Islamic State Advances Spark Crisis in Iraq, Syria
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Recent advances by Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria have made it clear that air strikes alone are not enough to halt the radical militant group. While the West, including the United States, remains reluctant to send troops to fight in the region, some local forces seem more inclined to flee than fight the brutal invaders. Zlatica Hoke reports the resurgence of Islamic State is sparking another refugee crisis in the Middle East.
Recent advances by Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria have made it clear that air strikes alone are not enough to halt the radical militant group. While the West, including the United States, remains reluctant to send troops to fight in the region, some local forces seem more inclined to flee than fight the brutal invaders. Zlatica Hoke reports the resurgence of Islamic State is sparking another refugee crisis in the Middle East.
Originally published at - http://www.voanews.com/media/video/2790570.html
Dust, TB and HIV: the ugly face of mining in South Africaby David Smith in Mtubatuba and Damian Carrington in London
The Wellcome Trust and Gates Foundation fund health centres in the country, but remain invested in fossil fuel companies whose mining operations, it is claimed, have a profound impact on the health of local communities
Worried that his eyes and urine were turning a deep yellow, Gednezar Dladla made his way to a local clinic and was referred to a district hospital, where he was x-rayed, diagnosed with gallstones, and admitted for the night. Both institutions receive funding from the Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A day later, Dladla set off through the hills and valleys of rural Zululand to a village near his childhood home, where a group of men played cards in the shade of a tree. The environmental activist listened to their grievances about dust pollution, water shortages and lack of assistance from a local mine owned by Rio Tinto – whose investors include the Wellcome Trust and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Continue reading...Simon Armitage: Making poetry pay by Aida Edemariam
In a culture that has consigned poetry to the margins, Armitage has become something very rare: a genuinely popular British poet. Aida Edemariam hits the road with the busiest man in verse
One Indian summer evening last September, off a busy slip road not far from the Tower of London, Simon Armitage took to the stage of the world’s oldest surviving music hall and, after a short introduction from the broadcaster Melvyn Bragg, started to read. “It begins with a house, an end terrace / in this case …” The hall was full, generous with silence and later with laughter: young couples in careful retro outfits, men in suits dropping by after work, students, and older women; audience and performers held beneath a glowing tent of wobbly fairy lights that rose from the balconies to a bright apex in the roof. “But it will not stop there. Soon it is / an avenue / which cambers arrogantly past the Mechanics’ Institute …” Armitage’s reading voice is light; not exactly monotonal, but strung on a more delicate, questioning skein than his conversational voice. The poem, Zoom!, the title piece in his very first collection, in 1989, turns left at the main road, leads to a town, “city, nation, hemisphere, universe, … [is] bulleted into a neighbouring galaxy”, before finally coming to rest in the checkout queue at the local supermarket.
How did the poem come about, Bragg asked. Daydreaming, answered Armitage: “I’d been bunking off school – which was a bit of a worthless pastime in those days because it was before daytime TV.” The audience laughed. He spoke of the challenge, these days, of building thinking time into a day. “‘What have you been doing?’ ‘Thinking’” – another murmur of laughter – “It sounds like an excuse, but actually, it’s vital.” It was a deft, confident performance, an unstrained mixture of taking himself and his work seriously while making sure to puncture anything that might come across as pretension; playing with anti-intellectualism while depending on the fact that no one would be here if they were not intellectually engaged. Did he plan his poems? “I know other poets who work on poems as exploration, but I’ve usually got a destination in mind. I knew in that poem I wanted to end up in Sainsbury’s supermarket” – a slight pause, as the audience guffawed – “it was just a question of getting back from the outer periphery of the universe.”
Poetry has taken Armitage to the Amazon and Iceland, to the US and New Zealand, to prisons and to Eton
I have got to a point in my life career where I’ve stopped having to feel apologetic about what I do and why I do it
Armitage’s father is 'a born exaggerator', a barbershop singer and amateur actor
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Taiwan’s president, Ma Ying-jeou, pleads for claimants to put aside their differences and negotiate territorial disputes
Taiwan has proposed a peace initiative to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea, which it says will reduce tensions that have put Beijing at odds with its neighbours and the US.
