News 10/18: Bombing in Syria

The Syrian governmental forces have bombed the city of Maaret al-Numan, killing 44 people, including 23 children. The rebel held city was hit by at least ten bombs, and there are only three known survivors to the blast. One is a two year old, who survived in his deceased father's arms. More on the battles and killings in Syria can be found in earlier posts.

Source for this story: Al Jazeera (1 hour ago)

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/10/20121018225224351381.html

News 10/2: Mikheil Saakashvili Concedes Defeat to Bidzina Ivanishvili

Yesterday elections in Georgia (the country not the state) pitted the ruling party (United National Movement or UNM) and their leader Saakashvili, against the opposition Georgian Dream Party and their head figure, billionaire Ivanishvili. The Georgia Dream Party gained a majority of the popular votes counted so far, and before all the votes had been counted, the ruling party conceded defeat. Saakashvili will still remain president until October 2013 if he does not resign due to the country's current legislature. If the transfer of power would be peaceful, it would be one of the first peaceful transfers of power in the country's history since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Saakashvili's reign has included a five-day war with Russia in 2008, as well as more recent examples of prisoner abuse and torture.

Sources:
Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/1002/breaking27.html

Times of India:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Georgia-president-concedes-defeat-in-polls/articleshow/16640333.cms?

Al Jazeera:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/10/2012102235751901671.html

Moscow Times:
This article is from yesterday, and starts with, "Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s ruling party claimed victory over the opposition Georgian Dream coalition in a parliamentary election Monday, despite exit polls pointing to a close race" This information was taken from the exit polls, which showed that the popular vote would go to the Georgian Dream Party, but Parliament would go to the ruling party and Saakashvili. Further news shows this statement to end up being incorrect.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/georgia-votes-in-election-overshadowed-by-prison-scandal/469105.html

Location of Georgia

News 9/18/12: Madrid Protests

Madrid, Spain Protests Over Economy

In Madrid, Spain a protest has broken out over its government announcing several economic changes, including cutbacks and tax hikes. The Prime Minister's (Mariano Rajoy) Parliament is under great pressure after these changes, meant to lower their $64.47 billion dollar debt, by "cuts in inflation-linked pensions, taxes on stock transactions, "green taxes" on emissions or eliminating tax breaks." As well as cut backs in social benefits. (Ahram Online). 1,500 police officers were present in Madrid to deal with the protesters, and at least twenty people were arrested and a dozen people injured (BBC).

Sources:
Ahram Online (Egypt):

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/53812/World/International/Spain-prepares-more-austerity,-protesters-clash-wi.aspx

Al Jazeera (Qatar):

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/09/2012925171843534520.html

BBC News (British):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19712203

Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0925/breaking46.html

New York Times (American):

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/world/europe/protests-continue-in-spain.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0moc.semityn.www

News 9/24/12: Island Disputes

 China and Japan and Taiwan Dispute Over Islands
There is a growing dispute over a set of islands that are located between China, Taiwan, and Japan. All three countries are putting a claim to the islands after the Japanese government offered to buy the islands. Their offer was sparked by Shintaro Ishihara who offered to buy the islands for 26 million dollars. The area of the islands is a mere 3 miles total area, but its abundant in natural resources and has a large fishing business involved in it. China and Japan are in the process of negotiating the ownership of these islands. Today Taiwanese boats entered the area which is being safe guarded by Japanese ships, putting their own claim to the islands as well. The Japanese ships fired warning shots at the ships to try and alter their course but to no avail.
Sources:
BBC News: Article shows what importance the islands are to the nations, and why there is any reason to argue over them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19709355

Los Angeles Times: This article gave a good amount of evidence about the historical claims that each of the three nations have other this highly disputed area.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-japan-islands-20120925,0,216163.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fworld+%28L.A.+Times+-+World+News%29&utm_content=Netvibes

Lastly these two articles from Al Jazeera show the increasing tensions going on over this area of the world. The two articles, published less than two hours apart show the Taiwanese involvement into the already tense situation.
The first simply talks about when the Taiwanese boats entered the disputed Sea area:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/09/201292505326112219.html

And the second article shows Japan's response to this action:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/09/20129255327498152.html



Area under dispute is the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands. Picture from BBC News online.

