Riyadh talks aim to unite Syrian opposition positions
Three-day conference begins in the Saudi capital without Kurdish groups, which are holding their own meeting.
Zeina Khodr | | War & Conflict, Syria, Middle East, Politics, Syrian crisis
Saudi Arabia is ready to host a three-day meeting in Riyadh to try to unite the Syrian opposition before potential talks with the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
It will not be the first attempt at this, but this time international peace efforts are gaining momentum.
There is a need for the opposition to speak in one voice and present a common vision for Syria's future.
The alliances in this conflict are a complicated maze: There is no clear way through.
There is a thorn in the works already following the decision by Saudi Arabia not to invite the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the largest Kurdish group, and its armed wing, the YPG. Its allies, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have not been invited either.
Gui Minhai: the strange disappearance of a publisher who riled China's elite
A high profile book publisher is missing, raising questions over a deepening relationship between China and Thailand’s military junta
A packet of cigarettes and boxes of medication, neatly divided into daily doses, still sit on the desk where Gui Minhai would write his political gossip books on China’s leaders.
A drill and tools lie on the kitchen top from an unfinished DIY project. A dozen eggs freshly bought but now nearly two months old decay in the fridge, and a metal coat hanger moulded into the words “home” waits unmounted in a plastic bag.
Gui’s 17th-storey apartment – with perfect views towards the Gulf of Thailand – is empty now. His bed was unmade the day he vanished.
A successful Hong Kong publisher, Gui is one of four members of Sage Communications — famed for sensational tomes on the private lives of China’s elite — to go missing. But unlike his colleagues, who were abducted in China, Gui vanished in Thailand.
Doctors Without Borders submits petition to White House for independent investigation of Kunduz attack
More than 545,000 people have signed the petition
International medical charity, Doctors Without Borders, on Monday submitted a petition to the White House requesting an independent investigation into the US’s October 3 attacks on a trauma center in Afghanistan.
More than 545,000 people worldwide signed the petition calling on President Barack Obama to approve a International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) investigation into the attack on the hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan that killed 31 civilians and injured dozens more. IHFFC, which investigates violations of humanitarian law, has agreed to conduct the investigation if Washington and Kabul offer their consent.
“While the US, NATO, and the Afghan government have launched investigations, it is impossible to rely only on the parties involved in the conflict in Afghanistan to carry out independent and impartial investigations of acts in which they are implicated,” a Doctors Without Borders press release said. “Perpetrators cannot also be judges.”Putin's mind games with Turkey
Allah may have stolen the Turkish government's sanity, but who stole Russian President Putin's? Fiona Clark looks at the escalating tension between the two countries.
If it weren't enough to accuse the Turkish president's family of being directly involved in funding terrorism by selling "Islamic State" (IS) oil, Russia's president has now continued his verbal assault by claiming Turkey's leadership has lost its collective mind - apparently through divine intervention.
"It seems Allah decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by relieving them of their sanity," Putin said, as that could be the only reason for why they'd shoot down a major trading partner's fighter plane at a time when both countries are supposed to be fighting a common terrorist enemy - IS.
Speaking at his recent annual presidential address to Russia's Federal Assembly, he went on to say that Russia wouldn't rattle sabers at Turkey but the country could think again if it thought that the sanctions Russia has imposed on it in terms of food and investment deals would be the end of the story.
Living in constant fear near U.S. military base
POCHEON, Gyeonggi Province ― At sunset on Oct. 28, a group of South Koreans gathered outside the gates of Rodriguez Live Fire Complex at Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, some 24 kilometers from the heavily guarded demilitarized zone.The numbers swelled into the hundreds, with the mostly middle-aged crowd from adjacent villages starting bonfires, singing songs and watching live dance performances. However, despite the seemingly festive atmosphere, hostility could be felt as villagers were there to hold a rally, calling for an end to what they alleged was excessive noise and danger from the U.S. military complex.
“I came here because I’m a resident here. The kids are so scared (because of the noise from gunshots), they keep waking up at night. I wish the noise could just go away,” said Lim Ga-young, a Vietnamese-Korean mother who accompanied her three children and mother-in-law to the rally.
Just like Lim and hundreds of people who gathered to seek compensation for decades of “living in fear,” villagers from near the U.S. shooting range in Pocheon, including in Yeongpyeong-ri and Yamae-ri, have complained about the noise and flying bullets from military shooting drills for over half a century.
Beijing issues first red alert as air pollution hits hazardous levels
Updated 0733 GMT (1533 HKT) December 8, 2015 | Video Source: CNN
Much of the Chinese capital shut down Tuesday after Beijing's city government issued its first red alert for pollution -- closing schools and construction sites and restricting the number of cars on the road.
Beijing's Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection warned that severe pollution would cloak the Chinese capital for several days, starting Tuesday morning.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, the air quality index stood at 250 this morning, classed as "very unhealthy" and 10 times higher than World Health Organization recommended levels.
Gao Yuanli, 35, told CNN that the smog frequently made her life difficult. She wears face masks during most winter days and bought an air purifier two years ago.
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