The South China Sea peace initiative, announced by the president, Ma Ying-jeou, called on claimants to temporarily shelve their disagreements to enable negotiations on sharing resources.
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TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's president will propose a peace initiative on Tuesday to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea that have put Beijing at odds with its neighbors and with the United States, the official Central News Agency reported.
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An official says "there's nothing standing" after a tornado tore through a city on the US-Mexico border, killing 13 people.
Rest Home Fire in Central China Kills 38by webdesk@voanews.com (Associated Press)
A fire that swept through a rest home in central China killed 38 people and injured six, Chinese authorities said Tuesday. The fire broke out Monday night in an apartment building being used as a privately run rest home in the city of Pingdingshan in Henan province, according to a statement from the province's work safety administration. Two of the injured were in serious condition, the statement said. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that a rescue operation was still...
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OTTAWA (Reuters) - A surge in support for Canada's left-leaning New Democrats is forcing strategists and investors to consider a once unthinkable prospect - the party which has never governed federally might now win the October election.
 Washington Times |
UN officials didn't follow up on sex abuse claims for months
Washington Times FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2006, file photo, Anders Kompass, the U.N. High Commission for Human Rights representative in Guatemala, speaks with members of the media during a news conference in Guatemala City. For months, the U.N.'s top human ... more >. and more » |
NAIROBI (Reuters) - At least 20 Kenyan police officers have been killed in an ambush by suspected al Shabaab gunmen in a village in the eastern county of Garissa, Kenyan media reported on Tuesday.
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American researchers stake out a door and find it far from an open and shut case
Whether one person holds a door open for another is not simply a question of etiquette, says a study by Joseph P Santamaria and David A Rosenbaum of Pennsylvania State University. No, they say. Nothing simple about it.
Santamaria and Rosenbaum worked to pursue the answer through a tangle of belief, logic, probability, perception and calculation. Their study, Etiquette and Effort: Holding Doors for Others, was published in 2011 in the journal Psychological Science. It is, one way or another, a gripping read.
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BEIJING (Reuters) - China outlined a defense strategy on Tuesday to boost its naval capability farther from its shores, saying it faced a grave and complex array of security threats including in the disputed South China Sea.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- For months, the U.N.'s top human rights officials knew about allegations of child sexual abuse by French soldiers in Central African Republic, collected by their own staff. But they didn't follow up because they assumed French authorities were handling it, statements marked "strictly confidential" show, even as France pressed the U.N. for more information about the case....
War of words comes as Beijing releases robust white paper on defence policy
Erno Rubik: how we made Rubik’s Cubeby Interviews by Dave Simpson
Erno Rubik: ‘I experimented in my mother’s flat, making a prototype out of wood, rubber bands and paper clips’
Professor Erno Rubik, inventor
In the mid-1970s, I was teaching design at the Academy of Applied Arts in Budapest. I was searching for a way to demonstrate 3D movement to my students and one day found myself staring into the River Danube, looking at how the water moved around the pebbles. This became the inspiration for the cube’s twisting mechanism. The fact that it can do this without falling apart is part of its magic.
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Theoretical attack becomes real as criminals begin using jammers to block remote locking car keys
Next time you come back to your car and find it unlocked it might not be because you forgot to lock it – a thief sitting nearby might have actually stopped you locking your car without you knowing.
For years science fiction has depicted criminals, governments and security forces being able to block signals with radio jammers. Now criminals in the UK have started to get their hands on jammers and are using them to break into cars.
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A slew of upcoming dramas on monarchs past and present all steer clear of controversy and complexity
By tradition, the British royal family is guaranteed 15 minutes of TV exposure each year through the monarch’s Christmas Day address. However, the Windsors and their Germanic ancestors are currently establishing a much more impressive broadcasting empire.
ITV has just announced an eight-part drama series about Queen Victoria, while Netflix is making The Crown, which, if successful, may stretch to 70 hours of television, dedicating one season to each decade of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Though created separately, these series may be part of the same zeitgeist, as by the time they appear next year, the modern protagonist should have replaced the historical one as Britain’s longest-serving ruler.