News 9/20: Gas Protests and Bombings

Nation Wide Indian Protest in India

New economic reforms in India resulted in a mass one-day nationwide protest. The main opposition to the new reforms is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The protest was begun after the government raised diesel prices by 14 %.  Schools, trains, bus routes, and large business have all come to a halt because of the protesters. The total cost for the protest is undetermined but some estimates go as high as 2.3 billion.
 

Sources:

Both links give a good explanation of the economic and political turmoil resulting from the protest. 

 From the Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0920/breaking51.html

 

 From the Hurriyet Daily in Turkey:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/nationwide-strike-against-economic-reform-hits-india.aspx?pageID=238&nid=30606&NewsCatID=347

 

Bombing in Syria

A heavily civilian occupied gas station is bombed by government warplanes. The planes are believed to have used barrel bombs (bombs filled with TNT) killing at least 30 people, and as many as 110 have been reported as dead or wounded so far. The station is in Ayn Issa, in a town near a border post with Turkey (northern Raqqa Province). The station had been previously taken over by rebel groups 2 days ago. This bombing attempt on rebel forces has the largest casualty toll from military air craft yet.
 

From the New York Times:

This article goes in depth into the bombing and gives general information on the condition of Syria

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/world/middleeast/syria.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1

 

From China Daily:

Gives a very brief overview providing total of the number killed or wounded from its sources

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-09/20/content_15772058.htm

News 9/18/12: Strike Settlements

Today in the news were two strikes that both are set to come to an end later this week. The first strike is that of the Lonmin Miners in South Africa. As part of the third largest platinum mine in the world, the miners went on a five-six week strike which cost the lives of 45 people in total, 34 killed in a single instance when police fired into protester crowds in self defense. The settlement involved an 11%-22% raise for the workers depending on their position in the company, and the miners are considering this a very large victory. On the other side of the world, teachers have reached an agreement with the school district and have agreed to suspend their strike. The teachers gained a 3% immediate pay raise, and 10 extra days of school for the students. The teachers say that the strike was less about pay and more to do with increasing conditions for students. School is scheduled to start again tomorrow (9/19/12)

Sources for the settlement for Lonmin miners in South Africa:

 From Egypt:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/53242/World/International/SAfrica-Lonmin-miners-end--week-strike,-accept--pa.aspx

From South Africa:
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-09-18-lonmin-strikers-accept-22-pay-increase/

From the Global Post:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/south-africa/120918/lonmin-mine-strike-workers-pay-increase

From China:
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-09/19/content_15767584.htm

From Germany:
http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16249374,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-africa-8291-rdf

From the Middle East:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/09/2012918154913113773.html

Sources for the teacher strike in Chicago

From BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19644496

From CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/18/us/illinois-chicago-teachers-strike/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews

News 9/17/12

War Crimes in Syria:

The first news story today is an update on the war in Syria. Both sides have commited war crimes that are being investigated by the United Nations. From Al Jazeera, ""We have good evidence in terms of summary executions, forced disappearance, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence from both sides," said Paulo Pinheiro, head of the UN investigative panel." The was has claimed over two hundred thousand lives in eighteen months and about one point two million have been uprooted. (Irish Times). More about this story here:
From Al Jazeera with an overview of the war crimes and a continuing story of what is happening in Syria:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/201291784743116694.html

From the Irish Times which puts a focus on militants in Syria:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0917/breaking20.html

Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street:

A year after the beginning of the protests, over 100 protesters  have been arrested on the its anniversary. Events were planned in over thirty cities around the world. The group is protesting the distribution of wealth between the 1 percent which own about half of the wealth in America and the "99 percent".

An overview of the anniversary given by Ahram online (Egyptian):
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/53173/World/International/More-than--Occupy-Wall-Street-arrests-in-NYC.aspx

Another view of the anniversary from Al Jazeera showing a vast decline in the interest of the movement on Twitter since the movements beginning:
http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/2012/09/2012917121754495444.html

Pictures from the protests given by China Daily:
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-09/18/content_15764862_5.htm

17 Dead Found in Mexico:

Police found 17 mutilated bodies in Jalisco, Mexico. Violence has been abundant in Mexico due to gangs and drug cartels, however no link has been found yet to the murders. However, since 2006 at least 47,500 people have been killed in Mexico drug violence.
Sources for this information:
From the Hurriyet Daily in Turkey:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/mexican-police-find-17-mutilated-bodies.aspx?pageID=238&nid=30322&NewsCatID=358

From the Global Post:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/120917/mexico-drug-war-bodies-jalisco

Nuclear Phase Out: News from 9/14

Nuclear Phase Out

September 14, 2012

The Japanese government unveiled their plan to phase out nuclear power by 2040. Before the Fukushima disaster, nuclear power accounted for a third of Japan’s power and plans were in place to increase nuclear power to account of more than half of Japan’s power. Now Japan is planning to reduce its nuclear power dependency to as close to zero as possible by 2040. This is a similar reaction to that of Germany, who, after the Fukushima disaster, announced that they will move away from nuclear power by late 2022. By 2040 the majority of the reactors will have reached the end of their forty-year life span.


