Obama, amid racial tensions, keeps a measured approach after past backlashes - Washington Post | Merkel accuses Putin of ‘creating problems’
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Obama, amid racial tensions, keeps a measured approach after past backlashes - Washington Post
Kerry: Anti-IS Coalition Could Contribute to Broader Mideast Peace by webdesk@voanews.com (Scott Stearns)
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says international cooperation in the fight against Islamic State militants could contribute to broader Middle East peace. Kerry says the Obama administration is committed to better arming and training Syria’s moderate opposition in that fight. The fight against Islamic State militants in both Syria and Iraq is part of a broader battle for the future of the Middle East and security in Europe and the United States, a battle that Secretary Kerry says...
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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says international cooperation in the fight against Islamic State militants could contribute to broader Middle East peace. As VOA State Department correspondent...
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In the United States, protests escalated over grand jury decisions declining to charge white police officers in the deaths of black males in New York and Missouri. VOA's Michael Bowman reports,...
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 USA TODAY |
Chlorine gas sickens 19 at furries convention
USA TODAY ROSEMONT, Ill. — Chlorine gas sickened several people and forced the evacuation of thousands of guests from a suburban Chicago hotel early Sunday, including many dressed in cartoonish animal costumes for an annual furries convention who were ... and more » |
Hostage, Nearly Free on Ransom, Killed During SEAL Raidby By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
Hours from being released by Qaeda abductors in Yemen, in return for a $200,000 ransom arranged by his family and a charity group, Pierre Korkie of South Africa was killed as Navy SEALs tried to rescue his American cellmate.
President George W. Bush’s team has decided to link arms with former intelligence officials against a long-awaited Senate report condemning torture by the Central Intelligence Agency.
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The rule of thumb in Israeli politics has it that the moment new elections are called, affairs of state go into the deep freeze, not to thaw until a new government emerges months later. There have beenexceptions — in 1981, Menachem Begin ordered the surprise strike on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor three weeks before nationwide balloting — but none were in evidence at the annual conference of U.S. and Israeli leaders convened this past weekend at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbanded his ruling coalition three days before the Brookings Institution’s annual Saban Forum, rendering the elite confab a showcase for the status quo: the alliance remains closer than at any time in history at the level of cooperation between the two country’s defense and security establishment. But at the more visible level of political leadership, there’s no longer even an effort to disguise the ugliness. It was only five weeks ago that an anonymous Obama Administration official referred to Netanyahu in an interview as “chickensh-t,” and no one from the Administration dispatched to the Willard over the weekend bothered denying either the quote or the judgment.
The message, rather, was that personal feelings simply don’t matter much in such an ironclad alliance, and no one should be distracted by “politics” or “differences over tactics.”
“Look, we’re close friends. The American people and the Israeli people, our governments,” said Vice President Joe Biden, the most senior official on hand to address the state of the relationship. “There’s absolutely no daylight, none, between us and Israelis on the question of Israeli’s security. But as friends, we have an obligation to speak honestly with one another, to talk about, not avoid the tactical disagreements we have. And we have tactical disagreements to lay out for one another each of our perspectives. I know none of you have ever — I assume none of you ever doubted I’ve meant whatever I’ve said to you. The problem is I sometimes say all that I think to you.”
Biden noted, as Administration officials often do, that he and President Barack Obama have met with Netanyahu more than any other world leader. But that’s a double-edged observation given what a live mic caught Obama telling his French counterpart in 2011 (“You’re tired of him? What about me? I have to deal with him every day”). For his part, Biden called Netanyahu a friend of 30 years, adding “we sometimes drive each other crazy” but that both sides acknowledge as much.
“Let’s not make more of what are normal disagreements that occur between friends than warrants,” the Vice President implored. “Israel disagrees with us on a number of tactics. They have a different perspective on how to proceed. But folks, that’s the downside of democracy. It also has an upside. We never have to wonder where the other guy is standing. Occasionally, politics on both sides of this divide, these tactical divides, is used to try to gain an advantage. But you’re all sophisticated enough to know that.”
Secretary of State John Kerry, who has endured a good deal of name-calling from senior Israeli politicians (the Defense Minister famously dismissed his enthusiasm for peace talks with the Palestinians as “obsessive and messianic” ), read from the same talking points in his address Sunday, noting the record-high levels of U.S. military and intelligence support for Israel “despite whatever political disagreement there might be, or tactical disagreement.”
