Saudi role in devastating Yemen war comes under new scrutiny after Khashoggi murder
10/30/2018, 2:13:37 PMThe Saudi “coverup” of the killing raises questions about whether the U.S. can trust the kingdom. ✔ Yemeni fighters from the Popular Resistance Committees, supporting forces loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government, take part in a graduation ceremony in Taez on Oct. 27 ✔ When major civilian casualties are reported, first they deny the reports are true, then they deny responsibility, said Thornberry, a member of the opposition Labour Party
Russia Pretends All Is Well in Syria but Country Is Headed for De Facto Partition
10/30/2018, 2:25:09 PMThe September crisis over Idlib was brought to a conclusion by the Russian Turkish agreement to create a partially demilitarised border strip. This should have been implemented by 16 October but hasn’t. Idlib ✔ Al Tanf The US had given some hints that it might be willing to draw back from the Al Tanf enclave it controls with UK military support near the apex of the Syrian, Jordanian and Iraqi borders ✔ The only meaningful negotiation takes place between Turkey and Russia
Bolton Lacks Stones More Than Olives
10/30/2018, 3:17:25 PMThe biggest warmongers are generally the biggest cowards. They hide behind rhetoric and other people’s blood, sweat and toil to advance their personal agenda. John Bolton’s arrival in Moscow with, as he said, “no olive branches” in hand, should come as zero surprise because Bolton is nothing if not a coward. Warmongers like Bolton bomb, invade and ruin some poor country that is in their way, the entire time claiming they themselves, or the people they represent, are the victim. It’s vain and narcissistic. ✔ He exemplifies the adage that the beatings will continue until morale improves ✔ And now Trump is rightfully under attack for continuing to back both Israel and Saudi Arabia, neither one bastions of temperance and tolerance ✔ The shaky edifice of Trump’s foreign policy goals of isolating Iran, driving a wedge between Russia and China and securing a subservient Europe via NATO is failing
Lena Dunham Syria movie: Is Girls actress making a film about Syrian refugees?
10/30/2018, 2:09:50 PMLENA DUNHAM is a controversial personality. Her work on Girls catapulted her into the spotlight but her next project is a far cry from her HBO special. ✔ From her platform of success, she went on to write Tiny Furniture, for which she won an Independent Spirit Award, and was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world ✔ Dunham is writing the script for Steven Spielberg and J.J ✔ How Dunham handles the story remains to be seen, but undoubtedly a keen eye will be focussed on her work
Putin orders missile tests in NATO training area during huge war games
10/30/2018, 1:09:29 PMRussian warships will test-fire missiles off the coast of Norway between November 1 and 3 at the same time NATO carries out a huge set of war games just a short distance away. ✔ 'This is a necessary exercise' to 'send a strong signal of unity,' Stoltenberg told reporters as he visited the NATO maneuvers that involve around 50,000 personnel from all 29 NATO allies, plus partners Finland and Sweden ✔ Investigators, who said they had opened a criminal investigation into the incident that would look at whether safety rules had been violated,
A ‘global conspiracy’ undermines Orthodox world – head of Russian Church
10/30/2018, 2:14:11 PMThere is a global conspiracy against Orthodox Christianity, the head of the Russian Church believes. Moscow’s ongoing quarrel with Constantinople over Ukraine is just a symptom, he said. ✔ The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a canonical self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church ✔ Once a regular archeparchy, it was granted increasing autonomy over the decades, reaching its current status after the dissolution of the USSR ✔ He said the tragedy… has a mystical dimension, and this is how we should see it
Merkel urges companies to switch focus from Asia to Africa
10/30/2018, 12:27:34 PMundefined ✔ Merkel has placed a strong emphasis on African diplomacy in recent months, backing efforts to boost prosperity on the continent in order to dissuade its people, especially the young, from setting off for Europe ✔ Der Spiegel weekly also slammed the conference for putting business above politics by inviting autocratic leaders such as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who has thrown thousands of regime critics in jail and suppressed civil society
Yemeni teacher turns his home into school for 700 students
10/30/2018, 3:07:01 PMOutside the home of Yemeni teacher Adel al-Shorbagy the queue of children lining... ✔ Both the Iranian-aligned armed Houthi movement and Yemen’s internationally recognized government have deployed forces in various districts of the southwestern city, Yemen’s third largest ✔ Ripped curtains are used to divide up space for classrooms ✔ They share donated books and follow what one of the 16 volunteer teachers writes on a broken white board ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
South Sudan rebel leader to return to capital to seal peace deal:...
