Worldcrunch
MOSCOW — The funeral for the two young men was held on June 7 in a church in Kubinka, near Moscow. Aleksander Efremov and Alekei Yurin had gone to Donbas in the midst of the battle over the Donetsk airport in the eastern Ukrainian city. Neither came home alive. It was May 22 when 20-year-old […]
BRUSSELS — The Ukraine crisis and Russia’s aggressive behavior have hit NATO right between the eyes. Utterly caught off guard, the defense alliance has begun asking itself how it must react, both in the short-term actions, as well as bigger questions about NATO’s role for the future. The pressure to be decisive has a firm […]
One tortured by the regime, another by Islamist rebels, both offer evidence of the worst kind of brutality that reigns in Syria today.
-Commentary- BERLIN — When two soldiers fell in the first hours of the French military operation that began last week in the Central African Republic, President Francois Hollande declared, “Morts pour la France.” Yes, killed for their country. But the young soldiers also lost their lives fighting for Europe, even if Europe has hardly shown […]
BEIJING — As a Shaolin Temple disciple since childhood, Shi Xingfeng, president of Bojing Security Agency, often has to remind himself to hide the heroic spirit that often glows from the eyes of martial arts masters. “It’s professional discipline,” Shi says. “You’ve got to learn to be an invisible bodyguard.” As a matter of fact, […]
BENI — On a recent Friday, soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) were spending the morning helping civilians clean the road that leads to the new cemetery of this northeastern Congolese city. Here, AK-47s have been replaced by hoes, spades and rakes. Colonel Tito Bizuri, who is in charge […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), AFP, REUTERS, RUSSIA TODAY (Russia) Worldcrunch CAIRO — Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in an Egyptian security forces operation meant to disperse protest camps in Cairo’s streets, where supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi were demanding his reinstatement. The exact number of casualties remains unclear, as reports […]
The daughter of a couple kidnapped during Argentina’s Dirty War chastizes the country’s leader for appointing a suspected war criminal as army head.
Djamel Mastouri was told as a child that he’d never walk again. He went on to become an Olympic champion and an accomplished French soldier.
The Egyptian Army Chief and Defense Minister had ordered the ultimatum to President Morsi, and then followed through. A portrait of Egypt’s strongest strong man.
KASSERINE – Sitting on his doorstep, squinting under his straw hat, the shepherd looks closely at the military tank that crosses his land with a deafening rumble. “For now, we let them, but if it goes on, we, the people, we will revolt and stop this joke by all available means,” says Ridha Messaoudi. Early […]
With the World Cup and Olympics arriving, tough security plans are being overseen by the Brazilian Air Force. Nationwide protests have provided yet another “event” to be monitored.
In Germany, efforts are on to increase the number of male teachers. Here’s the tale of a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who wound up on very different terrain.
BBC NEWS (UK), UNITED STATES FORCES KOREA, YONHAP (South Korea), REUTERS Worldcrunch SEOUL – As tensions mount on the Korean peninsula, a U.S. helicopter crashed Tuesday near South Korea’s border with the North while conducting routine flight operations. All 21 people aboard the helicopter survived. The exact cause of the crash is not yet known, […]
RANGOON –Two years after the official end of the Burmese military regime, some citizens are skeptical, whilst others remain deeply critical of the current government. Some people fear the reforms will keep running into many obstacles. Still, there is one point everyone agrees on: the clearest sign that the democratization process is happening is that […]
KIWANJA – On a recent weekday morning, time seemed to be standing still in this town in eastern Congo. A strange atmosphere reigns, with most of the shops and stalls closed and the town’s schools empty. “Bullets can start flying at any time, so we let our students out early,” says a teacher in Kiwanja […]
After jailed rebel leader Ocalan’s call for Kurds to lay down their arms, a closer inspection of his words show real signs of hope to end three decades of bloodshed.
Palestinians are victims not only of Israeli power politics, but of linguistic deception.
AP, CNN, REUTERS, NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.), THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch FORT MEADE– Wikileaks whistleblower, Bradley Manning pleaded guilty on Thursday to 10 of the 22 charges he is accused of in what the U.S. government calls the largest leak of classified documents in the nation’s history, writes CNN. There are many moving parts to […]
LE PARISIEN, LE NOUVEL OBSERVATEUR (France), THE GUARDIAN (UK) Worldcrunch PARIS – French troops have taken control of the airport in the town of Kidal, one of the last major rebel strongholds in northern Mali. French Armed Forces spokesman Thierry Burkhard confirmed Wednesday that French troops had landed overnight in Kidal – the third biggest […]
FRANCE 24, FRANCE TV INFO, AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE (France), REUTERS Worldcrunch PARIS – French forces, supported by the Mali army have captured both the rebel strongholds of Timbuktu and Gao in a fast-moving offensive against Al Qaeda-linked fighters occupying northern Mali. Battling together to loosen the grip of Islamist fighters in the country’s north, French […]
AP, CNN, REUTERS, WASHINGTON POST (U.S.) Worldcrunch WASHINGTON- The Pentagon plans to outline details Thursday of a groundbreaking decision to lift a ban on women in front line combat service. This is the second historic reversal of longstanding military bans by outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, following the 2011 repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell […]
INDIA TIMES, HINDUSTAN TIMES (India) Worldcrunch NEW DELHI – India lashed out at Pakistan after two Indian soldiers were killed in a firefight in the disputed region of Kashmir, and reports spread that one of the soldier’s body had been mutilated. India’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement about the incident that used the terms “barbaric […]
Using lasers for tracking objects through the sky has been possible for years, but there’s never been anything like Lockheed’s new laser defense system successfully tested last week. It’s not that using high-powered lasers to drop incoming missiles is anything new, and was achieved by Boeing with a nine-year Air Force project that was canceled […]
EL UNIVERSAL, EL TIEMPO, EL COLOMBIANO (Colombia), EUROPA PRESS (Spain) Worldcrunch RICAURTE– In the deadliest exchange since peace talks began in October, the Colombian army reports that it has killed 20 FARC rebels, including Guillermo Pequeño, leader of the mobile unit of the group, Colombian daily El Universal was reporting Monday. Commander of the Colombian […]
THE WASHINGTON POST, LOS ANGELES TIMES (U.S.) Worldcrunch The Pentagon announced early Tuesday that the scandal surrounding departed CIA chief David Petraeus has apparently ensnared General John R. Allen, Petraeus’s successor as commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan. According to the Washington Post, an anonymous senior defense official announced Tuesday that the FBI […]
BENI – Last June, with rebel groups trying to force him to enroll, Paluku managed to escape into the Rwenzori mountains, in northeastern Congo. Near his 20th birthday, this native of Eringeti, about 400 kilometers to the north of the Congolese capital, Goma, is hardly the only one to have fled a region where armed […]