Castro blasts US, compares NATO to Nazi

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Cuban ex-president Fidel Castro lashed out at the United States and Europe on Monday, accusing them of war-mongering and comparing the NATO military alliance’s representatives to the Nazi SS.

In a tortuous column published in Cuban state media, the father of the island’s communist revolution also attacked US Senator John McCain over United States policy in the Middle East, calling him “Israel’s most unconditional ally.”
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What Happened in Ferguson

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What Happened in Ferguson

Setting The Stage

To set the stage for what happened in Ferguson, it would probably be helpful to understand a bit about how the deck has been stacked against people of color in the United States.  Although slavery officially ended in 1863, it was ultimately replaced in the South by not only the state-sponsored terrorism of Jim Crow but unofficial re-enslavement via both the sharecropping system and arrest on trumped-up charges leading to unpaid labor on prison chain gangs. Continue..

Elderly woman tests positive for Ebola in Rivers

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One of the three persons taken to the Ebola virus quarantine centre in Oduoha, Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, has tested positive for the disease.

The latest case, an elderly woman, contracted the virus in Good Heart Hospital, the health facility where Iyke Enemuo, the doctor who treated a Nigerian ECOWAS diplomat, Koye Olu-Ibukun, died last week.

The two others – a doctor and a pharmacist – tested negative. Even though they had been released from the centre,   another round of tests will however   be carried out to reconfirm their status.
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Who is the fairest of them all?

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Folk may remember the fairy tale about the queen who kept asking her charmed mirror, “Mirror! Mirror on the wall! Who’s the fairest of us all?” Initially, the mirror said, “My Queen, you are the fairest in the land.” Over time, Snow White, the queen’s stepdaughter grew into a very beautiful young woman, and the mirror’s answer became: “My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Snow White is a thousand times more beautiful.” Upon which the wicked queen asked a huntsman to take Snow White into the forest and kill her.
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See the Brazilian man born with his head upside-down

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 A man born with physical disabilities so severe his head is Upside-down has defied the odds to become an inspirational public speaker.

Claudio Vieira de Oliveira, 37, was born with his neck folded back on itself, as well as badly deformed legs and almost no use of his arms and hands. Doctors told his mother to stop feeding him as a newborn as they believed he had no chance of survival. But Claudio from Monte Santo, Brazil, has overcome his extreme disadvantages to graduate as an accountant and become a public speaker. 
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Head of US Diplomatic Mission Summoned in Ankara Over Snowden-Leaked NSA Spying Documents

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Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned one of the most senior US diplomats in Turkey in order to explain reports on Washington’s spying activities in the country, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc, said Monday.
"For reasons that the United States' name was mentioned, and such claims were made ... the charge d'affaires [the head of the diplomatic mission] has been called to the foreign ministry and information has been received from him,” Arinc told the press.
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Kiev Forces Responsible for Civilian Deaths in Luhansk - Human Rights Watch

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Government fighters are largely responsible for the indiscriminate use of artillery and rockets within the Ukrainian city of Luhansk, while self-defense forces are responsible for their use in the outskirts of the city, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in a Monday review of civilian casualties of the Ukraine crisis.

“While it was difficult to establish with certainty responsibility for individual attacks amid ongoing fighting,” stated the report released on Monday, “circumstantial evidence indicates that government forces were responsible for many of the attacks Human Rights Watch investigated in the city and that insurgent forces were responsible for several attacks against areas under government control on the outskirts.”
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#StopNATO and #NoToNATO: Anti-War Hashtags Getting Popular on Twitter Ahead of NATO Summit

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Anti-war hashtags, such as #StopNATO and #NoToNATO, have been gaining in popularity on Twitter ahead of the NATO summit in Wales, Great Britain, slated for September 4 - 5.

Twitter users of the popular network join activists worldwide in speaking against aggressive policies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NATO members are set to “address issues which threaten NATO countries’ national security, from fragile states to piracy, from terrorism to cyber attacks”, according to the statement published on the the UK government’s website. The summit is expected to focus on Russia and the crisis in Ukraine, as well as Afghanistan and withdrawal of troops.
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Donetsk, Luhansk Republics Call on Kiev to Acknowledge 'Special Status' - Statement

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The self-proclaimed eastern Ukrainian regions of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics have called upon Kiev to acknowledge their special status in exchange for fulfilling the capitol's demands and promising to use maximum efforts to keep Ukraine a unified space.


“Equal negotiations are the single acceptable method for the People’s Republics on solving the conflict and restoring peace. The president, government and Verkhovna Rada (parliament of Ukraine) must accept in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Geneva Accords the legal acts guaranteeing…the acknowledgment by Kiev of the special status of the territories controlled by the People’s Republics,” a joint republic statement reads.
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Moscow ‘Shocked’ by Ukrainian Defense Minister’s Remarks of Looming Bloody War

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The Russian Foreign Ministry said Monday it was “shocked” by the Ukrainian defense minister’s recent remarks, in which he warned of an imminent war between Russia and Ukraine that would lead to thousands of deaths.


“Moscow, of course, noted the remarks by the Ukrainian defense chief Valeriy Heletei, who claimed that ‘the operation to free east Ukraine from terrorists is over’ and announced the beginning of ‘the Great patriotic war’ that would leave ‘dozens of thousands’ dead. The degree of adequacy of the Ukrainian defense minister, who published this post on his Facebook page, requires a careful study, albeit not by military experts,” the Ministry said in a statement.

Donetsk, Luhansk Republics Demand Kiev Guarantee Their Right to Use Russian

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The self-proclaimed eastern Ukrainian republics of Donetsk and Luhansk are demanding that the Kiev government guarantee their right to use Russian as an official language.
“The president, the government and the Verkhovna Rada [parliament] must adopt legislative documents… guaranteeing the right of the people’s republics to use Russian as the official language,” the republics said in their joint negotiations’ statement.

NATO Spokesperson Says ‘Unaware’ of NATO Officers in Ukraine’s Mariupol

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NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said Monday that she was unaware of possible presence of NATO officers in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol.  “On this particular issue I can say that I'm not aware of any NATO officers in Mariupol,” she said. Earlier today, Donetsk People’s Republic representatives said that a group of six NATO officers has been blocked in the town of Mariupol in Donetsk region.

Last week, Donetsk militia forces claimed to have taken control of checkpoints and strongholds in the outskirts of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine.
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