Salon.com > Jill Langlois

São Paulo anchors Brazilian protests

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:46:00 +0000

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Sao Paulo residents hit the streets Monday night for the fifth in a series of protests that have morphed into a general fight against corruption.

Demonstrations began about two weeks ago in opposition to a public transit fare hike. They've since snowballed into a movement drawing hundreds of thousands across Brazil airing complaints about the government.

A record 65,000 people met in the western area of the city known as Largo da Batata on Monday to protest a 10-cent rise in metro and bus fare. The movement started with a group called Passe Livre (Free Pass), largely made up of students, which argues that students should be able to ride public transit for free. Last night, united by outrage, they were joined by members of other social movements — and others who didn't belong to any formal group at all.

Antarctic sea ice expanding

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:42:00 +0000

  A summer melt caused by climate change is, counterintuitively, expanding Antarctic sea ice, scientists say.

A Dutch study published online in the Nature Geoscience journal said that sea ice around Antarctica has expanded at an accelerated rate of 1.9 percent per decade since 1985, unlike that in the Arctic region. It also notes that cool freshwater from melt underneath Antarctic ice shelves has insulated offshore sea ice from the ocean beneath, which is warming.

Because the melt water has a relatively low density, it accumulates in the top layer of the ocean, allowing for the cool surface waters to re-freeze more easily during fall and winter.

Egyptian navy catches divers cutting Internet cable

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:31:00 +0000

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt's naval forces caught three scuba divers officials say were trying to cut an undersea internet cable in the Mediterranean on Wednesday.

In a statement on his official Facebook page, Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali said divers were arrested while "cutting the undersea cable" of Egypt's main communications company, Telecom Egypt.

"The armed forces foiled an attempt and arrested three divers while they were cutting a submarine cable," Ali wrote.

The statement, accompanied by a photo of three young men who were apparently Egyptian, said they were captured while on a speeding fishing boat just off the coast of Alexandria. It did not say who they were or why they would want to cut the cable.

South Korea forges pact with U.S. against possible North Korea attack

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:27:00 +0000

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea and the US have signed a new military plan to counter what officials call North Korean "provocations."

The plan lays out how the allies will communicate with each other and react to any future aggression from North Korea.

It provides for a joint response from the two countries, even if there is a limited attack from the North.

North and South Korea are still technically at war after signing an armistice, not peace treaty. Previously, help from the US and its 28,000 troops in South Korea was optional in minor skirmishes.

In the event of a large-scale resumption of war, according to GlobalPost senior correspondent in Korea, Geoffrey Cain, the US will assume operational command over all forces in South Korea.

Crucial Cyprus bailout package vote looms

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:42:00 +0000

Cyprus lawmakers are preparing to vote on a new bailout on Friday as more pressure descends on them from the European Central Bank.

The government is urging parliament to approve a deal that would avert a bankruptcy that would almost certainly prompt Cyprus's exit from the euro zone.

"The next few hours will determine the future of the country," government spokesman Christos Stylianides said before the parliamentary debate. "We must all assume our share of the responsibility."

The ECB is pushing Cyprus to reach a deal quickly or risk Cypriot banks losing their financing. Without the government's approval for new measures, the country would lose the $13 billion bailout it previously requested and would risk a disorderly default.

Several hundred protesters gathered outside the Parliament building on Friday morning, angrily demanding compensation for their losses at banks.

Russian lawmaker’s body found in cement-filled barrel

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:52:00 +0000

The body of missing Russian lawmaker Mikhail Pakhomov was found in a cement-filled barrel.

According to the Associated Press, a former government official has been accused of ordering the lawmaker's killing over $80 million worth of debt.

"It has been confirmed that the remains found in the area of the Obukhov village in the Noginsky district belong to Pakhomov. The nature of the wounds suggests that he was killed," investigators said, reported The Moscow Times.

Pakhomov, 37, a member of the local legislature in Lipetsk, went missing last week, noted the AP. He was last seen Tuesday when he was pushed into a car outside a restaurant by three unidentified men.

Morsi’s controversial decree upheld

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi's controversial decree, which vastly expands his powers, will be upheld.

The decree, issued Thursday night, was met with outrage by Egypt's political opposition, which called Morsi's move an "attack on democracy" and a "threat to judicial independence." It also led to demonstrations of tens of thousands on Friday in Cairo and other Egyptian cities.

Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said late on Monday that Morsi's decree would not be subject to modification and that it may have been "misunderstood" by the public, reported Ahram Online.

"The decree will only immunize the president's sovereign decisions [from legal challenges]," Ali said in a statement after Morsi met with senior jurists, reported UPI. He also said the decree was temporary and stressed Morsi's respect for Egypt's judicial institutions and their independence.