Continue reading...Syrian refugees in Lebanon camp reliant on 'hell water' that reduces metal to rust by Peter Schwartzstein in Beirut
Poor management of resources, political stalemate and an influx of Syrians fleeing war to settlements like Shatila have exacerbated Lebanon’s water crisis
Water at Shatila refugee camp in Beirut’s southern suburbs is now so salty and ridden with chemicals that metal cutlery rusts after less than half an hour’s exposure to the brine.
“Imagine having water so bad that you can’t have metal cutlery? It’s hell water really,” says Ahmed, a resident at the camp.
Refugees arriving when there was already a drought really killed us
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Four million people have left their wartorn homeland – the UK has offered shelter to just 187, leaving more to risk their lives getting here on unsafe boats or smuggled in lorries. Two of those welcomed here recount their journey
Since the conflict in Syria began in 2011, around 12 million people have been displaced by the fighting and almost 4 million people, including 1.6 million children, have fled the country. Lebanon is now home to almost 1.2 million Syrian refugees (they make up over 20% of the country’s population); another 1.8 million have gone to Turkey, and Iraq has accomodated about a quarter of a million. Under a UN-backed government resettlement scheme, Britain has given homes to just 187.
Aid agencies and UN officials have called on the UK to be more generous in its approach to supporting those fleeing the conflict, in which between 200,000 and 300,000 people have been killed. So far, around 200,000 Syrians have sought asylum in Europe; Germany has opened its doors to 30,000 under a similar scheme, but the UK has resisted expanding its programme.
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 seattlepi.com |
UN officials didn't follow up on sex abuse claims for months
seattlepi.com UNITED NATIONS (AP) — For months, the U.N.'s top human rights officials knew about allegations of child sexual abuse by French soldiers in Central African Republic, collected by their own staff. But they didn't follow up because they assumed French ... and more » |
 Al Jazeera America |
Volcano erupts on Galapagos island, habitat of pink iquanas
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 AsiaOne |
Tunisian soldier kills 7 in barracks rampage
AsiaOne Tunisian Defence Ministry's spokesman Belhassen Oueslati speaks to journalists during a press conference on May 25, 2015 in Tunis after a soldier opened fire at his colleagues. Print. TUNIS - A Tunisian soldier the authorities say had psychological ... and more » |
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Bodies were burned beyond recognition and wheelchairs reduced to charred frames at the privately-run home in Henan province.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the building of two lighthouses in the disputed South China Sea, state media said on Tuesday, a move that is likely to escalate tensions in a region already jittery about Beijing's maritime ambitions.
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan (AP) -- Taliban insurgents, their ranks swelled by foreign fighters pushed across the border from Pakistan, nearly surrounded this northern Afghan city last month with an offensive that stunned local authorities and raised concerns over their ability to defend the country without U.S. and foreign combat troops....
Dual-national jihadists face loss of citizenship, but not sole nationals yet by Daniel Hurst Political correspondent
Coalition will introduce bill within weeks granting immigration minister power to strip citizenship, even if person had not been convicted
Tony Abbott will push ahead with proposed changes to strip dual citizens of their Australian nationality if they are suspected of terrorism, but has deferred a decision on strong new powers against sole nationals after a cabinet backlash.
The prime minister confirmed a bill to be introduced to parliament in coming weeks would grant the immigration minister the discretion to strip dual nationals of their citizenship if they were deemed to be involved in terrorism, even if the person had not been convicted of an offence.
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Mental Health Will Take Focus in Theater Shooting Trial
ABC News Prosecutors in the Colorado theater shooting are steadily moving toward the heart of their case: the testimony of two court-appointed doctors expected to say James Holmes was sane when he opened fire on a packed midnight showing of a Batman movie. and more » |
 Fox News |
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A Washington Post journalist has gone on trial for spying in Iran, the country's ISNA news agency has said.
The tornado hit at 6am Monday, leaving at least 11 dead, 180 injured and around 350 homes destroyed. The death toll is expected to rise. Report by Louise Hulland.
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Washington Post journalist's trial in Iran will be 'closed to the world'
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All the latest economic and financial news, as talks between Greece and her creditors resume in Brussels
The euro is losing ground against almost every major currency today:
EURUSD 1.0909. pic.twitter.com/cOTbJ5PYCh
Fears over the Greek bailout have pushed the euro down to a one-month low this morning.
