Monday, November 30, 2015
China: Faking It
The insatiable appetite for antiques by China's growing nouveau riche is feeding a counterfeit industry.
China is one of the world's largest auction markets, generating billions of dollars each year. And its ultra-wealthy are cashing in on the world of quick returns.
But not everyone is a winner.
An insatiable appetite for ancient ceramics is feeding a dark underbelly. More than ever before, counterfeits are flooding the market, fooling even the experts.
From the rolling hills of China's archaeological sites, to the kilns of master forgers and the private museums of the country's super rich, 101 East explores the world of Chinese antiques and asks, will human greed destroy an ancient heritage?
Six In The Morning Monday November 30
World leaders gather in Paris for UN climate talks
Negotiations over two weeks involving nearly 150 nations and 25,000 delegates aim to limit global warming to 2C°.
| Politics, Climate Change, Europe, France
World leaders are gathering in Paris for the UN climate conference known as COP21, aimed at forging a deal to limit global warming to 2C.
Heads of 147 state and government are in the French capital for the start of two weeks of intense negotiations.
Monday's agenda includes speeches by the leaders and environment ministers of a number of countries, including Germany, Iceland, Peru and Scotland.
A total of 25,000 official delegates hope to secure a legally binding accord for every country to cut carbon emissions.
The accord needs to come into effect from the year 2020, when current commitments from the Kyoto Protocol run out.
Sydney Muslims feel at home despite very high racism exposure, survey finds
Survey of 600 Muslims finds they are three to five times more likely to experience extreme levels of bigotry compared with other Australians
Muslims in Sydney are three to five times more likely to experience “very high rates of exposure to racism” compared with Australians in general, a study shows.
But about 97% of the nearly 600 Muslims surveyed said relations between them and non-Muslims were friendly and that they felt “a very strong sense of belonging”, the report’s key author, professor Kevin Dunn, said.
The research, which revealed the workplace to be the most frequent site of anti-Muslim bigotry, was released to coincide with a conference in Sydney examining the links between Islamophobia and violent extremism.
Its keynote speaker, professor John Esposito of Georgetown University in Washington DC, said on Monday prejudice against Muslims played into the hands of extremists.
South Korean author of 'comfort women' book taken aback by indictment
SEOUL -- South Korean author Park Yu-ha told the Mainichi Shimbun in an interview on Nov. 29 that her indictment on charges of libel in connection with her book "Teikoku no Ianfu" (Comfort women of the empire), took her by surprise.
South Korean prosecutors indicted Park, a professor at Sejong University in Seoul, without arrest. They accuse her of damaging the reputation of former "comfort women" through her book.
On Nov. 26, a group of 54 Japanese and U.S. politicians and experts including former Japanese Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama released a statement in protest against Park's indictment. Her supporters in South Korea are expected to release a similar statement on Dec. 2.
Reality TV show seeks honest civil servant in graft-hit Liberia
REUTERS | 30 November, 2015 08:02Featuring contestants from a caretaker and nurse to a lawyer, a reality television show in Liberia is on the hunt for a different kind of star - a civil servant who embodies honesty in a country often blighted by accusations of corruption.
Integrity Idol is asking the public to vote for the most honest civil servant in the West African nation, as part of a drive to promote greater integrity among bureaucrats and tackle a perception of graft and mismanagement within the government.
Ebola-hit Liberia, which recently announced three new cases more than two months after being declared free of the virus, has been dogged with reports of state corruption as it recovers from years of civil war and the world's worst known Ebola outbreak.
The country has stabilised, secured debt relief and attracted billions of dollars in investment under the rule of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who has been in power since 2006, but her opponents have accused her of corruption and nepotism.
Change hits Saudi Arabia: 900 women run for office
Updated 0836 GMT (1636 HKT) November 30, 2015
More than 900 women are campaigning for public office in Saudi Arabia -- a first in the kingdom's history.