Obama was not present this year, and Netanyahu’s prerecorded address was delivered by satellite from Jerusalem, where he noted he has “one or two things” to deal with. The brief speech was heavy on Netanyahu’s preferred topic of security. “The entire region is hemorrhaging, ” he said, singling out the emergence of the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) — which, a new Brookings poll shows , is of far greater concern to the American public than the question of whether Israel will make peace with the Palestinians, who claim the same land. Seven out of 10 people said that of events in the Mideast, the rise of ISIS threatens American interests “the most.”
The poll also showed that, if negotiations fail to produce a Palestinian state beside Israel, two out of three Americans would prefer a single democratic state with equal rights for Jews and Palestinians — a prospect that most Jewish Israelis say they regard as unacceptable.
Elections are tentatively set for March 17.
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Israel does not care about Biden's comments: Analyst
Press TV Israel does not care about US Vice President Joe Biden's comments against the expanded settlement projects, an analyst says. Biden criticized Israel Saturday for its settlement projects in the occupied territories and destroying the Palestinians' homes, calling ... and more » |
 NEWS.com.au |
Secret CIA torture report risks lives
NEWS.com.au THE release of a controversial report into CIA interrogation techniques used after the 9/11 terror attacks has US embassies on alert, as its content could endanger peoples' lives around the world. ABC News America reports that US embassies are on alert, and ... and more » |
 Telegraph.co.uk |
Three dead, eight others injured after car hits bear
Telegraph.co.uk Three people were killed and another eight injured, seven seriously, after a car hit a bear in the Florida Everglades. The accident took place in the are encompassing the Miccosukee and Big Cypress Indian reservations. According to local media reports the ... and more » |
3 dead in crash after vehicle strikes, kills bear
MiamiHerald.com A motorist's vehicle struck and killed a black bear on a road in the Florida Everglades and three others from another vehicle who had gotten out to help the woman where then struck and killed by a third vehicle, police said. Several others were reported injured ... and more » |
3 dead in crash after vehicle strikes, kills bear
KLAS-TV MIAMI (AP) - A motorist's vehicle struck and killed a black bear on a road in the Florida Everglades and three others from another vehicle who had gotten out to help the woman where then struck and killed by a third vehicle, police said. Several others were ... and more » |
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Protests Against Police Killings Continue In USby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Demonstrations continued Sunday in several cities across the U.S., protesting the recent grand jury decisions failing to charge white police officers for killing unarmed black men. Hundreds of demonstrators walked out of Chicago churches and into the streets to protest what they consider the unfair and sometimes deadly treatment of black males by white police officers. Protesters in Miami blocked a portion of a highway, slowing traffic to an international art show in Miami...
 CBC.ca |
Russia, Turkey pivot across Eurasia
Asia Times Online The latest, spectacular "Exit South Stream, Enter Turk Stream" Pipelinistan gambit will be sending big geopolitical shockwaves all across Eurasia for quite some time. This is what the New Great Game in Eurasia is all about. In a nutshell, a few years ago ... Kyiv Expects Russian Gas To FlowRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty Ukraine to Start Receiving Russian Gas After Making Prepayment on SundayThe Moscow Times Ukrainian government allows imports of electricity from neighbouring countriesITAR-TASS Kyiv Post -Forbes -Sputnik International all 148 news articles » |
 USA TODAY |
Police teargas Berkeley, Calif. protesters
USA TODAY BERKELEY, CALIF. — Protests in the university town of Berkeley, Calif. over national police killings of black men turned intermittently violent Sunday night, despite attempts by some protesters to keep it peaceful. On Saturday evening, what started as a ... Protests against police violence flare again in BerkeleyAl Jazeera America Berkeley Protesters March Again After Unruly NightABC News Protesters Smash Windows, Shut Down Highway In Berkeley During ...CBS Local Irish Independent all 892 news articles » |
Methamphetamine Use Soars in Iran as Lifestyles Speed Upby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Women in headscarves and men in tatty clothes puff on a glass pipe as smoke swirls around their faces. The pictures published by Iranian media and blogs in recent months are a sign of a new drug epidemic: shishe, or methamphetamine. Shishe means “glass” in Farsi, a reference to the appearance of the drug in some of its purest forms. In less than a decade, methamphetamine use has skyrocketed in Iran to the point where now about 345,000 Iranians are considered addicts, according to...
