Russia's Putin may have talks with Ukraine leader next week: Kremlin
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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin could hold talks with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko next week on the sidelines of a summit of Asian and European leaders in Milan, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
Olympic diver says players should not fear being open
People would be surprised how supported theyd be
Video: Daley I am in a relationship with a man
People would be surprised how supported theyd be
Video: Daley I am in a relationship with a man
Tom Daley believes any footballer would be surprised by the amount of support they would receive if they chose to come out.
The 20-year-old diver, who last December announced on YouTube he was in a relationship with the Hollywood screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, does not believe any public figure should have to discuss their sexuality. Yet Daley, an Olympic bronze medallist at London 2012, thinks football would accept an openly gay player despite no active player making their sexuality known for fear of being the subject of prejudice and target of abuse.
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(STOCKHOLM) — Patrick Modiano of France, whose work focuses on the Nazi occupation and its effect on his country, was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature Thursday.
The Swedish Academy gave the 8 million kronor ($1.1 million) prize to Modiano “for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the occupation.”
Modiano, 69, whose novel “Missing Person” won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1978 — was born in a west Paris suburb two months after World War II ended in Europe in July 1945.
His father was of Jewish Italian origins and met his Belgian actress mother during the occupation of Paris — and his beginnings have strongly influenced his writing.
Jewishness, the Nazi occupation and loss of identity are recurrent themes in his novels, which include 1968’s “La Place de l’Etoile” — later hailed in Germany as a key Post-Holocaust work.
Modiano owes his first big break to a friend of his mother’s, French writer Raymond Queneau, who first introduced him to the Gallimard publishing house when he was in his early twenties.
Modiano, who lives in Paris, is known to shun media, and rarely accords interviews. In 2012, he won the Austrian State Prize for European Literature.
Canadian writer Alice Munro won the literature prize last year.
This year’s Nobel Prize announcements started Monday with a U.S.-British scientist splitting the medicine prize with a Norwegian husband-and-wife team for brain research that could pave the way for a better understanding of diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Two Japanese researchers and a Japanese-born American won the physics prize for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes, a breakthrough that spurred the development of LED as a new light source.
The chemistry prize on Wednesday went to two Americans and a German researcher who found new ways to give microscopes sharper vision, letting scientists peer into living cells with unprecedented detail to seek the roots of disease.
The announcements continue Friday with the Nobel Peace Prize and the economics award on Monday.
As always, the awards will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896.
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The internet went wild for so-called "horse yoga" -- but it turns out there was something deeper going on that shows how humans can reconnect with the animal world.
Tuesday marked the last day of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that sees over two million Muslim pilgrims journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
German police announced on October 9 that they found 330 kilograms of heroin hidden in a truck that was transporting pickled cucumbers and garlic from Iran.
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NSA whistleblower Snowden will talk via videolink from Moscow this weekend about the future of privacy, surveillance technology and democratic oversight
Edward Snowden will make his first UK public appearance via satellite link this weekend more than one year since the Guardian published his revelations about mass surveillance and the NSA.
Appearing via video link from Moscow, Snowden will be speaking as part of the Observer Ideas festival on Sunday, being held at Londons Barbican Theatre.
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Estonia has become the first former Soviet republic to legalize same-sex partnerships.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A senior U.S. diplomat said on Thursday there should be no sanctions relief for Russia until all foreign forces and equipment have left Ukraine, Kiev's sovereignty over its border has been restored and all hostages have been released.
Estonia’s parliament on Thursday narrowly approved a new law to recognize gay partnerships, making it the first former Soviet republic to green-light civil unions for same-sex couples
The clip shows resistance forces from the Kurdish People's Protection Unit firing assault rifles at militants hiding behind buildings in the Kobane suburbs.
BEIJING (AP) -- A rare Siberian tiger released into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin has strayed into China and may be in danger, Chinese media said Thursday....
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The recent announcement of support for Islamic State (IS) by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) has given rise to media speculation in Central Asia over the threat of IS to the region.
Dewani trial: middle-man had greater role in killingby David Smith Cape Town
Monde Mbolombo tells police he helped to arrange the supply of rubber gloves for the gunmen who killed Anni Dewani
A man who recruited hitmen to murder Shrien Dewanis wife, Anni, and was granted immunity from prosecution played a bigger role in the killing than previously thought, a court heard on Thursday.
