Sudan may return to war if US keeps sanctions: minister. Sudan could fall back into war if Washington fails to lift decades-old sanctions, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour has said, insisting that Khartoum sees the embargo as "unacceptable." US President Donald Trump is due to decide Wednesday whether to permanently lift the sanctions, which his predecessor Barack Obama eased in January. News24
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01 August 2017
Sudan may very well return to war, with or without sanctions
How many religiously-motivated murder groups are there in one country?
Bloodthirsty Nigeria 'cult' killings spark fear. People cover their noses at the stench of death in the Crystal Church of God in Owode Onirin, just outside Lagos, where bloody clothes, drums, bibles and hymn books still litter the bare floor. Three days earlier, four worshippers were killed as they prayed, in the latest murders blamed on a shadowy gang dubbed the Badoo, believed to have killed 30 people since June last year. Daily Times
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Djibouti could start a special social club for foreign military bases at this point.
Djibouti: Chinese troops depart for first overseas military base. Ships carrying Chinese troops are heading to Djibouti to set up Beijing's first overseas military base, reports state media. China says the support base will be used for peacekeeping and humanitarian aid in Africa and West Asia. It will also be used for military co-operation, naval exercises and rescue missions, Xinhua said. BBC
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The second arrest of a US official in two months
An active duty U.S. soldier was arrested on terrorism charges after authorities say he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and said he wanted to "kill a bunch of people." The FBI arrested Sgt. 1st Class Ikaika Kang, 34, in a suburb of Honolulu over the weekend after a yearlong investigation involving multiple undercover officers and confidential informants. He made an initial appearance in federal court on Monday. Associated Press
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Waiting to fill the vacuum?
Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group is constructing at least two underground facilities in Lebanon for manufacturing missiles and other weaponry, a report by French Intelligence Online magazine has revealed. Intelligence Online quoted sources saying that the first factory is being built in northern Lebanon, near the town of Hermel in the eastern Bekaa Valley. The second facility is reportedly being constructed along the southern coast, between the towns of Sidon and Tyre. Al Arabiya
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We've all got it somewhere in us.
Portugal charges 18 policemen over alleged racist conduct. Authorities in Portugal are ringing charges of torture, assault, providing false statements and other crimes against 18 police officers over alleged racist conduct. The Lisbon attorney general’s office says the crimes refer to an incident in 2015, when police clashed with young black men in a poor neighborhood near Lisbon. A brief statement on the attorney general’s website Tuesday said the police officers are suspected of “severe abuse” of their position and neglecting their duty. It accuses them of offensive acts and insults, without describing the alleged crimes in detail. WTOP
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It's been a year, get over it.
Turkey orders 72 university staff detained in coup-related probe. Turkey issued arrest warrants for 72 university staff, state media said on Monday, including a former adviser to the main opposition leader who staged a mass rally on Sunday to protest a crackdown since a failed military coup last year. The warrants were issued under an investigation into the movement of the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is accused of orchestrating the attempted coup on July 15, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. Reuters
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Spoiler alert: They finally got their dang visas
Afghan students denied US visa to attend robot competition. Six female students from war-torn Afghanistan who had hoped to participate in an international robotics competition in the U.S. this month will have to watch via video link after their visa applications were denied not once, but twice. The girls wanted to show the world that Afghans can also construct a hand-made robot. But of 162 teams who planned to participate, the Afghan girls are the only nation’s team to be denied visas by the U.S. and must participate from afar, watching from their hometown in western Afghanistan. WTOP
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Even Somalia can't function without Internet
Somalia's government says an ongoing internet outage is costing the country $10m (£7.7m) each day. The outage affects southern Somalia, and was caused by damage to an undersea fibre-optic cable more than two weeks ago. Somali Post and Telecommunications Minister Abdi Anshur Hassan has called the incident a "major disaster", costing Somalia "more than $130m". BBC
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Maybe next year? Or not, whatever.
Congo election head says presidential vote unlikely this year. The president of Democratic Republic of Congo's electoral commission said on Sunday that a vote to replace President Joseph Kabila will probably not be possible this year, violating a deal that let Kabila stay on past the end of his mandate. Kabila's refusal to step down at the end of his second elected term in December sparked protests that killed dozens of people. The opposition quickly denounced commission president Corneille Nangaa's announcement on Sunday as a declaration of "war". Reuters
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Nothing like a credible judiciary...