 Reuters |
More "chokehold death" protests begin on US West Coast after clashes
Reuters OAKLAND, Calif./NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. West Coast cities were braced for trouble on Sunday, after a night of clashes in Berkeley, California, and Seattle, as fresh protests started against police violence over the death of a black man who was put in a ... Eric Garner Protests On West Coast Turn UnrulyHuffington Post More raucous protests in East Bay as marchers block Highway 24SFGate Police teargas Berkeley, Calif. protestersUSA TODAY Charlotte Observer- Al Jazeera America-New York Daily News all 1,481 New York Times all 1,170 news articles » |
 Philly.com |
'I Can't Breathe' protests
Philly.com Following last week's protest seen here, Rams players used the phrase "I can't breathe" on some of their equipment. (REUTERS/USA Today Sports/Jeff Curry). Travel Deals. $719* & up -- 2015 Fares to Europe from the U.S., R/T. *. See all travel deals ». NFL players sporting 'I Can't Breathe' messageSFGate NFL, NBA stars bring 'I can't breathe' protest slogan inside the linesFox News Seidel: Bush makes statement with 'I can't breath' shirtDetroit Free Press Washington Post (blog) -Huffington Post all 137 news articles » |
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Six fatal crashes under investigation
SFGate Authorities were investigating a number of unrelated fatal crashes in the Bay Area. In Oakland, Arthur Wise, 73, of Antioch died when he crashed his 2007 Nissan Maxima into the center divide on westbound Highway 24 west of Highway 13 about 5:25 a.m. ... and more » |
 Chinatopix |
Chlorine Gas Leak Sickens Chicago Hotel Guests, Disrupts FurFest Convention
Chinatopix (Photo : Reuters) Mascots from other editions of the Summer Olympic Games Fu Niu Lele (L-R)(Beijing 2008) Wenlock (London 2012), Misha (Moscow 1980), Mandeville (London 2012) and Athena (Athens 2004) arrive at the International airport in Rio de ... and more » |
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told U.S. troops in Afghanistan on December 7 that their mission was not finished as they shift to a scaled-back role training the Afghan Army.
 Fox News |
Time for honest conversation on racism, says NYC Mayor de Blasio
Fox News Dec. 3, 2014: New York Mayor Bill de Blasio holds a body camera during a news conference to discuss a pilot program for the use of body cameras for some police officers, at the Police Academy in Queens, New York. (AP). New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ... Bill de Blasio details talk with son about dealing with copsNew York Daily News NYC mayor explains why he's concerned about his son and cops: 'It's different ...The Week Magazine Bratton: Kelly's stop-and-frisk caused minorities to fear copsNew York Post New York Magazine -iAfrica.com -myfoxny.com all 95 news articles » |
He found traditional fairy stories too scary to read to his daughter, so he wrote his own. Now, his favourite – Nicobobinus – has been turned into a musical
When my daughter Sally was five, I said: “Whoopee! Now I can read some fairytales to her!” So I went out and bought Children’s and Household Tales by the Brothers Grimm. And that night, I read Snow White to Sally. Now, I don’t know if you remember, but at the end of the original Grimm version, Snow White’s wicked stepmother is made to put on red-hot iron slippers and dance until she falls down dead.
Continue reading... Mail & Guardian Online |
Protests continue over death of black man by white cop
Mail & Guardian Online Protesters have staged demonstrations every day since a grand jury's decision on Wednesday not to bring criminal charges against the officer. A protester, demanding justice for the death of Eric Garner, Michael Brown and Akai Gurley, takes part in a march ... and more » |
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The international community should step up its response to the Syria crisis by accepting 180,000refugees. That’s the message from an appeal launched Monday by group of more than 30 humanitarian organizations.
The appeal comes ahead of a U.N. pledging conference in Geneva on Dec. 9, AFP reports.
More than 3.2 million refugees who fled Syria in the past three years are registered in neighboring countries but the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) expects that number to grow to more than3.6 million by the end of 2015.
So far the Gulf states, Russia and China have failed to take a single refugee from Syria and the U.N is calling on these countries to help.
Amnesty International has slammed the global community’s response to the crisis, calling it “shocking.”
“The shortfall in the number of resettlement places for refugees offered by the international community is truly shocking. Nearly 380,000 people have been identified as in need of resettlement by the U.N. refugee agency, yet just a tiny fraction of these people have been offered sanctuary abroad,” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, head of refugee and migrants’ rights at Amnesty International.
Turkey and Lebanon each host more than a million refugees but the strain of the crisis is affecting infrastructure and public services. And border restrictions imposed in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan have left many refugees trapped in Syria.
“Next week’s pledging conference must be used to turn the tide around. It is time for world governments to take the courageous steps needed to share the responsibility for this crisis and help avert further suffering,” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali.