Sources:

BBC NEWS ASIA: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-19595773

NEW YORK TIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/world/asia/japan-will-try-to-halt-nuclear-power-by-the-end-of-the-2030s.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201209130018

Attack on U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya

On September 11th the U.S. Consulate in Libya was attacked by heavily armed militia men who teamed up with already present protesters. The protesters were protesting an American made video that depicted Islam's founder, the Prophet Muhammad, in a negative light. As many as fifty militants joined them and began to open fire among the U.S. Consulate. Four Americans died, the most noted one being Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. The attack was thought to have been planned, however much is still being investigated. As for President Obama, he vows to bring to justice those who were behind the attack, but also includes that it will not "break bonds" between the US and the new Libyan government.

Sources:
BBC News
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19582198

CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/12/world/africa/libya-consulate-attack-scene/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/chaos-at-the-consulate-as-militants-attack/2012/09/12/f92ad9d2-fcfe-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html?hpid=z1

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/world/middleeast/us-envoy-to-libya-is-reported-killed.html?hp

News Update

Here are a view things to keep updated with in the world that happened over these past few days:

Somali elected a new president hoping to make the country more stable:

BBC News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19556383

Al Jazeera:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/09/201291083927688186.html

LA Times:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/09/somalias-presidential-newcomer-faces-a-mammoth-job.html


Iraq's vice-president was sentenced to death, accompanying attacks which killed at least 59 in Iraq. He is being charged with ""terrorism" charges relating to alleged links to assassinations of government officials". Currently he resides in Turkey and refutes these charges, and Turkey says they will not hand him over.

News story from Al Jazeera:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/12/20111219175722518551.html

On Turkey's statements on the manner from BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-19554873


Lastly, just announced today Kosovo now has full internationally recognized sovereignty. Declaring its independence four years ago from Serbia, ninety countries internationally recognize its independence and it is now not under supervision from the International Steering Group. However, some countries still don't recognize it as independent such as Russia and Serbia.

Story here:
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kosovo-granted-full-sovereignty.aspx?pageID=238&nID=29870&NewsCatID=354

Map showing where Kosovo is geographically

News 9/6/12: Refugee Boat Sinks on Turkey's Coast, Kills 61

A refugee boat trying to sail from the Turkish coast to ultimately Great Britain crashed killing sixty-one of the people on board. The boat contained 102 illegal refugees and crashed against a set of rocks along the Turkish Coast, just 50 meters from shore. Some were able to swim away, while others were trapped underneath. 29-31 children were among the casualties (depending on the source) and 3 of the killed were babies. Many of the people on board were Iraqi, Palestinian and Syrian, presumably trying to escape the harsh Syrian Civil War. This story shows the ripple effect the war is having, effecting countries outside of Syria itself.

Sources:
The local from from Turkey itself. Has the most information on the story:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/61-refugees-drown-to-death-as-boat-sinks.aspx?pageID=238&nID=29589&NewsCatID=341

Another very detailed article comes from Al Jazeera in Qatar:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/20129692748907760.html

From the Irish Times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0906/breaking46.html

From Ahram Online (Egyptian):

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/52147/World/International/-dead-after-boat-of-illegal-immigrants-sinks-off-T.aspx

From the Times of India:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/Rufugee-boat-sinks-in-Turkey-58-dead/articleshow/16282662.cms

From Mail and Guardian (South Africa):

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-09-06-death-toll-in-turkey-refugee-boat-sinking-rises

From the United States:
Los Angeles Times

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/09/boat-sinks-turkey-syrians-iraqis-dead.html

CNN

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/06/world/meast/turkey-boat-sinks/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

News 9/5/12: Genome functions mapped

A large breakthrough in the study of DNA happened today, as new discoveries in the human genome (genetic makeup of an organism) were found. The last large report on the human genome came in 2003 and the human genome was completely mapped. However they thought that a large part of the DNA was not interactive, approximately two percent. In this new finding they found switches that can turn on or off genes, and about 80 percent of our genes have biochemical functions. This a large biological breakthrough with implications in helping cure many diseases, such as Crohn's disease. Note the research came from many different countries with 400 scientists, 32 laboratories, and at least 1,500 experiments.

