SA mourns Mandela with dignity and dancing
We feared the country would lose itself in weeping when Nelson Mandela died. But we should have known better.
On Friday, South Africa danced and sung, ululated and toyi-toyed. There were tears, yes, and deep grief, but that was easily drowned out by the smiles that came as people shared stories not of the anguish they felt, but of the memories of the man they were celebrating.
It came as something of a relief.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, died on Thursday night.
Recently, there were uncomfortable meetings in many news organisations. Mandela was ill. To refuse to consider what to do when he passed away would lead to chaos and confusion and, quite likely, an insult to the man when the response fell short of what the moment demanded. It was not comfortable, but it was necessary.
Even in that fundamentally uncomfortable context, the issue of grief porn stood out as intractable.
President accused of "selling" Ukraine to Russia after latest talks with Putin
Protest leaders call for huge turnout in Kiev tomorrow to force leaders to resign
Dan McLaughlin
Ukraine’s opposition has accused President Viktor Yanukovich of “selling the country” to Moscow, as he made an unexpected visit to Russia for the latest in a series of secretive meetings with its leader, Vladimir Putin.
Thousands of demonstrators have occupied Independence Square and the mayor’s office in central Kiev since Mr Yanukovich postponed a landmark deal with the EU last month to repair relations with Russia, which had threatened economic retaliation against Ukraine if it signed the pact.
The protesters fear Mr Yanukovich is ready to scrap European integration in favour of agreements that would tie Ukraine’s future to Russia, and give him the money he needs to prop up the economy and spend more freely ahead of a bid for re-election in 2015.
Woman at the Window: Judging Edward Snowden from Next Door
Joyce Kinsey and Edward Snowden were neighbors. She observed him night and day. Now that he's gone, she is passing judgment on the former NSA contractor turned whistleblower. Like many Americans, Kinsey views the world from a narrow suburban perspective.
Joyce Kinsey lives in a clay-colored house in a forested area of the US state of Maryland. She views the world through two openings. One is her flat-screen TV, the other her kitchen window. She watches nature shows, crime dramas and Fox News through the one opening, and the seasons, her neighbors and the weather through the other.
Venezuela's star-studded mayoral ballots: Singers, baseball players, and models
Many are calling Sunday's contest the first major electoral test for Nicolás Maduro's administration, as it faces sky-high inflation, and a long list of economic woes. Can star power lend a hand?
While local elections are not usually high-profile affairs, Venezuela's municipal elections this year have taken on a decidedly red carpet air.
The government's United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is showcasing a slew of celebrities – from Major League Baseball players to pop stars – as it tries to hold on to its sliding popularity ahead of municipal elections.
Many are calling Sunday's contest the first major electoral test for Nicolás Maduro's administration, as it faces sky-high inflation and a long list of economic woes. With 337 mayoral posts up for grabs, high-profile PSUV candidates have their names on the ballots in a number of crucial cities across the country.
U.N., U.S. call for investigations into Thai trafficking of Rohingya
By Andrew R.C. Marshall, Jason Szep and Arshad Mohammed
The United Nations and the United States called Friday for investigations into the findings of a Reuters report that Thai immigration officials moved Myanmar refugees into human trafficking rings.
The report, published on Thursday and based on a two-month investigation in three countries, revealed a clandestine policy to remove Rohingya refugees from Thailand's immigration detention centers and deliver them to human traffickers waiting at sea.
The Rohingya, stateless Muslims from Myanmar, are then transported across southern Thailand and held hostage in camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until relatives pay ransoms to release them, according to the Reuters report. Some are beaten and some are killed.
7 December 2013 Last updated at 01:16 GMT
Jailed Bin Laden doctor Shakil Afridi refuses to stay silent
The Pakistani doctor who is accused of helping the American Central Intelligence Agency track down former al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, says he is being denied his right to a fair trial.
"I am the first individual in Pakistan to have been denied permission to meet my lawyers, which is my basic legal right," he says in a hand-written letter he was able to smuggle out to his lawyers from his prison cell this week.
"What kind of a court, what kind of justice is this?"
This is his first contact with his lawyers in 15 months. It is also his first communication with the outside world since September 2012, when he spoke to Fox News from his prison cell by a smuggled phone.
His lawyers say they are living in a communication vacuum
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