim Detention Camps
Leaked documents purportedly drawn up by China’s ruling Communist Party (CCP) appear to reveal the internal mechanisms governing a vast network of internment camps used to extrajudicially detain at least a million Muslims in the nation’s far western province of Xinjiang.
Camps must adhere to a strict regiment of total physical and mental control, a gruelling diet of political indoctrination, vice-like security protocols, strict secrecy and “labor skills training” for longer-serving inmates, according to the China Cables, a cache of classified government papers published by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Sunday.
The Chinese government has called the documents “pure fabrication and fake news.” Despite initially denying the existence of the camps altogether, Beijing officials have since changed tack, claiming that they are for “education transformation” and “vocational training” in the fight against the “three evils” of “separatism, terrorism and extremism,” which form part of its regional Strike Hard Campaign Against Terrorism.
Yet the contents of the documents — some of which are signed in the name of Zhu Hailun, the top security official and deputy Communist party chief in Xinjiang — closely mirrors testimony TIME has independently received from over a dozen interviews with former camp inmates and family members of detainees.
Orynbek Koksebek, 39, was arrested in November 2017 after authorities accused him of being a traitor for seeking duel citizenship in neighboring Kazakhstan. He says he was forced to learn the Chinese language and fed endless propaganda about the glory of the CCP under strongman President Xi Jinping. During one interrogation, he says he was thrown into a hole in the ground, doused with cold water and severely beaten. Orynbek’s torture was so unrelenting that he says he eventually attempted suicide. Other inmates have reported rape, torture with electric batons, and other systematic abuses.
“Whenever we saw a bird or a dog outside, we felt jealous of their freedom,” he tells TIME in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he has escaped to. “Our fate felt endless.”
Predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups — mainly the Turkic Uighurs, but also Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz — comprise over half of Xinjiang’s 25 million people. An influx of moneyed ethnic Han settlers into the resource-rich region — China’s largest — has helped raise living standards, says the Beijing government, but conversely spurred accusations that local culture has been eroded. Uighurs agitating for greater autonomy have launched a spate of terrorist attacks in recent years.
Other than governing inmates’ treatment inside the camps, the China Cables also detail how the vast troves of personal data amassed through facial recognition cameras, manual searches, and other surveillance apparatus can be used to identify candidates for detention. This chimes with reverse engineering performed the advocacy group Human Rights Watch on the Integrated Joint Operations Platform security app used by police in Xinjiang.
“I’ve seen numerous police reports that indicate a person was detained because they were part of a Quran Study Group,” says Darren Byler, a postdoctoral researcher specializing in the Xinjiang crisis at the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
The China Cables also contain explicit directives to detain Uighurs with foreign citizenship and repatriate ethnic Muslim Chinese citizens living abroad using China’s embassies and consulates in the dragnet. Again, this is corroborated by witness testimony of exiled Uighurs experiencing threats and intimidation from Chinese officials overseas in breach of local laws and diplomatic protocols.
The Xinjiang camp network has been described as a “horrific campaign of repression” by the U.S. and condemned by 22 nations at the U.N. However, a total of 37 nations, including many with Muslim majorities, have defended China’s record, indicative of the economic and political clout of the world’s number two economy at a time when rival superpower the U.S. is withdrawing from international commitments under Donald Trump.
“Everybody’s afraid that if they take a stand, they’re going to be the only one and then they’re going to get hit,” says Gene Bunin, a researcher into Uighur language and culture based in Central Asia. “Because they don’t expect others to do the same.”
Hong Kong elections: Carrie Lam promises 'open mind' after election rout
Major wins for pro-democracy candidates in local elections put new pressure on Hong Kong's government.
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DjyFCR
from BBC News - World https://bbc.in/2DjyFCR
A White Officer Shoots a Black Colleague, Deepening a Racial Divide
By JOHN ELIGON from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/2rqRl0N
University to Students on Medicaid: Buy Private Coverage, or Drop Out
By SARAH KLIFF from NYT U.S. https://nyti.ms/35xhh9X