Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty, Nov. 8, 2013
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has criticized neighboring Saudi Arabia, accusing the Sunni Muslim kingdom of being unfriendly toward Iraq's Shi'a-led government. Maliki, a Shi'a Muslim, made the comments in a November 7 interview with Alhurra-Iraq TV in Baghdad.
By Andrew Rosati, special to the Miami Herald, Nov. 8, 2013
CARACAS -- Jim Wyss, the Miami Herald’s Andean bureau chief, was detained by Venezuelan authorities Thursday while reporting on the country’s chronic shortages and looming municipal elections. Wyss remained in custody Friday afternoon.
According to local sources, Wyss was initially detained by the National Guard then transferred to Venezuela’s counter military intelligence, Dirección General de Inteligencia Militar (Dgim), in San Cristóbal [....]
New Zealand ranks as one of the world's most peaceful countries in the Global Peace Index every year. Yet despite a strong reputation for social justice and equality, the South Pacific nation has the second highest rate of imprisonment rates in the western world.
Editor's note: Holly Morris is co-producer/director of the forthcoming documentary "The Babushkas of Chernobyl" Follow her on Twitter @Holly Morris. She spoke at TEDGlobal 2013 in June [....]
Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever observed, made landfall Friday morning in the Philippines, the country's weather service reported.
Thousands of people in vulnerable areas of the central Philippines were evacuated as the monster storm spun toward the country.
By Michael R. Gordon, New York Times, Nov. 7/8, 2013
Even as the two sides tried to finalize the agreement on Thursday, fissures have widened between the United States and some of its principal allies over the potential pact.
ndia is ranked sixth in a list of top ten countries with most billionaires but is at a much lower ninth slot in total net worth sweepstakes, a new Wealth report by WealthX and UBS titled “Billionaire Census 2013″ has shown. The country has 103 billionaires, higher than that of Hong Kong , France, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland but their aggregate net worth is just $180 billion only above Switzerland’s $128 billion of 61 billionaires. The US tops the list with 515 billionaires having an eye popping net worth of $2,064 billion.
By Joshua Levine, T Magazine @ nytimes.com, Nov. 1, 2013
In Tbilisi, Georgia, a shiny new architectural skyline has become a political issue as much as an aesthetic one — is it slapdash commercialism ruining the culture’s authentic history or a step toward a more progressive society?
By Spencer Ackerman in Washington, the guardian.com, 5 Nov., 2013
Apple has jumped into the thick of the legal fight over transparency surrounding technology giants’ sharing of customer data with the National Security Agency.
In a surprisingly caustic filing to the secretive court overseeing government surveillance, Apple argued that the US government ought to lift the gag order preventing it from informing customers about even basic information concerning data-sharing with the NSA and other agencies.
By Elise Viebeck, HealthWatch blog @ thehill.com, Nov. 5, 2013
The labor movement appears likely to dodge a key tax under ObamaCare less than two months after the White House refused to make union plans eligible for subsidies.
The Obama administration indicated last week it will propose exempting certain self-insured, self-administered insurance plans from two of the healthcare law's three-year reinsurance fees.
By Nicholas Confessore, New York Times, Nov. 4/5, 2013
Democrats and unions, fearful that a landslide victory by Gov. Chris Christie will reshape New Jersey’s political landscape, have poured tens of millions of dollars into a record-breaking outside spending campaign that has transformed the state’s election season.
LONDON — In life, Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, was Public Enemy No. 1: a ruthless figure who devoted his career to bloodshed and mayhem, whom Pakistani pundits occasionally accused of being a pawn of Indian, or even American, intelligence.
The Obama administration appears open to stepping up some assistance for Iraq as it struggles with a rash of deadly terror attacks, but opposition in Congress could present a major roadblock.
Turns out the president doesn't just like to read certain op-ed columnists, but he also often has them over to the White House to discuss and debate in long group meetings "off the record." Names are named in the article:
By Campbell Robertson and Eric Lipton, New York Times, Oct. 31/Nov. 1, 2013
MOBILE, Ala. — With only days to go before a special Republican primary runoff for Congress here in South Alabama, the national business lobby is going all in.
By Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube, NBC News, Oct. 31, 2013
Israeli military forces destroyed a cache of Russian missiles that the Syrian government was reportedly prepared to deliver to the militant group Hezbollah, U.S. officials confirmed Thursday.
The officials stressed that the surface-to-surface Russian-made missiles were under Syrian military control in a stockpile at a port near the Russian naval base at Latakia.
In Tbilisi, Georgia, a shiny new architectural skyline has become a political issue as much as an aesthetic one — is it slapdash commercialism ruining the culture’s authentic history or a step toward a more progressive society?