From The Wall Street Journal --
Interviews from released or escaped Sudanese give a harrowing look at the atrocities happening in the region. The abductions are conducted by Sudanese soldiers and goverment-backed Arab tribesman, the Janjaweed. The ultimate goal being to drive civilians from non-Arabic speaking groups from their lands. The land is then seized and repopluated by the milita and Arabic-speaking nomadic groups.
From The Bakersfield Californian --
According to a statement of probable cause filed in Kern County Superior Court, a 16-year-old girl posed nude in a west Bakersfield home last July and was assaulted by a man she later said was her pimp,
From <i> The New York Times <i> --Highlighting tensions between the two leaders, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu maintains this recognition is a crucial and necessary step in bringing peace to the two countries.
“I do not accept it,” Mr. Abbas said in a speech in Ramallah, in the West Bank. “It is not my job to give a description of the state. Name yourself the Hebrew Socialist Republic — it is none of my business,” he added, according to Reuters.
From The New York Times --
Despite the world's largest aid operation, Darfur's child malnutrition rates have increased drastically. Some attribute this to increases in tribal fighting and the number of people it displaced, insufficient access for aid workers, and a lack of security guarding the food that is sent.
From WaterAid -- Ali Hobb's documentary, "The Long Walk," features one woman's journey for water in the Nuba mountains of Sudan. The woman's walk serves as an allegory for the lives of the 1.1 billion people who are currently living without access to clean water.
“ The film, which focuses on one woman's walk for water in Sudan's Nuba mountains, was followed by a short speakers event featuring UK Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn. ”
From The Atlantic --
Tibetans see the influx of Chinese as cultural cancer. Chinese see the region's reform as modern revival. Who's right? Both, unfortunately.
From CBS --Modern Mideast conflict was born in the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. As the region's borders began to shift, new nations were born. A CBS interactive page takes readers through the major events that shape the complex issues of the Middle East today.
“ The contentious coastal region on the east end of the Mediterranean Sea is the birthplace of the modern world's three major religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Arab Muslims conquered Jerusalem from the Jews in 637 AD, the Crusaders fought Muslims and Jews in the 12th Century throughout the land and in the last several hundred years, Jews and Muslims have been in constant battle in search of a Palestinian and a Jewish homeland. ”
"If you haven't heard, the party's in D.C. It's all going down today, when Barack Obama is sworn in today as the 44th President of the United States. The celebration already began this weekend. There is much to be said about this historic occasion, but I just wanted to share this awesome AP photo I came across, of Obama's sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, her husband Konrad Ng, and daughter Suhaila at "We Are One: Opening Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" on Sunday.Asian Americans in the first family! You've got to love it. But what really makes this photo great? The kid rocking that pink coat, ninja style. Stay warm, Suhaila."
[via angry asian man]
From <i> The New York Times <i> --Corruption and discontent descends on Iraq months after provinical elections, exposing sectarian tension in the war-torn country. Politics in Iraq remain frail and fragmented years after the fall of Saddam Hussein.
“ Elections that were supposed to strengthen Iraq’s democracy, unite its ethnic and sectarian factions, and begin to improve sorely needed basic services — water, electricity, roads — have instead exposed the fault lines that still threaten the country’s stability. ”
Hejewa Adam was involved in a two-week battle with government forces and Janjaweed in August of 2008. She, and most of the other rebels who appear in Darfur Now, survived and have since returned to areas near those shown in the film. Her group has also expanded the area under their control, which now includes the village where Hejewa lived prior to the eruption of the crisis.
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