The December 12 municipal election will be the first opportunity for Saudi women to exercise their vote since a 2011 order by the now deceased King Abdullah that granted women some opportunities for political participation in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
According to the State Department, Abdullah issued a royal decree in 2013 mandating the Consultative Council, a royally appointed body that advises the King, be at least 20% women.
Critics have described the change as anywhere from modest to inconsequential. Women will only participate in elections at the municipal level.
Iraqi forces succeed in cutting Islamic State supply lines
IRBIL, IRAQ
Iraqi forces backed by Iranian-trained militias and U.S. air strikes have made significant progress in isolating Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province that the Islamic State overran in May, according to Iraqi officials, local residents and Western military advisers.
But there’s no certainty that that means the city will soon be retaken. Iraqi officials repeatedly have expressed optimism about progress against the Islamic State, only to find themselves unable to defeat the extremists, especially in areas such as Ramadi where Sunni Muslims are in the majority and have little trust in the Shiite-led government in Baghdad.
“We have now cut the last supply line of Daash connecting Ramadi to Syria,” said an Iraqi officer who works in the Anbar command center but lacks authorization to brief journalists publicly. “Iraqi forces can now strangle the terrorists inside the city and we should see victory in a few days.”
Daash is an Arabic term for the Islamic State, which also is known as ISIS and ISIL.
Sunday, November 29, 2015
National anthems: beating the drums of war?
We look at the Paris attacks, national anthems and the use of sports to promote war; plus, the battle over Rustavi 2 TV.
When George Orwell wrote in 1945 that sport is "war minus the shooting", it was recognition of the power of sports to arouse nationalistic sentiments.
Orwell would have seen an echo of his words in the spectacle of thousands of football supporters across Europe singing the French national anthem as a show of solidarity for those who had died in the Paris attacks earlier this month.
In times of conflict, when the mainstream news media already tend to pound the drums of war - having sports audiences repeatedly exposed to pro-military messaging - tilts the playing field further still.
The short distance from the pitch to the battlefield is evidenced by the extensive use of sporting events by the Pentagon to rally support for US troops and military action abroad. Back in Europe, how many of those singing the Marseillaise were aware of its bloodthirsty battle cry?
Six In The Morning Sunday November 29
COP21: Paris climate deal 'more likely' after terror attacks
Nearly 150 global leaders are gathering in Paris amid tight security for a critical UN climate meeting.
The conference, known as COP21, starts on Monday and will try to craft a long-term deal to limit carbon emissions.
Observers say that the recent terror attacks on the French capital will increase the chances of a new agreement.
Around 40,000 people are expected to participate in the event, which runs until 11 December.
The gathering of 147 heads of state and government is set to be far bigger than the 115 or so who came to Copenhagen in 2009, the last time the world came close to agreeing a long term deal on climate change.
While many leaders including Presidents Obama and Xi Jinping were always set to attend this conference, the recent violent attacks in Paris have encouraged others to come in an expression of solidarity with the French people.
Hong Kong's 'pink' dolphins under threat from airport and Macau bridge
Conservationists fear Hong Kong’s unique dolphins are at risk of disappearing due to loss of habitat and pollution from two major construction projectsSunday 29 November 2015 06.53 GMT
Conservationists have warned that projects to expand Hong Kong’s airport and build a new bridge to Macau could result in the loss of the city’s beloved “pink” dolphins.
Dolphin numbers have declined sharply in Hong Kong harbour over the past few decades, and campaigners fear that the large-scale construction work will drive the mammals away for good.
The Chinese white dolphin – popularly known as the pink dolphin due to its pale pink colouring – draws scores of tourists daily to the waters north of Hong Kong’s Lantau island.
It became Hong Kong’s official mascot for the handover ceremony in 1997, when Britain returned the territory to China. But despite the affection felt towards the dolphin, there may soon be none left.
The proposed construction of a third runway at Hong Kong’s busy Chek Lap Kok airport could be the nail in the coffin, according to campaigners.