Articles on this breakthrough and sources of my information found here:

From the UK:
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/sep/05/genes-genome-junk-dna-encode

BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19202141


Specifically from Ireland:
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2012/0906/1224323653110.html

From the Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-dna-encode-20120906,0,7798745.story

News 9/4/12: Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention started today in Charlotte North Carolina. Michelle Obama spoke today for her husband, as did notable speaker Julian Castro (Mayor of San Antonio). Obama hopes to win a re-election this year on November 6th. 60,000-70,000 people attended the event and as many people are expected to attend every day of the event.
*Important to note with political articles is that bias often arises and all information given should be checked.

Al Jazeera offers an in depth look at the convention and the speakers of the day. Article here:

 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/09/201294194532238180.html

More in depth on the speakers from BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19479717

Article from Mail and Guardian from South Africa:

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-09-04-spotlight-shifts-to-obama-as-democrats-make-their-case

Short article on Michelle Obama's speech from Sydney Morning Herald:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/mom-in-chief-says-obama-is-a-man-to-trust-20120905-25duw.html



As for the election in general here is a website to compare candidates side by side. Please let me know if there are any errors at this website, as all facts have not been checked.

http://www.isidewith.com/romney-vs-obama-on-the-issues

South African Miners Update

The miners in the South African mines have been freed from their murder charges. An article on that here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19466825

Syrian Massacre

The war in Syria is an ongoing issue which I will try my best to keep updated as to not forget this very important issue in the world. Over the weekend the government militia launched another attack on the capital Damascus, leaving at least 200 dead.

Story from the Los Angeles Times can be found here:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria-violence-20120826,0,937189.story

News 8/30/12: Lonmin Miners Charged

Last week a protest in a South African platinum mine left 44 people dead in the most fatal police incident since South Africa became a democracy. Ten people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed during the protests before the police shooting. Then the police officers shot into the crowd killing 34 of the protesters. Now 270 of the protesters are being charged with murder due to provoking the police. This is due to a controversial law in South Africa.

An article from Mail and Guardian in South Africa on the charges:

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-30-18-lonmin-miners-charged-with-murder

From BBC news:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19424484

From China Daily:

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-08/31/content_15724135.htm

News 8/29/12: Paralympics Begins

The 2012 Paralympics have officially opened in London today. In what promises to be the biggest paralympics yet with 2.3-2.4 million tickets sold, Stephen Hawking spoke to the crowd. "Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious." 4,200 athletes from 165 countries will compete for 503 medals in 20 sports. A total of 165 countries are set to compete.

The most detailed article on the subject comes from the South African News in Mail and Guardian. It goes in depth explaining an interesting fact that the richer countries average more medals, and in the paralympics there is even more of a gap between poor and rich countries due to the equipment.

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-28-uphill-battle-for-paralympians

Two different articles both give general overviews of the paralympics, one from China and one from Qatar.
From China Daily:

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/2012-08/30/content_15718259.htm

From Aljazeera:

http://www.aljazeera.com/sport/paralympics/2012/08/2012829223320503825.html

And finally from BBC news there is a photo gallery of the opening ceremonies which is quite stunning.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-19417144

News 8/28/12: Romney Nominated

Today Mitt Romney was officially named the Republican candidate at the Republican convention in Tampa Bay, Florida. He will be running against Obama in the election that takes place in November with his running mate Paul Ryan.

