Patrick deHahn
I'm a "rising star in journalism," as seen in HuffPo.
Have a question or a tip? Please submit here.
I'd love to work for you. Email me.
I also tweet a lot. Tweet tweet.
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)
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.
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)
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.
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)
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?
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.
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 after two years of civil war.
- HRW report shows torture evidence found in Syrian prisons (AP)
- United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon says an international conference on Syria should be held as soon as possible (Reuters)
- More than 1.5 million Syrians have fled the country to escape the conflict there and register as refugees, UN says (CNN)
- More advanced missiles - antiship cruise missiles - have been sent by Russia to Syria to support Assad (NYTimes)
- Russian FM: “I don’t understand the uproar over supplying weapons to Syria.” (Al Jazeera)
Things to watch today: Egypt with a possible million man march against its president Morsi, Syria with its conflict unraveling and international relations regarding the war occurring there. Follow @patrickdehahn for updates all day.
MIDDLE EAST
Turkey detains a new prime suspect in car bombings near their country’s Syrian border (Reuters)
United Nations’ UNCHR say that more than 1.5 million people have fled Syria since January of this year (Reuters)
Bahrain’s opposition say security forces raided top cleric’s house (Reuters)
AFRICA
A new revolutionary group in Egypt says they have collected millions of signatures against their president Morsi (Al Jazeera)
Nigerian forces bomb Islamist rebel camps using jets and attack helicopters in the northeastern part of their country (Reuters)
ASIA
Two bombings hit mosques in Pakistan killed twelve people after Friday prayers (Al Jazeera)
Myanmar frees 23 political prisoners before President Thein Sein leaves to visit the United States (Reuters)
Philippine “massacre clan” enjoys election wins, even with their historic political crimes (AFP)
AMERICAS
Obama pins hopes on more peace talks regarding Syria, while maintaining a cautious approach (The Guardian)
Guantanamo hunger strike reaches 100th day (CNN)
From theamericanprospect, a good primer to who’s fighting who in Syria.
AMERICAS
United States sends extra medics to prison Guantanamo Bay as two-thirds (100) detainees go on hunger strike
Secretary of State John Kerry seeks to build Arab support for some form of Israeli-Palestinian peace, as Arab League softens peace plan
Mexico ends open relationship with United States security agencies in fight against drugs and organized crime
EUROPE
Cyprus parliament decides on a bailout plan with a thin majority that voted yes
Italy minister says they want to renegotiate their stability pact; new premier to push growth agenda in Europe
Spain sinks even deeper into national recession in first quarter
MIDDLE EAST
Huge explosion in Damascus kills 13, wounds another 70, Syrian state TV reports
Syrian opposition frustrated with level of outside support
Israel carries out first deadly airstrike in Gaza since November truce, killing one Palestinian
Turkey taking special precautions when treating Syrians after chemical weapons allegations
AFRICA
Database tracks China’s secretive aid to Africa
Egypt walks out of round of global nuclear talks in protest
Gunmen surround Libyan justice ministry again for the third day, demand expulsion of officials from ousted regime
ASIA
Siri Lankan government now intensifying crackdown on journalists, judiciary, activists, Amnesty reports
China says they detained 19 and seized weapons after Xinjiang unrest
United States and South Korea finish up joint military drills in hopes to ease North Korea tensions
Malaysia braces for tight election
Thai security chief dismisses southern rebels’ demands
Egypt walks out of round of global nuclear talks in protest
Rise of sectarian discourse in Egypt continues
Egypt’s Moussa says the Muslim Brotherhood is out for revenge
