Chinese court sentences six to death for Xinjiang riots
A Chinese court has handed down death sentences to six men for their involvement in a riot in the far northwestern region of Xinjiang, in the first cases directly related to the deadly July riots in Xinjiang. Violence sparked by the rioting left nearly 200 people dead and more than 1,600 others injured. The six men had been […]
Second stone circle found one mile from Stonehenge
Archaeologists have revealed that evidence of a second stone circle has been found near the site of Stonehenge in the United Kingdom. It is thought the smaller circle was built around the same time, making it 5,000 years old.Only chips remain of the 27 stones that made up the site, which was built from spotted dolerite rocks...
Iran Proposes Nuclear Talks with US
by Dafna Linzer in ProPublicaThe Iranian government has told the Obama administration and its Western allies that it is ready to hold "comprehensive, all-encompassing and constructive" negotiations on a range of security issues, including global nuclear disarmament.But the new proposal is silent on Iran's own nuclear program....
Who profits from Israeli occupation?
Boycotted by activists, the Israeli company AHAVA is backed by one of Israel’s most powerful families. After the Israeli attack on Gaza earlier this year, the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Campaign (BDS Movement) escalated all around the world. Now, activists are targeting AHAVA, an Israeli cosmetics company founded by and based in an Israeli […]
Uighur Nationalism, Turkey, and the CIA
Much was made in the news, earlier this month, of the series of violent clashes that erupted between Uighurs, a Turkic, and predominantly Muslim, minority ethnic group in China, the Chinese state police, and Han Chinese residents in the the province of Xinjiang, in northwestern China. But the media’s recent attention to the matter should […]
Workers at English Wind Turbine Plant Stage Occupation
About 30 workers at the Vestas wind turbine plant in Newport, Isle of Wight, England have occupied their factory in protest against the upcoming closure of the plant. The factory, the main site for the manufacture of turbines for wind power in the United Kingdom, is scheduled to close at the end of July, bringing […]
Obama Admin Steps Up Defense of Stimulus
On Wednesday, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood delivered his rebuttal to growing Republican criticism over the stimulus before an audience at the Center for National Policy. “LaHood described the $787 billion stimulus package as ‘the most sweeping, complex and ambitious domestic aid package we have enacted in generations’...
'Monster' Fish Killed in Swiss Lake After Biting Swimmers
A 70 centimeter (27.6 in) Zander on Lake Maggiore, Switzerland was killed by police divers after it attacked several swimmers over the weekend. The fish weighed eight kilograms, or 17.5 pounds.The fish bit six bathers, two of whom required emergency medical treatment for bite wounds up to 10 centimeters (3.9 in) long. Fish...
New Words Added to Webster's Dictionary
Merriam–Webster announced that it has added over a hundred new words to the pages of its Collegiate Dictionary. Notable among these additions include: webisode, a television episode viewed from the web; staycation, a vacation that occurs near one’s home; and vlog, a form of blog that features videos. Two recurring themes among the new words […]
Iran Warns West About Meddling While Clerics Opine
On Monday, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, warned foreign governments against meddling in internal Iranian affairs following the Iranian presidential election and the subsequent unrest since June 12, 2009. “Some leaders of Western countries at the level of president, prime minister and foreign minister openly intervened in Iran’s internal affairs that had nothing […]