A brief overview on the event from Daily China:

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-08/29/content_15714159.htm

A more in depth article showing a different spin on the Republican platform from the Qatar based Al Jazeera:


http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/08/2012828151121273213.html

Mitt Romney's wife Ann Romney spoke today at the convention, and more in depth on her speech there is an article from the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19406822

News 8/27/12: Isaac” Advances towards Louisiana and Mississippi

Isaac is a storm that’s grown across the Gulf of Mexico from Florida and is heading towards Mississippi and Louisiana. It’s predicted to be a Category 1 hurricane and the tropical storm could get stronger. It is responsible so far for one confirmed tornado, in Vero Beach, Fla and has stopped work at 346 oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans is in danger again seven years after Hurricane Katrina. This storm also provides political trouble for the Republican Convention. The first day’s convention lasted only 2 minutes and was basically canceled because of the safety hazards. This situation makes it difficult for the Republican delegates to celebrate during the convention as well as show sensitivity to the potential hurricane victims.
Sources:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-convention-isaac-20120828,0,2278955.story
This article focused mainly on the political consequences of the storm and has many quotes directly from the convention delegates. You can read about some of the delegates feelings toward the storm and the convention.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/us/tropical-storm-gains-strength-moving-toward-coast.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
If you want to learn more facts about the storm this article focuses mostly on the storm itself and where it’s going. It doesn’t talk much about politics.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/08/2012827201337664424.html
If you want more political detail into the situation this article is a bit longer with more of the political consequences of the storm.

-News by Justin Thompson

Week review

The major happenings in the last week included the following: Aleppo under siege by its government in a fight for power in Syria, a cultural tribal clash in Kenya left at least 48 people dead, Lance Armstrong will not fight the US anti-doping agency and will most likely have his Tour de France titles taken away from him, hurricane Issac hits the Caribbean and is approaching Florida, Apple wins a court case vs. Samsung and receives 1.05 billion dollars, and Neil Armstrong dies at age 82.

Here are some other events that didn't quite reach headlines but are still important news stories:

The punk band Pussy Riot members are sentenced to two years in jail after protesting in Russia's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Their punk prayer spoke out against Vladimir Putin's leadership in Russia. Here is an article from the Moscow Times showing how this event affects Putin:
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/guilty-verdict-puts-the-heat-on-putin/466827.html

Here's video of the actual event

Also in Russia this week it was noted that another billionaire has joined the Russian Parliament raising the total to 13. Article here: 
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/parliament-gets-13th-billionaire/466991.html

Myanmar got rid of a direct censorship law this week, not requiring news sources to send their work to the government before publishing their works. However, the country is still very oppressed and news members still face the threats if the government is unhappy with what they publish. News article here:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/08/20128209322933398.html

Ethiopia's prime minister died this week, and was considered a large human rights activist in his country. Article can be found here:
http://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-22-ethiopias-late-leader-zenawi-returns-home

There is a major concern worldwide about a drought that has hit the middle of the US. Food prices are expected to rise, and corn has been hit especially hard. Here is an article on the expected rise in food price:
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2012-08/24/content_15702810.htm

Weekend in Review

The main event in the news over the weekend was that Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died at age 82. His land represented a major event in human history, specifically for the United States. He uttered his famous words "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," as he landed on the moon. Link to an article by Al Jazeera on his death:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/08/201282519933640323.html

Another major happening in the world is that tropical storm Isaac hit the Caribbean and is heading towards Florida currently. The Republican party has postponed their convention's opening due to the storm, and Florida is preparing itself for storm.
Link to an article by the BBC on the storm:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19386362

Weekend Notes

Just a notice on how the posts are going to work in relation to the weekend. Monday-Friday will showcase a specific news story and go more in depth into the individual events. Then on Sunday ill post both a weekend review, and well as share a few other new stories throughout the week that didn't quite get the spotlight in a week review as well. Looking to check back in tomorrow. To anybody reading this, have a great weekend!

News 8/24/12: Apple wins vs. Samsung in Court

Two large companies squared off in court when Apple sued Samsung for patent infringement. Apple won the case and 1.05 Billion dollars with the case for Samsung. This represents a large victory for the company, even though they originally asked for 2.4 billion dollars. This quite possibly could effect the competition for apple in the future, and affect market prices today. However, Samsung is still a very large successful company, and as of yet they have not had to recall any of their products, and promise to keep fighting. Here are some articles on the subject.

