Monday, April 30, 2012

My Way News - Fresh attacks target symbols of Syrian state power
My Way News reports: "In fresh attacks on symbols of state power, twin suicide bombs exploded Monday near a government security compound in northern Syria and rockets struck the central bank in Damascus, killing nine people and wounding 100. The regime and the opposition traded blame, accusing each other of dooming a United Nations plan to calm violence that has largely failed so far."

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

AFP - Global famine if India, Pakistan unleash nukes: study
AFP reports: "More than a billion people worldwide could starve if India and Pakistan unleash nuclear weapons because even a 'limited' nuclear war would cause major climate disruptions, a study warned. In addition to clouds of radiation which could contaminate farmland far from the center of the blasts, the study found soot released into the atmosphere would devastate crop yields by cooling global temperatures and reducing rainfall worldwide."
My Way News - Pakistan tests missile days after India's launch
My Way News reports: "Pakistan successfully launched an upgraded ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead Wednesday, days after its neighbor and archenemy India conducted its own missile test  [...] Pakistan and India have fought three major wars since they achieved independence from the British Empire in 1947 [...] India's latest test, however, was conducted with an eye toward its eastern neighbor, China, rather than its western neighbor, Pakistan."
My Way News - Israeli leaders mixed on Iran sanctions:
My Way News reports: "Maj. Gen. Benny Gantz told the Haaretz daily that he believes that diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions, along with Israel's determination to strike if necessary, will deter Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons [...] At the same time, he warned that Israel is moving forward with its preparations to take military action if necessary."
My Way News - Israel marks 64 years of independence
My Way News reports: "Israelis celebrated their country's 64th anniversary Wednesday with fireworks and military processions at a national ceremony in Jerusalem. The festivities came immediately after Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of militant attacks, an annual ritual of twinning grief with elation and pointing out the link between the two."
My Way News - France raises prospect of military action in Syria
My Way News reports: "France raised the prospect of military intervention in Syria on Wednesday, saying the U.N. should consider harsher measures if an international peace plan that has been shaken by violence ultimately collapses."
My Way News - Study: Antarctic ice melting from warm water below
My Way News reports: "Antarctica's massive ice shelves are shrinking because they are being eaten away from below by warm water, a new study finds. That suggests that future sea levels could rise faster than many scientists have been predicting."

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

VOA - The Death Of Cash
The Voice of America reports: "Think for a moment: in a world where every monetary transfer is logged and recorded and stored in the cloud, anonymity disappears. Every thing you buy or sell, from a car to a gallon of milk, will be marked and recorded. And critics worry that same system that logs and records your every financial move could also, potentially, have the power to block them all."  

Comment: This is an interesting article about money and asks if we are headed towards a cashless society.

Monday, April 23, 2012

My Way News - Explosion, fireball reported in Nevada, California
My Way News reports: "The sound of the explosion around 8 a.m. prompted a flood of calls to law enforcement agencies on both sides of the Sierra Nevada in the two states. The explosion rattled windows and shook houses from Reno to Winnemucca in Nevada, and from the Sacramento to Bakersfield areas in California. Some people in the two states reported seeing a fireball streak across the sky at the same time."

Saturday, April 21, 2012

My Way News - Powerful quake strikes off eastern Indonesia
My Way News reports: "A powerful earthquake hit waters off eastern Indonesia on Saturday, sending residents and school children running into the streets in panic. There were no reports of injuries or serious damage and no tsunami warning was issued. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.6-magnitude quake hit 50 miles (83 kilometers) off Papua province. It was centered just 18 miles (30 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor."
My Way News - UN monitors visit Syria opposition stronghold
My Way News reports: "Five unarmed U.N. truce monitors toured the battered city at the heart of the Syrian uprising on foot Saturday, encountering unusually calm streets after weeks of shelling as a throng of residents clamored for foreign military help to oust President Bashar Assad [...] the U.N. Security Council voted Saturday to expand the mission to 300 members in hopes of salvaging an international peace plan marred by continued fighting between the military and opposition rebels [...] Russia and China have shielded their ally Syria against Security Council condemnation, Western powers oppose military intervention and Gulf country have failed to keep promises of funding rebels."
My Way News - Israel: Sinai militants plan attack on tourists
My Way News reports: "Israel's government is telling its citizens to immediately leave Egypt's Sinai desert peninsula, citing warnings of planned attacks against them. Spokesman Ofir Gendelman said Saturday that the country has 'concrete information' that militants intend to attack Israeli tourists in coming days."

Video Recap of News of Unusual Events

Friday, April 20, 2012

My Way News - Vietnam asks WHO to help identify killer disease
My Way News reports: "Vietnam has asked international health experts to help investigate a mystery illness that has killed 19 people and sickened 171 others in an impoverished district in central Vietnam, an official said Friday. The infection has mostly affected children and young people. It begins with a high fever, loss of appetite and a rash that covers the hands and feet. Patients who are not treated early can develop liver problems and eventually face multi-organ failure [...]Nearly 100 people remain hospitalized, including 10 in critical condition."