Kenya's president warns judiciary not to help opposition. Kenya's president has warned the country's judiciary not to help the opposition throw the next election into disarray. The presidential poll will take place next month and Uhuru Kenyatta is seeking re-election. On Friday, after a case brought by the opposition, the High Court ordered the electoral commission not to print ballot papers. Mr Kenyatta insisted the election would go ahead as planned. BBC
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Out of their f-ing minds.
El Salvador teen rape victim sentenced to 30 years in prison after stillbirth. A high school student was convicted on the grounds that failing to seek antenatal care amounted to murder, after giving birth in a bathroom in 2016. The Guardian
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Portugal?!?
Days after weapons and explosives were taken from a military warehouse in Portugal, the scale of the theft is becoming clear. A Spanish website has revealed an extensive list of grenades, ammunition and explosives seized from the Tancos site, north-east of Lisbon. BBC
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Had they stopped in Portugal by any chance?
A haul of firearms has been seized in France from a car heading to the UK. Seventy-nine "viable" weapons were recovered from the car's trailer when it was stopped by UK Border Force officers at Coquelles near the Channel Tunnel terminal on Saturday. Two men, a Polish and a Czech national, have been remanded in custody at Uxbridge magistrates' court in connection with the operation. BBC
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That took long enough...
Faced with a series of terror attacks, Pakistan is fighting back against Islamic State-affiliated militants after repeatedly claiming that Islamic State has been unable to establish a foothold in the country, analysts say. "Pakistan no longer denies IS’s presence as it used to,” Michael Kugelman, deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at Wilson Center in Washington, told VOA. VOA
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Helicopter attack in Caracas, now this in Brazil -- what is *up*, Latin America??
A car has rammed the gate of the Brazilian president's palace as calls grow on Michel Temer to resign amid a corruption scandal and single-digit popularity. A statement from Temer's office said that a vehicle drove at high speed towards the Alvorada Palace in the capital Brasilia late on Wednesday, forcing guards to fire at the car. Al Jazeera
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I guess the two Papa Bears weren't able to hug this one out
Moscow is preparing measures to retaliate against Washington's decision to seize two Russian diplomatic compounds in the United States last year, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on June 28. In December, the United States seized two Russian diplomatic compounds in the New York and Maryland countryside and ordered the expulsion of 35 Russians and their family members in retaliation for harassment of U.S. diplomats in Moscow and alleged Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election campaign. Radio Free Europe
They still have a military government, so what exactly has changed?
The United States plans to sell four Black Hawk helicopters to Thailand after initially suspending their sale following a 2014 military coup. "The United States government has approved our purchase order for the four helicopters," army chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart told reporters on Thursday, adding that the army already had 12 Black Hawk helicopters. Reuters
I know it's not meant to be funny, but...
Thousands of people have turned out in protests across India against a wave of attacks on Muslims by mobs that accuse them of killing cows or eating beef. Waving "Not in My Name" banners and "Stop Cow Terrorism" placards on Wednesday, protesters braved monsoon rains in at least 10 cities including Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi where a cast of intellectuals and activists were joined by relatives of recent lynching victims. Al Jazeera
Yowza.
A year ago it was Greece and Turkey that bore the brunt of the world's worst refugee crisis. Newspapers and television bulletins were full of stories about the influx of a million people in Europe, fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East or Africa. Now, an even bigger refugee crisis is unfolding, not in Europe but in Africa. But it has had far less media coverage, and it is questionable whether Australians know much about it. Uganda is now the centre of the world's fastest growing refugee crisis. ABC
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It would be more worrying if this decision was *not* because of the economic crisis...
South Sudan is recalling its top diplomats from seven countries, but says the recalls have nothing to do with the country's economic crisis. The crisis, sparked by three and a half years of civil war, has left South Sudan's government strapped for cash, and most of the country's envoys around the world have not received salaries for up to six months. A letter dated June 14, signed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Deng Alor, gave 60 days' notice to ambassadors in Britain, Sudan and Uganda, as well as the heads of missions in Germany, India, Eritrea and Egypt to report back to Juba. VOA
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Fake news is a jailable offense in Gabon
A Gabonese opposition figure who earlier this month threatened violence if President Ali Bongo failed to resign has been placed in preventive custody, the state prosecutor said Wednesday. Roland Desire Aba'a Minko "was placed in preventive detention ... Tuesday night after being charged with threatening state security, inciting rebellion and circulating fake news to undermine public order," prosecutor Steeve Ndong Essame Ndong told AFP. Daily Nation
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Well, then, that IS serious.