Syrian air strikes mean civilians seeing their family killed by a faceless enemy - leaving Isis free to choose a face for us
The Prime Minister states that complexity should not be an excuse for non-intervention. True. But complexity is not an excuse, it is an important reality
The decision to bomb Isis in Syria in response to the Paris attacks would be a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that is much closer to home – most of the attackers were French or Belgian – and one driven by emotion, not logic. Shocked by terrible tragedies on their doorstep, people in Europe have a sense that ‘something must be done’. And so we turn too easily to the question of military action, as if that were the only option.
It is wrong and dangerous to think that an “evil death cult” with near global reach can be defeated by air strikes. If Sun Tzu’s theArt of War teaches us that knowing your enemy is key to success, do we know who Isis are? Whom it is that we would be bombing? Isis-held territory is not populated solely by radicalised, blood-thirsty jihadists. They are there, certainly, but they are also in Paris, Brussels and London. Those in Isis-held territory are the same people who were in Saddam-held territory, or in Assad-held territory, or in territory held by the Free Syrian Army. Isis-held territory is populated, for the most part, by ordinary civilians whose survival is dependent on getting on with whoever wields power at that particular time.
Why Russia needs China to buy its weapons
Despite intellectual property concerns, Russia recently agreed to sell 24 Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets to China - a deal worth $2 billion. But what is driving Moscow to seek deeper trade ties with Beijing? DW examines.
The deal, announced last week by Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, makes China the first foreign contractor of the multi-role Sukhoi Su-35 (main picture), an upgraded and highly maneuverable fighter jet. While the deal has yet to be confirmed by Beijing, Russian daily newspaper Kommersantquoted Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov on November 19 as saying: "The protracted talks on Su-35 deliveries to China have ended. We have signed the contract."
The agreement reportedly includes not only the supply of 24 jets to the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) for a total of $2 billion ($83 million per unit) but also the delivery of ground support equipment and reserve aircraft engines. The first batch of the planes, with the NATO reporting name Flanker-E, is expected to be delivered next year.
A win-win situation?
Russian sales of advanced weapons to China, including modern combat aircraft, are not new. Indeed, throughout the post-Soviet period, China has been one of Russia's most important customers for arms exports. The Chinese have been purchasing systems, such as the Su-27 fighter jet, and advanced surface-to-air missiles, from Russia for over a decade.
Lie detectors, solitary: How South Korea screens refugees
SEOUL |
South Korea has spent decades screening refugees from a hostile neighbor but some enemy agents manage to get through, underlining the challenges Western nations face in dealing with a far larger influx of people escaping the war in Syria.
Seoul uses lie detectors, interrogation and a screening process that includes keeping people in solitary confinement to catch North Korean agents among genuine asylum seekers.
Still, between 2003 and 2013, of the 49 North Korean spies apprehended in the South, 21 entered the country posing as refugees, according to the country's justice ministry.
"The question of spies slipping through is always a problem, and we need to make the process more meticulous and advanced," said Shin Kyung-min, the ranking opposition member of the South Korean parliament's intelligence committee.
"But it's not like we can stop taking in North Korean defectors because of that," Shin told Reuters.
Thousands of Arab Israelis protest Islamic Movement ban
Thousands of Arab Israelis marched Saturday in northern Israel to protest against the decision to ban the radical wing of the Islamic Movement, with its leader denouncing the Jewish state.
Under a sea of Palestinian flags, the descendents of Palestinians who remained in Israel after its creation in 1948 chanted "We are not terrorists" and "We are stronger than the ban".
Israel banned the Islamic Movement's northern wing on November 17, accusing it of having instigated violence at a sensitive Jerusalem holy site that sparked weeks of Palestinian unrest.
At Saturday's protest in Umm al-Fahm, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Tel Aviv, its leader denounced what he called Israeli "terrorism" in an address to the crowd in Umm al-Fahm.
Saturday, November 28, 2015
Haunting Map Shows All Nuclear Bombs That Exploded Since 1945 (video)
A poignant new visualization shows all 2,153 atomic bomb detonations that happened across the globe since testing began in 1945, mapping out the where and when.
Can world leaders reach climate change deal?
Upcoming Paris conference will have a major impact how we live our lives and those of future generations.