Hotel receptionist Monde Mbolombo, said to be a middle-man in the plot, gave a new statement to police last month and, it emerged, helped arrange rubber gloves for the gunmen to conceal their fingerprints.
Continue reading...In Western Ukraine, Attitudes Cooling Toward IDPsby noreply@rferl.org (Vitaliy Syzov, Halyna Tereshchuk, Claire Bigg)
People displaced by the fighting in eastern Ukraine are facing increasing difficulty finding accommodation in other regions, signaling a shift in attitudes towards IDPs.
 Omaha World-Herald |
Ukraine adopts law to purge government officials
Omaha World-Herald Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko inspects military armored personnel carriers during his visit in a State Border Guard Service in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov). Posted: Thursday, October 9, 2014 8:28 am. Ukrainian President Unlikely to Attend CIS Summit: KremlinRIA Novosti Russia's Putin may have talks with Ukraine leader next week - KremlinReuters Africa Putin may meet Ukraine's Poroshenko in Italy: KremlinFocus News all 46 news articles » |
Where is Kim Jong-un? Speculation about North Korean leader intensifies by Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Experts rule out Pyongyang coup and suggest lengthy absence down to health issue ahead of ruling party anniversary
From a debilitating battle with gout, to house arrest and outright regime collapse, speculation over the reason behind Kim Jong-uns lengthy absence from public life is intensifying as North Korea prepares to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of its ruling party on Friday.
Theories about the health of the head of its ruling dynasty have abounded since late last month, whenNorth Korean state media admitted that Kim, an overweight 31-year-old with a rumoured weakness for cheese, was suffering from an uncomfortable physical condition caused by an unnamed ailment.
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NOVOCHEBOKSARSK Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned Garry Kasparov's skills as a politician on Thursday after the former world chess champion described him as the most dangerous man in the world.
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The mystery surrounding North Korea's erratic young leader, Kim Jong Un, only deepens by the day.
Molly Crabapple is an artist & journalist based in New York. She's created sketches that bring life to the reality on the ground.
As Saudi pilots help target the Islamic State in Syria as part of the U.S.-led coalition, back home Saudis are nervous about the domestic threat posed by the militant group.
PRISTINA (Reuters) - Nine health officials and doctors in Kosovo were arrested on Thursday under an investigation into private clinics suspected of offering bribes to receive heart surgery patients.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Statements by NATO's new chief do not raise hopes of a rapid improvement in relations between Russia and the military alliance, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Thursday.
White House: US 'Limited' in Defending Kobani against Islamic State by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Multiple U.S.-led airstrikes have struck near the northern Syrian town of Kobani, where Kurdish fighters are battling to hold off an advance by Islamic State militants. The U.S. military said eight airstrikes carried out with the help of Jordan hit IS targets Wednesday, and that the Kurds continue to control most Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab. U.S. fighters also struck multiple militant targets in Iraq. Australia's military said Thursday that its warplanes conducted their first airstrikes against the Islamic State group in Iraq overnight. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott stressed the need to help the Iraqi government battle militants who kill everyone who does not share their "narrow, divisive and sectarian ideology." "This is a death cult that has declared war on the world. It's got nothing whatsoever to do with religion. It's got nothing whatsoever to do with the freedom of oppressed people. It is a group which has declared war on the world, which is killing without compunction," said Abbott. Meanwhile, the United States is sending retired General John Allen and Ambassador Brett McGurk to Turkey for two days of talks with officials to push for action against the Islamic State group. Turkey's parliament has authorized military action in Syria and Iraq, but Turkish forces have not carried out any actions against the militants. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is also due in Syria Thursday to meet with a group of officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that the U.S. military is limited in what it can do to help Kurdish fighters in Kobani because there is not the same kind of ground operation in Syria as there has been in Iraq, where airstrikes have helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces. Secretary of State John Kerry said the idea of a buffer zone along the border is an idea worth looking at closely. France and Britain also have shown support for the idea. But, the White House said, it is not something under consideration right now.
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Staunton, October 6 – The editors of Moscow’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta warn in a lead article October 6 that “injustice toward [Muslim] believers could lead to violence” in Moscow and other Russian cities as well, a conclusion that new research on the state of inter-ethnic relations in Russia’s regions confirms.