Thursday, April 19, 2012

My Way News - Clinton urges tougher UN pressure on Syria
My Way News reports: "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Thursday for the U.N. Security Council to adopt an arms embargo and other tough measures against Syria to try to halt 13 months of bloodshed, but she acknowledged such diplomatic actions would likely be vetoed."
My Way News - CDC: 2011 was worst measles year in US in 15 years
My Way News reports: "Last year was the worst year for measles in the U.S. in 15 years, health officials said Thursday. There were 222 cases of measles, a large jump from the 60 or so seen in a typical year. Most of the cases last year were imported - either by foreign visitors or by U.S. residents who picked up the virus overseas."

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

My Way News - China, Russia plan naval exercises in Yellow Sea
My Way News reports: "State media say China and Russia will conduct a joint maritime drill next week in the Yellow Sea off China's eastern coast [...] China and Russia have conducted several joint military exercises since 2005 within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The group includes several Central Asian countries and aims to promote regional cooperation and check U.S. influence."

Comment: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is a group worth keeping an eye on because of the countries that are in it and because of the countries that lead it.
My Way News - India tests nuke-capable missile able to hit China
My Way News reports: "India announced Thursday that it had successfully test launched a new nuclear-capable missile that would give it, for the first time, the capability of striking the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai."

My Way News - N. Korea's rocket display shows lack of progress
My Way News reports: "Analysts sifting through information on North Korea's failed rocket launch say Pyongyang appears to have learned little about spaceflight since its last flubbed attempt three years ago, and that the country is a long way from being able to threaten the United States with a long-range missile."
CSMonitor.com - Famine relief in Somalia: a view from Mogadishu
The Christian Science Monitor reports: "The Famine Early Warning Network warned last week that the current rainy season in the eastern Horn of Africa will not be adequate to prevent food insecurity in the region still recovering for last year’s devastating famine. Learning lessons from what did and did not work in the 2011 famine relief efforts in Somalia is thus a matter of urgent and immediate concern. A new field dispatch by the Enough Project illustrates how, on the most local level, deficiencies of the relief effort played out, based on research conducted in the Somali capital of Mogadishu."

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

My Way News - Barak says Israel never ruled out attacking Iran
My Way News reports: "Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday his country has never promised the United States it would hold off from attacking Iran while nuclear talks were taking place."

My Way News - Ahmadinejad warns against aggression on Iran
My Way News reports: "Iran's armed forces will make its enemies regret any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned on Tuesday as Iranians marked National Army Day with a military parade near the capital Tehran."

Monday, April 16, 2012

My Way News - Kabul attack could spark US-Pakistan tension
My Way News reports: "A brazen, 18-hour attack allegedly carried out by Pakistan-based militants on targets in the Afghan capital, including the U.S. Embassy, could spark fresh tension between Washington and Islamabad just as they seemed to be patching up their vital but troubled relationship."
My Way News - As ice cap melts, militaries vie for Arctic edge
My Way News reports: "To the world's military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over. They are preparing for a new kind of Cold War in the Arctic, anticipating that rising temperatures there will open up a treasure trove of resources, long-dreamed-of sea lanes and a slew of potential conflicts. By Arctic standards, the region is already buzzing with military activity, and experts believe that will increase significantly in the years ahead."

Saturday, April 14, 2012

My Way News - UN votes to send Syria monitors amid shaky truce
My Way News reports: "The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to dispatch a first team of monitors to Syria to shore up a brittle cease-fire as escalating fighting between regime and rebel forces threatened the truce at the heart of special envoy Kofi Annan's peace plan."
My Way News - Diplomats: Iran nuke talks show progress
My Way News reports: "Nuclear negotiators for Iran and six world powers were making encouraging progress in bridging differences that have doomed previous meetings meant to reduce fears over Tehran's atomic program, diplomats close to the talks said."

Comment: The diplomats are saying there has been progress but I just don't see it. I think if there is a meeting to discuss issues and they conclude the meeting by agreeing to meet again and continue talking, that's what diplomats consider to be progress. I think the world is looking for something more substantive to come out of these talks, and that didn't happen.

Friday, April 13, 2012

My Way News - Nuclear test could be North Korea's next step
My Way News reports: "North Korea's missile and nuclear programs are tightly interwoven. It wants to develop a missile that can reach the United States and a nuclear warhead small enough to mount on a missile - something another nuclear test could help it do. The combination would make the U.S. think twice before getting involved should any fighting break out between the two Koreas, which technically remain at war."
My Way News - Earthquake shakes southern Mexico
My Way News reports: "A magnitude-5.4 earthquake shook southern Mexico early Friday morning, causing no reported damage but swaying tall buildings in the capital of Mexico City about 230 miles away. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake's epicenter was located about 6 miles (11 kilometers) off Mexico's Pacific Coast near the town of Pinotepa Nacional in southern Oaxaca state at 5:10 a.m. local time. A magnitude-5.3 aftershock followed about three hours later."

