FEATURED PHOTOS AND STORIES

January 13, 2020

Two new flags will be flying high at the Olympic Games in Rio.

For the first time, South Sudan and Kosovo have been recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Kosovo, which was a province of the former Yugoslavia, will have 8 athletes competing; and a good shot for a medal in women's judo: Majlinda Kelmendi is considered a favorite. She's ranked first in the world in her weight class.

(South Sudan's James Chiengjiek, Yiech Biel & coach Joe Domongole, © AFP) South Sudan, which became independent in 2011, will have three runners competing in the country's first Olympic Games.

When Will Chile's Post Office's Re-open? 

(PHOTO: Workers set up camp at Santiago's Rio Mapocho/Mason Bryan, The Santiago Times)Chile nears 1 month without mail service as postal worker protests continue. This week local branches of the 5 unions representing Correos de Chile voted on whether to continue their strike into a 2nd month, rejecting the union's offer. For a week the workers have set up camp on the banks of Santiago's Río Mapocho displaying banners outlining their demands; framing the issue as a division of the rich & the poor. The strike’s main slogan? “Si tocan a uno, nos tocan a todos,” it reads - if it affects 1 of us, it affects all of us. (Read more at The Santiago Times)

WHO convenes emergency talks on MERS virus

 

(PHOTO: Saudi men walk to the King Fahad hospital in the city of Hofuf, east of the capital Riyadh on June 16, 2013/Fayez Nureldine)The World Health Organization announced Friday it had convened emergency talks on the enigmatic, deadly MERS virus, which is striking hardest in Saudi Arabia. The move comes amid concern about the potential impact of October's Islamic hajj pilgrimage, when millions of people from around the globe will head to & from Saudi Arabia.  WHO health security chief Keiji Fukuda said the MERS meeting would take place Tuesday as a telephone conference & he  told reporters it was a "proactive move".  The meeting could decide whether to label MERS an international health emergency, he added.  The first recorded MERS death was in June 2012 in Saudi Arabia & the number of infections has ticked up, with almost 20 per month in April, May & June taking it to 79.  (Read more at Xinhua)

LINKS TO OTHER STORIES

                                

Dreams and nightmares - Chinese leaders have come to realize the country should become a great paladin of the free market & democracy & embrace them strongly, just as the West is rejecting them because it's realizing they're backfiring. This is the "Chinese Dream" - working better than the American dream.  Or is it just too fanciful?  By Francesco Sisci

Baby step towards democracy in Myanmar  - While the sweeping wins Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy has projected in Sunday's by-elections haven't been confirmed, it is certain that the surging grassroots support on display has put Myanmar's military-backed ruling party on notice. By Brian McCartan

The South: Busy at the polls - South Korea's parliamentary polls will indicate how potent a national backlash is against President Lee Myung-bak's conservatism, perceived cronyism & pro-conglomerate policies, while offering insight into December's presidential vote. Desire for change in the macho milieu of politics in Seoul can be seen in a proliferation of female candidates.  By Aidan Foster-Carter  

Pakistan climbs 'wind' league - Pakistan is turning to wind power to help ease its desperate shortage of energy,& the country could soon be among the world's top 20 producers. Workers & farmers, their land taken for the turbine towers, may be the last to benefit.  By Zofeen Ebrahim

Turkey cuts Iran oil imports - Turkey is to slash its Iranian oil imports as it seeks exemptions from United States penalties linked to sanctions against Tehran. Less noticed, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the Iranian capital last week, signed deals aimed at doubling trade between the two countries.  By Robert M. Cutler

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ISRAEL

Capital | JerusalemFLAG DESCRIPTION: white with a blue hexagram (six-pointed linear star) known as the Magen David (Shield of David) centered between two equal horizontal blue bands near the top and bottom edges of the flag; the basic design resembles a Jewish prayer shawl (tallit), which is white with blue stripes; the hexagram as a Jewish symbol dates back to medieval times

Population | 7,233,701

Area | 20,770 SQ KM

Official Language | Hebrew

Holidays | Independence Day, 14 May (1948)

Currency | new Israeli shekels (ILS)

Time Zone | UTC +2

Best Time to Visit | April – May and September to October (during major Jewish holidays the country fills up with pilgrims, accommodation prices double and travel between cities is impossible)

Connecting with the Culture | Admiring the magnificent Dome of the Rock, built on the spot where Mohammed ascended to heaven; Being dazzled by the golden view of Jerusalem’s old city at dawn; Hitting the clubs or shopping in Tel Aviv, Israel’s most cosmopolitan city; Saying a prayer for peace at Jerusalem’s Wailing Wall; Escaping to Hula Valley & Nature Reserve, a beautiful valley with unique wetlands wildlife; Splashing out of the water-sports capital of Eilat, with coral –fringed beaches for swimming, windsurfing, parasailing and water-skiing; Witnessing the many security fences and walls dividing Israel and Palestine

Read | the meditations of Israeli novelist, Amos Oz, on his country and culture  

Listen | to pop princess Sarit Hadad, especially her Eurovision hit, ‘Let’s Light a Candle Together’

Watch | Promises, an honest portrait of seven children from Israel and the Palestinian Territories by Justine Shapiro

Eat | malawach, a buttery pastry served with fillings or spicy tomato salsa

Drink | the ubiquitous sahlab, a milky spicy concoction originally from Egypt, but drunk everywhere in Israel

In a Word | Shalom (hello, literally ‘peace’)

Characteristics | Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres; the Star of David adorning tanks; troubled war-zone; international kids on kibbutzim; dark-clothed hasidics swealtering in the heat; diplomatic imbroglio

Surprises | A fifth of Israel’s landmass is national parks – there are 300 of them

NEWS ABOUT ISRAEL

Israel: Anti-Africa Protests Erupt Against Migrants in Tel-Aviv

(PHOTO: Israelis protest against African migrant workers in south Tel Aviv, May 23, 2012/Moti Milrod)(HN, 5/28/12) - In the Hatikiva neighborhood of Tel Aviv, Israel 1,000 “protesters” which ended in rioting - demanded the detention & deportation of the recent influx of Africans - somewhere between 700 & 3,000 - who have come to Israel seeking asylum from various horrors, notably the wars & cross border conflicts of Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea & EthiopiaDemonstrators attacked African passersby while others lit garbage cans on fire & smashed car windows.  

(PHOTO: Scenes from Tel Aviv last night/Moti Milrod)The crowd shouted "The people want the Sudanese deported" & "Infiltrators get out of our home."   The protesters expressed their dismay with the government's handling of the situation & last week Interior Minister Eli Yishai, called for the detention & expulsion of all asylum seekers; & the country's Attorney General  Yehuda Weinstein will argue next week before the Jerusalem District Court that there is no legal obstacle to the expulsions since `none of them face any threat to their lives where they came from'. Police arrested 17 people during the protest. (Read more at Haaretz)