10/30/2018, 2:37:28 PMSouth Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar will return to the capital Juba to celebrat... ✔ Ethnically charged fighting soon spread from the capital across the impoverished state, shutting down oil fields, forcing millions to flee and killing tens of thousands of people ✔ South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 after decades of north-south war fueled by oil, ethnicity and religion ✔ Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
‘Fox & Friends’ scolds Trump over ongoing ‘enemy of the people’ crusade
10/30/2018, 3:02:42 PM“That broad statement does a lot of damage,” co-host Steve Doocy said. ✔ I think he probably feels like they are not doing him any favors, and so he doesn’t like them, ultimately ✔ Read more: Wemple: How ‘Fox & Friends’ serves Trump ‘Fox & Friends’ is shaping Trump’s views before our very eyes Analysis: How the Trumps and conservative media helped mainstream a conspiracy theory now tied to tragedy Analysis: An expert on ‘dangerous speech' explains how Trump’s rhetoric and the recent spate of violence are and aren’t linked
Opinion | The end of an era in Europe
10/30/2018, 3:53:07 PMAngela Merkel has been a towering personality in the complicated politics of European integration. ✔ German Chancellor Angela Merkel awaits the arrival of participants on Tuesday ahead of the Group of 30 Compact With Africa summit at the Chancellery in Berlin ✔ Since then, Merkel has been part of the effort to build up our bastions ✔ Next summer will see important decisions on the leadership positions in the E.U., for the next five years, following the May elections to the European Parliament
U.S. Ban Threatens Beijing’s Ambitions as Tech Power
10/30/2018, 2:18:43 PMA U.S. ban on American companies doing business with a Chinese chip maker accused of stealing technology secrets threatens to upend a company backed by $5.7 billion in state funds, damaging China’s ambitions to build a world-class semiconductor industry. ✔ As part of its efforts to nurture domestic chips, China is estimated to be investing $150 billion over the decade from 2017 to support its chip industry and develop more-sophisticated know-how that will move it up the value chain ✔ The U.S. government’s ruling is a sign that the U.S. is willing to play the trade-war card, said Wang Yanhui, secretary-general of the Mobile China Alliance, a telecommunication industry consortium
US midterms: campaigning intensifies with a week to go – live
10/30/2018, 1:36:50 PMThis time next week Americans head to the polls, with control of House and Senate at stake. Follow the latest election news with our daily live blog ✔ This is a transparent and blatantly unconstitutional attempt to sow division and fan the flames of anti-immigrant hatred in the days ahead of the midterms ✔ To get you in the spirit of things, I recommend this superb article on how millennials are leading the fight for the soul of the US in Wisconsin, by Guardian US business editor, Dominic Rushe: And if you want to start at square one, here’s our excellent guide to the midterms:
Late night hosts respond to ‘tragic and sickening’ synagogue shooting
10/30/2018, 2:56:17 PMEight men and three women were killed in the deadliest ever attack on Jewish community in the US ✔ According to her, she could manufacture more masks but the material she needs are not always available ✔ White House senior counsellor Kellyanne Conway sparked controversy after partly attributing blame of the mass shooting to late night hosts, claiming their jokes could potentially help fuel anti-religion beliefs ✔ According to federal law enforcement, the shooter made antisemitic statements during the massacre
Okinawa’s new governor says Tokyo ‘disrespects democracy’ by allowing new U.S. base
10/30/2018, 2:03:22 PMTamaki says the decision to press ahead with base construction is outrageous and vows a referendum in 6 months. ✔ But many locals say that isn’t good enough: construction of a new base, even in a less densely populated area, literally cements the U.S. military’s continued presence on their island, they say ✔ S. security relations will become further strengthened, or transform into something vulnerable, Tamaki said
Analysis | The Daily 202: Immigrants facing Trump-ordered deportations plead with U.S. citizens to think of them at the polls
10/30/2018, 2:21:45 PM“Do me a favor: Go and vote for me,” a Salvadoran woman tells an American friend as she prepares for a forced return to her dangerous homeland. ✔ For lawmakers already concerned about incendiary, extreme content online, the posts offered the latest reason to consider new regulation of the tech industry writ large ✔ Wiedefeld also proposed a flat $2 fare for weekends ✔ pic.twitter.com/EGJvAZlTmQ Ian Sams (@IanSams) October 29, 2018
Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is ‘chief of the tribe’ in a cowed House of Saud
10/30/2018, 3:34:28 PMIt’s unclear whether Mohammed will pay a political price for the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. ✔ In his scramble for power, Mohammed has shunted aside rival princes, from powerful figures at the heart of the royal family to little-known cousins on the periphery ✔ In the meantime, the king has called for a broad review of the intelligence services to figure out what went wrong and fix it
Here's what 27 bellwether races say about a possible Democratic blue wave
10/30/2018, 12:31:49 PMThe USA TODAY Network looked at 27 key races to see if a Democratic wave is coming. Here's what they say. ✔ TOSS-UP NEW JERSEY 7th District (Leonard Lance, R): Clinton narrowly beat Trump in this central New Jersey district in 2016, and the battle is going down to the wire between Leonard Lance, the five-term Republican incumbent, and former assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski
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