CNN - Sumatra quake reveals new seismic information
CNN reports: "The undersea earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Wednesday was the largest earthquake of its type ever recorded and has increased the risk of more powerful quakes in the region, a leading expert has said."

Thursday, April 12, 2012

My Way News - Palestinians spurn Netanyahu call to resume talks
My Way News reports: "The Palestinians on Thursday spurned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's latest invitation to resume peace talks, insisting the Israelis freeze settlement construction first. Netanyahu on Wednesday proposed to start direct talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, without any preconditions. The call followed an appeal from international mediators."
My Way News - NKorea says satellite 'failed to enter into orbit'
My Way News reports: "North Korea's much-anticipated rocket launch ended quickly in an embarrassing failure early Friday, splintering into pieces over the Yellow Sea soon after takeoff [...] World leaders were swift to denounce the launch, calling it a covert test of missile technology and a flagrant violation of international resolutions prohibiting North Korea from developing its nuclear and missile programs."

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

My Way News - Panic but no tsunami from strong Indonesia quakes
My Way News reports: "The U.S. Geological Survey said the first 8.6-magnitude quake was a shallow 14 miles (22 kilometers), striking in the sea 270 miles (435 kilometers) off Aceh's coast - making it the sixth-largest temblor in the last half-century. Just as the region was sighing relief, an 8.2-magnitude aftershock followed, again causing only slight damage."
My Way News - World waits as NKorea readies rocket for launch
My Way News reports: "Fighter jets roared through the skies over downtown Pyongyang on Thursday as the world watched to see whether North Korea would defy international warnings and launch a long-range rocket over the Yellow Sea [...] The United States, Japan, Britain and others say the launch would constitute a provocation and would violate U.N. Security Council resolutions banning North Korea from developing its nuclear and missile programs."

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

My Way News - Syria defies cease-fire plan as peace hopes fade
My Way News reports: "Syrian troops defied a U.N.-brokered cease-fire plan on Tuesday, launching fresh attacks on rebellious areas, but special envoy Kofi Annan said there was still time to salvage a truce that he described as the only chance for peace [...] Russia and China had blocked strong action by the U.N. Security Council, giving Assad a significant layer of protection as his crackdown continues."
My Way News - China calls for flexibility in Iran nuclear talks
My Way News reports: "China on Tuesday urged Iran and the world powers involved in upcoming negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program to demonstrate flexibility and patience, saying it will help establish trust needed to resolve the issue peacefully."

Monday, April 09, 2012

Yahoo! News - Rocket in position at launch pad in North Korea
Yahoo News reports: "North Korean space officials have moved all three stages of a long-range rocket into position for a controversial launch, vowing to push ahead with their plan in defiance of international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity [...] The U.S., Japan, Britain and other nations have urged North Korea to cancel the launch, warning that firing the long-range rocket would violate U.N. resolutions and North Korea's promise to refrain from engaging in nuclear and missile activity."
Yahoo! News - Syria fires over borders with Lebanon, Turkey
Yahoo! News reports: "Syrian forces opened fire across two tense borders Monday, killing a TV journalist in Lebanon and at least two people in a refugee camp in Turkey on the eve of a deadline for a cease-fire plan that seems all but certain to fail. Across Syria, activists reported particularly heavy violence with more than 125 people killed in the past two days."
My Way News - Russia criticism of Assad hints at calculus change
My Way News reports: "Russia appears to have concluded things are destined to change in Syria, some experts said [...] Syria is Russia's last ally in the Middle East, offering Moscow its only naval base outside the former Soviet Union and a stable market for Russian weapons industries, and in the past months Russia, along with China, has twice shielded Damascus from U.N. sanctions."
My Way News - Start of 2012, March shatter US heat records
My Way News reports: "The magnitude of how unusual the year has been in the U.S. has alarmed some meteorologists who have warned about global warming. One climate scientist said it is the weather equivalent of a baseball player on steroids, with old records obliterated [...] extremes that are supposed to get more frequent because of man-made climate change."

My Way News - Mumbai, Miami on list for big weather disasters
My Way News reports: "Global warming is leading to such severe storms, droughts and heat waves that nations should prepare for an unprecedented onslaught of deadly and costly weather disasters, an international panel of climate scientists said in a new report issued Wednesday [...] climate scientists forecasts stronger tropical cyclones and more frequent heat waves, deluges and droughts."
My Way News - Panel backs sharing studies of lab-made bird flu
My Way News reports: "The U.S. government's biosecurity advisers said Friday they support publishing research studies showing how scientists made new easy-to-spread forms of bird flu because the studies, now revised, don't reveal details bioterrorists could use [...] The virus so far doesn't spread easily among people. But the new lab-made viruses spread easily among ferrets, suggesting they would also spread among humans."