“Almost two million” people have vieweda YouTube video showing the clash between Muslims in Moscow and the OMON on September 26, an indication of the attention that such events now receive and of the way in which unjust actions in one place can trigger them in others as well, the paper says.
The video shows a Muslim being arrested and then beaten by OMON officers, the paper notes. But what is shown next is more disturbing. Another Muslim shouted in response: “They’re beating it, and next time they will beat me [because] they will say that all Muslims are bad and terrorists.”
A crowd of Muslims then surrounded the OMON bus and shouted that if the first Muslim was not released, they would not allow the bus to go anywhere. Shouting “Allah Akbar!” they then said, “Brothers, let’s get him out!” They beat on the bus and passions grew, as Nezavisimaya put it, “with each minute.”
One of those taking part said “This is a revolution, brothers! This was a revolution!”
That certainly overstated the case, the paper suggests, but the reaction of officials and others to these events point to real trouble ahead. Last week, Anton Tsvetkov, a member of the Russian Social Chamber, said that the clash between Muslims and the OMON was equivalent to the Manezh Square demonstrations in 2002 and 2010 and the Biryulyevo violence of 2013.
He added that his group and the all-Russian organization, Officers of Russia, are “now actively studying the experience of racial disorders in Ferguson” in the US this past August to get ideas on what to do.
Muslims in Russia are already angry. Ali Charinsky, an Islamic activist, said onGovorit Moskva that “the government and the force structures have declared war on Muslims,” thus presenting himself as a representative of what he said were “angry Muslims.”
Over the last year, he continued, young Muslims have been “very strongly radicalized,” viewing what the authorities have done against Hizb ut-Tahrir for example as evidence that Russia is discriminating against all Muslims and concluding that they must be willing to fight for their rights, even against OMON forces.
Tsvetkov for his part said that he and the Russian Congress of Peoples of the Caucasus “are inviting observers to follow events and ensure that the rights of residents are not violated and that the rights of the police are not violated either.” Maksim Shevchenko, who is also a member of the Civic Chamber, proposed something even more radical.
He suggested that what needs to happen is to form public militias (druzhinniki) numbering from 100 to 300 who will blend in with the crowds of Muslims and provide support for the OMON in the event of trouble.
AsNezavisimaya Gazeta notes, “the creation of such ‘parallel’ organs of law enforcement, especially along ethno-confessional lines, is a challenge to the monopoly of the state on violence which exists in a civilized society.” Moreover, it said, a situation in which the forces of order “need their rights defended” by such forces seems very “strange” indeed.
But it is certainly an indication of a radical deterioration of relations between the Russian police and Russia’s Muslims, and that is suggested as well by a new report on inter-ethnic tensions in the Russian Federation prepared by the Moscow Center for the Study of National Conflicts and
All ten of the regions were tensions are either “very high” or “high” according to the report are where there are either a large number of Muslims as a result of the influx of labor migrants (like Moscow and St. Petersburg) or which are historically Muslim (Dagestan and Tatarstan).
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 BBC News |
Turkish action against IS in Syria 'unrealistic'
BBC News Turkey's foreign minister says it cannot be expected to lead a ground operation against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria on its own. Mevlut Cavusoglu also called for the creation of a no-fly zone over its border with Syria after talks in Ankara with new Nato ... and more » |
By refusing to aid the Kurds, Turkey's leaders are alienating allies and derailing the peace process at home.
The main terminal building and the air traffic control tower at Donetsk airport lying in ruins as battles between pro-Russian separatists and government forces continue.
Follow The United West on Twitter @TheUnitedWest
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 Chron.com |
Russia looks to compensate its sanctioned elite
Chron.com Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the unveiling of a bridge across the Ob River in Novosibirsk, southwestern part of Siberia, about 2,800 kilometers (1,750 miles) east of Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014. Russian Parliament Backs Ukraine Sanctions CompensationWall Street Journal Russia moves closer to adopting compensation for sanctions lawReuters Law Compensating Russians for Asset Seizures by the West Passes First ReadingThe Moscow Times Slate Magazine (blog)-Grand Island Independent all 40 news articles » |
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Kobani: Anger grows as Turkeys Kurds are stopped from aiding Syria militiasby Constanze Letsch in Suruç and Istanbul, Ian Traynor in Brussels
Kurdish insurrection gathers steam against Ankaras inaction to protect Turkey as well as against Islamic State incursion
The sense of betrayal is palpable. The Kurds on Turkeys southern border with Syria are embittered as the tragedy of Kobani unfolds before their eyes on the other side of a wire fence.