The single currency has fallen by over half a cent against the US dollar to $1.0909, its lowest point since late April.
“The Greek political saga will remain in the spotlight as the deadline for payments to the IMF approaches”,
“A light data calendar and continued political uncertainty in Greece should continue to weigh on the euro.”
“It would not be a catastrophe to exit the euro, (nor) a terrorist act not to pay the next instalment to the IMF.”
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.
Amid mounting fears of financial collapse, Tsipras instructed officials to act speedily as his government sought to defuse tensions saying it would do its best to honour its debts – even if it failed to reveal how, exactly, it would find the money to pay €1.6bn in loans to the International Monetary Fund next month.
“We are very close to a deal,” the finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told reporters. “There are many different Germans, just as there are many different Greeks,” he said responding to reports that Berlin would not be prepared to retreat in what has become an all-out tug of war between the two governments.
Our European opening calls: $FTSE 7037 up 5 $DAX 11782 down 33 $CAC 5101 down 16 $IBEX11259 down 64 $MIB 23269 down 17
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When a French journalist posed online as a young woman interested in Isis, she was soon contacted by a fighter in Syria. He proposed marriage – but could she maintain a double life?
It was 10 o’clock on a Friday night in spring 2014 and I was sitting on the sofa in my one-bed Paris apartment when I received a message from a French terrorist based in Syria: “Salaam alaikum, sister. I see you watched my video. It’s gone viral – crazy! Are you Muslim? What do you think about mujahideen?”
A journalist, I had been writing about European jihadists in Islamic State for about a year. I created a social media account, using the name Mélodie, to investigate why European teenagers were attracted to Islamic extremism. I spent hours scanning feeds filled with descriptions of gruesome plans. I had spent that night on my couch, flicking from account to account, when I came across a video of a French jihadist who looked about 35. He wore military fatigues and called himself Abu Bilel. He claimed to be in Syria.
I wanted to understand how European children were falling for this propaganda, and grasp the mindset of these soldiers
The idea of a terrorist becoming familiar with my face didn't thrill me, especially as he might come home at any moment
He got out of his car and his smartphone showed images of a devastated Syria. Suddenly, men's voices broke the silence
I wondered how many girls were being lured by men like Bilel right now. 'I have to hang up,' I said, 'Mum's coming home'
We were to continue on to Kilis, a Kurdish-controlled city near the Syrian border. The story would end there
'I command 100 soldiers every day. I haven't even told you a quarter of the truth. I'm wanted internationally'
Recently, a journalist friend called to tell me he'd learned from a reliable source that there was a fatwa against me
Continue reading...EU referendum: Don't leave us this way, Europe tells UK by Stefan Kornelius, Vittorio Sabadin, Philippe Ricard, José Ignacio Torreblanca and Bartosz T Wieliński
Journalists at five European newspapers sum up the public mood towards the possible ‘Brexit’ that may follow Britain’s vote on EU membership
David Cameron’s plan for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union leaves the UK’s EU status more precarious that at any point for 40 years.
But what do continental powers feel about the possibility of Brexit – a British EU exit? Five prominent writers from leading European newspapers in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland reflect the view from their country.
London won’t be the destination of choice anymore for young people with two degrees
Brexit fans in the British Isles will find few allies on the Polish political scene
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Talisman Sabre, a two-yearly drill, will involve about 27,000 service men and women, and will be a display of cooperation between the US and its allies
Japanese troops will take part in a major US-Australian military exercise for the first time in July, as Washington looks to strengthen links among its allies in the face of an increasingly assertive China.
Japan’s ground self-defence force – its army – will send 40 personnel to participate in Talisman Sabre, a two-yearly drill that begins on 7 July, which will involve about 27,000 service men and women, a Japanese government spokesman said.
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A fire at a privately owned old people's home in central China kills dozens. Duration: 00:38
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BEIRUT (AP) -- The honeymoon was a brief moment for love, away from the front lines of Syria's war. In the capital of the Islamic State group's self-proclaimed "caliphate," Syrian fighter Abu Bilal al-Homsi was united with his Tunisian bride for the first time after months chatting online. They married, then passed the days dining on grilled meats in Raqqa's restaurants, strolling along the Euphrates River and eating ice cream....
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