Worldcrunch
MOSCOW – Over the past couple of months, experts on international crime have started raising the alarm: criminal activity is crossing borders like never before. The response from law enforcement must therefore be no less transnational. The European Parliament has recently launched a Special Commission on Organized Crime, Corruption and Money Laundering (CRIM) that is […]
Wednesday, August 13, 2014 U.S. SENDS MORE MILITARY ADVISERS TO IRAQ Washington is sending 130 more military advisers to northern Iraq to assist in the evacuation of displaced people trapped on Mount Sinjar, The New York Times reports. The article quotes U.S. officials as saying that a ground presence is needed to secure the evacuation, […]
HAARETZ (Israel), AL JAZEERA (Qatar), AFP Worldcrunch EILAT — Israel says it intercepted a rocket fired from Sinai, Egypt over the southern city of Eilat early Tuesday. The attack, first reported by Israeli public radio, was later confirmed by an army spokesman. The Mujahideen Shura Council, an Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, […]
AFP, JOURNAL DU MALI (Mali) Worldcrunch BAMAKO – Former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita won Mali’s presidency after his opponent conceded defeat late Monday. Former Finance Minister Soumaila Cisse, who had denounced electoral fraud during the first round, congratulated his rival on his victory in Sunday’s second round. Cisse told the AFP: “My family and […]
CAIRO – What has become of Tahrir Square? It is of course still right there, in the center of Cairo, just off the banks of the Nile, the eternal Egyptian Museum, the Nile Hilton hotel (under seemingly endless restoration) and the Mogamma — the huge Stalinist building that serves as permanent headquarters for the Egyptian […]
NEW IRAQ GOVERNMENT “PROMISING” Iraqi President Fuad Masum is forming a new government to help halt the ISIS insurgency in the country’s north, replacing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in a development U.S. President Barack Obama characterized as “a promising step forward.” Masum has asked veteran Shia politician Haider al-Abadi to replace Maliki, whose political support […]
MTI, BORS (Hungary), BBC Worldcrunch BUDAPEST – Laszlo Csatary, one of the world’s most wanted Nazis and war crimes suspects, has died at the age of 98. The death, first reported by Hungarian tabloid Bors, was confirmed Monday by Csatary’s lawyer, Gabor Horvath. Hovarth said his client had died on Saturday morning, BBC reports. “He […]
AP, BBC Worldcrunch MANILA – The season’s most powerful typhoon hit the north of the Philippine islands early Monday morning, leaving one person dead, with at least 23 others missing, according to the Associated Press. Typhoon Utor brought winds of up to 130 mph and torrential rains to the country’s main island of Luzon, toppling […]
The legacy of the 44th president of the United States is in peril, as he is seen as weak-willed with an unfocused foreign policy. Is it 1979 all over again?
Monday, August 11, 2014 IRAQ SINKS DEEPER INTO CRISISThe United States is providing weapons to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in Iraq as they battle Islamic State (IS) terrorists who are slaughtering civilian minorities, the AP reports. The Obama administration had previously said it would only sell arms to the Iraqi government, but that policy has changed. […]
-Op-Ed- Andrés Gioeni, a 41-year-old Argentinian man, served as a priest in Mendoza, Argentina, for more than two years before giving up the cassock. Now working as an actor, director and writer of children’s plays, he lives with his boyfriend of more than nine years, Luis, in Greater Buenos Aires’ San Isidro. He recently wrote […]
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AP Worldcrunch MOGADISHU – An Ethiopian Air Force cargo plane crash-landed at Mogadishu’s seaside airport on Friday, killing four people on board, the African Union said. Two crew members were rescued by emergency personnel and are being treated in the African Union military hospital near the base, said Mahamat Saleh Annadif, an African Union representative […]
AL JAZEERA (Qatar), AFP Worldcrunch QUETTA — An attack on a Sunni Muslim mosque in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta has left at least 10 people dead and another 30 wounded, just one day after a suicide bomber killed at least 37 people in the same city. Friday’s attack in the capital of Balochistan […]
The eldest daughter of the disgraced prime minister controls the family businesses with an iron fist. The question is whether she’ll decide to bring the same passion to politics.
Friday, August 8, 2014 OBAMA AUTHORIZES IRAQ AIRSTRIKES Marking the most significant intervention in Iraq since American troops were withdrawn in 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized airstrikes against Islamist extremists there and aid to desperate civilians a day after the country’s largest Christian town was seized, forcing thousands to flee. “Earlier this week, one […]
REUTERS Worldcrunch DAMASCUS – Syrian rebels said on Thursday they targeted President Bashar al-Assad“s motorcade heading to a Damascus mosque to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, but state television showed him unharmed and the government denied he had been attacked. “The news is wholly untrue,” Information Minister Omran Zoabi said. The Tahrir al-Sham […]
REUTERS Worldcrunch BEIJING – A lawyer appointed to represent disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai in his corruption case said on Thursday he has been denied permission to act on his behalf, a move likely to reinforce belief that Bo’s conviction is a foregone conclusion. Gu Yushu, a lawyer appointed by Bo’s sister, Bo Jieying, told […]
The world’s largest Muslim country is slow to embrace measures to prevent the spread of HIV. And that’s bad news for prostitutes in the capital city.