China National Petroleum Corp has suspended sales of fuel to North Korea over concerns the state-owned oil company won't get paid, as pressure mounts on Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes, three sources told Reuters. It's unclear how long the suspension will last. A prolonged cut would threaten critical supplies of fuel and force North Korea to find alternatives to its main supplier of diesel and gasoline, as scrutiny of China's close commercial ties with its increasingly isolated neighbour intensifies. Channel News Asia
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Except it's the opposite of shocking
Zimbabwe’s auditor general has revealed shocking details of the abuse of public funds at state-owned institutions and government ministries. In her latest report, Zimbabwe’s auditor general Mildred Chiri disclosed how government-owned institutions could not account for huge sums of money under their watch. News 24
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31 July 2017
Guns for hire
Hundreds of fighters from Chad and Sudan's Darfur region are feeding off instability in Libya, battling for rival factions, seeking to build rebel movements and engaging in banditry and arms trafficking, Geneva-based researchers said on Tuesday. Failure to secure peace deals and reintegrate rebels in Chad and Sudan has led to a "market for cross-border combatants" linking those two countries and Libya, said a report by the Small Arms Survey group. Reuters
Trying to fill a book, obvs
Two interesting, unsettling pieces from the Washington Post and the Atlantic about what happens to unaccompanied minors after they get to the US, how they relate (and sometimes contribute to) gang violence in the US, and the ongoing debate about whether it's better to let some 'bad' ones in to protect the majority good, or to just close the door on all of them.
Particularly disturbing are findings from several investigations into the Office of Refugee Resettlement at DHS, which include children being placed with human traffickers and people convicted of child molestation, as well as a total lack of follow-up care and services.
Additionally, there is the murder of a girl in Northern Virginia earlier this year. This story is truly hair-raising. I'm only sharing because the details of how/why both the girl and her mother left El Salvador (10 years apart),the girl's journey to the US with a coyote (including time in a Mexico detention center), and how she ended up as a statistic in the US illuminate the need for stronger protection systems and services in both El Salvador and the US. Protecting human rights is not just a question of law and law enforcement, it is also a matter of providing assistance -- social services, trauma treatment, accompaniment, etc. The US has laws, it has strong law enforcement, but it often drops the ball with the more human aspect of human rights, something to consider in our own programming.
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'Those who have lived in prolonged situations of violence may have forgotten -- or may never have learned -- the norms of a civilized society'
The country itself is young, having split from Sudan only in 2011. But years of conflict in Sudan, and a four-year civil war within the brand-new nation, have severely damaged the social and institutional fabric in ways that endanger basic human rights, particularly children’s. And a generation raised amid violence and fear faces particular challenges down the road, from psychological recovery, to education, to economic productivity. Christian Science Monitor
Build a moat around the Ivory Tower
Authorities in north-eastern Nigeria have begun digging a 27km (17 mile) trench around the University of Maiduguri to prevent attacks by Boko Haram Islamist militants. On Sunday three suicide bombers attacked the university killing themselves and a security guard. BBC
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I like good-news hacking stories
A security researcher developed a script to bombard IRS scammers with phone calls 28 times per second, preventing their phone lines from making or receiving calls. The researcher goes by the moniker YesItWasDataMined and hosts the YouTube channel Project Mayhem where they post voice recordings of scammers being bombarded with the automated recordings. YesItWasDataMined also developed a script to target scammers impersonating computer technicians from well-known companies to sell malware and or unnecessary services as well as telemarketers. So far, two videos have been posted to the account. SC Magazine
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17 July 2017
Because that's how it works -- you just ask for your guns back, NBD.
U.S. will take weapons from Kurds after Islamic State defeat. The United States has told Turkey it will take back weapons supplied to the Kurdish YPG militia in northern Syria after the defeat of Islamic State, Ankara said on Thursday, seeking to address Turkish concerns about arming Kurds on its border. Turkish defense ministry sources said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also promised his Turkish counterpart to provide a monthly list of weapons handed to the YPG, saying the first inventory had already been sent to Ankara. Reuters
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'So, you want a nice house in a good school district -- with or without teachers packing heat?'