About 40,000 negotiators from nearly 200 countries are descending on the French capital for the UN conference on climate change or COP 21.
The decisions they make will have a major impact on how we live our lives and those of future generations.
Scientists have warned that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, we will pass the threshold after which climate change will become catastrophic and irreversible.
That threshold is two degrees Celcius above pre-industrial levels, and scientists say a rise in global temperatures must not exceed that figure by the year 2100.
But delegates face a number of problems. Although many countries have already made pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the run up to COP 21, it is likely they will not be enough to slow global warming to two degrees.
The second problem relates to the differences between developed and developing countries. Developing nations want financial aid to help them implement the policies that will be a part of any Paris deal.
The biggest obstacle to any climate change agreement will come from Republicans who control the House and the Senate which allows them to block any legislation on this issue.
Specifically Republican U.S. Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma who is chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Texas Republican U.S. Representative Lamar Smith who is Chairman of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology both of whom are ardent climate change deniers.
The thing is: The Benghazi committee is not even the worst committee in the House. I'd argue that the House science committee, under the chairmanship of Lamar Smith (R-TX), deserves that superlative for its open-ended, Orwellian attempts to intimidate some of the nation's leading scientists and scientific institutions.
The science committee's modus operandi is similar to the Benghazi committee's — sweeping, catchall investigations, with no specific allegations of wrongdoing or clear rationale, searching through private documents for out-of-context bits and pieces to leak to the press, hoping to gain short-term political advantage — but it stands to do more lasting long-term damage.
In both cases, the investigations have continued long after all questions have been answered. (There were half a dozen probes into Benghazi before this one.) In both cases, the chair has drifted from inquiry to inquisition. But with Benghazi, the only threat is to the reputation of Hillary Clinton, who has the resources to defend herself. With the science committee, it is working scientists being intimidated, who often do not have the resources to defend themselves, and the threat is to the integrity of the scientific process in the US. It won't take much for scientists to get the message that research into politically contested topics is more hassle than it's worth.
SEN. JIM Inhofe (R-Okla.) chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee — and he seems determined to make that fact a national embarrassment.
Mr. Inhofe delivered a Senate floor speech about the “hysteria on global warming” last week with two conspicuous props. One was a blown-up photo of his family standing in front of an igloo labeled “AL GORE’S NEW HOME.” The Inhofe clan constructed it following a 2010 “snowstorm that had been unprecedented, it set a record that year,” Mr. Inhofe explained.
“In case we had forgotten, because we keep hearing that 2014 has been the warmest year on record,” Mr. Inhofe continued, reaching for a plastic bag next to his lectern, “I ask the chair, do you know what this is? It’s a snowball, just from outside here. It’s very, very cold out.”
Six In The Morning Saturday November 28
Planned Parenthood: Three die in shooting at Colorado clinic
A shooting at a family planning clinic in Colorado Springs has left two civilians and a police officer dead, with the suspected gunman under arrest.
Nine other people were injured during the standoff at the Planned Parenthood clinic, which lasted five hours before the suspect surrendered.
A number of people were trapped inside the building as shots were exchanged.
The motive remains unclear. The Planned Parenthood group has drawn anti-abortion protests in the past.
A law enforcement source identified the suspect as Robert Lewis Dear, from North Carolina. No other details were given.
"I want to convey to the loved ones of the victims, this is a terrible, terrible tragedy that occurred here in Colorado Springs today," Mayor John Suthers told a news conference.
"Obviously, we lost two civilian victims. We mourn the loss of a very brave police officer."
Beijing residents told to stay inside as smog levels soar
Air pollution in the Chinese capital has reached more than 15 times the safe level as smog engulfs large parts of the country
Beijing’s residents have been advised to stay indoors after air pollution in the Chinese capital reached hazardous levels.
The warning comes as the governments of more than 190 nations gather in Paris to discuss a possible new global agreement on climate change.
China, the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, is suffering from serious air pollution, largely attributed to smog from coal-fired power plants.
The onset of winter and the need for more heating of homes means the problem has intensified in the capital, which has an estimated population of 20 million.
