uawchild
uawchild's JournalSyrian opposition calls for suspension of U.S.-led air strikes
Source: Reuters
The head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition called for a suspension of the U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State in Syria while reports of dozens of civilian deaths from air strikes around the northern city of Manbij are investigated.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 56 civilians were killed in air strikes north of Manbij on Tuesday, a day after it said 21 civilians were killed in a northern district of the besieged Islamic State-held city.
SNC president Anas al-Abdah said the strikes should be halted while the incidents were investigated, according to a statement issued late on Wednesday, and warned that the killing of civilians by the U.S.-led air campaign would "prove to be a recruitment tool for terrorist organizations".
"It is essential that such investigation not only result in revised rules of procedure for future operations, but also inform accountability for those responsible for such major violations," Abdah wrote in a letter to foreign ministers of countries in the anti-Islamic State alliance. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Wednesday the U.S.-led force would look into the reports of civilian casualties around Manbij.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-airstrikes-idUSKCN1010PH
This is the Syrian opposition, the people we fund in the Syrian civil war, calling for this:
"The head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition called for a suspension of the U.S.-led air campaign against Islamic State in Syria while reports of dozens of civilian deaths from air strikes around the northern city of Manbij are investigated."
Suspension of airstrikes against ISIS while those particular civilian deaths are investigated? OK.
The problem, as usual, is that ISIS, and well lets be honest, all sides in this civil war EMBED their military forces amongst civilians. Hence the daily torrent of reports that civilians are being killed in Syria.
China vows to use market forces to boost defense capabilities
Source: Reuters
China said on Thursday it would leverage its economy to boost defense capabilities, acknowledging shortcomings with long-held aims to inject more market forces into the development of its military.
President Xi Jinping has set great store on military modernization, including developing an ocean-going "blue water" navy, stealth jets and other advanced technologies to better defend China's growing global interests.
Officials have said China needs to put more emphasis on developing its military-industrial complex to ensure powerful armed forces.
China must use the market to optimize military resource allocation and actively direct economic and social sector investment, the State Council, or cabinet, said in a directive issued by state media.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-defence-idUSKCN1011QT
More political murder in Ukraine
Prominent Journalist Killed in Car Bombing in Ukraine
Source: ABC News
MOSCOW-- Ukrainian officials are suggesting that the killing of a prominent journalist by a car bomb today in central Kiev was intended to "destabilize" the country, with some hinting that Russia may have played a role.
Pavel Sheremet died when a bomb that had apparently been placed in his car exploded as he was driving through Ukraine’s capital on his way to work, shocking the country with what is one of the most brazen killings of a reporter there in over a decade.
Sheremet, 44, was a veteran and highly respected reporter, well known as a liberal voice who was often critical of authorities in both Ukraine and Russia. In Kiev, he was a presenter on a radio network and also a reporter for a popular news site, Ukrayinskaya Pravda.
Ukrainian police have said they are investigating whether Sheremet’s murder may have been connected to his work. But officials were also quick to suggest larger motives behind the killing.
“It seems to me that this was done with one goal -- to destabilize the country,” Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko said in remarks quoted by the Interfax news agency.
...
The political atmosphere in Ukraine is fraught two years after a revolution toppled the nation's then-president and amid a smoldering civil war in the country's East, where government forces are fighting pro-Russian rebels who are backed by Moscow.
Ukrainian politicians and officials are often quick to blame events at home on Russia, which has deployed special forces in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s security forces have previously arrested men in parts other than the East whom they accused of being Russian saboteurs, including some detained for allegedly stockpiling grenades and guns.
But, among Sheremet’s colleagues, there was largely shock and bafflement over who could who had killed him or what the motive could be, with many suggesting the murder was likely connected to his professional activities.
...
Sheremet’s death follows a series of apparently politically-motivated murders in Ukraine. In April 2015, a lawmaker and a pro-Russian journalist were both shot dead in Kiev. More recently, a lawyer representing two Russian military officers captured in eastern Ukraine was found murdered after mysteriously going missing.