Teachers are being trained to carry guns in classrooms in Colorado in order to protect children as part of a scheme motivated by a school massacre in 2012. The three-day course, which consists of firearms and medical training, was launched on Tuesday in Weld County. BBC
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Well, sure. That makes it easier to stamp out freedom of the press -- duh.
Several prominent journalists and activists in Mexico have filed a complaint accusing the government of spying on them by hacking their phones. The accusation follows a report in the New York Times that says they were targeted with spyware meant to be used against criminals and terrorists. BBC
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Did the world just recently hear about fences and that's why they sound so good?
Pakistan says it will soon begin building a fence along its volatile border with Afghanistan to improve security, a move that has sparked condemnations in Kabul. The Pakistani Army said in a statement on June 20 that the first phase of fencing will focus on the Bajur, Mohmand, and Khyber tribal regions -- all regarded by authorities as areas prone to cross-border infiltration by various militant groups. Radio Free Europe
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Independence is hard.
What was once Bentiu, the gateway to South Sudan's oil fields, is now a cluster of bullet-riddled buildings and piles of scrap metal, its ghostly avenues abandoned. Residents of the town have long since decamped to a well-ordered grid of mud dwellings ringed by sewage, where they live in wretched limbo after three years of war, too scared to leave. Daily Nation
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Could we at least *try* it before we spit it out?
Intense fighting in the Central African Republic killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more, dashing hopes for stability in the strife-torn country the day after the signing of a ceasefire deal. The violence in the central town of Bria was between members of Christian 'anti-balaka' militias and fighters formerly belonging to a coalition of Muslim-majority rebel groups called the Seleka, aid and security sources said. Daily Nation
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That's b/c most ppl living in rich countries don't know this is happening
Amnesty International says rich countries have failed in their obligation to help Uganda support thousands of refugees fleeing violence in South Sudan. Muthoni Wanyeki, an Amnesty official in East Africa, said in a statement that Uganda is under "incredible strain as funds dry up and thousands continue to cross from South Sudan every day." News 24
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Look at DRC's human rights record and consider whether this is in any way surprising
If they don't respect rights in the countries from which these soldiers come, why do we think they will behave any differently in situations of extreme vulnerability. #modern-daymercenaries
DRC to withdraw UN peacekeepers accused of misconduct. More than 600 troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo serving as UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic will be returning home following allegations of sex abuse and other misconduct, UN officials said Monday. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will announce the withdrawal Tuesday during a news conference at the United Nations, officials told AFP. News24
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Welcome to the 20th Century, Texas. Would the 30 remaining states like to join them?
Texas Just Banned Child Marriage. Texas passed a law to make marriage under age 18 illegal.
On Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill banning child marriage, in the state with the second highest rate of underage marriage. HuffPo
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Better than getting injected with poison!
North Korea has accused the US authorities of "literally mugging" its diplomats at a New York airport. A spokesman for the secretive state said its officials had been "robbed" of a diplomatic package at John F Kennedy Airport on Friday. BBC
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The mind boggles, the stomach turns (or churns with hunger, in the case of the thousands who depend on that assistance)
Up to half the food aid meant for people who have fled Nigeria's Islamist insurgency has reportedly not been delivered, the government says. It described it as a "diversion of relief materials", which correspondents say is a euphemism for theft. BBC
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Crime does not actually pay in this case, but it still costs a lot of money
El Salvador Loses $4B Annually because of Gang Micro-Extortions. Although anywhere between US$5 and US$20 is taken in each shakedown, the combined total carves a significant chunk out of the national economy. Micro-extortion from gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18 is costing El Salvador's small business community US$4 billion each year.
