Exhibitions in Matisse’s favorite French town provide new and informative contexts for the artist’s work. Given his fame, that’s no small feat.
Author: Liz Garrigan
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Turkey And Egypt: When Worlds Collide
–Analysis– Over this past weekend one of my Economist-devouring, Washington Post-reading, New York Times-gobbling buddies who does not work in the field of foreign affairs asked me, “Hey, what’s up with Erdogan and the Turks?” I’ve been asked this question so many times this summer by so many people that I’ve lost count. It’s been […]
THE NEW YORK TIMES Worldcrunch WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has announced that same-sex couples who are legally married will be recognized as such for federal tax purposes, even if they live in a state that does not recognize their union, The New York Times reports. It is the broadest federal rule change to […]
After months of talk, the United States and its allies may now be on the verge of military intervention in Syria. As American military leaders met with European and regional leadership in Amman to discuss the Syrian crisis, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the BBC Tuesday that the U.S. has “moved assets into place” […]
AL JAZEERA Worldcrunch HARARE — Zimbabwe’s veteran leader Robert Mugabe has been sworn in for a new five-year term in a massive stadium inauguration that was boycotted by his election rival, Al Jazeera reports. Mugabe pledged “to observe, uphold and defend the constitution of Zimbabwe,” extending his 33-year rule. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who insists […]
To dodge fines in China for violating the one-child policy and give the advantages of an American passport, many Chinese women are flying to the U.S. to give birth. But there are risks involved.
Aug. 19, 2014 ISIS THREATENS AMERICANS In an online video message, ISIS terrorists threaten to attack Americans “in any place” in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes against them in Iraq, The Independent reports. In the gruesome video, a statement reads, “We will drown all of you in blood.” This comes as Kurdish Peshmergas and Iraqi troops […]
–Op-Ed– MUNICH — We Germans have always struggled with the euro crisis. We talk about it a lot, muse about what would happen if the euro zone split up, bitch about those nasty countries frittering our money away. But there’s one thing we don’t do: suffer from the economic crisis. On the contrary. Even if […]
Aug. 15, 2014 EU MINISTERS DISCUSS ARMING KURDSEuropean Union foreign ministers are in Brussels today for an emergency meeting about whether to arm Iraq’s Kurdish Peshmerga fighters against ISIS, which the U.S. and France are already doing, the BBC reports. A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday that the UK would “favorably […]
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Yes, The NSA Is Tracking You. Get Over It
A German writer is fed up with the hypocrisy of an exhibitionist society outraged by the limits of privacy. Yes, you are being monitored. Now get back to your celebrity Twitter feed.
Aug. 14, 2014 UN SIGNALS RED ALERT IN IRAQThe United Nations has declared the situation in Iraq a “Level 3 emergency,” its highest for a humanitarian crisis, as deadly fights between the army and ISIS terrorists killed at least four children west of Baghdad, AP reports. This came as U.S. troops and aid workers arrived […]
Op-ed ISTANBUL – If I were inclined, I could wax all day about the new National Intelligence Agency law. I could opine, for example, that “Even George Orwell could not dream of an intelligence agency that would keep the urine samples of its people.” But that’s for another day. I could also explain how the […]
GUNFIRE IN UKRAINE ON VICTORY DAY Members of self-defense groups in the eastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol told news agency Interfax that Kiev’s law enforcement units had opened fire as they attempted to storm a building belonging to the city’s police and detained officers who had disobeyed orders from Kiev. According to RT, unconfirmed reports […]
PUTIN REFERENDUM REQUEST IGNOREDPro-Russian activists in the region of Donetsk announced that a referendum on the region’s status would go ahead as planned on Sunday, despite yesterday’s call from Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone it, RT reports. Earlier Ukraine officials had said that the military operation in Eastern Ukrainewould continue regardless of whether the […]
OVER 30 DEAD IN EASTERN UKRAINEUkraine’s Interim Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced on his Facebook page that more than 30 pro-Russian militants, labelled as “terrorists,” had been killed in the army’s offensive in Eastern Ukraine, The Guardian reports. According to officials, four Ukrainian troops were killed and at least 30 were injured in the fighting. […]
