Ritambhara Rai Bhattarai, Correspondent (Asia: South) KATHMANDU — Twenty Bhutanese refugee families were transported back to their camps in Jhapa and Morang-Eastern Nepal, from Kathmandu after the third country resettlement programme was kept on hold by the U.S. government. Impact of the shutdown was felt even by the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. Refugees who could not make it to the states this month had to return to their camps. To their disappointment, their dwelling […]
Sophie Venton-Puet, Correspondent (Politics) ROME – Italy has plunged into a fresh political crisis after relations between Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta and conservative leader PM Silvio Berlusconi continue to deteriorate. In an attempt to rescue his government from collapse, Letta has launched a last-ditch effort after Berlusconi pulled his five ministers out of the five-month-old coalition on Saturday. Tensions within the coalition have risen sharply since Berlusconi was convicted of tax-fraud charges in […]
Cliona Elliott, Editor (Food) Over the past few years, coffee has been at the forefront of daytime social meetings, and I often ask friends ‘would you like to meet for coffee? But the extensive range of herbal teas that have been available for centuries deserve some recognition. Black tea, blue tea, green tea, white tea and finally infusions. It may seem complicated but ‘herbal tea’ isn’t actually classified as tea — reason being that […]
Viktor Tsvetanov, Correspondent (Europe) ATHENS – Unprecedented measures have been taken by the Greek government against the right-wing Greek political party “Golden Dawn” in a moment of social outrage after the fatal stabbing of 34-year-old Pavlos Fyssas, a prominent leftist rapper with anti-racist views on September 17th. The party leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos, four MPs and another twelve Golden Dawn members were arrested before facing court charges of belonging to a criminal organisation. Golden Dawn has […]
Mati Maravanyika, Editor (Africa) DAKAR — Aminata Toure, a human rights activist and anti-corruption campaigner has been appointed Prime Minister after President Macky Sall fired the previous government. Aminata Toure served as “justice minister in the outgoing government” and battled corruption, exposing senior officials and notably, the son of previous president Abdoulaye Wade. Additionally, Toure has led government efforts behind the trial of Hissene Habre, the previous Chadian president “accused of crimes against humanity […]
Simona Botviciute, Editor (Asia- Far East) ZAMBOANGA – Philippnine troops have continuously exchanged fire with Muslim guerrillas since a stand-off took place in Zamboanga city last Monday. At least nine people were killed and many residents have fled the area in fear of facing the violence. Commercial flights to and from the city were suspended as well as the ferry services, which left approximately 13,000 civilians seeking shelter at the Zamboanga city sports stadium. […]
Alejandro Faini, Editor (North America) WASHINGTON DC — Syria has become the main topic in the international community and hugely influential in the United States. John Kerry and the entire Obama cabinet have been pushing inside and outside of the US for an initiative to attack the Syrian army as a “punishment” for the use of Chemical Weapons, despite the different flaws and differences in the investigations lead by the US and its allies. A day […]
Sadichchha Pokharel, Correspondent (Tech) HANOI – Vietnam seems to be following China’s footsteps when it comes to censoring social media. The country has now banned internet users from discussing current affairs online. Under Decree 72, the Vietnamese government has forbidden the public from sharing news articles on blogs and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Users are only allowed to share personal information online, and publishing anything critical of the government will […]
Sophie Moss, Correspondent (Oceamia) SYDNEY — In the lead up to the closely contested federal election on September 7, the Australian government has issued an uncompromising crackdown on the number of refugees seeking asylum within Australian borders — a decision that has ignited harsh criticism from many Australian citizens. In July, Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that asylum-seekers travelling by boat to seek refuge in Australia would instead be intercepted and sent to […]
Viktor Tsvetanov, Correspondent (Europe) LONDON – Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian’s reporter who revealed mass surveillance methods by the US authorities, stated he would not cease his work with Edward Snowden after the British authorities detained his partner, David Miranda at London’s Heathrow Airport, questioned him for nearly nine hours and confiscated his electronic devices last Sunday, reports Al Jazeera. Detention as threat Greenwald stated that Miranda’s detention is a “sheer violation of press freedom […]
