15 November 2014 Last updated at 08:56
G20: Obama warns of Asia 'intimidation' as summit begins
The US president says Asia's security must not be based on intimidation, where big nations bully small ones.
Barack Obama told students in Brisbane, Australia - where he is attending the G20 summit - that security in the region must depend on mutual alliances.
He said there was "no question" over his commitment to Asia-Pacific allies, referring to US efforts to increase its strategic focus on the region.
The two-day G20 summit will focus on promoting economic growth.
World leaders are expected to expand on plans agreed in February at the G20 finance ministers' meeting to boost global economic growth by 2% in five years.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also urged those attending to meet the challenges posed by Ebola, climate change and the conflict in Ukraine.Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania bristle as Russia rattles its sabre
Nato sees sharp rise in warplanes and ships approaching Baltic states’ territory
Daniel McLaughlin
In the cold, slate-grey skies and seas of northeast Europe, an old game is being played out under new rules.
Where for decades the Soviet Union probed the West’s defences and eavesdropped onNato, now three sovereign Baltic states form the military alliance’s first line of protection against a belligerent Russia, as it casts an ever-longer shadow over its former empire.
Nowhere are shockwaves from Moscow’s undeclared, “hybrid” war in Ukraine felt more strongly than Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and here a simultaneous surge in Russian military and intelligence activity is causing most alarm.
This week, Nato fighter jets were again scrambled to shadow a Russian military plane as it neared the airspace of the Baltic states, before it turned and made for Kaliningrad – a Russian enclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania that hosts a major naval base. Latvia also reported another approach by a Russian military ship to within a few kilometres of its territorial waters.
G20 continue to prop up fossil fuel industry
As the G20 meet this week, a report by the Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International says they are failing to meet pledges to phase out support for fossil fuels. The ODI’s Shelagh Whitley talks to DW.
Deutsche Welle: What were the main findings of your report?
We were looking into fossil fuel exploration subsidies, so that’s government support for looking for new reserves of oil, gas and coal. And what we found is that the G20 governments together are spending about $88 billion a year supporting exploration.
What impact is this exploration likely to have on the global climate?
We were told by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last week that we need to keep the majority of fossil fuel reserves that we already have in ground and not burn them, if we’re to avoid dangerous climate change. So what that means in essence is that governments are subsidizing climate change because they are looking for new fossil fuel reserves when we can’t burn what we already have.
Lebanese prepare as winter threatens Islamic State advance
November 15, 2014 - 12:29PM
Ruth Pollard
Middle East Correspondent
Tripoli, Lebanon: The guns have fallen silent in this city – for now – after the latest attempt by Islamic State and Nusra Front militants to gain a foothold in Lebanon's north failed to win any ground.
There is no safe passage for militants from the Qalamoun Mountains that border Syria and Lebanon through Akkar to Tripoli's Mediterranean coast, no safe haven from the bitter northern winter months to follow.
And although senior militant leaders have been arrested, including Australian-Lebanese Hussam al-Sabbagh, the triggers for continuing unrest in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city that lies 85 kilometres north of the capital Beirut, remain as strong as ever.
There is no safe passage for militants from the Qalamoun Mountains that border Syria and Lebanon through Akkar to Tripoli's Mediterranean coast, no safe haven from the bitter northern winter months to follow.
And although senior militant leaders have been arrested, including Australian-Lebanese Hussam al-Sabbagh, the triggers for continuing unrest in Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city that lies 85 kilometres north of the capital Beirut, remain as strong as ever.
Botswana court rebuffs state ban on LGBT group. A turning point for Africa?
The court overturned a government ban on a gay rights lobbying group, ruling it incompatible with free speech and expression. The decision is a rare – but potentially influential – victory for LGBT groups in Africa.
A Botswana judge overturned a ban on a gay rights lobbying group Friday, a rare victory for gay rights activists in the southern African country.
On a continent where gays and lesbians remain severely marginalized, the court's decision could have widespread implications for Africa's emerging gay rights movement. Progress remains slow, but the movement appears to be gaining momentum in small pockets across the continent.
Human Rights Watch called the ruling in Botswana a "groundbreaking decision" in a statement released Friday.
Despite ban, 'Rich Kids of Tehran' party on
Partygoers take sips from bottles of bubbly inside plush mansions.
The photos could be of the young, high-society crowd in Beverly Hills, New York or Miami.
But looks can be deceiving.
Meet the "Rich Kids of Tehran," a social media phenomenon that has attracted worldwide attention for offering a startling glimpse at the decadent lifestyle of wealthy young Iranians in one of the world's most socially conservative countries.
Partygoers take sips from bottles of bubbly inside plush mansions.
The photos could be of the young, high-society crowd in Beverly Hills, New York or Miami.
But looks can be deceiving.
Meet the "Rich Kids of Tehran," a social media phenomenon that has attracted worldwide attention for offering a startling glimpse at the decadent lifestyle of wealthy young Iranians in one of the world's most socially conservative countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment