Global News

The resolution calling for an end to excessive surveillance is picking up support in the UN, with the Human Rights Committee adopting the German and Brazilian-drafted resolution by consensus.

The Scottish Government says that independence will create a richer, fairer, and nuclear-free nation that would keep the British pound, the queen, and its membership cards in the European Union and NATO.  Critics say that’s poppycock.

Americans back the diplomatic deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program – We could tell you that Japan is a step closer to enacting an official secrets act, but it’s classified – A devastating report shows AIDS increasing in youngsters in South Africa, but a bright spot offers hope – Two US television personalities pay the price for scandal.

Anywhere from ten to 30 Haitian migrants are feared drowned and some 110 were rescued from the waters off the Bahamas, clinging to the hull of a capsized freighter.  It is believed they were heading to the United States.

Pope Francis positioned himself at odds with the sort of capitalism that has ruled the day, especially in our Anglophone countries since way back in the days when Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher swung to the right.  In his first major writing, the Pope attacked capitalism as a form of tyranny.

The US showed Beijing what it thinks of China’s newly-declared Air Defense Zone over the East China Sea – two unarmed American B-52 bombers took off from Guam and flew right through the zone in defiance of new Chinese air defense rules

An investigation fails to make sense of the worst kind of senseless violence – A former Prime Minister goes on a hunger strike as her supporters fill the capital’s streets – More diplomatic embarrassment come from new revelations from the Snowden Docs.

Pope Francis welcomed Russian President Valdimir Putin to the Vatican for a 35-minute audience.  Although some looked to it as a possible beginning to thawing relations between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, there was no announcement of any break throughs, nor did Putin reciprocate and invite the Pope to Russia.

After getting Iran to agree to a deal that curbs its nuclear programs, some of the major world powers that accomplished that are turning to a new task:  Getting Israel to quit griping and get on the program.

After months of trying to get both sides to the table, the Syrian government and Rebels have agreed to peace talks.  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon promptly announced that the talks would take place in Geneva and commence on 22 January.

Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra invoked a special security law after protesters stormed key ministries in a bid to topple the government.  The Internal Security Act enables officials to impose curfews and seal roads in and around the tense capital Bangkok.

At least nine people were killed and 49 wounded in clashes between Islamist militants and Libyan government troops in Benghazi.  Witnesses say the gunfire lasted for hours.

Japan and China edge closer to confrontation over Beijing’s unprecedented claims in the East China Sea – Candidates are disputing the outcome of the Guatemalan presidential election – And a disturbing new report reveals the truth about “collateral damage” in the Syrian Civil War.

Afghan elders tribal elders voted to endorse a crucial security deal that would enable American troops to operate in the country beyond next year.  And then President Hamid Karzai threw the whole thing up in the air by refusing to say whether he would sign it into law.

Oil prices fell in Asian markets following the deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the removal of economic sanctions.  Iran has the world’s fourth largest oil reserves, and the market is looking ahead to six months from now, when Iran will be allowed to increase production.

Ukraine’s decision to suddenly call off talks with Europe over deep political and economic links in favor of renewing ties Russia has roiled thousands with unpleasant memories of Moscow’s influence in their country.

Swiss voters decisively rejected imposing strict limits on how much corporate executives could be paid in relation to their lowest paid workers.  The fact that it got as far as a referendum in business-friendly Switzerland illustrates rising popular resentment toward corporate excess.

Anti-Austerity protests in Spain didn’t just go on for a second day, they got bigger.  And it coincided with a Border Police strike on the other side of the border in Portugal that caused all sorts of travel delays on the Iberian Peninsula and will likely continue into at least another day.

The big powers reach a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program – China decides to take possession of a vast swath of territory south of Japan – The Supermarket collapse that killed dozens in Latvia might be a murder investigation – And shark warnings are out in WA after a deadly attack.

The death toll from a supermarket roof collapse skyrockets – An oil pipeline ruptures beneath a major city, sending cars, trucks, and huge slabs of blacktop flying – And crack-smoking Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s antics costs his city a potential gold mine.