FIGHTING CONTINUES IN EASTERN UKRAINEUkrainian troops have launched a new offensive against pro-Russian militants in the eastern city of Sloviansk, with reports of shootings at rebel-held checkpoints outside the city, forcing them to retreat deeper into the town’s center. At least one woman was killed and another 11 pro-Russian militants were reported injured in the […]
UKRAINE LAUNCHES MILITARY OPERATIONThe Ukrainian government launched what France24 describes as a “large-scale military operation that included an air assault” to retake the town of Sloviansk in the eastern part of the country. But Pro-Russian militants fought back and shot down at least two helicopters, killing two Ukrainian soldiers, with one dead and one injured […]
IMF APPROVES $17 BILLION IN UKRAINE AIDThe International Monetary Fund approved a $17 billion bailout package over the next two years for Ukraine, with a first installment of $3.2 billion available immediately, Bloomberg reports. The loan “is dependent on strict economic reforms, including raising taxes and energy prices,” with reports of planned severe cuts in […]
LAVROV HITS BACK AT UKRAINE ACCUSATIONSRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the fact that Ukraine ignored “independent ” expert assessments in its investigation of the deaths of more than 100 protesters and police officers in the last days of Kiev’s Maidan standoff Voice of Russia reports. Lavrov also said that a leaked conversation between EU […]
UKRAINE’S RIGHT SECTOR FACING BAN Ukraine’s ultranationalist Right Sector group could be banned after 2,000 of its members encircled and threatened to storm the Parliament in Kiev, a source from former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s party told news agency Ria Novosti. The group has increased pressure on Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov following the death […]
IMF AGREES ON LOAN TO UKRAINE The International Monetary Fund announced this morning that it will loan between $14 billion and $18 billion to Ukraine over the next two years. With loans from other partners, the program is expected to free up a total $27 billion for the embattled country. This comes after yesterday’s announcement […]
UKRAINE TO WITHDRAW TROOPS IN CRIMEAThe Ukrainian government announced plans to withdraw its troops from Crimea and relocate 25,000 service personnel and their families. This comes after pro-Russian self-defense groups and Russian troops forced them to leave more military bases yesterday, The Washington Post reports. The announcement seems to contradict a Parliament resolution adopted this […]
THE CRIMEAN MANDATE Crimeans voted overwhelmingly yesterday to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. With a turnout of 83%, the measure won support from 96.77% of voters. MALAYSIA PLANE’S COMMUNICATION SYSTEM DISABLED MANUALLY The co-pilot of missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 issued his last message to air traffic control after part of the […]
KERRY AND LAVROV MEET IN LONDONU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov are meeting today at the American ambassador’s residence in London, two days before the Crimean vote on whether to join the Russian Federation, The Washington Post reports. PLANE SEARCH EXTENDED TO INDIAN OCEANThe search for Malaysian Airlines flight […]
UKRAINE CREATES NATIONAL GUARDThe Ukrainian Parliament voted overwhelmingly to create a 60,000-strong National Guard, Interfax reports. According to AFP, the new force will mostly include volunteers from Maidan’s self-defense groups and will be in charge of interior and border security. MISSING PLANE COULD HAVE FLOWN FOR HOURS“We will not give up on any suspected clue,” […]
CRIMEA APPROVES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE The Crimean Parliament overwhelmingly approved a declaration on independence, a technical step necessary to hold next Sunday’s referendum, Itar-Tass reports. According to the news agency, the document says that if Crimeans vote to integrate the Russian Federation, they will first become an independent Republic. MALAYSIA DOWNPLAYS TERRORISM POSSIBILITY The Malaysian […]
OBAMA-PUTIN PHONE CALL, EU SANCTIONSDuring a one-hour phone conversation, President Barack Obama told Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that he had violated Ukraine’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity by sending troops into Crimea, The Daily Telegraph reports. Putin in turn told Obama that the new Kiev government had imposed “absolutely illegitimate decisions on the eastern, southeastern […]