In Syria, Kurdish fighters of the YPG militias are beleaguered. They were unaided, apart from the pin pricks of occasional western air strikes, until Tuesday when the US-led allies started to bomb Islamic State positions during the day, slowing their advance.
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is huddling with top U.S. military leaders to assess their campaign against the Islamic State group, two months after the U.S. started airstrikes that have yet to cripple the extremist group....
The military aircraft, believed to be an F-15, came down just before 4pm today as it was flying at West Hill, near Spalding.
ISIS Advances in Syrian Border Town of Kobani Despite Airstrikes by By KARAM SHOUMALI and ANNE BARNARD
An explosion rose from the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani on Wednesday, as fighters from the Islamic State militant group appeared to hold their ground there despite intensive American-led airstrikes.
Chris Inglis, former deputy director of the National Security Agency, stated that ISIS has “clearly” studied leaked classified NSA material to evade U.S. detection of its activities. More than oceans of indecipherable metadata and email correspondence, as it often is portrayed, the treasure trove divulged by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden details U.S. cyber defenses, military operations and proficiencies, codes, partnerships, alliances, cooperative foreign nationals, special-collection capabilities, and domestic defense systems. This intel gives Islamists enhanced capability to bring war to the American homeland.
It is not an accident that the point man for the damaging disclosure of so much Top Secret information enjoys asylum in Russia and that the intelligence is ending up in the hands of Islamic extremists. “It is reasonable to assume that Vladimir Putin is giving information obtained via Snowden to ISIS or al Qaeda so they can damage U.S. infrastructure as his proxy,” former NSA executive Charlie Speight explained to us. “Without getting his hands dirty or spending a single ruble, Putin can bring us down and elevate Russia.”
The Putin-Snowden collaboration makes sense in the context of the Russian leader’s background in the trade-craft of international espionage. A former colonel in the KGB, Putin initially served in counter-intelligence before spending the bulk of his career in the directorate responsible for training and management of covert agents and the collection of political, scientific, and technical intelligence. “It is becoming increasingly apparent that Snowden is actually a Russian agent who went into his NSA contractor job with the instructed intent to steal as much information as possible,” says Speight, a 35-year veteran of the NSA. “The dots connect that he already was a Russian spy before going to work for U.S. intelligence.”
One strategic asset put at greater risk from the Snowden leaks is America’s under-defended electronicinfrastructure. In July, John Carlin, assistant attorney general for national security, warned that major cyber attacks are being planned on a 9/11 scale, and that Islamic radicals are a threat on that front in addition to state actors such as China and Russia. “It’s clear that the terrorists want to use cyber-enabled means to cause the maximum amount of destruction to our infrastructure,” he said. “American companies’ most-sensitive patented technologies and intellectual property, U.S. universities’ research and development, and the nation’s defense capabilities and critical infrastructure, are all under cyber attack.”
What Putin gets out of this terror threesome is simple. Without leaving a trace to Moscow, a terrorist proxy could use knowledge divulged by Snowden to take out key functions of the U.S. economy such as the power grid, air-traffic controls, and banking institutions that would catapult a superpower backwards into the Third World with the push of some buttons. Although terrorist organizations are growing in sophistication, it is more likely they could pull off such a blow with the help of a major power whose global status would benefit as a result of U.S. weakness.
All of the dangers facing the West are heightened by operational compromises resulting from Snowden’s espionage. Central to this precarious posture is the neutralization of U.S. intelligence superiority by the sidelining of important combat-support structures such as the NSA. When the next terror attack occurs, the perpetrators’ jobs will be easier because of the ISIS-Putin-Snowden threesome.
Brett M. Decker is consulting director at the White House Writers Group and former senior vice president at the Export-Import Bank. Van D. Hipp Jr. is chairman of American Defense International and a former deputy assistant secretary of mobilization for the Army.
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Putin T-shirts go on sale in NYC
ITAR-TASS NEW YORK, October 7. /TASS/. A shop selling T-shirts with printed portraits of Vladimir Putinopened in New York City on Tuesday when the Russian president is celebrating his 62nd birthday. The Peacemaker shop ran by young fashion designer Julius ... |
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