NASA, planning a mission to the moon Europa–one of the best candidates for life-sustaining habitation–within the next 10 years, has opened the door for crowdsourced talent. The goal is to create a mission for under $1 billion. NASA has published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking creative help. Although much smaller than the Earth, Europa is … Read more
Friday a deal was signed in Addis Abada, Ethiopia, between South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and top rebel leader Dr Riek Machar. Under the deal, a transitional government is to be formed. A new constitution will The agreement also calls for a new constitution and new elections. By Day Blakely Donaldson Source: South Sudan News … Read more
Both leaders of the South Sudan conflict have arrived in Ethiopia Friday to meet face-to-face for the first time since the breakout of fighting after a government row in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, December 16. President Salva Kiir and the leader of the SPLM-SPLA in the Opposition, Dr. Riek Machar, and are scheduled … Read more
Transdniestria is “the first liberated part of Novorossiya,” according to Russian Economist Sergei Lebedev. Levedev also said that he saw a new state forming between Russia and Moldova, which spreads across Ukraine. The statements were published on the website Ruskline.ru Tuesday. Lebedev said that although “the New Russian Transdniestr Moldovan Republic (PMR),” born in 1990, was the … Read more
The People’s Council of the People’s Republic of Donetsk (DNR) has scheduled a referendum for May 11, according to Council Chairman Denis Pushkin, despite warnings from Kiev and a request by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The referendum will concern the status of the region–whether it wishes to remain Ukrainian or become Russian. The council moved … Read more
American mass surveillance programs, such as those carried out by the NSA, have begun to change, as Wednesday the US House Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a revision of the USA Freedom Act, Human Rights Watch reported Thursday. The rewrite purposes to prohibit government bulk data collection of records, including phone and internet metadata. The data … Read more
Azerbaijan has assumed the Council of Europe chair amid a dire human rights situation within the country. The taking over of the chairmanship of the decision-making human rights institution takes place in light of Azerbaijan’s unseemly track record of human rights abuse, as highlighted in Amnesty International’s report Behind Bar’s: Silencing dissent in Azerbaijan, released … Read more
Further strictening of Russian internet law passed the legislature Monday, and is expected to further cool Russian internet expression, while Russian President Vladimir Putin explained the law in terms of “the way its done everywhere” to deal with the CIA-initiated internet, and thanked Edward Snowden for playing his part. Under the law, commonly refereed to … Read more
Following up on threats made Monday, the US has imposed the first sanctions against South Sudan, where the president has not come to the table to discuss peace with the rebels after over four months of fighting has disrupted the nation and displaced over a million South Sudanese. On Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry … Read more
Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the UN, announced Tuesday that rebel SPLM/A leader Dr. Riek Machar has agreed to face-to-face talks with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. Ki-moon spoke with Machar via satellite telephone shortly after his arrival in South Sudan. Last Friday, Kiir also agreed to attend the face-to-face meeting. “He [Machar] said that … Read more
Italian newspaper La Repubblica has published a Wikileaks cable that shows that the Vatican communicated with US diplomats in October, 1973, and expressed support for the Pinochet coup in Chile. In the communication, between Vatican second in command, Secretary of State Giovanni Benelli, and US diplomats, Benelli expressed, “grave concern, and to Pope Paul VI … Read more
Mykhailo Koval, the acting defense minister of Ukraine, made statements Tuesday explaining that anti-terrorism operations taking place in Southeastern Ukraine–based on “liquidation” of diversionists and terrorists–are not performed with haste in order to prevent casualties among the civilian population. The defense minister told a story explaining the situation Tuesday at the briefing after the closed … Read more