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.