...
Although Sheremet was often highly critical of the Russian government, most of his recent work had focused on Ukrainian politics.
Other journalist colleagues and friends of Sheremet suggested in interviews with Ukrainian media that Belorussian authorities could have ordered the killing. Sheremet was a native of Belarus and a longtime, high-profile opponent of the regime there. He ran an opposition website, Belarus Partisan, that has posted articles critical of Belorussian president, Aleksander Lukashenko."
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/prominent-journalist-killed-car-bomb-ukraines-capital/story?id=40734613
___________________________
So, we have the corrupt Ukrainians, the corrupt Russians, the corrupt Belarus --- take your pick -- they all had possible reasons to off an investigative reporter like him.
Oscar Pistorius: Appeal over 'shockingly lenient' sentence
Source: BBC
South African prosecutors say they will appeal against Oscar Pistorius's six-year sentence for murder, calling it "shockingly too lenient".
The National Prosecuting Authority said the sentence was "disproportionate to the crime" and could bring the justice system "into disrepute".
The Olympic athlete was jailed earlier this month for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.
He admits killing her but says he mistook her for an intruder.
The 29-year-old was initially given a five-year term for manslaughter, but was found guilty of murder on appeal last December.
Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36855498
Very short article, that is its entirety.
Prominent Journalist Killed in Car Bombing in Ukraine
Source: ABC News
MOSCOW-- Ukrainian officials are suggesting that the killing of a prominent journalist by a car bomb today in central Kiev was intended to "destabilize" the country, with some hinting that Russia may have played a role.
Pavel Sheremet died when a bomb that had apparently been placed in his car exploded as he was driving through Ukraine’s capital on his way to work, shocking the country with what is one of the most brazen killings of a reporter there in over a decade.
Sheremet, 44, was a veteran and highly respected reporter, well known as a liberal voice who was often critical of authorities in both Ukraine and Russia. In Kiev, he was a presenter on a radio network and also a reporter for a popular news site, Ukrayinskaya Pravda.
Ukrainian police have said they are investigating whether Sheremet’s murder may have been connected to his work. But officials were also quick to suggest larger motives behind the killing.
“It seems to me that this was done with one goal -- to destabilize the country,” Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko said in remarks quoted by the Interfax news agency.
...
The political atmosphere in Ukraine is fraught two years after a revolution toppled the nation's then-president and amid a smoldering civil war in the country's East, where government forces are fighting pro-Russian rebels who are backed by Moscow.
Ukrainian politicians and officials are often quick to blame events at home on Russia, which has deployed special forces in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine’s security forces have previously arrested men in parts other than the East whom they accused of being Russian saboteurs, including some detained for allegedly stockpiling grenades and guns.
But, among Sheremet’s colleagues, there was largely shock and bafflement over who could who had killed him or what the motive could be, with many suggesting the murder was likely connected to his professional activities.
...
Sheremet’s death follows a series of apparently politically-motivated murders in Ukraine. In April 2015, a lawmaker and a pro-Russian journalist were both shot dead in Kiev. More recently, a lawyer representing two Russian military officers captured in eastern Ukraine was found murdered after mysteriously going missing.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/prominent-journalist-killed-car-bomb-ukraines-capital/story?id=40734613
PM May says wants to reduce migration into UK to 'tens of thousands'
Source: Reuters
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday she wanted to reduce yearly net migration into Britain to the "tens of thousands", a level she said was sustainable.
She told a news conference in Berlin that the British government had always sought to reduce migration into Britain to "sustainable" levels. "I believe those sustainable levels are in the tens of thousands," she added.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-may-migration-idUSKCN1002E3
Short article, very short -- that's its entirety.
HK election candidates must issue China pledge by law: electoral commission
Source: Reuters
Candidates in an election in Hong Kong in September must pledge that the city is an "inalienable" part of China, and anyone who advocates independence could be banned from standing, the head of the Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) said.