At noon on Saturday, the US embassy in Beijing reported the level of the poisonous, tiny particles of PM2.5 at 391 micrograms per cubic metre.
Paris climate change talks: Activists placed under house arrest by French authorities using emergency laws
Thousands of climate campaigners have vowed to defy the blanket ban on demonstrations
At least 24 climate change activists have been put under house arrest by French police.
They are accused of defying a ban on organising protests during next week's 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.
Three people have been placed under house arrest in Rens, two in Paris, two in Rouen and one in Lyons, according to a campaigns website collating information about police actions against activists.
They are only allowed to leave their houses three times a day to sign a post office register verifying their whereabouts.
Legal advisors to the activists told The Guardian warrants were issued under the country's state of emergency laws, enacted after the terrorist attacks which murdered 130 people.
Japan to resume Antarctic whaling under 'revised plan'
Japan has announced plans to resume whaling in the Antarctic next year for what it says are research purposes. It suspended its whale hunt last year for a season after the top UN court ruled it should stop.
Japan defended its plan to resume whaling in the Antarctic Ocean by the end of March next year, saying it would take place under a plan that was "scientifically reasonable."
In its notification to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on Friday, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said whale hunters would operate according to a "revised plan" that envisaged cutting annual minke whale catches by two-thirds to 333.
The move, which is likely to provoke an international outcry, goes against a ruling by the International Court of Justice in March last year that said Japan's "scientific" whaling activities in the Antarctic were a cover for a commercial hunt and ordered them to stop. Japan still sent whaling ships to the Southern Ocean in the 2014/2015 season, but they returned with no catch.
Heat is on Bollywood's Muslims
November 28, 2015 - 11:17AMAmrit Dhillon
New Delhi: Sitting in his saffron coloured office next to the grandiose Birla temple, a landmark in the capital, Chandra Kaushik is seething. President of the Hindu Mahasabha, the oldest Hindu nationalist party in the country, he had motivated the angry young men who have been staging protests outside the home of Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan this week.
Outraged at Khan's remarks, Kaushik galvanised the young men and ordered them to protest. Now he wants an apology from Khan. Like many conservative Hindus, he is indignant because Khan, a Muslim, said in an interview on Monday that the growing mood of intolerance in India had made his wife, Kiran Rao (who is Hindu) fear for their son and wonder whether the family should leave India.
The comment lit a firestorm that has blazed all week. On social media, on television, in the papers and on Twitter, Indians were divided between those who supported Khan because they believe that the minorities, especially Muslims, are under threat from the Hindu nationalism of the Narendra Modi government and those who flayed him for attacking the nation on specious grounds.Mass shootings since Sandy Hook, in one map
Updated by German Lopez and Soo Oh
In December 2012, a gunman walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 20 children, six adults, and himself. Since then, there have been at least 1,029 mass shootings, with shooters killing at least 1,300 people and wounding 3,699 more.
The counts come from the Mass Shooting Tracker, a crowdsourced database that tracks shootings since 2013 in which four or more people were shot. As with any crowdsourced database, it’s likely missing some shootings, and some of the shootings are missing details.
Vox’s Soo Oh created an interactive map with data from the Mass Shooting Tracker. It shows the mass shootings tracked in the database that have been verified with news reports since the Sandy Hook shooting:
Friday, November 27, 2015
Random Japan
Tokyo looks eerily awesome in the fog
Casey BaseelOr should that be awesomely eerie?
Humidity in Japan reaches its peak in summer, then continues to drop as the temperature gets cooler. A late autumn Tokyo morning is usually crisp, cool, and clear, but things were very different this Friday in the capital.
The multi-day rainstorm that had been sitting over the city finally petered out on the night of November 26, but the low temperature meant a thick layer of fog was there to greet Tokyoites when they woke up.
STATS
- 300,000: The number of Halloween-themed garbage bags the TMG gave away “in an effort to keep the capital’s streets clean amid the fun.”
- 0.6 millimeter: Diameter of an artificial blood vessel developed by researchers at the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center—the thinnest ever.