El Salvador's largest gang, MS-13, etches out a meager existence through micro-extortion, according to an investigation by El Faro and The New York Times. Micro-extortions earn the organization an annual revenue of just over US$31 million. With about 40,000 gang members, an equal division of the funds amounts to about US$65 a month. An agricultural day laborer makes twice that amount monthly, according to QZ. TeleSur
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Right and wrong are not always in separate spaces
War in El Salvador strikes Apalachicola THE ISSUE: An El Salvadorian man who lived as a legal resident of Apalachicola for more than 20 years, raising a family, working as a grocer, was deported last week on the grounds he committed human rights violations during a civil war there 30 years ago. THE IMPACT: A community tries to make sense of how and why an upstanding citizen who sought a clean break from his past is answering for it now. The blood of a brutal civil war in Latin America more than three decades ago spilled into the heart of Apalachicola last week, with the deportation of a well-respected local grocer on the grounds he committed war crimes while a young soldier in his native El Salvador. Apalachicola and Caribelle Times
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Just sad, all of it.
The gunman who wounded a top Republican congressman and several others during an early morning baseball practice had apparently been living out a white cargo van for months and was frequently seen working on a computer at a nearby YMCA, where he kept mostly to himself. James T. Hodgkinson shot House Rep. Steve Scalise on Wednesday before he was fatally shot by police who had been guarding the House majority whip on the Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field, officials said. Associated Press
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DC ain't Turkey (yet)
Two men have been arrested in connection to a brawl between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's security guards and protesters in Washington and charges are planned against a dozen guards, officials said on June 14. The melee outside the Turkish ambassador's residence during Erdogan's visit to the United States last month strained U.S.-Turkish relations. Eleven people were hurt in what Washington's police chief described as a "brutal attack" on peaceful protesters. Radio Free Europe
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Sending a consistent message
A $12 billion deal to buy Boeing F-15 U.S. fighter jets shows Qatar has deep-rooted support from Washington, a Qatari official said on Thursday, adding that its rift with some other Arab states had not hurt the U.S. relationship with Doha. Qatar is facing a severe economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies who cut ties last week, accusing it of funding terrorist groups, a charge Doha denies. Reuters
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Give it a go
Kazakhstan has introduced a theologians' service in penitentiaries to prevent inmates' from being radicalized. The Central Asian nation's state corrections service said on June 13 that the service was introduced to curb the spreading of radical Islamist ideology, extremism, and terrorism among inmates. Radio Free Europe
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Whodunnit?
The estranged wife of Lesotho's incoming prime minister was gunned down just two days before his inauguration, his party and police said on Thursday, creating confusion ahead of the handover of power. Thomas Thabane's wife Lipolelo, 58, was shot dead in the Ha Masana village, 35km south of the capital Maseru where she lives, as she was driving with a friend on Wednesday. News 24
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Unpardonable crimes
The United Nations has documented dozens of cases of serious child abuse including rape and kidnap in five days of violence by Congolese militias, it said Wednesday. The UN's mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO, said it had recorded 62 cases of "serious" child abuse by armed groups in the violence-wracked east, and by followers of slain militia leader Kamwina Nsapu in the country's center, between June 5 and 9. News 24
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Not on the same page
Pakistan's military chief is sharply criticizing a suspected U.S. drone strike that killed two key Haqqani network commanders in northwestern Pakistan earlier this week. Pakistani security sources said Tuesday's pre-dawn missile attack destroyed a suspected militant hideout in the remote district of Hangu. VOA
Meanwhile....
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. administration was reviewing all policy options and aid for Pakistan, as House lawmakers criticized the U.S approach toward Islamabad. Tillerson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on June 14 that Washington had "very complex relations with Pakistan." Radio Free Europe
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Coyotes= 'Social Service Providers'
Salvadoran ‘Coyote’: Smuggling of migrants is “social work” A Coyote does an “honest job similar to an NGO, but charging a fee because he is a businessman” said a 32 year-old Salvadoran who has been engaged in the smuggling of migrants from El Salvador to the United States for four years. MSN (en espanol)
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(Not so) Universal human rights
Bahrain lawyer arrested for suing over Qatar blockade. A prominent human rights lawyer in Bahrain has been arrested after launching a lawsuit against the government over its restrictions imposed on neighboring Qatar. Issa Faraj Arhama al-Burshaid was detained after challenging Manama's sanctions, which include blocking Qataris from staying in the country along with other economic penalties. Al Jazeera
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Building like it's 1099?
A deadly night-time fire raced through a 24-story apartment tower in London early Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more. Some desperate residents threw their children from high windows, hoping someone on the ground would catch them. Associated Press
Let me consult my dictionary...
