A majority of 87 votes in favor did not reach the 2/3 required to condemn Hamas terrorism. A vote previously called to require a 2/3 majority was narrowly backed by 75 to 72, with 26 abstentions.
For the first time in the history of the United Nations, a record number of countries supported a General Assembly resolution condemning Hamas — but the world body still failed to pass the resolution.
United Nations, NY, Dec.6.– The resolution won a majority of 87 to 57, with 33 abstentions, but did not reach the required two-thirds backing.
Written by The Economist on .
Posted in Headlines.
Russia attacks and seizes three Ukrainian ships; seeks to landlock eastern Ukraine.
“We need to fucking fuck them up, fuck…it seems like the president is controlling all this shit,” a Russian commander tells the captain whose ship rammed a Ukrainian military tug-boat in the Kerch Strait while another used live ammunition against a Ukrainian warship (see video).
It looked more like piracy than self-defence. The Russian coastguards, part of the FSB, or security service, seized the Ukrainian ships and captured 23 sailors, wounding six of them. They took them to Crimea, a chunk of Ukraine that Russia grabbed four years ago. In 2014 Russia acted deniably, sending “little green men” in unmarked fatigues to Crimea. This time its forces acted openly, under the Russian flag.
The crisis did not emerge from out of the blue. It is the culmination of six months of growing Russian pressure on Ukraine. Having in 2004 annexed Crimea, Russia is now restricting access from Ukraine’s eastern ports to the Black Sea, and thence to the Mediterranean and the world.
Written by KTVZ Channel 21 on .
Posted in Headlines.
A quick breakdown of the process.
Tallahassee, Nov.10 (CNN).– Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner announced on Saturday that three statewide races in Florida would head to a recount.
With the margin of unofficial results in the Senate, gubernatorial and agriculture commissioner races below less than half of one percent (0.5%), a machine recount will commence.
Barring lawsuits, delays, and local issues that could lengthen the process, here's a quick breakdown of what to expect over the next week and a half.
Written by The World on Arirang on .
Posted in Headlines.
Seoul, Nov.6.– As more and more citizens around the world are taking an active part in politics, reformers are looking for ways to ensure dialogue between governments and society.
The Open Government Partnership Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting 2018 takes place in Seoul on Monday and Tuesday, with participants discussing ways to promote citizens' involvement in political decisions.
This year's OGP meeting was jointly organized by South Korea's interior and safety ministry. Some 600 participants including government officials, lawmakers, professors and citizens discussed ways to promote democracy.
Written by The Economist on .
Posted in Headlines.
Learning History: A century since Compiègne the guns fell silent
Nov. 9.– Shortly after 2am on November 11th 1918 a train came to a halt in a wood in Compiègne, near Paris. A second train pulled up on a nearby track. After four years of fighting, delegates of the German government sought an armistice from Ferdinand Foch, the commander of the French forces. Rare photos of the scene, hazy as a memory, show engine smoke twisting between the twiggy trees, makeshift boardwalks across the leaf-strewn ground and clusters of soldiers by the rails. At 5.15am the Germans signed the peace in the light of brass lamps in a teak-lined dining car. At 11am the guns fell silent along the 400km (250 mile) front, their thunder replaced by the pealing of church bells.
This peace ended a collective nightmare of hitherto unrivalled intensity and volume. The first world war was not just a grand tragedy. For the 67m who fought, it was a sordid hellscape. Few of the 10m killed in combat died from a “bullet, straight to the heart”, as pro forma telegrams to relatives put it.
resolution.
Seoul, Nov.6.– 