Patrick deHahn

From reuters: Obama gives major foreign policy...

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:34:48 -0400

Obama gives major foreign policy speech: President Barack Obama plans to limit the use of U.S. drone strikes and close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Obama also asked the Attorney General to report on how the Department of Justice investigates the media. The report is due by July 12, 2013.

Photo: REUTERS/Larry Downing

For starters: 23 May 2013

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:37:37 -0400

AFRICA

M23 rebels announce ceasefire near Goma as UN’s Ban Ki-moon visits DR Congo (Reuters)

Suicide bombings in Niger kill at least 17 soldiers (BBC News)

AMERICAS

Secretary of State Kerry may make bid to restart Middle East peace talks (NYTimes)

ASIA

Car bomb in Pakistan kills eleven police officers and one civilian (AP)

Malaysia police arrest opposition figures in crackdown (Reuters)

Iran says a new report by the IAEA shows its nuclear drive is “peaceful” (AFP)

North Korea says they are willing to take China’s advice to start talks (Reuters)

EUROPE

European banks stop sending money to North Korea, aid groups say (Reuters)

Sweden’s Stockholm continues to experience riots through city (NYTimes)

France backs call to put Hezbollah armed wing on EU terror list (Reuters)

MIDDLE EAST

In clashes, five killed and 50 wounded in Lebanon’s Tripoli (Reuters)

Former head of Syria’s opposition puts forward a new proposal on governing Syria (Al Jazeera)

Senate moves toward arming the Syrian rebels

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:32:33 -0400

Senate moves toward arming the Syrian rebels:

A solid primer to catch up on what evolved last night:

Josh Rogin reports on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s approval of a bill to arm the rebels.

While not the defining legislation at this point, the proposal was approved last night by a Senate panel 15-3 and will be brought to the full Senate for a vote.

Even after it has the chance of passing through the Senate, it is not clear what opposition group fighting against the Syrian government will receive American arms. That will be a tough one to tackle.

Something to watch. Definitely give Rogin’s writing a read through.

For starters: 22 May 2013

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:32:00 -0400

AFRICA

Mortar lands in Congo city of Goma as U.N. secretary general arrives in capital (AP)

Egyptian security abducted in Sinai freed (Al Jazeera)

Egypt’s Morsi calls on people of Sinai to “give up their arms” (BBC News)

World Bank pledges $1 billion to aid peace in Africa’s Great Lakes (Reuters)

Mugabe signs Zimbabwe constitution into law (Reuters)

AMERICAS

Mysterious respiratory illness kills two, leaves five others hospitalized in Alabama (AP)

ASIA

North Korea has named hardline general as new military chief, state media shares (AP)

North Korea leader sends “special envoy” to China (NYTimes)

Iran bars candidates for June Presidential election (Reuters)

China premier to discuss trade ties with incoming Pakistan government (Al Jazeera)

EUROPE

Hague says, “we are working on lifting the arms embargo for the Syrian opposition” (Al Jazeera)

Ukraine prime minister bars reporters from government meetings after protest (Reuters)

France boosts up Africa and Middle East embassy security (Reuters)

Germany backs call to put Hezbollah armed wing on EU terror list (Reuters)

MIDDLE EAST

Sunni fighters backing Syria rebels fight Assad supporters in Lebanon’s Tripoli (Al Jazeera)

Refugee numbers drop dramatically on the Jordan-Syria border (Al Jazeera)

Rafah border crossing off Egypt and Gaza reopens after abduction (Al Ahram)

Syrian National Coalition to attend Friends of Syria meeting in Jordan’s Amman Wednesday (Al Jazeera)

Syria opposition calls for reinforcements in embattled Qusair (Reuters)

Chinese troops suffering post-traumatic stress disorder in Tibet

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:19:00 -0400

Chinese troops suffering post-traumatic stress disorder in Tibet:

From the Telegraph:

The battle to keep Tibetans under control is inflicting severe psychological damage on Chinese armed police, an internal training document has revealed.

Give it a read, it’s rather quite interesting.

futurejournalismproject: Syrian Death Map Via the...

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:45:10 -0400

futurejournalismproject:

Syrian Death Map

Via the Guardian:

The conflict in Syria continues to claim lives, over a year since the war started - especially in west of the country. This map, created for us by the team at CartoDB, uses data from Syrian Shuhada - also used by the UN - and each circle represents the number of people who died each day. The play button starts the calendar of deaths, which can be paused at any point

Via CartoDB

One of these online activists involved in “the media war” is curating a casualties database based on information from several websites that have already documented killings or casualties from direct sources. The “Syrian Revolution Martyr Database” (www.SyrianShuhada.com) currently collects detailed info and links to 22.601 deaths since March, 2011…

…The Vizzuality team worked on the visualization. The map is powered by CartoDB to manage and serve the timeseries data and uses d3.js for the animated datapoints and graph.

The man behind the Syrian Suhada database —who did not share his personal information— launched the project in early May 2011. He designed the website and back-end database, and populated it initially with the first available data on casualties. Currently a team of 2 curate the data contained on the site

Image: Screenshot, Syria conflict: a year of deaths mapped. Via The Guardian.

Is China seeking regime-change in North Korea?

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:44:23 -0400

Is China seeking regime-change in North Korea?:

Came across this today:

The sudden reduction in aggressive rhetoric and actions by North Korea has led to suggestions that Pyongyang has realized it has pushed its only ally in the region to the brink of severing its friendship.

The superpower state, China, may be working with members of the North Korean government, to encourage regime change and shift their stances, direction as a state. Intelligence reports tell this story, that China is preparing for such contingency plans, for Kim Jong-un’s brother to take over if the country fails under his control. Interesting finds.

