January 13, 2020
Two new flags will be flying high at the Olympic Games in Rio.
For the first time, South Sudan and Kosovo have been recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Kosovo, which was a province of the former Yugoslavia, will have 8 athletes competing; and a good shot for a medal in women's judo: Majlinda Kelmendi is considered a favorite. She's ranked first in the world in her weight class.
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(South Sudan's James Chiengjiek, Yiech Biel & coach Joe Domongole, © AFP) South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, will have three runners competing in the country's first Olympic Games.
When Will Chile's Post Office's Re-open?
(PHOTO: Workers set up camp at Santiago's Rio Mapocho/Mason Bryan, The Santiago Times)Chile nears 1 month without mail service as postal worker protests continue. This week local branches of the 5 unions representing Correos de Chile voted on whether to continue their strike into a 2nd month, rejecting the union's offer. For a week the workers have set up camp on the banks of Santiago's Río Mapocho displaying banners outlining their demands; framing the issue as a division of the rich & the poor. The strike’s main slogan? “Si tocan a uno, nos tocan a todos,” it reads - if it affects 1 of us, it affects all of us. (Read more at The Santiago Times)
WHO convenes emergency talks on MERS virus
(PHOTO: Saudi men walk to the King Fahad hospital in the city of Hofuf, east of the capital Riyadh on June 16, 2013/Fayez Nureldine)The World Health Organization announced Friday it had convened emergency talks on the enigmatic, deadly MERS virus, which is striking hardest in Saudi Arabia. The move comes amid concern about the potential impact of October's Islamic hajj pilgrimage, when millions of people from around the globe will head to & from Saudi Arabia. WHO health security chief Keiji Fukuda said the MERS meeting would take place Tuesday as a telephone conference & he told reporters it was a "proactive move". The meeting could decide whether to label MERS an international health emergency, he added. The first recorded MERS death was in June 2012 in Saudi Arabia & the number of infections has ticked up, with almost 20 per month in April, May & June taking it to 79. (Read more at Xinhua)
Dreams and nightmares - Chinese leaders have come to realize the country should become a great paladin of the free market & democracy & embrace them strongly, just as the West is rejecting them because it's realizing they're backfiring. This is the "Chinese Dream" - working better than the American dream. Or is it just too fanciful? By Francesco Sisci
Baby step towards democracy in Myanmar - While the sweeping wins Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has projected in Sunday's by-elections haven't been confirmed, it is certain that the surging grassroots support on display has put Myanmar's military-backed ruling party on notice. By Brian McCartan
The South: Busy at the polls - South Korea's parliamentary polls will indicate how potent a national backlash is against President Lee Myung-bak's conservatism, perceived cronyism & pro-conglomerate policies, while offering insight into December's presidential vote. Desire for change in the macho milieu of politics in Seoul can be seen in a proliferation of female candidates. By Aidan Foster-Carter
Pakistan climbs 'wind' league - Pakistan is turning to wind power to help ease its desperate shortage of energy,& the country could soon be among the world's top 20 producers. Workers & farmers, their land taken for the turbine towers, may be the last to benefit. By Zofeen Ebrahim
Turkey cuts Iran oil imports - Turkey is to slash its Iranian oil imports as it seeks exemptions from United States penalties linked to sanctions against Tehran. Less noticed, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the Iranian capital last week, signed deals aimed at doubling trade between the two countries. By Robert M. Cutler
"CLIMATE CHANGE: EVERYWHERE"
CARTOON: Peter Broelman, Australia/BROELMAN.com.au)
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Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 10:00AM A Syrian deputy oil minister says he is resigning to join the revolt against the government. Abdo Hussameddin, 58, announced his defection in a video posted on YouTube. He is the highest level political figure to abandon the government of President Bashar al-Assad since the uprising erupted a year ago.(READ MORE at BBC)
Syria Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 10:00AM 
(PHOTO: Valerie Amos, UNOCHA Chief meets w/ Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Damascus/HAARETZ)(UPDATED) - former rebel-held district of Homs where dissidents have reported bloody reprisals by President Bashar Assad's forces. "She went in with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent to Baba Amr &stayed about 45 minutes," an International Committee of the Red Cross spokesman said. The Red Crescent team found that most residents had fled the district, where rebels had resisted a 26-day army siege until March 1, ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan said in Geneva. An ICRC convoy has been unable to enter Baba Amr since arriving in Homs on Friday, a day after the district fell. --- The UN humanitarian chief arrived in Syria to start a 3-day trip after previously being blocked access to the country. Valerie Amos visited with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem before departing for Homs where activists have accused President Bashar al-Assad's regime forces of trying to cover up evidence of a month-long military assault & alleged execution-style killings against civilians & journalists. Despite international appeals, the Syrian government still has not allowed any aid workers into the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs saying there was a `security risk'; though in recent days the International Committee of the Red Cross has been allowed some access to the war torn city. It was unclear if Amos would visit Baba Amr.
(PHOTO: ICRC & Syria Red Crescent in action in Homs, Syria/British Red Cross)Amos has said the aim of her visit is "to urge all sides to allow unhindered access for humanitarian relief workers so they can evacuate the wounded and deliver essential supplies." The trip comes as Syrian President Bashar Assad defies mounting international pressure to end the year-old crackdown on an uprising against him. The UN says more than 7,500 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began. Activists put the death toll at more than 8,000. UN/Arab League envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan will arrive for his own trip to the country on Saturday. (Read More at Haaretz)
