10 December 2013 Last updated at 09:16 GMT
December 10, 2013 - 3:37PM
Middle East
Syria sarin report blows holes in US claims
By Victor Kotsev
The United States nearly went to war over the use of chemical weapons in Syria a few months ago - and then backed off, ostensibly swayed by Russia's initiative to have the Syrian government's chemical stockpile shipped out and destroyed - but those who had been saying all along that the White House version of the story was highly problematic just received a major boost from Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.
On Sunday, Hersh, who previously exposed the American atrocities at My Lai during the Vietnam War and in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, published a lengthy report in the London Review of Books [1] charging that US President Barack Obama and his top officials had mislead the world with their statements, most notably in two respects: when they claimed that they had strong evidence
implicating the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an August 21 chemical weapons attack near the capital Damascus that killed hundreds of civilians, and when they claimed they had no evidence that any of the rebel groups in the country had any chemical weapons or expertise.
Mandela memorial: Thousands gather in Johannesburg
Thousands of people are gathering at a stadium in Johannesburg for a memorial service for Nelson Mandela.
US President Barack Obama, Cuban President Raul Castro and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will address the service, as will four of Mr Mandela's grandchildren.
The service at the 95,000-capacity FNB stadium was scheduled to start at 09:00 GMT but people are still entering.
The former South African president died aged 95 last Thursday.
The country is observing a series of commemorations leading up to the funeral on Sunday.
'A mighty life'
The memorial service is one of the biggest gatherings of international dignitaries in recent years.
Canada to claim north pole as its own
UN submission will seek to redefine Canada's continental shelf to capture more Arctic oil and gas resources
Canada plans to make a claim to the north pole in an effort to assert its sovereignty in the resource-rich Arctic, the country's foreign affairs minister has said.
John Baird said the government had asked scientists to work on a future submission to the United Nations arguing that the outer limits of the country's continental shelf include the pole, which so far has been claimed by no one.
Canada last week applied to extend its seabed claims in the Atlantic Ocean, including some preliminary Arctic claims, but wants more time to prepare a claim that would include the pole.
Putin scraps Kremlin news agencies in abrupt overhaul
December 10, 2013 - 3:37PM
President Vladimir Putin has unexpectedly revamped Russian state-controlled print and radio news media, abolishing the RIA Novosti wire service and naming an outspoken television presenter to lead its successor.
Dmitry Kiselyov, a deputy director of Russia's state television and radio holding VGTRK and a host of a weekly news program on the Rossiya 1 television channel, will head the newly formed agency, called Rossiya Segodnya or Russia Today, according to a document signed by Mr Putin and published on the Kremlin's website Monday.
"Today attitudes in the world toward Russia aren't fair," Mr Kiselyov said in televised remarks. "Restoring a fair attitude toward Russia" is the goal of the new agency, he said.
Middle East
Dec 10, '13
|
Syria sarin report blows holes in US claims
By Victor Kotsev
The United States nearly went to war over the use of chemical weapons in Syria a few months ago - and then backed off, ostensibly swayed by Russia's initiative to have the Syrian government's chemical stockpile shipped out and destroyed - but those who had been saying all along that the White House version of the story was highly problematic just received a major boost from Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.
On Sunday, Hersh, who previously exposed the American atrocities at My Lai during the Vietnam War and in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, published a lengthy report in the London Review of Books [1] charging that US President Barack Obama and his top officials had mislead the world with their statements, most notably in two respects: when they claimed that they had strong evidence
implicating the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an August 21 chemical weapons attack near the capital Damascus that killed hundreds of civilians, and when they claimed they had no evidence that any of the rebel groups in the country had any chemical weapons or expertise.
New project to create drinking water from the Red Sea will also boost shrinking Dead Sea
By , E-mail the writers
JERUSALEM — The Dead Sea has been rapidly disappearing for 50 years, one of the world’s natural wonders careening toward ecological collapse in a region more often focused on political conflict.
On Monday, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority agreed on an ambitious plan to begin refilling the ancient salt lake with briny water pumped from the Red Sea — and relieve local shortages of fresh water at the same time.
In the first stage of what could become a massive joint initiative, private investors will be asked to finance construction of a large desalination plant in Jordan, on the Gulf of Aqaba. The plant would suck billions of gallons from the Red Sea and convert it to drinking water that would be shared by Israel and Jordan. Israel, in turn, would increase the amount of water it sells to the Palestinian Authority by as much as 30 million cubic meters a year.For North Korea, the war isn't over, says freed U.S. vet Merrill Newman
Until he returned home this weekend, Merrill Newman -- an American held in North Korea -- had no idea what a story he'd become.
During his detention, the 85-year-old veteran of the Korean War had no access to news. He has since seen the flood.
"Looking at the television and newspaper reports, I've seen a lot of speculation about why I was detained. I've given considerable thought to this and have come to the conclusion that I just didn't understand that, for the North Korean regime, the Korean War isn't over and that even innocent remarks about the war can cause big problems if you are a foreigner," he said in a statement Monday.
Newman traveled in October as a tourist to North Korea on a 10-day organized tour. Authorities nabbed him just minutes before his Beijing-bound plane was set to depart Pyongyang.
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