Chaos erupted as the August House passed the security bill Wednesday. The Legislators engaged in a war of words and exchanged blows as the proceedings went on. Even so, the speaker and his deputy were not safe. The speaker got a taste of bottles that were thrown at him. Even as the House blazed in … Read more
Danger lurks within each moment of our lives. Coupled with a lack of awareness and a stroke of bad luck, simple recreational activities could easily spiral down into a monumental disaster. Take a one-man fishing trip, for example. 67-year-old fisherman Ron Ingraham spent twelve days out in the rocky seas, exposed to the elements and … Read more
In what is being called an “historic shift” in U.S.-Cuba relations, talks of normalizing diplomatic relations are being explored for the first time since they were severed in 1961, more than half a century ago. Included in the process of normalizing relations would be the opening of a U.S. embassy in Cuba’s capital Havana, as … Read more
Outside a police station in Amchok, Tibet today, a 33-year-old man self immolated in protest of Chinese rule. The man, one Sangye Khar, self immolated during a time of celebration in Tibet which had been marked by self immolations in the past, and his body was carried away by Chinese military police. Tibetans nearby protested the removal … Read more
Pro-ISIS tweeter Mehdi Masroor Biswas aka @ShamiWitness is a 24-year-old man believed to be the person operating under the handle and followed by many jihadist fighters according to officials who arrested Biswas in Bengaluru city, India on Saturday. Biswas’ Twitter account had a record 17,700 followers before it was shut down following a report by … Read more
The United States has almost completed the passing of the law that will provide Ukraine with $350 million in military support–including US military equipment–to continue its fight against Russia and pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Russian foreign ministry official representative Alexander Lukashevich commented on the “openly confrontational character” of the US’s assistance to Ukrainian fighters. The US … Read more
In this enthralling account of the streets of the Holy Land, written by the hand of an Israeli Defense Forces soldier who took part in the most recent war in Gaza, we are provided with a visceral and beautiful account of the land and conflict at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. The Judean hills are … Read more
New figures released by the OECD this month show that permanent migration flows in OECD countries, while still below their pre-crisis level, have nevertheless started to rebound. Figures indicate some 4.4m extra permanent migrants in 2013 compared to 2012. The small (1 percent) increase is mainly attributable to a rise in free-movement migration (for a definition, … Read more
Ukraine has begun legal proceedings against Russia for alleged violations of the United Nations convention on terrorism, according to the Ukrainian government. “National security is protected not only with weapons, but also in the courts,“ said Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk Tuesday. “We have begun a lawsuit against the Russian Federation in the International Court of … Read more
A vast security perimeter around southern British Columbia has been established by Canadian health authorities, in which the slaughter of 146,000 birds at five affected farms has almost been completed. The region is the most recent to be affected by a highly virulent strain of H5N2 avian influenza. “Those who have put some restrictions on all of Canada will start to look at … Read more
Tweet Chile has been experiencing a nationwide surge in what has commonly become referred to as “detención ciudadana” or “civilian detention,” otherwise characterized as vigilante justice. The phenomenon has been captured on personal and security cameras throughout the country and uploaded to YouTube and other social media in growing numbers. These events span the gamut … Read more
China has announced that it will cease the controversial practice of harvesting organs from executed prisoners. China, which harvests over half of all its donated organs from executed prisoners, has set a new deadline for the policy change–the beginning of 2015. Chinese officials have promised to end organ harvesting from prisoners by Jan.1. China “will completely stop” using … Read more