North Korea's hidden labor camps exposed

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:33:00 -0400

North Korea's hidden labor camps exposed:

From CS Monitor:

A new UN panel is vowing to hold North Korea’s Kim regime to ‘full accountability’ for decades of mass crime and murder. Will Pyongyang face ICC indictment?

“Virtually every legal scholar and former tribunal judge looking at North Korea has come to the conclusion that these are massive crimes against humanity,”

North Korea has largely kept these camps secret and have denied having these, with strong international suspicions that they did actually have them. The nation was able to control confirmation they had them; but now cannot control the skies, satellites eyes and curiousness. The photos are now here. Check them out.

From timemagazine: This week’s new issue of TIME, hitting...

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:08:06 -0400

From timemagazine:

This week’s new issue of TIME, hitting newsstands and tablets Friday, May 24, is dedicated to covering the devastation that followed the pivotal 16 minutes between when sirens first alerted Moore residents and when the tornado touched down.

(Photograph by Alonzo Adams/AP)

Via reuters: The dog was guarding its deceased owner. It’s been...

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:05:00 -0400

Via reuters:

The dog was guarding its deceased owner. It’s been taken to shelter; deputy plans on adopting.

— Oklahoma County Sheriff (@OkCountySheriff)

May 21, 2013 [edited]

Writers with TomDispatch writes on “how America became a third world country.” They cite...

Tue, 21 May 2013 14:11:38 -0400

Writers with TomDispatch writes on “how America became a third world country.” They cite the unsettling political sphere in America with the poor economy and the new society America has. Give it a read here.

For starters: 21 May 2013

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:56:00 -0400

AFRICA

South Sudan’s army says their city Boma was retaken from rebels (Voice of America)

Egypt troops search Sinai villages for kidnapped soldiers (Ahram Online)

Security guards fire rubber bullets at South Africa strikers (Reuters)

Congolese army and rebels clash for a second day near Goma (Reuters)

Nigeria seeks Niger’s military support against rebel group Boko Haram (Reuters)

ASIA

Chinese fishing boat with a crew of 16 released by North Korea after two weeks (AP)

Myanmar court sentences Muslims for killing Bhddhist monk during sectarian unrest (AP)

Roadside bomb kills six policemen in western Afghanistan, official says (AP)

South Korea sees North Korea’s threats at “unprecedented” levels (Voice of America)

EUROPE

Russia says two rebels were killed in North Caucasus (Reuters)

European Union mission seeks to rebuild Mali army after U.S. faltered (Reuters)

MIDDLE EAST

Israel fires back at Syria after gunshots were fired at its troops (Reuters)

New wave of bomb attacks in Iraq in weeks of unrest, deaths reported Tuesday (BBC news)

Syria says its army destroyed an Israeli vehicle in Golan Heights, IDF says jeep was “damaged” in exchange of fire. (Haaretz News)

Kerry works with Oman to finalize a deal for an air-defense system for Oman (AFP)

Syria: No place for back-seat drivers

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:53:06 -0400

Syria: No place for back-seat drivers:

A Guardian editorial takes angle that “having rejected the option of talking to Assad, neither the US nor Britain can lead from behind.” The conflict has gone on for two years now and there hasn’t been a solid attempt to talk to Assad, as this editorial points out, and what actions can superpowers take when rejecting such talks?

"Self-immolation loses its power as means of protest"

Mon, 20 May 2013 22:18:03 -0400

"Self-immolation loses its power as means of protest":

Tibet’s opposition has continued on and has not quit in their fight for freedom. However, writer Adam Lam writes, “self-immolation isn’t what it used to be.” And also says, “A profound act of public death cannot hope to sway a world in which horror itself has lost its power.” Give it a read.

Nigeria is under a state of emergency, with thousands of soldiers deployed in the northern region,...

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:25:23 -0400

Nigeria is under a state of emergency, with thousands of soldiers deployed in the northern region, cracking down on rebel camps throughout the nation. Here is a dispatch from Al Jazeera’s Yvonne Ndege, “Will peace return to Borno, which is known as the ‘Home of Peace’ in Nigeria, again?”

BBC News - Struggle for Iraq

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:46:06 -0400

BBC News - Struggle for Iraq:

A recent wave of nationwide deadly violence has resulted in numerous deaths and a cause of concern, 10 years after the United States invaded Iraq. With the rocky region of the Middle East and the ongoing civil war in Syria, Iraq is more unstable than ever. BBC has a special report following the goings-on of Iraq.

The Economist: "Most humans will become permanently unemployable" by 2040

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:52:19 -0400

The Economist: "Most humans will become permanently unemployable" by 2040 :

Oh great.

Assad’s forces has launched a long-planned offensive to...

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:17:20 -0400

Assad’s forces has launched a long-planned offensive to retake Qusair in Syria. It has been held by rebel forces and regime forces are showing its power by attempting to take it back.

From reuters, a very valuable infographic of Syria’s casualties...

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:22:00 -0400

From reuters, a very valuable infographic of Syria’s casualties after two years of civil war.

"The country is in a crisis and when a ship faces a storm, the captain does not flee. The first thing..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:07:35 -0400

“The country is in a crisis and when a ship faces a storm, the captain does not flee. The first thing he does is face the storm and guide the ship back to safety. I am not someone who flees from my responsibilities.”

- Syria’s Bashar al-Assad says he won’t step down in a new interview with Argentine newspaper Clarin Saturday 18 April 2013. In the meanwhile, a blast in Damascus was just reported by Syria State TV.