Ukraine war: mothers in search of disappeared sons
"I just need to find him. I know he is still alive somewhere."
by
Matthew Vickery
Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine - Spreading a map of East Ukraine on the table, Olena Dovhopola begins to rapidly point at scrawled red circles that dot the length and breadth of the paper.
"I was here, and then here," the 59-year-old says, quickly shuffling the map to the right. "And in this small town as well. I've been all over the place, and both sides - separatist and Ukrainian army. I just need to find him. I know he is still alive somewhere."
There's a clear desperation in her voice.
Dovhopola's son, 31-year-old Serhiy, went missing in September 2014, just months into the war in Ukraine. Serving in the Ukrainian army, Serhiy went missing after fierce clashes with separatist rebels in the east of the county.
India's rupee crisis: Modi accused of raiding rivals' coffers before key election
Rivals of the prime minister’s BJP party have suddenly found their resources depleted in the run-up to an election in the key state of Uttar Pradesh
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s sudden ban on high-value banknotes will hit the war chests of his rivals before a key state election next year, sparking accusations that his strike against “black cash” will unfairly boost his party’s chances.
Opposition politicians are scrambling to redraft campaign plans before the ballot expected early next year in Uttar Pradesh, a state of more than 200 million people which will be crucial to Modi’s long-term plan for re-election in 2019.
There has been widespread anger among millions of Indians forced to queue outside banks to change small amounts of old money for legal tender, possibly denting support for the ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) at least in the short term.
Isis: Islam is 'not strongest factor' behind foreign fighters joining extremist groups in Syria and Iraq – report
Military analysts say militant groups can prefer recruits who won’t challenge ideology
Religion is not the strongest driving force behind thousands of foreign fighters joining Isis and other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, a report by US military researchers has found.
A new study by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point revealed that the vast majority of almost 1,200 militants surveyed had no formal religious education and had not adhered to Islam for their entire lives.
Extremist groups may prefer such recruits because they are “less capable of critically scrutinising the jihadi narrative and ideology” and instead adhere totally to their chosen organisation’s violent and reductive interpretation of Islam.
Fresh wave of violence against Rohingya, leaving behind charred corpses
OBSERVERS
Violence in Burma’s Rakhine State escalated over the weekend, with videos of burnt corpses and villages set alight posted on Twitter and Facebook. This is the latest installment of a long and brutal crackdown by Burma’s military on members of the Muslim Rohingya minority. Raids carried out last month in the same region led to thousands of Rohinygya being displaced from their villages. Our Observers have had to flee their villages and all they own to escape the latest wave of persecution.
WARNING: Some of the following images may shock readers.
State media reported that at least 69 people were killed in army raids over the weekend of November 12 and 13, along with 17 soldiers. The military claimed that those killed were “violent attackers”, and the raids are a necessary step in routing out terrorists from the villages of Rakhine State. The attacks are part of same "security sweep" launched by the military in October, in a bid to wipe out a previously unknown Rohingya group called Aqa Lul Mujahidin. This new group is reported to have links to the Organization for Rohingya Security, an armed group that was active in the 1990s but has faded from view in the past few years. Russia to leave ICC: What's next for the Court?
Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree formally withdrawing Russia from the international tribunal. It follows a series of departures by African states, and may increase pressure on the International Criminal Court to maintain its relevance.
A recent spate of departures may prompt a change in approach for the International Criminal Court.
On Wednesday, Russia issued a formal decree withdrawing from the ICC. The court has “failed to … become a truly independent and respected body of international justice,” the Russian foreign ministry said. Russia is the latest of four countries to announce its intent to leave the international tribunal. Over the past month, Burundi, South Africa, and the Gambia have all withdrawn their support.
The court was established in 2002 to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. But the recent departures may signal a shift in attitude on behalf of the court’s members, from cooperation with the activities of the ICC to a sense that they are being targeted. They have also raised the question of how the court will continue to prosecute cases, if countries investigated by the court choose to leave.
TITANPOINTE
The NSA’s Spy Hub in New York, Hidden in Plain Sight
THEY CALLED IT Project X. It was an unusually audacious, highly sensitive assignment: to build a massive skyscraper, capable of withstanding an atomic blast, in the middle of New York City. It would have no windows, 29 floors with three basement levels, and enough food to last 1,500 people two weeks in the event of a catastrophe.
But the building’s primary purpose would not be to protect humans from toxic radiation amid nuclear war. Rather, the fortified skyscraper would safeguard powerful computers, cables, and switchboards. It would house one of the most important telecommunications hubs in the United States — the world’s largest center for processing long-distance phone calls, operated by the New York Telephone Company, a subsidiary of AT&T.
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