From Mail and Guardian (an African news source): Samsung Promises to Fight After Losing to Apple.

http://mg.co.za/article/2012-08-25-samsung-promises-to-fight-after-losing-against-apple

From BBC News (British news source): Apple Awarded One Billion in damages from Samsung in US Court.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19377261

From the Sydney Morning Herald: Apple Scores Win Over Samsung in US Court

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/apple-scores-win-over-samsung-in-us-court-20120825-24stg.html

From Al Jazeera (news source based in Qatar): US Court Orders Samsung to Pay Apple $1 Billion Dollars

 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/08/201282423156916842.html

News 8/23/12: Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong, the winner of seven Tour de France cycling titles, declared that he would not fight the US anti doping agency do to the fact that it would take too great of a toll on his family, and distract him from his charities for cancer. He still says the claims are nonsense, and not based on doping tests, which he has past hundreds of in the past. This means that he will most likely be stripped of all of his Tour de France titles, as well as banned for life from cycling. I'll let the articles explain the rest.

All three blogs provide basic summaries of what happened.

The LA times presented the most detail and provides the claims:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/sports/cycling/lance-armstrong-ends-fight-against-doping-charges-losing-his-7-tour-de-france-titles.html?_r=1&hp

Here's an article from Australia in the Sydney Morning Herald, the briefest of the three:
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/lance-armstrong-drops-drugs-fight-20120824-24qjz.html

Lastly an article from the British newscast the BBC. This article may give the most wholesome view from both Armstrong's point and the US anti doping agency's point.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19364384

News: 8/22/12 Clashes in Kenya

A clash between tribes in Kenya has left dozens killed, including women and children. As of now this looks like an ethnic clash, not one of the government against its people. The Pokomo ethnic group raided a village of the Orma ethnic group. This story shows how ethnic hatred is still a very major issue in Africa. This particular case is in Kenya, but it relates back to the ethnic hatred in Darfur that has created almost a modern day genocide not often publicized by the news.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/08/in-kenya-clash-over-land-kills-52.html

This article from the Los Angeles Times states that 52 people died in the clash, a number that varies from news source to news source. It explains that land use is a major issue, and there are long standing tensions between nomadic tribes.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/08/201282214141543505.html

The article from Al Jazeera on this topic states at least 48 have been killed, mostly women and children. This article does not give any specific cause to the attack, but say that they could be linked to increasing political tensions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19343995

The last article given is from the BBC, a British news service. It agrees that at least 48 have been killed. It also states that this is the worst violence since their election four years ago, and that problems have been simmering for years.

In relation to ethnic clashes in Africa I'd like to use this opportunity to post a video about Darfur and what is happening there. This video helps explain what is happening, and possibilities of why it's happening.

News 8/21/12: Syria

News on the Civil War going on in Syria. To the South of Turkey and west of Iraq, the fighting between the rebels and government regime lead by Bashar al-Assad has left thousands dead in its wake and has worldwide attention on the action.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/2012821133924677120.html

This article posted by aljazeera (a news service based in Qatar in the Middle East) gives up to date action on the fighting occurring in the country at this moment. Currently there is a fight over the largest city in Syria, Aleppo (The capital of Syria however is Damascus). The government troops are attempting to gain control of the city by beating back the rebel troops, and this article shows up to date information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/world/middleeast/syrian-rebels-coalesce-into-a-fighting-force.html?ref=world

The article posted by the New York Times shows an inside view on what is happening. The rebels fighting in the war have faced difficult times, and this shows how the rebels have been hardened by the experience. Life is day by day for them, and this article is a good viewpoint into their lives.

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2012-08/21/content_15690987.htm

The last article by China Daily shows a whole different viewpoint on the conflict. China along with Russia have vetoed United Nation's involvement in Syria, and have left people questioning their interests. This story shows a Chinese viewpoint on how the veto is justified, and news in Syria.

Sources

 United States
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.latimes.com/
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/
 http://edition.cnn.com/

Qatar (Middle East)
http://www.aljazeera.com/

 Russia
 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/

 Australia
http://www.smh.com.au/world

England
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
http://www.guardiannews.com/

China
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/

  South Africa
 http://www.mg.co.za/

 Germany
http://www.dw.de/

 France
http://mondediplo.com/
http://www.presseurop.eu/en

Global
http://www.ipsnews.net/
 http://www.globalpost.com/breaking-news

 India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/worldarticlelist/296589292.cms

 Turkey
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/world.aspx?pageID=434

Egypt
http://english.ahram.org.eg/Portal/2/World.aspx

Canada
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/

 Ireland
http://www.irishtimes.com/world/

 Pakistan
http://dawn.com/world/

These are the sources that the stories and articles from this blog with currently come from. Individual stories will be credited as such. Always looking to expand this list, so please feel free to recommend additions to this list.