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photo: White House / Tia Dufour
Trump pardons military officers convicted of war crimes
Dawn 17 Nov 2019
WASHINGTON. US President Donald Trump has granted full pardons to two American military officials and restored the rank of a third – although all three were found guilty of committing war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq ... One of the pardoned Army officers is First Lt ... The other pardoned Army officer is Maj ... He was charged with premeditated murder ... ....
photo: AP / Orestis Panagiotou/Pool via AP
Europe is squeezed between a hungry China and surly US
The Guardian 16 Nov 2019
The idea of Xi Jinping as a modern-day Odysseus seems a little far-fetched ... It was a classical, even epic, piece of opportunism ... .......
photo: NASA / AIA
Long-standing conundrum on the Sun’s atmosphere solved
The Hindu 16 Nov 2019
The Sun is one of the most familiar celestial objects – it is on the sky everyday. Yet, it harbours many a puzzle for the solar physicist. One of the puzzles concerns its surface and atmospheric temperature. An international team of researchers including one at Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, has had a go at this question ... Frequent images....
photo: Creative Commons / Studio Incendo
Hong Kong: Chinese troops deployed to help clear roadblocks
The Observer 17 Nov 2019
Chinese troops in Hong Kong have been deployed to help clear roads blockaded by anti-government protesters in a controversial move that could escalate the already high tensions in the Chinese territory ... Joining a group of residents, they moved desks, signposts, and bricks blocking a road ... RTHK English News (@rthk_enews) ... ....
photo: Creative Commons / Josef Šrámek ml.
30 years after the Velvet Revolution, the Czechs are back on the streets
CNN 16 Nov 2019
(CNN)For many Czechs, Sunday's anniversary of the Velvet Revolution will be a bittersweet moment. Nearly three decades after the collapse of the Communist regime, people will mark a dramatic moment in history amid allegations, confirmed by a court decision, that their prime minister collaborated with the StB, the Communist-era secret police ... ....
photo: AP / Photo
Protests Grip Major Iran Cities Over Gas Prices; 1 Killed
Voa News 17 Nov 2019
Protesters angered by Iran raising government-set gasoline prices by 50% blocked traffic in major cities and occasionally clashed with police Saturday after a night of demonstrations punctuated by gunfire, in violence that reportedly killed at least one person ... That’s 13 cents a liter, or about 50 cents a gallon ... 15, 2019 ... Protests turn violent ... ....
photo: Creative Commons / rachel CALAMUSA
Cortical arousals can assist in healthy sleep
Deccan Chronicle 16 Nov 2019
Washington. A new research on rats has shown that cortical arousals and brief awakenings during sleep exhibit non-equilibrium dynamics and complex organisation across time scales, which are necessary for spontaneous sleep-stage transitions and for maintaining healthy sleep ... .......
photo: US Army / Edward N. Johnson
North Korea says US proposals for talks on denuclearisation were a ‘trick’
The Independent 16 Nov 2019
North Korea has said that the United States had proposed resuming talks on denuclearisation in December, but warned that Pyongyang was not interested unless Washington was ready to meet its terms. And a top envoy said he believed the proposal was merely “a trick to earn time.” ... Download the new Indpendent Premium app ... Show all 8 ... 1/8 France ... ....
photo: AP / Luca Bruno
St. Mark’s Square reopens in Venice, but water remains high
Las Vegas Sun 16 Nov 2019
VENICE, Italy — Tourists and residents were allowed back into St. Mark’s Square in Venice on Saturday, a day after it was closed due to exceptionally high tidal waters that swept through most of the lagoon city’s already devastated center ... The city was struck Tuesday by devastating floods, the worst in decades. Water rose up again in St ... Mark’s Square....
photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb
Iran Uses Terrorist Groups To Target Great Ally "Israel": Mike Pompeo
NDTV 17 Nov 2019
US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo on Saturday (local time) accused Iran of using its terrorist proxies to target Israel ... ....
photo: White House / Joyce N. Boghosian
A day that underscored the corruption swamping the Trump presidency
CNN 16 Nov 2019
(CNN)A fateful convergence of events Friday reflected a culture of corruption and intimidation endemic to the circle of a President who vowed to drain the swamp but instead became its incarnation ... "What continues to amaze me is that they found Americans willing to partner with them." ... Read More ... "Truth matters ... truth still matters." ... ....
photo: GFDL / Raganesh
Abu Dhabi bond offerings to use private cash to tackle social ills
The National 17 Nov 2019
Abu Dhabi is to launch an innovative new plan to use private sector finance to tackle complex social problems. In a first for the Middle East, ‘social impact bonds’ will be offered to potential investors by government agencies ... “There are a lot of factors that make us think this will be a very successful approach here,” said Ms Al Ameemi ... Read More ... ....
photo: Creative Commons
Australian survives crocodile attack by gouging its eye
Taipei Times 16 Nov 2019
An Australian wildlife ranger has recounted his terrifying escape last week from the clutches of a “particularly cunning” crocodile, after wrestling with the reptile and sticking a finger in its eye ... Dickmann said the animal latched on to his thigh. “That noise will haunt me forever I think, the sound of the snap of its jaws,” he said. ‘BULLET-PROOF’....
photo: Creative Commons / Vitaly V. Kuzmin http://vitalykuzmin.net/?q=node/449
Turkey says it bought Russian S-400s to use them, not put them aside
Yahoo Daily News 16 Nov 2019
President Donald Trump ... officials would aim to tackle the issue. He also said that no Russian personnel would come to Turkey to operate the S-400s ... (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Catherine Evans). ....
photo: AP / Eranga Jayawardena
Sri Lanka presidential election: Rajapaksa claims victory as count continues
The Observer 17 Nov 2019
Sri Lanka’s former wartime defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared himself the winner of a tightly fought presidential election, after early results indicated he was ahead ... The first flurry of results showed Rajapaksa, 70, the candidate for the SLPP, the Sinhalese-Buddhist nationalist party, leading with 48.2% of the vote ... Read more ... ....
