Rohingya crisis: 'It's not genocide,' say Myanmar's hardline monks
Updated 0005 GMT (0805 HKT) November 26, 2017
The monks, clad in vermillion robes and flip flops, line up from old to young to receive a meal in their alms bowls -- rice, vegetables, cookies -- all donated by local villagers.
It's a potent act of religious devotion that takes place every day across countless communities in Myanmar, an overwhelmingly Buddhist country.
But powerful clerical voices here believe their faith -- and by extension, these traditions -- is in danger.
The main threat? Islam, says Thaw Parka, a monk who speaks for a hardline, monk-led Buddhist nationalist group known as Ma Ba Tha -- the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion.
After marijuana, are magic mushrooms next to be decriminalised in California?
Mayoral candidate near San Francisco seeks signatures to put decriminalisation on statewide ballot next year, saying drug could offer healing at time of crisis
As California prepares for the legalisation of recreational marijuana in 2018, one man is pushing for the state to become the first to decriminalise magic mushrooms.
Kevin Saunders, a mayoral candidate for the city of Marina, just south of the San Francisco Bay, has filed a proposal that would exempt adults over the age of 21 from any penalties over possessing, growing, selling or transporting psychedelic psilocybin mushrooms.
If he can get 365,880 voter signatures by the end of April 2018, the California Psilocybin Legalization Initiative will be placed on the statewide ballot.
Over 300 people died in the horrific terror attack in Egypt. They deserve to be mourned, not used as political fodder
As the Oxford Circus panic revealed, we have become so conditioned by fear that many will take anything and everything to justify their beliefs
While Twitter went into a frenzy over a suspected terrorist attack in Oxford Circus yesterday (which amounted to nothing more than Chinese Whispers gone awry), around 305 innocent Muslims were killed in an actual terrorist attack in Egypt. The global responses to the separate incidents highlighted just how imbalanced our attitudes towards terrorism actually are.
Within the space of minutes, there were thousands of tweets about Oxford Circus. The Daily Mail was quick to lick its lips amid the pandemonium, citing a 10-day-old tweet to brew rumours about a lorry attack (the article has now been removed from its site). Even though nothing actually happened, the panic that ensued was instrumentalized by far-right bigots to stir up xenophobia – Katie Hopkins, for instance, tweeted: “The truth of our frightened country is all the texts from children reassuring their moms” and the deplorable Tommy Robinson, without any evidence to suggest Islamic extremism, tweeted: “How long until we find out that today’s attack in Oxford Circus was by a Muslim who was again known to our security services.”
Europe at Its UgliestThe Refugee Scandal on the Island of Lesbos
As winter arrives, the situation on the Greek island of Lesbos is unsustainable. Conditions at the refugee camps are horrific and island residents are tired of being left in the lurch by Athens and the EU. A visit to ground zero of European ignominy.
By Giorgos Christides and Katrin Kuntz
Those wishing to visit ground zero of European ignominy must simply drive up an olive tree-covered hill on the island of Lesbos until the high cement walls of Camp Moria come into view. "Welcome to prison," someone has spray-painted on the walls. The dreadful stench of urine and garbage greets visitors and the ground is covered with hundreds of plastic bags. It is raining, and filthy water has collected ankle-deep on the road. The migrants who come out of the camp are covered with thin plastic capes and many of them are wearing only flip flops on their feet as they walk through the soup. Children are crying as men jostle their way through the crowd.
Welcome to one of the most shameful sites in all of Europe. Camp Moria was originally built to handle 2,330 refugees. But currently it is home to 6,489.
How Social Media Is Leveling the Playing Field Between Governments, Militants, and Ordinary People
Murtaza Hussain
DECADES BEFORE SMARTPHONES, the internet, and social media, the philosopher Marshall McLuhan, who worked on media theory, predicted a future world war fought using information. While World War I and World War II were waged using armies and mobilized economies, “World War III [will be] a guerrilla information war with no division between military and civilian participation,” McLuhan said, a prophecy included in his 1970 book of reflections, “Culture Is Our Business.”
McLuhan’s prediction may have felt outlandish in his own era, but it seems very close to our present-day reality. Decades ago, the barriers to entry for broadcasting and publishing were so high that only established institutions could meaningfully engage in news dissemination. But over the past 10 to 15 years, ordinary individuals have been radically empowered with the ability to record, publish, and broadcast information to millions around the world, at minimal cost.
China explosion: Ningbo port city rocked by major blast
At least two people have been killed and dozens more injured in an explosion in the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo, local officials say.
The blast is said to have occurred at a factory at about 09:00 (01:00 GMT) in the city's Jiangbei District, causing some nearby buildings to collapse.
State media reported that at least 30 people had been taken to local hospitals amid rescue operations.
Footage showed rescuers carrying people away from an area surrounded by debris.
Industrial accidents are common in China, and have prompted growing calls for better safety standards.
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