Thursday, November 27, 2014
SUICIDE BLAST HITS BRITISH EMBASSY IN KABUL
At least five people died and 30 were injured in a suicide attack on the British embassy in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul, the BBC reports. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed one British citizen and mostly hit Afghan bystanders. The group’s spokesman said it had “targeted foreign invading forces.” The attack comes three days after three American soldiers were killed in a car explosion.
SNAPSHOT
Preparations for New York's annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade today were underway Wednesday in Central Park West, where a giant Spider-Man dwarfed a sports utility vehicle.
FERGUSON PROTESTS CALM
The streets of Ferguson, Missouri, have calmed, but in downtown Los Angeles, police arrested 130 people last night after they refused to disperse. Oakland, meanwhile, saw its third consecutive night of vandalism. According to The St. Louis Post, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon rejected calls to bring in a special prosecutor to present police officer Darren Wilson’s case to a new grand jury. The Los Angeles Times reports that some witnesses were so afraid of the police, neighbors and the Ku Klux Klan that they kept their testimonies to themselves until investigators knocked on their doors.
Meanwhile, police in Cleveland, Ohio, released the 911 call and surveillance video of Saturday’s fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The footage shows that the police officer shot him just two seconds after the car he was riding in pulled up next to the boy, who was playing with a toy gun. Read more from USA Today.
1.2 MILLION
For the first time since 1996, more than a million vinyl records have been sold in the UK so far this year, with sales expected to reach 1.2 million over the Christmas holidays.
KIEV CLOSES BANKING SYSTEM IN EASTERN UKRAINE
Sporadic fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, and Kiev officials are responding with a new offensive against the rebel-held regions: shutting down the banking system in those areas, AFP reports. Unable to withdraw money at ATMs or to pay with cards, at least 5,677 people are believed to have fled the region in one day, 10 times more than usual, with a majority of them heading to Russia. Meanwhile, NATO's top military commander, Gen. Philip Breedlove, warned that a Russian military buildup in Crimea could be used to take control of the Black Sea. This came after Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the deployment of 30 military jets on the peninsula.
WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO
As Le Monde’s Marie Charrel reports, in a reversal of economic fortunes, Sweden's under-25s are leaving the high unemployment of their home country to seek more money and secure jobs in Norway. “There are thousands of young Swedes in Oslo's cafes, bars, shops and museums,” the journalist writes. “All crossed the border to find a better life here, in the country of fjords. According to the Frisch Center, the University of Oslo's economic institute, 20% of Oslo workers aged between 17 and 25 come from Sweden. There were only a handful 20 years ago. In total, Swedes represent 10% of the city's population. ‘The trend started in the 1990s and developed from 2000,’ explains Ida Tolgensbakk, a PhD student writing a dissertation on the subject.”
Read the full article, Young Swedes Flock To Norway, A Nordic Immigration Flip.
EBOLA VACCINE “PROMISING”
The first human trials of an experimental Ebola vaccine have shown “promising” results, scientists say. “We can call this trial an unqualified success, even though it was an early Phase One trial,” a doctor told the BBC.
MY GRAND-PÈRE'S WORLD
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BEIJING’S USES SOFT POWER ON TAIWAN
As Taiwan prepares for local elections this weekend, Reuters reports how Beijing is working in the shadows to ultimately absorb the state it sees as a breakaway province. Via an agency called United Front Work Department, which is also active in Hong Kong, China is “targeting academics, students, war veterans, doctors and local leaders in Taiwan in an attempt to soften opposition to the Communist Party and ultimately build support for unification,” the report reads. A source close to Chinese officials said that Beijing was using soft power to ultimately reach “peaceful unification.” “To attack the heart is the best,” the source said, quoting from Sun Tzu’s famous book, The Art of War.
THAILAND POSTPONES RETURN TO DEMOCRACY
Thailand’s Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwon announced that a general election planned for next year will be pushed back to 2016, when the new constitution is expected to be ready, The Bangkok Post reports. This comes one week after the military junta said the martial law it imposed before taking power in May would not be lifted “until the country has peace and order.”
BORN TO BE FOLLOWED
Canada joined Twitter yesterday in an attempt to show “everything that makes Canada the best country in the world,” and its first message to the tweetosphere was the best possible introduction, eh!
