SINGAPORE — Sunny prides herself on being a law-abiding Singaporean citizen, but for the last three years, she's been hiding a feline fugitive called Mooncake. The fluffy ragdoll lives with Sunny in defiance of a 34-year-old law banning cats in the government-built apartments that house the vast majority of Singaporeans. Luckily for Mooncake, Singapore plans to scrap the ban later this year, freeing Sunny from the threat of a $3,007 fine or her pet's potential eviction. "Cats are so much quieter than dogs. Читать дальше...
Former U.S. National Intelligence Manager for Iran Norman Roule on U.S. and Britain toughening their responses to attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Red Sea shipping. Check Point Software Technologies’ Gil Messing on last month’s escalation in cyber attacks on infrastructure in Iran and Israel with each side blaming the other. Independent environmental journalist Sanam Mahoozi on how December’s dangerous air pollution levels in Iran’s big cities affect health, livelihoods of Iranians.
Washington — Regional experts believe China's recent efforts to mediate between the Myanmar junta and ethnic rebels on its northern border are motivated mainly by self-interest but unlikely to have a significant impact on the conflict. China's goals in convening the peace talk between the military and the Three Brotherhood Alliance, conducted most recently in Kunming on December 20, is two-fold, according to the experts: to eliminate cyberfraud operations victimizing Chinese citizens and to stabilize trade across the China-Myanmar border. Читать дальше...
new york — Federal authorities are accusing U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of introducing a member of the Qatari royal family to a New Jersey businessman seeking investments in a real estate project, an indictment said Tuesday. The indictment against the New Jersey Democrat in Manhattan federal court did not identify the member of the Qatari royal family, but it said the individual was a principal of the Qatari Investment Company. The indictment said the Qatari investor negotiated a multimillion-dollar... Читать дальше...
Freetown, Sierra Leone — Sierra Leone on Tuesday charged 12 people with treason and other offenses for their roles in what authorities have called an attempted coup on November 26, a news release said. One of those charged was Amadu Koita, whom the government has said was one of the organizers of the coup attempt. A former soldier and bodyguard of former President Ernest Bai Koroma, Koita was widely followed on social media networks where he criticized the government of current President Julius Maada Bio. Читать дальше...
MBARARA, UGANDA — At least once a week, Girino Ndyanabo's family converges around a pit in which bananas have been left to ripen. The bananas are peeled and thrown into a wooden vat carved like a boat, and the patriarch steps in with bare feet. The sweet juice he presses out is filtered and sprinkled with grains of sorghum, which converts the juice into ethanol and left to ferment for up to a day. The result is a beverage Ugandans call tonto, or tontomera, a word in the Luganda language that alludes to drinkers' poor coordination. Читать дальше...
Dakar, Senegal — Separatist Tuareg forces on Tuesday rejected the idea of a direct inter-Malian dialogue for peace and reconciliation put forward by the country's military rulers, after months of hostilities between rebels and the army. Fighting between the separatists and Mali government troops broke out again in August after eight years of calm as both sides scrambled to fill the vacuum left by the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers. During his New Year's address on Sunday, Mali's military ruler... Читать дальше...