Ramadan: Protests after Tunisia jails five men for 'indecency' after they ate during day. Dozens of people have gathered in the capital of Tunisia to protest for the right not to fast during Ramadan, following the arrests of several abstainers. Demonstrators from the group Mouch Bessif, meaning ‘not against our will’ in Arabic, held a peaceful protest in the central square in Tunis, asking the country’s government to relax its stance on those who decline to observe the fast. Independent UK
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Predictable. Also, Mother Mushroom is a great name.
Me Nam, or Mother Mushroom, the Vietnamese blogger who received the International Women of Courage Award from first lady Melania Trump in March has been formally charged by the Hanoi government for the very activities that earned her the honor, VOA Vietnamese reported. The government charged Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, aka Mother Mushroom, with three criminal counts under Article 88 — "conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." VOA
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And Duterte says...?
U.S. troops are on the ground near Marawi City in the southern Philippines, but are not involved in fighting Islamist militants who have held parts of the city for more than three weeks, a Philippines military spokesman said on Wednesday. The Philippines military has previously said the United States was providing technical assistance to end the occupation of parts of Marawi City by fighters allied to the Islamic State group, but it had no boots on the ground. Reuters
No, sorry -- even foreign diplomats may not exploit and beat their hired help in the US
Bangladesh said on Wednesday the arrest of one of its diplomats in New York on charges of labor trafficking and assault appeared to be a violation of an international treaty on the treatment of diplomats. Mohammad Shahedul Islam, the deputy consul general of Bangladesh Consulate General in New York was indicted on Monday on charges of labor trafficking and assault for forcing his domestic helper to work without pay through threats and intimidation. Channel News Asia
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28 June 2017
Catching up
I went on a wonderful vacation to Europe and obviously took a break from the blog. many of these news stories will be a bit dated by now, but I am posting them anyhow b/c not everyone pays attention to some of these places, but their stories should be known nonetheless. more and more in this world, ignorance is no excuse for the things that go on with hardly a word spoken against them.
Also, the 'm' key no longer works on my computer, which is truly delightful, believe me.
Also, the 'm' key no longer works on my computer, which is truly delightful, believe me.
Now *that* is an unexpected twist
University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier, said to be in a coma, released from North Korea. A plane carrying University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier, who had been detained in North Korea for 17 months and was in a coma for most of it, touched down in Cincinnati on Tuesday night. Washington Post
PS: It did not end well. |
Even worse than being in an IDP camp -- getting poisoned by your food ration in an IDP camp
A mass food poisoning at a camp for the displaced near the northern city of Mosul killed at least two people and sickened over 700, Iraq's health minister said Tuesday, becoming the latest battleground in the crisis engulfing Qatar and a string of other Arab nations. A woman and a girl died and at least 200 people were rushed from the desert tent camp to hospitals in the nearby city of Irbil. An Iraqi lawmaker who visited the camp overnight and Saudi state television quickly accused a charity from Qatar of providing the tainted food. The claims could not be independently confirmed and Qatari officials did not immediately answer calls for comment. Associated Press
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What is this, Soviet Russia?!?...Oh, wait...
Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has been arrested after he urged his supporters to join him at anti-corruption protests across Russia on Monday (12 June), a national holiday. Navalny, who hopes to unseat Putin in next year's elections, was detained at home ahead of the demonstrations, his wife said on Twitter. "Alexei has been arrested in the entrance to our block of flats," Yuliya Navalny wrote, adding "our plans haven't changed." She also shared a photo of several police cars waiting outside their apartment. IBT
The United States, the European Union, and human rights groups have condemned the detention of hundreds of peaceful protesters across Russia. An estimated 1,560 supporters of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny were detained during the June 12 anticorruption demonstrations in cities and towns nationwide, including 866 detained in Moscow and 548 detained in St. Petersburg. Radio Free Europe
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Day late, dollar short, blah blah...
A suspected North Korean drone photographed a U.S. missile defense system in South Korea before it crashed near the border where it was found last week, Seoul's Defense Ministry said Tuesday. The finding came four days after North Korea tested new anti-ship missiles in a continuation of weapons launches that have complicated new South Korean President Moon Jae-in's push to improve ties frayed over the North's nuclear ambitions. Associated Press
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Perhaps it is no London tower fire, but it is still unacceptable
An eight-story building has collapsed in a low-income area of Nairobi and 10 people are missing, witnesses and officials in Kenya said Tuesday. The collapse occurred late Monday night, Nairobi Police Chief Japheth Koome said. Associated Press
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Can we just leave children out of this nonsense?