CRIMEAN LAWMAKERS VOTE TO JOIN RUSSIA Crimean lawmakers voted unanimously this morning to join the Russian Federation and asked Russia to examine the request. And the region’s Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev announced a March 16 referendum in which voters will answer two questions: whether they want Crimea to become a Russian territory, and whether […]
ARMED MEN RAID CRIMEA AIRPORTA group of armed men sympathetic to fallen Ukrainian regime raided the two main airports in Crimea overnight, sending the newly formed Ukrainian government on alert. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused Russia of carrying out “an armed invasion and occupation.” The Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has a base at Sevastopol […]
GUNMEN SEIZE CRIMEAN PARLIAMENTAn armed group seized parliament and another government building in Ukraine’s region of Crimea early this morning and raised the Russian flag, sending the Ukrainian security forces on alert. At least two people have died and some 30 people have been injured since pro-EU and pro-Russian protesters began clashing in Crimea Wednesday, […]
RIOTERS OPEN FIRE IN KIEV DESPITE DEALA group of rioters opened fire on security forces near Kiev’s Independence Square this morning as they were headed towards the Parliament, Reuters quotes a police statement as saying. This comes despite news of a deal between the government, the opposition and EU foreign ministers after a night of […]
CLASHES RESUME IN KIEV DESPITE TRUCEDeadly fights between the police and people occupying Kiev’s Independence Square resumed this morning despite the truce announced last night by the government and opposition leaders, who were supposed to meet this morning to negotiate a peaceful solution to the crisis. Reports about the number of new deaths vary from […]
THAILAND PM TO BE CHARGEDThailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will be charged with neglect of duty, which could see her lose her post if found guilty, AFP quotes an anti-graft panel as saying. The country’s Anti-Corruption Commission accuses the PM of having ignored its warnings concerning a rice farm subsidy scheme that guaranteed farmers above-market […]
ISLAMIST GROUP KILLS 106 IN NIGERIA Fighters with the Islamist group Boko Haram killed 106 people over the weekend in a small Christian village in northeastern Nigeria, bringing the death toll over the last few weeks close to 300, newspaper Punch reports. According to witnesses, the gunmen gathered a group of men and shot them […]
OVER 70 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN CONGOArmed groups executed more than 70 men and women in villages in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo between late January and early February, AFP quotes the UN mission MONUSCO as saying. According to the organization, most of the people were killed with machetes in a bid “to spread […]
DEADLY CLASHES IN VENEZUELAAt least three people were shot dead and more than 25 were injured in mass youth protests in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas yesterday, during which demonstrators denounced the government’s economic measures and the crackdown on the country’s media, newspaper El Universal reports. AFGHANISTAN RELEASES 65 ‘DANGEROUS’ PRISONERSAfghanistan released 65 prisoners accused […]
SYRIA WILL ATTEND 2ND ROUND OF GENEVA 2Syrian state television announced that the government will participate in the second round of the Geneva 2 peace conference, due to start Feb. 10, quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. The announcement came as a first group of 200 civilians is about to be evacuated from the city […]
U.S. WARNS OF BOMB THREAT ON SOCHI The U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned airline companies to watch out for explosive materials that could be hidden in cosmetic tubes, including toothpaste, CNN reports. Republican Congressman Michael McCaul said that according to the bulletin, the explosives could be used during flights to or in Sochi, where […]
LIBYA’S CHEMICAL WEAPONS DESTROYED Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s lethal arsenal of chemical weapons have quietly been destroyed over the last three months, The New York Times reports. The U.S. and Libya used a transportable oven technology to destroy hundreds of bombs and artillery rounds filled with a deadly mustard agent that American officials feared could be […]
HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION AT UK NUCLEAR SITEAll nonessential workers at a nuclear reprocessing plant in the British town of Sellafield were instructed to remain at home after elevated levels of radioactivity were detected at the site, The Guardian reports. But the company explained that the levels didn’t represent a risk for the public or […]