Six In The Morning

Kerry condemns Russia’s ‘invasion and occupation’ of Ukrainian territory

 

 By Chelsea J. Carter. Diana Magnay and Victoria Eastwood, CNN

March 2, 2014 — Updated 0429 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to be dismissing warnings from world leaders to avoid military intervention in Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, even amid growing evidence that pro-Russian forces were already in control of the region.

The rhetoric escalated Saturday night, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry condemning what he called “the Russian Federation’s invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory” despite a statement by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that no decision had been made on whether Moscow would dispatch forces.

Russia has not confirmed it deployed thousands of troops to the region following reports that armed, Russian-speaking forces wearing military unifo

Bikini Atoll nuclear test: 60 years later and islands still unliveable

 Marshall Islanders unable or unwilling to return to traditional home, scene of huge US hydrogen bomb test in 1954

Agence France-Press in Majuro

theguardian.com, Sunday 2 March 2014 03.49 GMT

The Marshall Islands are marking 60 years since the devastating US hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll, with exiled islanders saying they are too fearful to ever go back because of nuclear contamination.

Part of the intense cold war nuclear arms race, the 15-megatonne Bravo test on 1 March 1954 was a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It exposed thousands in the surrounding area to radioactive fallout.

Bikini islanders and their descendants have lived in exile since they were moved for the first weapons tests in 1946.

Egypt facing stagnation instead of change

Three years after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt is still struggling to cope with the changes. International observers have seen little improvement in the economic, political and press-freedom situation.

DW

Continuing terrorist activity in the Sinai Peninsula, high unemployment and rocketing inflation: former Egyptian prime minister, Hazem el-Beblawi, who resigned on February 24, cannot look back at a very successful term in office. He had vowed to restore security and stability, but during his seven months at the helm conditions in the country only deteriorated. He was neither able to improve the country’s economic situation nor curb the spread of politically motivated violence.

When he resigned from his post, pan-Arab newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi wrote that the move was not voluntary. According to the paper, el-Beblawi had to go because “el-Beblawi’s additional time in office would have fully eroded the political credibility of the system.” El-Beblawi could not afford to let things get out of hand, having promised improvements under his rule.

World Bank’s block of Uganda loan is ‘blackmail’

The World Bank has joined various EU countries in cutting economic ties with Uganda over its anti-gay law, blocking a $90-million loan.

 01 MAR 2014 13:52 AFP

Uganda accused the World Bank of blackmail on Friday after the lender stalled a $90-million loan over the East African nation’s adoption of a draconian anti-gay law.

“World Bank is a multi-lateral institution that should not blackmail its members, however small,” government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo said on Twitter.

The World Bank announced on Thursday that it was blocking the loan, which was intended to help Uganda strengthen its health care system.

After the Violence: Thais Go Back to Polls



NBC News

BANGKOK – Thailand was holding re-run elections Sunday in five provinces where voting was disrupted last month poll by anti-government protesters trying to unseat Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, and officials said all was going smoothly.

Dozens of gunshots and at least two explosions raised tension on the eve of the Feb. 2 general election, which was seen as incapable of restoring stability in deeply polarized Thailand whatever the result.

Protesters were gathering in central Lumpini Park in Bangkok on Sunday, where many already sleep in tents alongside boating lakes, after protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban said they would abandon other sites in the city.

Venezuela protesters urge activists’ release

 Demonstrators in Caracas call for release of dozens of activists arrested during three weeks of violent protests.

 Last updated: 02 Mar 2014 00:33

Anti-government protesters have taken to the streets of Venezuela’s capital, calling for the release of dozens of activists who have been arrested during three weeks of violent demonstrations.

Protesters from a radical opposition group formed a convoy of cars and bikes in eastern Caracas after fresh violence on Friday saw pitched battles between security forces and demonstrators.

A total of 18 people have died in the demonstrations against President Nicolas Maduro’s government, according to official figures.

Protesters on Saturday vowed to boycott Venezuela’s annual carnival celebrations as a mark of respect to the dead.