NORTH KOREA SNUBS PEACE TALKS WITH SOUTH KOREA
16 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: BBC) -North Korea has rejected any further talks with South Korea, calling its decision “completely the fault of South Korea’s actions”. It issued a statement in response to a speech by South Korea President Moon Jae-in on Thursday. Meanwhile, early on Friday North Korea test-fired two missiles into the sea off…
HONG KONG READIES FOR MORE PROTESTS
15 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: REUTERS) – Hong Kong braced on Thursday for more mass demonstrations through the weekend, with the weeks-long crisis escalating after pro-democracy protests forced the cancellation of nearly 1,000 flights this week and world leaders urging calm. China reiterated on Wednesday that Hong Kong’s protest resembled terrorism and more street clashes followed…
UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT OFFERS CITIZENSHIP TO RUSSIAN POLITICAL REFUGEES
14 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: REUTERS) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree on Tuesday offering citizenship to Russians suffering political persecution, and also to foreigners who fought on Kiev’s side in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Zelenskiy had announced such a move last month in response to a Russian decree expanding the number of…
SURGE IN ARRESTS OF FOREIGN TEACHERS IN CHINA
13 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: REUTERS) –Arrests and deportations of foreign teachers in China have soared this year, lawyers, schools and teachers say, amid a broad crackdown defined by new police tactics and Beijing’s push for a “cleaner”, more patriotic education system. Four law firms told Reuters that requests for representation involving foreign teachers had surged…
NORTH KOREA BOOSTS KIM’S RISING STATUS AS GLOBAL STATESMAN
12 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: AP) -There’s no question that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in full control of his nation. But a recent change to how he’s being formally described in the North Korean Constitution may allow him even more diplomatic leverage as he steps with increasing confidence onto the world stage for…
EBOLA CRISIS ‘ACCELERATING’
08 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: INDEPENDENT) -More than 500 children have died from the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to Save the Children. The charity says the number of deaths has accelerated in the last six months. Just under 100 children are thought to have died from contracting Ebola in the six months following…
US INTENDS TO PREVENT TURKEY INVASION INTO SYRIA
07 AUGUST 2019 ( SOURCE: AP) -U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday that the U.S. intends to prevent any unilateral invasion by Turkey into northern Syria, saying any such move by the Turks would be unacceptable. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened an imminent attack in the northeast to push back U.S.-allied Syrian…
UNREST FEARED AFTER INDIA REVOKES KASHMIR’S SPECIAL STATUS
06 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: AP) -India’s Hindu nationalist-led government moved Monday to revoke the special status of Muslim-majority Kashmir, cutting off communications and deploying thousands of troops in the restive Himalayan region amid fears the action could lead to uprisings there. Home Minister Amit Shah announced the revocation amid an uproar by opposition lawmakers in…
SAUDI ARABIA EXTENDS NEW RIGHTS TO WOMEN
05 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: NYTIMES) -Some Saudi women joked about rushing to the airport — alone. Others breathed a sigh of relief that the men in their lives — whether fathers, brothers or husbands — could no longer dictate their movements. Social media crackled with ecstatic posts: memes of women praising the crown prince and…
LANDMARK US-RUSSIA ARMS CONTROL TREATY IS DEAD
02 AUGUST 2019 (SOURCE: AP) -A landmark arms control treaty that President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed three decades ago is dead, prompting fears of a new global arms race. The United States and Russia both walked away from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty on Friday. If they choose not to extend…