EAC chairman Justice Barnabas Fung Wah made his comments after the commission and the Hong Kong government drew anger by saying that candidates for the legislative council -- which includes pro-democracy and independence activists -- were required to declare in a new Confirmation Form that Hong Kong falls directly under the central government in Beijing.
The Hong Kong government also said that advocating and promoting independence was "contrary" to that declaration and could render a candidate ineligible. The EAC said anyone making a false declaration was "liable to criminal sanction".
Hong Kong is part of China but governed by separate laws under a "one country, two systems" framework agreed with Britain when it was handed back from colonial rule in 1997.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-election-china-idUSKCN1001Z6
Parents of boy killed by alligator at Disney resort will not sue
Source: Reuters
The parents of a two-year-old boy drowned by an alligator at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida last month "are broken" but will not sue over the incident, the couple said in a statement on Wednesday.
Lane Graves was playing at the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon at the Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa on June 14 when he was snatched by an alligator and dragged into the water. His parents rushed to save their child but failed to pry him free from the predator's grip, as a second alligator attacked during the rescue attempt.
Graves, whose family was vacationing from Nebraska, was found by divers a day later at the bottom of the manmade lake.
"Melissa and I are broken. We will forever struggle to comprehend why this happened to our sweet baby, Lane," parents Matt and Melissa Graves said in the statement. "As each day passes, the pain gets worse."
Despite their grief, the couple said they would focus on the development of a charitable foundation named after their son and would not file a lawsuit.
"In addition to the foundation, we will solely be focused on the future health of our family and will not be pursuing a lawsuit against Disney," the parents said.
Walt Disney Co has had more than 240 "nuisance" alligators captured and killed over the last 10 years at its theme park property in Orange County, Florida.
At the time of the attack on Graves, the resort had "No Swimming" signs that did not mention alligators. Disney has since installed signs by the lagoon warning guests of alligators and snakes.
"Danger! Alligators and snakes in area," read the new signs, which feature diagrams of the two animals. "Stay away from the water. Do not feed the wildlife."
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-alligator-child-idUSKCN100237
Britain adds Chinese militant group to terror list
Source: Reuters
Britain has listed the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as a terrorist organization, pleasing China, which had demanded Western support for its fight against a group it says seeks to split off its western region of Xinjiang.
Britain's Home Office, or interior ministry, on Friday designated ETIM, which it also called the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), as an "Islamic terrorist and separatist organization" trying to create an "independent caliphate" in Xinjiang.
The United States and the United Nations have listed ETIM as a terrorist group, though there is some discrepancy internationally over whether ETIM and TIP are the same entity as China says, and experts have questioned their cohesiveness.
Western countries have long been reluctant to share intelligence with China or otherwise cooperate when it comes to counter-terrorism in Xinjiang, saying China has provided little evidence to prove ETIM's existence and citing worries about possible human rights abuses.
The addition of ETIM to the list of proscribed organizations comes as leaders from China and Britain have proclaimed the countries are enjoying a "golden age" in relations.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-britain-security-idUSKCN1000PT
Twitter announces crackdown after online abuse of 'Ghostbusters' actor
Source: Reuters
Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) said Tuesday it had moved to permanently suspend a number of user accounts for abuse and harassment after Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones on Monday drew renewed attention to the issue and announced she would quit the social media site.
Jones retweeted and shared several abusive tweets she received Monday before telling her 250,000 followers: "I leave Twitter tonight with tears and a very sad heart. All this cause I did a movie. You can hate the movie but the shit I got today... wrong."
Among those banned Tuesday was Breitbart tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos, who has been a controversial figure on the site and helped lead the abuse against Jones. Yiannopoulos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Twitter has long come under criticism for not doing enough to police abusive behavior on the often-freewheeling messaging service. Other celebrities have taken issue with abuse on the site, including writer and actress Lena Dunham, who said in September she had hired someone to tweet on her behalf because it was no longer a "safe space" for her.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-abuse-idUSKCN1000C5
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