- ¥980: Price of a 330-square-meter parcel of land in Fukagawa, Hokkaido. Officials are hoping the low cost will attract new residents.
GOING POSTAL
- The head of a post office in Nagano admitted to running a Ponzi scheme that bilked 180 customers out of ¥890 million.
- Arbitrators in Stockholm ordered Osaka-based NTN Corp to pay $94.2 million to Volvo in a case involving defective ball bearings.
- A government white paper found that police made a record-high 4,300 arrests for indecent assault in 2014.
- McDonald’s Japan posted a $30 million loss from January to September—the worst result for the nine-month period since the company debuted on the TSE in 2001.
What's The Most Appropriate Action While Driving Drunk?
Hit Your Local Police Station With Your Car
Comedians And The Yakuza. What Do They Have In Common?
It Isn't Telling Jokes
They've Known No War
At Least Not Yet
Japan misunderstood: 3 stereotypes that live on
by Amy Chavez for RocketNews24
Every time I visit my home country and talk about my life in Japan, one thing becomes clear to me: Japan remains incredibly misunderstood overseas. With this in mind, today we’ll be discussing three stereotypes of Japan: the country’s apparent disdain for those who stand out from the crowd, the notion that Japan is a strict society, and that the idea of “losing face” is a quintessentially Asian concept.
1. The nail that stands up gets hammered down
This Japanese idiom is known world-wide among English speakers and is often used to show that conformity is valued, if not socially enforced, in Japan. People go on to apply the proverb to almost any situation they feel is exemplary. In the business world, Takafumi Horie is often cited as an example of a nail that was pounded back down. As the president of Livedoor, Horie rose to fame and fortune very quickly, outwitting most of his competition. But his competitors were not impressed with his quick rise to the top, his legal but “un-Japanese” business practices and his challenge to the status quo. They did everything they could to tear him down, eventually leading to accusations of falsifying accounts and misleading investors. “The nail that stands up,” right?
Who is buying ISIL's oil?
Turkey has been forced to deny Russian allegations that it buys oil from the armed group, and says Assad is a customer.
On the face of it, it looks like any state-run oil industry.
Engineers, managers and traders, all help extract, refine and distribute oil, which makes its way across Syria and Iraq as well as overseas.
But this is no state-run company. This is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL) lifeline - a business that provides the armed group with more revenue than any other source.
Oil helps to fund its war in Syria and Iraq, as well as to provide electricity to the 10 million people living under ISIL control.
But despite the oil trade being targeted by the US-led coalition against ISIL, the business continues to thrive.
And many people are increasingly asking why.
The Free Press That Doesn't Exist In Turkey
Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists ad nauseum that a Free Press exists in Turkey yet is actions prove otherwise. Journalists are constantly under threat from the government from censorship to arrests. Following the second election in a year Erdogan's AKP party regained its majority in parliament which has allowed the government to continue cracking down on Turkish media outlets.
Two editors from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper face lengthy jail sentences for alleging that Ankara’s intelligence agency was supplying weapons
Two editors from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper face lengthy jail sentences for alleging that Ankara’s intelligence agency was supplying weapons
A court in Istanbul has charged two journalists from the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper with spying after they alleged Turkey’s secret services had sent arms to Islamist rebels in Syria.
Can Dundar, the editor-in-chief, and Erdem Gul, the paper’s Ankara bureau chief, are accused of spying and “divulging state secrets”, Turkish media reported. Both men were placed in pre-trial detention.
According to Cumhuriyet, Turkish security forces in January 2014 intercepted a convoy of trucks near the Syrian border and discovered boxes of what the daily described as weapons and ammunition to be sent to rebels fighting against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
It linked the seized trucks to the Turkish national intelligence organisation (MIT).
SIx In The Morning Friday November 27
Paris attacks: Victims' families attend memorial ceremony two weeks on - live
France mourns the 130 people killed in the 13 November attacks, with François Hollande leading a solemn address at Les InvalidesJessica Elgot
Friday 27 November 2015 09.55 GMT
French president Francois Hollande stands at his chair, a few metres ahead of the rest of the audience, as the names are read out.