“We knew there would be a price to pay for democracy. But no one imagined it would cost so much.”
Thursday, August 7, 2014 ISLAMISTS SEIZE IRAQ’S LARGEST CHRISTIAN TOWN Thousands of Iraqi Christians are fleeing Qaraqosh, the minority’s largest town in the country, after the Islamic State (IS) — the militant group previously known as ISIS — seized it early today.This follows the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the area, the BBC reports. Qaraqosh […]
BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch SANA’A – Yemen said on Wednesday it had foiled an al-Qaeda plot to blow up oil pipelines and seize some of the country’s main ports. Security remains tight – and hundreds of armoured vehicles have been deployed to protect key targets. Both the U.S. and UK have withdrawn diplomatic staff from […]
SANA (Syria), REUTERS Worldcrunch BEIRUT – Sixty-two rebel fighters were killed in a Syrian army ambush at dawn on Wednesday near the town of Adra, east of Damascus, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group opposed to President Bashar al-Assad. The state news agency SANA did not give a death toll for […]
REUTERS Worldcrunch NAIROBI – A fire engulfed Kenya’s main airport on Wednesday, forcing the closure of a vital travel and trade gateway to east Africa. Flames from the inferno lit up the early morning sky, and the intense heat repeatedly drove back firefighters. A huge plume of black smoke billowed from the airport buildings, but […]
His political career began as a struggle against racist oppression and continued until achieving his country’s independence. But the newly re-elected leader, 89, is epitomized by violence and corruption.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 GAZA CEASEFIRE HOLDS FOR SECOND DAYThe Israel-Hamas ceasefire that began yesterday is still holding, ending at least temporarily a month of war in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports. Negotiations for a more permanent truce between Israel and Hamas are expected to take place in Cairo in the coming days with the […]
BBC NEWS (UK), AFP Worldcrunch QUETTA – Gunmen have killed at least 13 bus passengers on Tuesday in the southwest of Pakistan, according to officials. Provincial home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani told AFP news agency that militants had blocked a road and held up a group of security personnel. They then stopped at least two […]
BBC NEWS (UK) Worldcrunch ALEPPO – Rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have captured a key military airbase in Aleppo province, near the Turkish border, activists say. The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said rebels took Menagh airport early on Tuesday. The opposition has been trying to capture the base since […]
CNN Worldcrunch SANAA – A pair of U.S. drone strikes in Yemen on Tuesday killed four al-Qaeda militants, security sources said. It is unclear whether the strikes were related to the heightened security alert in the country after U.S. officials intercepted a message from al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to operatives in Yemen telling them to […]
A free speech advocate fears that President Rafael Correa’s sweeping new communications law, outlawing so-called “media lynching,” in fact threatens to silence real journalism.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014 ISRAELI TROOPS LEAVE GAZA AS 72-HOUR CEASEFIRE BEGINSIsrael announced the withdrawal of its ground troops from Gaza this morning after Egyptian mediators brokered a 72-hour truce with Hamas late Monday. An Israeli military spokesman said the army’s main goal of destroying Hamas’ cross-border tunnels had been completed, adding that the troops […]
CBS, AP Worldcrunch ISLAMABAD – Heavy rains that caused flash floods and collapsed houses in different parts of Pakistan have killed 53 people over the past three days, a senior disaster management official said Monday. Civil and military authorities have launched rescue and relief efforts to deal with the crisis, said Brig. Kamran Zia, a […]
REUTERS Worldcrunch OKINAWA – A U.S. military helicopter crashed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa on Monday, Japanese officials said, an incident that could add to anger over the concentration of U.S. military bases on the island. The crash took place at a maneuvering ground inside the U.S. Marine’s Camp Hansen in central Okinawa, an […]
NEW YORK TIMES (USA) Worldcrunch WASHINGTON – Nineteen American diplomatic outposts across the Middle East and North Africa will remain closed this week, the State Department said Sunday, despite what officials said was no new information about terrorist plots that they believe are in the works. One day after President Obama’s top national security aides […]
Monday, August 4, 2014 LIMITED CEASEFIRE FRAGILE AFTER ISRAEL STRIKE KILLS CHILD Palestinians have accused Israel of breaking its own ceasefire Monday after it launched a strike on the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, killing an eight-year-old girl and wounding 29 people. Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said the strike took place after […]
Two environmentalists are killed on average every week as land struggles intensify violence against green activists worldwide.
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.
What has the world been reading this week? Check out our selection of covers from top magazines around the world…
AAP (Australia) Worldcrunch TAIPEI – Taiwanese MPs exchanged punches and threw water at each other on Friday morning ahead of an expected vote to authorise a national referendum on whether to build a fourth nuclear power plant on the densely populated island of 23 million people. While Taiwan“s frequent earthquakes have led many residents to […]
Friday, August 1, 2014 GAZA CEASEFIRE BROKEN, SOLDIER CAPTURED, VIOLENCE SPIRALS A planned 72-hour ceasefire lasted just two hours after taking effect Friday morning, as fighting broke out and casualties quickly began piling up again. The temporary truce had been announced late Thursday by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary General Ban […]