[AFP]
US, NATO ceremonially end Afghan combat mission
New Zealand Herald KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) " The U.S. and NATO have ceremonially ended their combat mission in Afghanistan, 13 years after the Sept. 11 terror attacks sparked their invasion of the country to topple the Taliban-led government. NATO's International Security ... and more » |
Afghan students find inspiration in Islamic State's success
Reuters Kabul (Reuters) - A quiet student at Kabul University, 25-year-old Abdul Rahim has a dream: to join Islamic State in Syria and fight for the establishment of a global caliphate - a new, alarming form of radicalism in war-weary Afghanistan. "When hundreds of ... and more » |
Ebola diary: tackling the virus in Sierra Leone day-by-dayby Sarah Boseley in Freetown
The Guardian’s health editor, Sarah Boseley, is travelling in west Africa, looking at the impact of the Ebola epidemic and the reasons why it has taken off in the region with such devastating effect and continues to surge in Sierra Leone
Freetown, Sierra Leone, doesn’t look like a city overtaken by a terrifying and deadly epidemic. Straight-backed women carry goods to trade on their heads as they have always done, children shout with laughter under a water tap, men talk on street corners and motorcycles with paying pillion passengers weave between the honking cars. Life goes on because it must. Bodies are no longer left lying in the streets by their terrified families. And yet nobody here can forget or ignore the escalating numbers of Ebola cases in Sierra Leone, where the epidemic, apparently in check in Liberia and Guinea, is out of control in Freetown’s western areas and Port Loko to the north.
We all have hands that smell like a swimming pool. Every time you enter a building, you must wash them under a tap of chlorinated water. Then a man steps forward with a gun-like thermometer and aims it politely at your forehead. It bleeps. I must have had my temperature taken eight or more times today and it has varied from 35 to 36.6. That’s in the normal range, but should it go to 37.5 you may be whisked off to a holding centre as a suspect Ebola case, where – even if your fever is flu or more likely here, malaria – you will be detained with people who really do have this dangerously contagious virus. I was so nervous the first few times that I illogically persuaded myself my temperature was going to shoot up from the stress. Of course, it can’t. And now I’m as blasé about it as everybody else. We all smile, wash our hands, face the gun and carry on.
Ebola is real
ABC: avoid body contact
Continue reading...Missing Belarusian Journalist's Colleagues Confirm His Arrestby noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL's Belarus Service)
The co-workers of a Belarusian journalist and military expert who has been missing for several days say he is in a pretrial detention center in Minsk.
 NBCNews.com |
'I Can't Breathe': Garner Decision Protests Hit Fifth Day
NBCNews.com Protesters angered by police killings of unarmed black men in New York and Missouri rallied nationwide late Sunday in a fifth day of demonstrations, shutting down freeways, holding "die-ins" in the streets, and chanting "I can't breathe" — the last words ... Protesters flood California highwayKEYT Police estimate 500 marching in latest Berkeley protestsKTVU San Francisco all 18 news articles » |
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Expert appointed to inquiry says there could be up to 11 million victims in the UK and calls for better support
There could be as many as 11 million victims of sexual abuse in the UK – constituting a “national health epidemic” – an expert appointed to a government inquiry has said.
Graham Wilmer, founder of the Lantern Project, said his estimation was based on “prevalence rates published by the government”, and he called for better support for victims.
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The U.S. dollar continued to surge in early trade Monday, still spurred by Friday’s strong jobs report.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian deputy foreign minister accused the United States on Monday of trying to bring down President Vladimir Putin by imposing sanctions on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine, TASS news agency reported.
Sergeant Paul Cahill, gay Metropolitan Police officer assigned to the Old Compton Street area of London which is the gay eating, meeting and clubbing centre.\n© David Hoffman phone +44 (0)20 8981 5041, fax +44 (0)20 8980 2041, email lib@hoffmanphotos.com \nNUJ & BAPLA recommended terms & conditions apply. Moral rights asserted under Copyright Designs & Patents Act 1988.\nFull terms and conditions for digital and traditional use available on request. Credit is required. No part of this photo to be stored, reproduced, manipulated or transmitted by any means without permission.\n
Royal Opera House, London
The ever-more expressive Nina Stemme continue to refine her Isolde in this admirably conducted revival of Christof Loy’s 2009 production
The ever-more expressive Nina Stemme continue to refine her Isolde in this admirably conducted revival of Christof Loy’s 2009 production
Christof Loy’s production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde is receiving its first revival some five years after it was first seen in 2009. Loy has reworked it a bit. It’s tauter, less reflective than I remember it. He makes more of Melot (Neal Cooper) than he did, or than he needs to, since his presence in act one is unnecessary and rather confusing. Otherwise, the over-arching idea is very much the same. A vast purple curtain separates the neutral space where the lovers (Stephen Gould and Nina Stemme) hold their colloquies from the glittery day-to-day world they ceaselessly, but unavailingly strive to escape. It’s haunting, if a bit cerebral for a work that many consider primarily erotic.