The name of each of the 130 victims read out at Les Invalides
Eric Ouzounian, whose 17-year-old daughter Lola died at the Bataclan, has written a moving open letter about why he has decided not to attend the ceremony at Les Invalides, citing the policies of both Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy in Libya and Syria.
Air strikes in Syria: David Cameron's strategy can only repeat our mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan
Britain should not be fighting such a dangerous antagonist without a better knowledge of the battlefield
David Cameron’s plan for joining the war in Syria is a worrying document, full of wishful thinking about the political and military situation on the ground. It is a recipe for repeating past failures in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, by misjudging the strength of potential enemies and allies alike.
Mr Cameron presents a picture of what is happening in Syria and Iraq that reflects what the Government would like to be happening. If he and those responsible for carrying out British policy truly believe these views, then we are in for some nasty surprises.
It is important to know if Isis is getting stronger or weaker in Iraq under the impact of more than 5,432 air strikes, 360 of them by British aircraft, carried out by the US-led coalition. Pope faces challenge in Uganda, where gays are under attack
Updated 0759 GMT (1559 HKT) November 27, 2015
God isn't hard to find in Kampala.
The Lord's name is invoked at the Grace is God Milk Center on one street in the Ugandan capital, and the My God is Good Oooh Boutique on another. And if it's wine you seek, there's the Pool of God's Grace liquor store around the corner.
On a Sunday at Rubaga Cathedral, perched on one of Kampala's famous hills, the faithful pack the pews for the afternoon Buganda service.
In simple green robes, the priest gives communion as the strains of the choir ring out through the hall.
On a Sunday at Rubaga Cathedral, perched on one of Kampala's famous hills, the faithful pack the pews for the afternoon Buganda service.
In simple green robes, the priest gives communion as the strains of the choir ring out through the hall.
Donald Trump's racist rise presents 'fascist' threat to Republican Party
November 27, 2015 - 3:06PMNick O'Malley
US correspondent for Fairfax Media
Washington: The attacks in Paris have had a bleak effect in America as the nation celebrates its most significant national holiday.
This week as 40 million Americans travelled interstate to join with family for Thanksgiving, crowds at many airports and train stations were watched over by police reinforced by soldiers.
The presidential primary campaign has been changed too, with national security becoming central to the debate.
This has prompted a new surge in support for Donald Trump, the tough-talking showman who has sworn to "bomb the shit" out of Islamic State.
It has also made his rhetoric darker, and perhaps even dangerous.
Indonesia blasts Australia for pushing back boat
Jakarta denounces detention and deportation of asylum seekers without any notification from Canberra.
| Refugees, Australia, Human Rights, Indonesia, Politics
Indonesia challenged Australia on Friday over its detention and deportation of 16 asylum seekers without informing Jakarta after their boat was intercepted by the Australian navy a week ago.
The boat was seized on November 20 within 200 metres of Christmas Island, Reuters news agency reported.
Australian authorities held the asylum seekers - who hailed from Bangladesh, India and Nepal - for four days before sending them back to Indonesia, the official Antara news agency reported.
"We are concerned when some country like Australia ... rather than informing us and working with us, they took unilateral action and pushed back the boat," Hasan Kleib, an Indonesian foreign ministry official said.
Beijing's super commutes reflect a city bulging at the seams
By Iris Zhao and Jessica Macy Yu
The commute for millions of people living in and around Beijing is a daily grind that is ever more time-consuming, costly and crowded as residents dodge, push and elbow their way onto buses and subways.
And there is no immediate relief in sight in a city that has more than 21 million residents and is growing fast.
Indeed, expansion over the next 15 years will put the Chinese capital at the center of a new mega-city, as it integrates with the port city of Tianjin and neighboring Hebei province, officials say. Current estimates of the population in the combined area is around 110 million.
By the time it is completed, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei project will span 212,000 square kilometers (82,000 square miles), or more than twice the size of South Korea.
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