A top Boko Haram commander was among many insurgents killed on Sunday as soldiers fought to rescue nine children being trained at a secret camp, a Nigerian official said on Monday. Soldiers on their way to an Islamic extremist camp in Jarawa village in Borno State, ran into an ambush by Boko Haram fighters, said Nigerian army spokesperson Brigadier General Sani Usman. News 24
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Yeah, okay.
The UN envoy for Central African Republic says the country is "on a path to incremental peace" that will be achieved if United Nations peacekeepers keep responding strongly against armed groups. But Parfait Onanga-Anyanga told the Security Council on Monday an upsurge in violence that erupted in May in several areas involving rival groups was very worrying, including "systematic aggression against peacekeepers". News 24
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That's cool, but not sure we should all know that
Israeli government spies hacked into the operations of Islamic State bomb makers to discover they were developing a laptop computer bomb to blow up a commercial aircraft, the New York Times reported Monday. The Times said the work by Israeli cyber operators was a rare success of western intelligence against the constantly evolving, encryption-protected and social-media-driven cyber operations of the extremist group. Security Week
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Prolly just a flaming bag of excrement
S. Korea fires shots at N. Korea after object crosses border. South Korea fired warning shots Tuesday after an unidentified object flew south from rival North Korea, Seoul’s military said. Local media said it may have been a North Korean military drone. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the military broadcast a warning to North Korea in response to the object before firing the warning shots. It said the military also bolstered its air surveillance. The statement provided no other details. WTOP
27 June 2017
'Scrambling' implies some level of activity -- unlikely in this case
UN Security Council Scrambles to Address Latest N. Korean Missile Launch.The United Nations Security Council has called another emergency session to address North Korea's latest ballistic missile test. Uruguay's mission to the world body said the meeting, the second in as many weeks, is set for Tuesday and was requested by the United States, South Korea and Japan. South Korean analysts said the latest missile was fired Sunday afternoon from South Pyeongan province and traveled about 500 kilometers before landing in the Sea of Japan.A South Korean joint chiefs statement said, "Our military is closely monitoring signs for additional provocation by the North Korean military and we are keeping a full military readiness." A separate statement from the U.S. Pacific Command highlighted "our ironclad commitment to the security of our allies in the Republic of Korea and Japan." VOA
This happened right outside of Washington, DC, 'center of the free world'
FBI investigating U. Md. Fatal stabbing as possible hate crime. Investigators believe race could be the key motivator in the death of 23-year-old Richard Collins III, who is a black student from Bowie State University. Sean Christopher Urbanski, 22, of Severna Park, Maryland, has been charged with first- and second-degree murder in the case. Urbanski, who is white, is a member of a white supremacist Facebook group, according to University of Maryland police Chief David Mitchell. WTOP
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Maybe he forgot which country he was in?
Mexican mob attacks Russian over insults in Cancun. A Russian man has been put into protective custody in hospital after he was attacked by a crowd of angry Mexicans in Cancun, authorities say. Police rescued Aleksei Makeev, 42, on Friday night after the crowd stormed his apartment in the Caribbean resort. The man had allegedly posted disparaging and insulting remarks about local people in videos on social media. BBC
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This is how all fair and transparent trials start, right?
Trial opens in Turkey against 221 suspected coup instigators. The trial has opened in Turkey’s capital against the alleged instigators of last summer’s failed military coup. A total of 221 people, including 27 ex-generals, went on trial on Ankara’s outskirts Monday at a courthouse built especially to try suspects of the failed July 15 uprising. They face life imprisonment. The suspects were forced to march along a lane to the courthouse, as pro-government protesters called for the death penalty to be reinstated. WTOP
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Land of Smiles...most of the time
Police say bomb at Thai hospital wounds more than 20 people. A bomb exploded at an army-run hospital in Bangkok on Monday, the third anniversary of a military coup, and authorities said more than 20 people were wounded. Investigators found remnants of batteries and wires at the scene of the blast on the ground floor of Phramongkutklao Hospital, said Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, the deputy national police chief. WTOP
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