Stemme is remarkable, often thrilling. She’s never been one to rest on laurels, and Isolde is a role she continues to refine. A touch of metal has crept into the tone at full throttle, but her expressive range is greater than before, her psychological insights even more complex and startling. Gould, towering over her, took a while to get into his stride on opening night. The sound is steely and on occasion massive, though his soft singing, of which there wasn’t quite enough, can be beautiful. His delirium in act three, where many interpreters tire, is powerhouse stuff and astonishingly vivid.
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The U.S. military in Afghanistan says it has handed over three Pakistani detainees to Islamabad.
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Iranian President Hassan Rohani has proposed a more than 33 percent increase in military spending in a 2015 draft budget sent to parliament.
BERLIN/ROME (Reuters) - Italy reacted angrily on Sunday to demands from Chancellor Angela Merkel that it enact more reforms to bring its 2015 budget in line with EU fiscal rules, saying the German leader's time would be better spent resolving economic problems at home.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A majority of Germans want Angela Merkel to run for a fourth term as Chancellor and nearly three in four believe she would like to remain in office beyond 2017, when her current term ends, a new poll shows.
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- A chlorine gas leak at a suburban Chicago hotel hosting an annual Midwest furry convention sent 19 people to hospitals because of nausea and dizziness and forced the evacuation of thousands of guests, including many in cartoonish animal costumes....
Hundreds of Inmates Escape in Nigeria Prison Breakby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Gunmen helped more than 200 inmates escape from a Nigerian prison overnight, the third massive jailbreak in the West African country since early November. It remains unclear who orchestrated the attack on the medium-security facility in the central state of Niger. Last week, at least 300 prisoners escaped in the southwest state of Ikiti, and a November plot liberated another 144 at a facility in the south-central state of Kogi. Extremist group Boko Haram is suspected in previous raids...
Israeli jets bomb Syria, says Damascusby Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem
Syrian state TV claims Israel has bombed two installations, one near Damascus and one near the Lebanese border
Syria accused Israeli jets of bombing two installations inside the country on Sunday, one near the capital, Damascus, and the second in a town near the Lebanese border.
The report by Syrian state television described the attack as “an aggression”. It said the air raids occurred near Damascus’s international airport and in the town of Dimas.
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Protesters in Berkeley threw bricks, rocks and pipes as anger grows over the killing of black suspects by police.
 CBS News |
Obama, amid racial tensions, keeps a measured approach after past backlashes
Washington Post President Obama sought to calm tensions in the wake of racially charged protests in New York and Ferguson, Mo., saying in an interview to air Monday that the nation has made progress on race relations but emphasizing that the distrust between minority ... Obama tells BET audience despite grand jury verdicts 'things are better'CNN Obama: America's 'Deeply Rooted' Racism Will Take Time To TackleHuffington Post Obama: Police killings "painful," but we're making progressCBS News USA TODAY -The San Luis Obispo Tribune -Breitbart News all 17 news articles » |
Police in India arrested an Uber driver on Sunday who allegedly raped a female passenger when she booked a ride home with the car-service app.
The woman said she took an Uber car Friday night, fell asleep, and woke up to the driver threatening and sexually assaulting her, the Associated Press reports. Police have held the accused driver in his home town, the Guardian reports, and he is due to appear in a New Delhi court on Monday.
Students swarmed the New Delhi police headquarters to protest inadequate attention by the Indian government to sexual violence against women. Rape incidents in the capital have been on the rise, even as Indian lawmakers doubled prison sentences for rapists in the wake of the horrific 2012 fatal gang rape of a young New Delhi woman, whose death stirred an international outcry.
[AP]
Netanyahu: Israel needs a new government, capable of making tough decisions
Jerusalem Post Prime minister delivers remarks to Saban Forum, says both Republicans and Democrats interested in continued good ties with Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.. (photo credit:REUTERS). Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Prime Minister ... and more » |
German concern over Russian actions in Balkans and Georgia
New York Daily News |
De Blasio details talk with son about dealing with cops
New York Daily News Mayor de Blasio has instructed his biracial teenage son not to move suddenly or reach for his phone if he's stopped by cops, he said Sunday. "What parents have done for decades who have children of color, especially young men of color, is train them to be ... NYC Mayor explains why he's concerned about his son and cops: 'It's different ...The Week Magazine NYC mayor: I respect grand jury processThe Hill (blog) New York mayor: Racist cops could threaten my sonWashington Examiner all 868 news articles » |
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